Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1913-05-03
BALANCE OF TRADE
FAvORS UNCLE SAM
Increase For Fiscal Year Far II Ex-
cess Of s3.soo,o0o,-
600.

4 WASHINGTON, D. e., May -
Secretary Of Commerce William e
| Redheld, in commenting upon the Dc
tailed figures concerning the imports
and exports Of the United States for
the month OF March and the nine
months ended March, said
The figures are striking, both in
their magnitude and in their details
The aggregate business. inward and
outward, of the United States With
foreign countries for the nine months
was a little in excess Of $3,300,0 100000
an impressive total. which II main
tanned at the same rate would bring
the business for the entire fiscal year
wen IN excess OF 10000 900.
Great Britain Is our largest custo-
mer. buying from us over S476,000..
900 and selling us over 1894 ,000, 600,
an aggregate for the nine months in
excess of SIP, 000,0 900, or a total busi-
ness OF nearly sSO,OOO.00O month.
Canada is our second best customer,
buying from us s300O00,O00 in nine
months, equal to nearly sl,300,000, 900
every working day A pretty fair Gus
toner. that Then Germany comes
third buying s26s,0O0,000 from us in
nine months and selling us sl4000O,-
900. She is pretty fair customer, too
buys over $1,000,000 a day. And
fourth comes France to whom we
sold $12O.0OO,0OO. and from whom we
bought sl12.000,OOO
1t is when we come to look at the
details of our foreign commerce by
what are called great groups that we
get at the most striking facts. IT..
for example, one is told that our eK.
ports fell off in March, as compared
with the same month year ago by
about $4,000. 600, so that we only
old $1S7 100000 abroad in March
mat might not seem a favorable con-
dition. But when one looks little
closer, he finds that the falling off
was almost wholly in the sales OF
crude materials for use in manufac-
turing and that as far from a loss,
there was an absolute gain in the i'm
portant items of manufacture, which
in the two i'm portant classes of man
ufacture for. further use in manufac-
turing and In manufactures ready for
consumption actually increased in the
month Of March by about $4,000, 900.
So that our manufacturers held their
grip upon the foreign markets of the
world more strongly in March than
they did a year ago
The figures for the entire nine
months are such as to give just pride
to every thoughtful American to
whose notice they come Out of the
total transactions of $3300.000 .00O
there is balnce in our favor of a lit
We over NOVu,UUu,UuV. DOlnS pretty
well, that But a few comparisons
with 1912 make it look even better.
For example. our sales of manufact-
ures for further use in manufacturing
increased over $56,000000 and our
sales of manufactures ready for use
increased over the same period last
year SSS,500,0 600, an increase in these
two lines of manufactured goods
alone OF over $144.5O0,000 as compar-
ed with the same period of last year.
This does not look like weakness
in competing power, especially when
one looks at the table of percentages
published with the others, and finds
that the three groups, which include
manufactured goods of all kinds. con.
stitute 595 per cent Of our total ex-
ports,