The Ocala banner., 1914-08-28
HOW THE U. s. RANkS-A COM
PARiSoN WITH OTHER
NATIONS

piOSl Coo tuC OHILcu states RANKS UlSN
among the nations of the world, be-
ing one of the five countries only
which have an area in excess of three
million square miles, and the only
nation of the Western world Except
Russia) having a population of over
one hundred million. In the inter
change of products among it's own
people it leads the world, it's home
trade at the present time being es
timated at nearly forty million dol
lars, or equal to the international ex
changes of the world and approx
mately ten times the value of our
own foreign trade now valued at four
billion dollars.
That our present foreign trade is
far short of the immediate possibili-
ties of the nation is evident from a
consideration of its area, commerce,
and other economic factors in COM
parison with that of other leading
countries, as set forth in comparative
Abstract of the United States, 1913,"
compiled by the Bureau of Foreign
and Domestic Commerce, Department
of Commerce. Thus the present exs
port trade of the United States 1.-TWO
and half billion dollars) represents
about $25 per capita. A per capita
basis equal to that of Argentina
would bring it's exports to ten billion
dollars year; while our aggregate
foreign trade, when upon a per cap
ita basis as large as that of Canada
would be considerably over thirteen
billion dollars a year.
Other comparable tables in the
Statistical Abstract" further empha-
size the commercial power of the
United States and its strong interna-
tional position. It's railway mileage,
for example, we possess one-third of
the worlds total, our 25S,000 miles
being ten times as much as the mile
age of the United Kingdom. One COM
pany alone has 23S,00O miles of tele-
graph lines, or double the total in
Russia, next in order. More than one
third of the worlds mail service is
performed upon routes located in the
United States, while our public debt
of one billion dollars is smaller that
that of Italy, Austra-Hungary, Spain,
Germany, Australia, Japan, British
India, or Great Britain, and less than
one-sixth that of France, and one
fourth that of Russia.
Temporary recessions have fire.
quently marked the course of Ameri-
can commerce, but the tendency, ac-
cording to historical tables published
in the Statistical Abstract, is even
higher. In eleven years, from 1890
to 1901, our foreign trade grew from
one and a half billion dollars, to two
and one-fourth billion dollars, an in
crease of fifty per cent, while in the
eleven years from 1910 to 1913 it in
creased from two and a quarter to
four and a quarter billions, gain of
80 per cent.
The foundations of this growth are
laid deep in the soil and natural re-
sources of our country and in the
character of our people. Thus the
American Union, from thirteen states
having three hundred and twenty
five thousand square miles and one
million people, has expanded to forty
eight states and the territories of
Alaska, Porto Rico, and Hawaii, with
an area three and two-thirds million
square miles and one hundred million
people. In the period since 1870 the
value of our farm products has risen
rom two billion to about ten billion
dollars a year; the output Of coal
from less than thirty to nearly five
hundred million long tons; copper
from twelve and half thousand to-
over one-half million tons; pig iron
from to to thirty-one million tons;
petroleum from two hundred and twen-
ty-one million to nine and a quarter
billion gallons; and manufactures
from four billion to over twenty bill
lion dollars.
Data relating to education, labor,
finance, prices, and other facts af-
fecting the economic life of the peo-
pie are also contained in the "Statis-
tical Abstract of the United States,
1913" which may be procured from
the Superintendent of Documents,
Government Printing Office, Washing
ton, D. c., for so cents copy.