The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-07
Norfolk Passes Philadelphia and Is Becoming One of
 Great Atlantic Ports
SAVANNAH MAKES
 EXCELLENT REPORT
Seattle Already Seems to Have Out distanced San Francisco as the Greatest Port on the
 Pacific Coast
By HOLLAND

New York, July 6-(Special.) )--Among
 the statements sent from Washington at
 the close of the fiscal year, June 30, was
 one which gave the money value of im-
 ports and exports for the week ending
 June 26 at the principal customs dis
 tricts in the United States. Attention
 has been called here to the figures which
 tell of the foreign commerce of Detroit
 because those figures in perhaps a more
 instructive way than any of the others contain a story of foreign trade which is not the least of the many interesting
 features of ou rcommerce for the past fiscal year. This Washington report dis
 closes that the money value of the inn ports at Detroit for the week ending
 June 26, was S502 900 in round numbers,
 while the money value of the exports
 was $3,500,O00 again using round num- bers
 With the exception of Savannah, Ga,
 and Galveston, Tex, these figures reveail
 a greater international trade balance in favor of the United States, relatively speaking, than are those reported from any of the other large principal customs | districts Later in the summer there will
 come details which will make clear the character of the exports from Detroit.
 Presumably the greater part of them passed into Canada and reflect not only the magnitude of our Canadian trade, but also exports to Great Britain and to conti- nential Europe Probably a considerable part of these exports was made up of automobiles for the world knows that
 the district of which Detroit is the cen ter contains the greatest concentration of the automobile industry of any in the world. The exports from Detroit consti- tuted about one-third of the excess ex- ports over imports for the week ending June 26 and none but those who are fa-
 miliar with our international trade would have Ventured to say that Detroit as city of foreign commerce contributed
 about one-third to the excess exports over imports in a single week.
 The Washington report contains other
 stcries hidden though they under the
 bare figures. As whole we can get from
 these figures, after digging behind the face of them, a good idea of the general character of our foreign trade.
 It is an extraordinary record which was
 made at Savannah. The money value of
 the imports very likely did not meet the
 cost of collecting. Certainly the govern
 ment got no revenue from them. The GUS
 tom house experts in this city have read
 with a sort of curious interest the report which came from Savannah. The money value of it's imports was only $400 in round numbers for that week and it would not pay the government to maintain custom house there were it not for the outgo-
 ing trade The money value of that was
 nearly $290,000. Apparently, this represents
 almost exclusively the export of cotton. The figures also may be put in compari-
 son with those received from other sea-
 ports from which go constantly large
 .G (1,1,- sfA stance, saw ships sail out of her harbor laden with cotton, the money value of which was more than $2, GOO, GOO in excess of the money value of the exports from Sa- vannah. Until recently Galveston stood
 fourth as an export city, being exceeded
 only by New York, Boston and New Or leans, but as a city of commerce Calves ton has been running neck and neck with New Orleans-although from the city on
 the Mississippi varied cargoes go while from Galveston cotton is almost exclusive ly the export commodity.
 When the founder of what became the
 great international banking house of Brown Brothers, determined to venture
 upon a new career and to give up his home in Ireland so that he might estab- fish a business in the United States, he
 ade selection of Baltimore. His choice of that city was due to the fact that at that time it was the greatest export city Tn the united states. IL was Tn nandDnS exports of tobacco and later of cotton that MT. Brown developed upon a high scale
 the system of American foreign exchange. He predicted the growth of Baltimore as
 a city of foreign commerce until 1t al last matched the great commercial ports Of Europe. The railroads and the Erie canal shifted that commercial supremacy from Baltimore to New York. Now the figures from Washington show that Baltimore is exporting in money value not quite as much as Norfolk and only little mere than Seattle. and in the last week of
 June the money value of Baltimores S eN- ports was s1,00o.ooO less than the money value of the exports from Detroit
 Norfolk, apparently, Is regaining the considerable prestige the city once held for foreign commerce. It was the dis tributing point for the great agricultural
 and other industries of Virginia and was really the port of Richmond Her com
 merce fell away, however, during the civil
 war and for a good many years after
 ward. Several years ago a man of husi- ness ability and of considerable influence who had been successfully established in business upon the Pacific coast converted