The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-28
SAYS WAR RESTRICTIONS HELP RATHER THAN HARM AMERICAN
 TRADE WITH BRITISH MERCHANTS

show that the idea was founded upon a nisapprehension of the facts. The sentence quoted above, however, and the publicity given to it in the Amer ican press and to the figures adduc- ed to support it, render a further ex- pIanation desirable.
 While British Export trade has undergone a uniform decrease in practically all articles, the publish ed figures of the United States De- partment of Commerce show that the export trade of the United States, in spite of lack of shipping, the com plete dislocation of normal conditions of commerce and the measures. taken by the Allied Powers to restrict the trade Of their enemies, and quite apart from the export of actual 11111ni- tions of war, has increased to a phe- nomenal extent, and this, not only in supplying the requirenen of certain of the belhgerent nations but in gen era1 trade with the very countries from whose markets it has been claimed that Great Britain was en- deavoring to exclude American pro- ducts On the other hand British trade has probably suffered Nrnore from the embargoes on exports i'm posed owing to the necessities of war by the British government than has United States trade from the meas ures in restriction of neutral trade with the enemies of Great Britain
 Apart from this unprecedented volume of exports, American industry which before the outbreak of the war, had been suffering for over year from general and widespread depres- sion. has during the period of hostili- ties realized another benefit the re- duction in exports from the belIiger- ent countries has supplied the oppor- tunitys for American industry to re- place European products in the >rnarT kets of South, and Central America the Far East and even in neutral Eu- ropean countries, so that the practical cessation of direct trade with Ger many, Austria-Hungary, Belgium and Turkey is more than compensated by the, opening up of new markets
 The Secretary of the Treasury in his report for the year ending June 30, 1915, which has just been publish ed says: What extra odinary results have been achieved in the brief per iod since December 1914 During the year there has been a steady, heal thy, forward movement in every line of activity, until now prosperity has been firmly established throughout the country From all points of view therefore it appears that the Euro pean war has proved rather beneficial than otherwise to American trade and industry, while any suggestion that Great Britain is attempting to use the military situation for the purpose ok hampering American trade is utterly refuted by the actual facts and fl. gure@,
 Among the British products all ar tic1es show a decrease in the total quantity exported with the few unfm- portant exceptions of malt, rice, lard. cocoanut oil and palm oil
 ssAny increase in British exports of cotton and woolen goods to these (Scandinavian) countries and to the Allies of Great Britain is largely due to the fact that the French and Bel gian textile industry districts are in of the German industry itself is con siderably curtailed by the lack of lab or for other than war industries; these countries have therefore in creased their imports from the near est available source which is the United Kingdom
 Then. tab1es are given showing that exports from New York to Norway Sweden and Denmark during the first thirteen nontI1s of the war increased $8A,226s966 over the same period a year before, while the exports to Ger many decreased $84,918,081. Tn this connection a commerce report of the United States is quoted as saying that customs returns of the Scandinavian countries all show a smaller volume of imports from American since the war began The memorandum con tinues:
 Now if the customs returns of Nor way, Sweden and Denmark show that imports from the United, States have decreased since the war. while the official returns of the United States Bepartmene of Commerce show on the other hand that they have enor- mously increased. it seems legitimate, in the absence of any other exp1ana- ton, to assume that the United States figures represent the amount of goods shipped from the United States to the Scandinavian countries and that the Customs figures of the Scandinavian countries represent that proportion of the goods exported from the United States which paid duty and were en- tered for consumption in those coun- tries, while. the considerable differ ence represents the amount of goods exported from the United States which on arrival in the Scandinavian coun- tries, were reshipped largely to Ger many. The fact that the increase in shipTn ents from New York to Norway, Sweden and Denmark during the first 1 3 months of the war exactly balances the decrease in shipments to. Ger many during the same period is ex- txenely significant
 '"The figures quoted above from the official reports of the Department of Commerce concIusive1y prove that the export trade of the United States has not suffered from the inevitable, estrictions on neutral commerce de- rived from the state of war, and that there is no vestige of foundation for the insinuation that Great Britain has taken advantage of war conditions and of the measures necassitated by military con alterations, in order to in crease British exports to neutral countries at the expense of American. trade
 II. M. DAGGETT GETS