The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-09-02
Trade on the North Increas-
ing Every Year By
Enormous Strides
APPARENTLY LITTLE
ATTENTION is PAID
And Yet, if Cotton Exports Be Ex-
cluded Canada Buys More From
Us Than Any Nation in the
World
By HOLLAND

New York September 1.-tSpecial)
In one of his rare visits In recent years
to the United States James Stillman.
chairman of the board National City
bank, spoke to some of his friends
about the inconceivably great opportu-
nifty which South America offers to the
United States for commerce, trade and
the investment of capital for develop
ment of natural resources of all kinds.
American bankers who also hold the
view expressed by Mr.. Stillman have
been sending competent representatives
to South America SO that reliable in
formation can be obtained respecting
banking opportunities or other open
ings for the investment of American
capital. These bankers when they speak
with this subject in mind always refer
to the effect upon North and South
American commerce which is sure to
be created by the opening of the Pan
ANA canal.
Attention has been called since the
recent publication of the statistics Of
our international trade and commerce
which came from the department of
commerce In Washington to the fact
turned toward South America and the
attention of capital is being called to
the opportunities the southern oonti-
nent offers little or nothing is heard of
our commercial and trade relations
with Canada. Nobody seems to have
thought of sending agents into Canada
for the purpose of learning what op-
portunities for trade and expansion
may be found there. And yet the in
formation furnished by the department
of commerce shows that we are likely
to find for years to come our greatest
customer in Canada and are more like
~ to establish our greatest American
international commerce with Canada
than with South America. no matter
what the effect of the opening of the
Panama canal to navigation may. be.
The leading men of finance of Eu-
rope have now become familiar with
an American phenomenon which few
years ago they would have deemed inn
possible. namely. record making ad-
vance upon foreign markets by Amer
lean manufacturers within the past o
years. But it rarely happens when our
own men of business meet their friends
who conduct large affairs in Europe
S, that any reference is made to a phe-
}ifemenonsq as startling as is that
{ associated with the sudden growth Of
our expectation of manufactured COM
nlouities
Canada Our Best Customer
In 1908 the money value of the eu-
tire commerce back and forth with Can
ada was in round numbers S225,O0O 600.
The department of commerce st Wash
ington Is now able to report that the
commerce between the United States
and Canada both ways was in the fiscal
.r,t,I \.
In excess of $780, 900 900. We have,
therefore,. increased our reciprocal
commerce with our neighbor on the
north so greatly in FIVE years that il
has doubled and as n whole reflects
almost the largest commerce we have
had with any nation In fact. were 1t
not that the cotton fields of the south
contributed enormously to the aggre-
gate of oup- foreign commerce with
Great Britain the commercial relations
between the United States and Canada
would in money value be actually great
er than our commercial relations with
Great Britain.
A Silent Growth
This growth has been steady, unsen-
sational and reflects a perfectly nor
NAL increase of trade relations between
the Dominion of Canada and the Unit
ed States. 1t has been secured with
parently by no other influence than the
common recognition on both sides of
the boundary line of the advantages OF
reciprocal trade relations. This growth
is now spoken of in this city since these
statistics were published as, with the
single exception of our increase in eX-
portation of manufactured products, the
most significant and impressive phe-
nomenon in the history of the inter-
rational commerce carried on by the
United States with other countries. We
are exporting to Canada now commod-
tiles of approximately the money value
of sf0o, 100000 a year and we are buy
ing in Canada and bringing to this
country commodities approxima tely of
the money value of $l20.000,0c0.
The Promise of Growth
As this increase has been steadily
maintained since 1908 there Is no rea-
sen to suspect that 1t was merely an