Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-02-08


the United States, since the offlcial hg-
ires of the United Kingdom, and Ger
many, our chief rivals for the trade OIL
the Orient. show, in the case OF the
United Kingdom. an increase OF Out
| 2S9.- IN the full decade ending with 1910:
)those of Germany. an increase Oh ao~.
and those of the United states, an III
crease Of 62rG in the value or mefcnan-
dise exported to China and Japan the
actual gains in 1903 over 1899 beng. IN
the case Of Germany 10 million dol
,srs. the United Kingdom 901s million,
ano the United States. 22l2 million.
Considering the official import ilg-
ures Of the oriental countries, Mr.
Austin said that China's imports from
| tire United States in 1908, the Iatest
year for which official ngurcs are
available, showed larger percentage
| Of her imports drawn from tne Chlted
States than the annual average or tne
preceding decade, and that this IS true
also OF Japan the Philippine ISLANDS,
and India In the decade ending With
1907 China took 9i2% of her imports
from tire United states; in the year
1905. 1870. In the decade ending with
100, Japan took 174Gc Of her imports
form the Cnited states; in 1905, 11.Sf6.
In Tie decade ending with 1907 the
| Phiiippine Islands took 1860; of their
imports from US: in 1908, 17.5Gt. In the
decade ending with 1907 India took
| 1SGt of her imports from the United
states: in the year 1893, 2.4Tt. It thus
appears that despite the fluctuations
| in our trade with the Orient, due to
peculiar conditions in recent years, the
percentage which the principal orien-
tai countries took, respectively, OF
their imports from the United States
was in 1908 greater than the annual
average during the decade ending with
1907; also that the fall of million dol
lars n exports to China and of 10 mil
lion dollars in exports to Japan in 1909
is due to peculiar conditions, the high
prices of cotton, breadstufGs and
meats. and the reduction in the general
imports of those countries, reductions
in which the United States is no
greater loser than her principal Euro
pean rivals for that trade.
While our share in the commerce OF
the Orient has been maintained and
slightly Increased down to the end OF
1903, it is STILL in Mr.. Austin's opinion,
far below that which it should be.
The oriental people-the people of orr
entail birth or descent and therefore of
oriental customs of life-number 800
milirn, or more than half the worlds
population, and their imports amount
speaking in round terms, to , billions
of dollars per annum. India alone
shows imports of over $50 million dol
lars per annum: China, $50 to $50 MIL
lien: Japan and its dependencies, 200
t. 20 million; Hongkong and the
Straits Settlements, each about 200
million: the East Indian Islands, APP
proximately 100 million; Turkey in
Asia and Europe, $50 million; and that
section of north Africa occupied by
oriental peoples and stretching from
EgyDt to Morocco, 200 million. Adding
to these the less important countries
occupied by oriental peoples, you get
a total of 1000 million dollars worth
Of merchandise imported by that sec"
tior Of the world occupied by people
of oriental stock and oriental customs.
About one-third of this total of
billion dollars worth of oriental i'm
ports is inter oriental, merchandise
another; but the remaining two-thirds,
or about 400 million dollars, is I'M
ported from occidental countries,
chiefly Europe and America. OF this
400 million dollars worth of occiden-
tai merchandise imported by oriental
peoples, the United States. supplies but
about &c. while Europe supplies prac-
ticallv all Of the remainder. The prin-
cipal articles forming this l,400 million
dollars worth of merchandise imported
by oriental people are: cotton goods
approximately 400 million dollars
worth: manufactures of iron and steel;
meat and dairy products; medicines,
drugs and dyes: tobacco; leather; We
hlcle, for transportation; agricultural
implements; and articles OF household
and general domestic requirements.
OF the most important of all these ar
tices, cotton goods, the United States |
the worlds chief cotton producer. sup !
plies but 81 while Europe, which buys
its cotton from the United states, sup
plies nearly all of the remaining $40.
The explanation of this remarkable
fact, that the greatest cotton producing
country of the world supplies such an
extremely small share of cottrns i'm
ported by the oriental peoples, lies in
the fact, that the American manufac-
turer does not make, and is apparently
unwilling to make, his cotton cloths
of the weight, texture, color and pat
terms required by the oriental people.
two-thirds of the oriental
peoples live in tropical or sub-tropi-
cal climate. and they require cotton
goods of an extremely light, open tex
ture,, and Of lengths, patterns and COL
ors peculiar to the customs of the Varl-
Gus peoples of the various sections.
These tropical. oriental peoples Will
not buy the heavy, plain cotton goods
made by the mills of the United states.
the only section of the Orient Wiling
to buy American cottons being North
China. with a climate similar to that
of the United States. The fact that
the great bulk of the tropical oriental
e,,ttf n