The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1912-07-11
New Record
Made in Foreign Commerce of the United
States.

Made in Foreign Commerce of the United
States.
WASHINGTON, D. c., July 8, 1912.
The foreign commerce of the United
States made a new and remarkable
record in the fiscal year just ended. The
total value of the merchandise entering
and leaving the country in its trade with
foreign lands and its own island possess
sons in the fiscal year 1912 was 4 billion
dollars; the value of manufactures ex-
ported was more than l billion dollars;
and the value of nom dutiable merchan-
disc entering the country was l billion
dollars. Of this billion dollars worth
of non-dutiable merchandise entering
the country during the year ending June
80, 1912, about 900 million dollars worth
was from foreign countries and 100 mil
lion dollars worth from Hawaii and
Porto Rico. Of the merchandise coming
from foreign countries only (and not in
GLIDING that from Hawaii and Porto
Rico) 53.5 per cent entered free of duty,
against 44.3 per cent during the entire
period of the Dingley law, 4S8 per cent
under the Wilson law, and SO per cent
under the Mckinley law, when the admis-
sion of sugar free of duty made the per-
centage of duty-free imports unusually
h,1f binb hot of bo
year just ended. In fact, the value of
duty-free merchandise entering from
foreign countries in 1912 not only ex-
ceeds by far that of any earlier year,
but also forms larger share of the total
imports than in any previous years ex-
cept 1892 and 1894, the opening and
closing years of the operations of the
Mckinley law, when the imports of
sugar free of duty were abnormally
large. Imports of duty free merchan-
disc never reached as much as 100 mil
lion dollars prior to 1873. They touched
the 200 million dollar line in 1880, the
300 million dollar line in 1891, the 400
million dollar line in 1892, the 500 million
dollar line in 1905, the 600 million dollar
line in 1907, the 700 million dollar line in
1910, and in 1912 appropriated 900 mil
lion dollars; and the addition of the mer-
oh andise coming from our own islands
brings the grand total of non-dutiable
mechandise in the fiscal year 1912 up to
a round billion dollars.
The principal articles forming the 1
billion dollars worth of duty-free mer-
chandise entering continental United
States during the fiscal year 1912 are,
according to the latest reports of the
Bureau of Statistics of the Department
of Commerce and Labor, food stuffs and
manufacturers materials. The food
stuffs entering without payment of duty
included about 120 million dollars worth
of coffee, approximately IS million dol
lars worth Of tea and cacao, over 20
million dollars worth of fruits and nuts,
5 million dollars worth of spices, and
about 80 million dollars worth of sugar
from Porto Rico, Hawaii, and the Philip
pines. The manufacturers materials en-
tering free of duty included approximate
ly 100 million dollars worth of hides and
skins; over 100 million dollars worth of
india rubber and substitutes therefor;
about 65 million dollars WORTH of raw
silk; so million dollars worth of tin in
bars, blocks and pigs; 45 million dollars
worth of copper in ore and pigs; 30 mil
lion dollars worth of fibers, including
hemp, jute and sisal; and about 20 million
dollars worth Of raw cotton.
Of the more than l billion dollars
worth of manufactures exported during
the year, those of iron and steel aggre-
gated about 275 million dollars in value;
copper and mineral oils, each more than
100 million; lumber and other manufac-
lures of wood, nearly 100 million; leather
and manufactures thereof, about 60
million; and cotton manufactures, about
so million. Manufactures exported in
the month of May amounted to 108 mil
lion dollars for the single month and
formed GO per cent of the total domestic
exports of that month. For the full fis-
cal year manufactures formed about 46
per cent of the total domestic export.
During the "a months in which the
present tariff law has been in operation,
manufactures exported averaged rs mil
lion dollars per month and formed As per
cent of the total exports. During the
entire existence of the Dingley law they
averaged 46 million dollars per month and
formed 81 per cent of the total expor is;
during the entire operations of the Will
son law exports Of manufactures aver
aged % million dollars per month and
formed % per cent of the total exports:
and during the existence of the Mckinley