The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-16
IMMENSE GROWTH
 IN FOREIGN TRADE
By HOLLAND

New York, September 15.-(speeial3 Although since 1914 the United States has had no trade either way with Germany and very little with Austria. neverthe-
 less we have Increased our world trade
 money value for four years to a little
 over s29.O0O,O ,OO0oo0. Germany's trade with
 us before the war was one of the most important of our commercial activities,
 and the prospects were prior to 1914, that
 this trade would be greatly increased in
 the course of few years. Germany was compelled to abandon it. not because the United States was, until 1917. one of the belligerents, but because her commerce
 across the seas was practically stopped by the blockade which the British navy maintained. Germany did export some commodities through Switzerland, and at one time there was trade between Italy and Germany in which American com modities formed a considerable part which must have been winked at, at least before Italy found herself and entered into the war in earnest
 A careful examination of the figures now reported telling of the magnitude ot
 our foreign commerce since the war be- gan furnishes many interesting and im- portant facts. First of all is the enor- nous increase in our exports of manu- factured commodities The money value of these exports for the first four years of the war is now reported to be In excess slightly of the money value of our exports of manufactured products
 as these were between 1897 and 1914. Ty.x.A large exporter of manufactured commod- ities until after the organization of the United States Steel corporation, the In- ternational Harvester company and the great corporations occupied with the
 manufacture of electric apparatus. The statesmen and men of finance of Europe were persuaded that while the United States would maintain and perhaps in crease the prestige she had gained as | an exporter of food products, she could not hope to compete except in a limited way with Great Britain or with Germany so far as the exports of manufactured commodities was concerned.
 Early in the present century man who was of high financial authority in London visited the United States and, upon his return to London he told his | friends and associates that they were blind to the advance which the United States was making in the export of man. ufactures. He went so far as to say that 1t was possible that within few years American exports of manufactured commodities would in money value sur pass that of our exports of food. That change in our foreign trade was observed soon after the beginning of the first ad- ministration of President Wilson. Now we are exporting manufactured com modities greater in money value than our exports of food.
 WILL THIS CONTINUE?
 Of course much of this increase in our exports of manufactured articles is due to the demands made by our allies and by the Latin-American nations for manufactures which before the war they did not buy in. the United States; and 1t Is also due to our manufacture of munitions of war. It is now admitted that had the United States refused to sell war commodities to any of the bel ligerents after the war began, Germany would have been victorious in the first year of the war. Great Britain and France did not possess the facilities or the raw material which were necessary for the manufacture of the munitions of war Therefore. these nations turned to the United States and the sudden jump in the money value of our exports, explained partially by high prices. no doubt, is to be attributed to the emer- gency demands of Great Britain, France and Italy.
 It Is blieved that if adequate prepara- tions are made for maintaining our in- ternational commerce after the war is over we can retain the prestige we