The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1912-02-16
ISLAND TRADE IS
GROWING FAST
Trade of Porto Rico And Share There
of With the United States.

Trade between Porto Rico and con-
tinental United States in the calendar
year Just ended amounted to II mil
lion dollars, or Is times as much as
in 1897, the year preceding the annex
alton of that island by the United
States. The precise figures of the
trade with Porto Rico are, according
to the December summary of COM
merce and finance, recently issued by
the bureau Of statistics, Department of
Commerce and Labor, as follows Mer-
chandise sent to Porto Rico, $36,793,-
SAG; received from Porto Rico, $35,446,-
1856; a total of $72 ,239,S22. In 1897, the
last year in which Porto Rico was for
eign territory, the figures were: ex-
ports thereto, $2,O23,751; imports there
from, $1,943,251; a total of $9,967 ,002.
Thus shipments of merchandise to
the island gained in the period from
1897 to 1911 $34,769 1876, or about 1920
per cent, Vile receipts of merchan-
disc therefrom increased $33, ,502, ,935,
or 1925 per cent.
The trade with Porto Rico since its
annexation has grown more rapidly
than with any other commercial com
munity of Importance, and now ex-
ceeds the value of our trade with
Spain, or China, or India; is nearly
equal to that with Argentina, and is
more than tnat with all British Oceania
including Australia or with the entire
continent of Africa. During the period
since 1897 in which shipments from
the United States to Porto Rico in
creased 1920 per cent exports to Can
ada, with which our trade has grown
unusually rapidly in recent years, in
creased 300 per cent, those to Cuba
$40 per cent, to Argentina 745 per cent,
China 100 per cent, Japan ITS per cent,
Germany lit per cent, and to theUnit-
ed Kingdom IL per cent.
Manufactures and food stuffs form
by far the largest part of the domestic
merchandise shipped to Porto Rico
from the United States. OF the ar
ticles classed as manufactures, cotton
= goods, iron and steel, lumber and other
manufactures of wood, boots and
shoes. automobiles, cars, patent and
proprietary medicines, soap, paper
manufactures, wooden goods, India rub
Der manufactures, and cement are the
most important, and in many of these,
notably cotton cloths, boots and shoes
cars and carriages, the growth has
been very rapid. Of cotton cloths the
value increased from but $4,010 in
1897 to $3,1S1, ,955 in 1911; of other
cotton manufactures, from $2,995 tc
s2,525,6S1; of boots and shoes, from
about $1,000 to $1,144,59S; of cars ant
carriages, from $13,953 to $1,557,1S5i
patent and proprietary medicines
from about $4,000 to $256,b27; ant
soap, from $502 to $5S2, ,1S0.
Of foodstuffs of domestic production
shipped to Porto Rico, rice, meat ant
dairy products, -four, vegetables, re
fined sugar, fish. bread and biscuit
and confectionery are the leading
items. In the period from 1897 t
1911 shipments thereto of rice from
the United States increased from nj
in 1897 to $4,415,566 in 1911; those o
-four, from $573,411 to $1,652,71O
hams, from $S5,2O4 to $53S, 4S3; por
picked, from $195,769 to $1,252,7O7
butter, from s5,91S to $132, 1868; chees
from s2,6O1 to s121716; lard fror
s234,715 to $685. ,751; refined sugal
from less than 500 to $665,272; an
confectionery from about $500 to $195
S4S.
= OF many other articles the shil
ments to Porto Rico last year wer
large: lumber and manufactures
wood, S2.O29,631 vegetables, $S05,497
leaf tobacco, $960,042; telegraph, tel
phone and other scientific instrument
S223,713; wool manufactures, $220,717
bituminous coal $310,665; cemen
$324763, fish $999 OO3; fertilizers, $5S
ia; mineral oils, $461 ,207, and sill
manufactures $500, 5,l53.
The United States sends to Port
Rico more cotton cloths than to an
foreign country except China, fly
times as much as to Canada, and mol
than to Cuba and Haiti combined
more boots and shoes than to all Ce
tral America; as many automobile
measured by valut, as to France al
Germany combined; and more fio'
than Germany.
The principal articles entering co
tinental United States from Por
Rico are sugar cigars and cigarette
tobacco, and fruits and nuts. Of sug
the value increased from 1R millit
in 1897 to s24,710,161 million in 191
cigars and cigarettes, from nil in Is