The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-09-17
SPANISH FOREIGN
 BUSINESS IS MT HARD BY WARE ARE

Madrid, Sept 17-The Monthly Statistical Review of the Foreign Commerce of Spain, a government publication, the current number O. which has just been issued. is full of surprising information. It shows the most extraordinary ups and downs in Spain's foreign trade for this year, as compared with the period just an tedating the war. Generally speak ings the figures show a considerable dimunition in irnportatfons and a, very material increase in exportations during the first six months Of 1915, as compared with the first half of 1914.
 From January to June, 1914. Spain imported to the value of $114, 642, 900 6taking the peseta at it's nofnaal value of $.1931 while in the same period of this year the irnportations tota1ed the half year. On the other hand, the exports for the first half year of 1914 were only $91.289, 900, while this year the figure reached $121, ,204, ,000--a gain of $29.915. 900 constituting an in fux Of $11, 1,387,0O0 into the pockets Of the spaniards instead of a trade bal ance against them of S23,35 3, 900, as was the ease last year. Fa
 However favprabIe this may be for some of the Spanish population, it is nevertheless one of7t1le moving causes of the present financial crisis in the government of the country. because 1t has worked a decrease in the customs receipts of from $2es4os, ,000 to S13,- I24 ,000-Aa deficit in the assets of the government of $7.334.00O. which 1t ss forced to make up with more direct. forms of taxing an already overtaxed people.
 The decrease of imports does not, however. include certain raw mater ia1s, such as cotton and wool. The
 
 goods are two of the most important industries of Spain. Before the war there were about 70.O00 cotton and about g 1000 woolen looms in Catalonia To feed these in the first half of 1914 $14, ,668,00o of baled cotton was i'm ported and ss,s7S of plain, unwashed wool Under the stimulus of the war however, in the first six months of this year $27.599.oo00 of raw cotton and $1.447,500 of unwashed wool went into the country from abroad.
 Some idea of what became or this enormous increase of imports may be obtained from a. glance at the increase of certain manufactured arr ticIes of these two classes of raw ma lteriaIs. For example, the exports of white cotton cloth in tthe first six months of each year have Jumped from $273,2S1, the figure in 1914, to B, 403,510 in 1915. corduroys and similar stuffs have gone from $7,72O5 to $2,219, 300; piece goods and under wear from S965,0o0 to $3,184 300: stockings, gloves and cotton knit goods from $120,046 to s817,715
 In the field of wooden goods the figures are equally Surprising The exports of wooden yarns in the first six months of the year have risen from s41,688 in 1914 to $490.060; WooIen blankets from $5,975 to s6,- 979,59 woo1en knit goods from $16,- I with an admixture of cotton have ad- vanced in Spain's export even more in proportion-frorn $1O2. .994 in 1914 for the first six months to $5,305,- 636 for the same period of 1915. In sum, the balance of excess of exports over imports in the field of cottons and woolens was, in the first half- of 1914, $2,386,059 while this year in the same term it has amounted to $2Os186, ,059
 One other example of products of use in the war by the export of which Spain has profited is given in iron. Pig iron in the first half of 1914 was exported to the extent of $123, 9o6, while this year 5 ,022, 300 worth of pig iron left the ports of Spain from January to June Manufactured iron, however, is the most extraor rdinary eXa ample of mushroom increase. The first half of 1914 only s9,071 of this product was exported, while in the same period of the present year over a hundred times that amount has been shipped abroad.
 On all articles not in some way con nected with the hosti1ities in Europe the decrease in exportation has been almost equally surprising, and as these, in total, amount to more than the specialized products of utility in argue great prosperity for Spain. In