The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-11-09
Of Finance
EXPORT RESTRICTIONS CAUSE A
DECLINE IN EXPORTS OF MAN
4 UFACTURES.

1t In now practicable to estimate
the effect of the recent restrictions
upon the export trade Of the United
States, or at least the changes in that
trade which have followed the Presi-
dents proclamation prescribing linz
itations upon expectation. This orig
inal <proclamatilon was issued July y,
to<<hecome effective on July 10, and
&as followed by sundry orders and
froRulAtions further affecting the out
ward movements of merchandise OF
vatious classes.
The list of articles for which export
licenses are required, which at first
was limited, was enlarged from time
to time, a list Of commodities issued
IN the latter part of October for
w1u1nh export licenses will be required
4 1nsluding several hundred individual
itorns or articles, while another list
WA issued in October enumerating
soveral hundred articles which might
s6iil be exported without license,
(. The restriction has been in effect
since the middle of July, and 1t Is
now possible to present figures Of the
export trade for the months of July,
August and September. Each of these
three months shows a marked fall
!. ON In exports when compared with
4 the corresponding months of the pre-
I ced1ns year. July showed a fall OF
approximately $40, 000, 900, August,
\ $1o. o0o. 900, and September, $4,000
200. Every month Of the year
rIffor 10 that in which the embargo
became effective had shown an in
crease in export every month since
the embargo has shown q decrease.
IN the six months prior to July the
exports Increased 80 per cent: in the
three months following the embargo
they decreased 10 per cent.
TO how great an extent the "enbar-
ro.s so-called, or the requirements of
EXPORT license for a large number OF
articles OF domestic production, has
\, nffected the export trade cannot be
statistical determined, though the
fact that the exports Of the six months
preceding these restrictive regulations
exceeded those of the corresponding
months of-the preceding year by an
average Of over one hundred million
dollars per month. and that the exc
ports since such regulation have
shown a fall Of about fifty million
dollars per month suggests that this
restriction has been effective.
tt il quite possible, however, that
'sff1o apparent fall-off in exports since
I,,iv Is more apparent than real" in
View OF the fact that the merchandise
now being exported by the govern
mint. when sent on government
transports, Is not included in the of
dc1al reports of merchandise export
ed. and as there are no official rec
ords of the Merchandise so sent by
eovernment, it is impossible to de-
ternn1ne how much of the apparent
fa1l-ofr In exports since July Is due
to the omission from the official ex-
port records Of merchandise now pass
ing out Of the country by this class
Of vessels.
the fali-off in exports occurs en-
tfrely In manufactures. In the
month Of July both manufacturing
material and foodstuffs showed an in
crease. and manufactures marked
I. decrease, and this was true in an
n even greater extent In the month of
n August In July manufacturing ma
fer4al exported showed an increase Of
about two million dollars and food
sft1fEs an increase of about four mill
{ lion dollars. while finished manufac-
( <srres showed IAN OF seventy million
dollars. In August manufacturing
material exported showed an increase
sof nifty million dollars, and foodstuffs
III Increase OF eighteen million dol
liars white finished manufactures
n ehdwed a fall of eighty-five million
N dollars, thus making 1t perfectly APP
\. parent that the fall-on in exports oc-
4 curs exclusively in manufactures.
3 For the month of September, in
which the total fall-off amounts to
!. nftx-nine million dollars, no details