Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-10
OUR FOREIGN TRADE
Shows Big Increase During
Year Just Passed.
EUROPE IMPORTANT FACTOR
Exports Alone Amount to More Than
Billion Dollars There.
BENEFIT FROM RECIPROCITY
Commerce With Canada Should Dou-
BILE in Five Years if Agree
ment Is Ratified.
BY WILLIAM F.. CURTIS.

| BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
| Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
| Although. as a rule, statistics are stupid
| to the average reader. there is certain
| fascination in those which relate to ou1
| commerce with foreign countries. which
| during the calendar year of 1910 amount
| ed to the enormous sum of s.. 42I ,416, $50
as against 1908. 800 in 1909, an in
crease of SOB, 694.526 during the year.
| and everybody will admit that these to-
| tails show a healthy condition of affairs
| The imports for 1910 were 81 g., go, 2o1
as against 81, $50, 724 in 1869. and the
| exports were $1,6S4, 491 GA, as against
| 81. 72s, 19S, 6i5 in 1909.
| Our exports to Europe alone during the
| calendar year were 81, 1919, 100000. as
against s1.170. OOO. 900 in 1909; to Canada
| and Mexico they were S426, 600 900. as
| against $3i5, 900, 900 the preceding year:
| to South America they passed tae one
! hundred million mark for the first time
| and showed Sn increase of seventeen mil
lions from the preceding year; to Asia
and Oceania the exports were S124, 600,
600, as against $113, 1000 for 1909, and
to Africa they were S21.OOo,oOo. as against
$17. 600 0O for the preceding year,
The greatest increase in our foreign
trade has been with South America and
Canada The total for South America
advanced from $41,21sO5l in 1900 10
North America, which means Canada
and Mexico. from S19s. 7ss.019 in 1900 to
s425. 576,553.
Reciprocity Should Double Exports.
Reciprocity with Canada ought to
double our exports to that country within
the next five years and run them up to
$500. 100000 within the next ten years.
Canada is not a manufacturing country
and needs almost everything that is pro-
duced in our factories; while, on the
other hand. we need her timber and agri-
cultural products. The farmers of the
United States should not be frightened
about fall in values. because the price
Of wheat. corn and other staples is fixed
in London or Liverpool and depends upon
the law Of supply and demand rather
than upon local influences. If the worlds
crops are small, prices will be high; if
they are large, prices will be low, and
that is all there is of it. The result Is
based upon averages. On the other hand,
however. We ought to supply the Cana
dams with most of the manufactured
merchandise they are now getting from
England. and 1t might be done il the tariff
concessions promised by the reciprocity
u
The United Kingdom still continues to
be the best customer of the United States.
John Bull bought from Uncle Sam last
year more than five hundred and fifty
million dollars worth Of raw products,
chiefly cotton and food, which of course
is very agreeable, but another phase of
it is that the manufacturers of England
take our cotton and work it up into
shirtings. sheetings and printed goods and
sell them right under our noses to the
people Of Central and South America,
who ought to buy them Of Us They
would do so If we had steamship trans
portation. mail communication. banking
facilities and the other necessary vehi-
cles of commerce, always assuming that
our merchants and manufacturers would
go after the trade as they ought to do.
1t is simply a question Of effort The
trade Is there; we can have 1t if we want
It. 1t remains with our Congress to sup
ply the ways and means and our pro-
ducers to apply the same energy and en-
terprise which they have shown In the
development of the domestic market.
Our second best customer is Germany.
We sell there about one-half as much as
we sell in Great Britain. and the same
classes of goods. chiefly cotton, copper and
70 cot