The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-01
Billion Dollar Mark Will Be Passed Is the Official
 Announcement = Figures
 Show $963,u7,479 Balance
GOLD MOVEMENT HAS
 REVERSED IN RATIO
 THAT IS VERY LARGE
Inward Flow of Gold Shows
 Large Increase Over Pre- ceding Nears-Figures by
 Department of Commerce

Washington. June 3O.-A billion dol lar trade balance--the greatest In | American histors--in a year which has seen commerce depressed by II months of world war; is the record of the Ini- ted States. OGieinl announcement was made today at the department Of com mercc that with the closing of the
 fiscal yeRr at midnight It was certain passed.
 "The figures for Il months ending May sl," 1t was announced, show favorable balance of so6S.ll7ila. As Is ports which ordinarily handle 9o per cent of the coun- try S foreign trade show for June an export balance of approximately $50. .000 QUO, il is now known that the excess of exports over imports has at this date exceeded sl slooO,0ocooo surpassing by nearly s4oo. .Ooo.- 0o0 the highest record heretofore made"
 New High Record Figures indicating that the new high re, ord would be made have been placed he fore President Wilson and the cabinet from time to time by Secretary Redheid Only today's official announcement was lacking. Generally the showing was con sidered all the more gratifying because 1t was made despite the paralysis of ocean shipping and the stagnation in the cotton market which depressed America s second most valuable crop.
 Department of commerce experts point out that the immense trade balance Is not owing to manufacturers of muni- tions of war. In e,as, manufacturers generally ,ther thsT Of foodstuifs navs been less than in He similar period be for the war
 'The normal sal les of manufactures Curing peace" saIk an official statement on that point. .wfere greater than those under existing fvar conditions Because of this extraordi knary shrnkage of exports of crude mater hls. it is found that the net increase in dur total exports has been wholly in foodsAuffs.
 Gold Mo,tement Reversed 'The movement of gold between the United States andy the outside world, which at the beginning lof the war was sub ject of great con bern. has been reversed in overwhelming rbtio, and represents pay ments for Ameri, 'an exports.
 .rhe inward slow of gold" says the departments announcement, (which became propybunced about the com ne ncemenv of the current year. con- tinued in / May at an accelerated rate, imports / amounting to s31,f36,311 against, }s1.s72,4l1 in May. 1914. Gold xrtc tatnIed orr E1i cop,,o,.. wifi $16.sS5, POP in May, 1914 In the |1y months ending May s1. 1915, gold far orts totaled s119, 7.015. an increase
 f s56,505. i6s while gold exports as- cHesated $143,402, l6O, an increase of s7S'47o,e95 over like period year The neafest approach to the billion dollar recorH- was in 1908, when a Ia voiable balance,,.of s6660o00Oo was shown for the United States. In 1901 there was a balance of $664,000, 900 aPc in 1913 of $652, ,000. while in 1914 the balance dropped to si70,Oo0.- 900. The last time it showed against the United States was in 1923. v This billion dollar balance for the fiscal year Is distinct from the billion dollar net balance which government officials have predicted would be
 
 tke present calendar year To arrive at a net balance there must be sub tracted from the gross balance inter- est on United States debt held in Flu rope. tourists expenses. ocean freights. -i.eney transmitted home by alien resi- cents and numerous other items. The big export business done by the United States during May has led to predictions of the billion dollar net balance. The sudden decrease in cx- ports for the last week of June was believed to have been due to excep tional circumstances such as the ab- sence of sailings during that period.
 The prediction Is made that the ex- ports of explosives will be at least quadrupled and that of firearms dou- bled. This, however. would credit the tot al value of explosives and firearms with but little more than per cent of the total value of exports.