The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-07-18
U, s, TRADE WITH NEUTRAL NATIONS
 SMALL IN 1918
Our Trade With tho European
 Neutrals, 1914-f91S.

Neutrals, 1914-191s.
 Trade of the United States with the neutral countries of Europe in the fiscal year 1918 is the smallest in many years while that of 1917 was the largest in the history of our com merce.
 This term, the European Neutrals' includes of course the six countries, Denmark, Norway, Sweden. Neither lands, Spain and Switzerland. A by The National City Bank of New York shows that the exports to the six European Neutrals, above named, aggregated in the fiscal year 1918 about $125, 900, against $4OO,O00,0Oo in 1917, $32O O0O,O0 in 1916, $3SO,O00, 900 in 1915, and $1S3,0OO,OOO in the fiscal year 1914, all of which preceded the war.
 Breadstuffs, meats, fruits, food oils, oil cake, cotton, tobacco, petroleum, gasoline, copper, iron leather and naval stores were normally our chief exports to the new neutral countries of Europe. As all of these countries with single exception. border upon or are commercially adjacent to Ger many, it goes without saying that the exports to them in the articles which would be required by Germany for military purposes, or otherwise, in creased rapidly after the opening of the war and continued to increase until the entrance of the United States into the war rendered necessary the restriction of the movement of this class of material to any and all coun- tries from which it might Teak" into Germany or any of the Central Pow CTS.
 Exports to the Scandinavian coun- tries alone increased from 40 million dollars in the fiscal year 1914 to practically $2O0,OO0,OO0 in 1915, and those to the entire neutral group, above named, from $183,000,000 in 1914 to $384OOO, 900 in 1915 and $393, 3,O00,000 in 1917. With the en- trance of the United States into the war in April, 1917, conditions instant ly changed, and the exports to the Neutrals, wbtch had been $325, ,0O0,- 900 in the ten months ending with April, 1917, dropped to $108,00O,O0 in the ten months ending with April, 1918, or just one-third that of the corresponding period of the precedins year while for the single month of May, 1918, the total to the six neu- trals was but about S8, 900, 900 against about $32,O00,00O in April of the preceding year.
 These reductions in our exports to the neutral countries of Europe occur chiefly in the class of material likely to be wanted by the Central Powers. and this of course would be foodstuffs and material available for the battle field, or the production of such ma terial. Of wheat, for example, the exports to the neutrals for the ten months of the fiscal year, 1916, were over 2S,000,000 bushels in the same months of 1917, 22,00O,00 and in the corresponding months of 1918 only 4,500,00 bushels. Corn to Denmark and Netherlands alone was in the 1917 period over 12,00O,000 bushels and in the 1918 period less than l. 000,000. Dried apricots to Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden in the ten months of the fiscal year, 1916, were g 500,o00 pounds, and in the cores bonding months of 1918, only 1000 pounds. Prunes in the 1916 period were over 16,OOO,OOO pounds, and in the 1918 period only 100000 pounds. Sole leather to the entire neutral group in the ten months of the fiscal year 1916 was over $10,00O,000 in value and in the 1918 period less than s1,Ooo.OOO. Of pickled beef the total to the neutral group was in 1916 over 5000, 900 pounds and in the 1916 pe- riod nothing.
 Cottonseed and linseed meal have always been important articles of our exports to the northern group of neu- trals including the Netherlands and the Scandinavian States, where they are much used for cattle food. The cottonseed meal and cake exported to the Netherlands and the Scandi- navian States in the ten months of the fiscal year 1916 was S31, 1,000 000 pounds, in the corresponding months of 1917, ITS, 8,O0O,0o0 pounds and in the same months of the fiscal year 1918 only 3,500,oo0 pounds. Linseed oi cake and meal also showed a similar fall-off, from S3,000,000 pounds 1T 1916 to 5,OO0,Ooo in 1918.
 All of the oils going to the neutra countries are, of course much reduc
 ed since our entrance into the war Illuminating oil dropped from 106,
 000,o00 gallons in 1916, and 166, 100000 in 1917, to less than 5000,
 O0o in 1918; lubricating oil from 18,
 600, 900 gallons to 1,000,VVu gallons
 napthas from 5000 900 gallons to les
 than 1000, 900; cottoEseed oil iron | 79,000,000 pounds to less than 1000. 900 pounds, and resin from 144,00t
 barrels in the 1916 period to nothing in 1918.