Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-01-03
Islands Buy More Goods From
United States Than All South
America.
BUSINESS CAN Be EXPANDED
Uncle Sans Experts Say Manufactur.
ers Do Not Realize the lmpor-
lance of This Great
Market.

The principal function of the bureau
OF foreign and domestic commerce of
Uncle Sans department Of commerce
is to help the business man and manu-
facturer of the United States obtain
data of special interest to himself and
to help increase the export trade of
the country. In this connection, the
bureau maintains a number of high
class special agents. whose duty it is
to visit foreign countries and obtain
information of special interest to the
different trades.
"Ope of the most interesting studies
that have recently been made is that
of the West Indies as an export field.
1t is interesting to note in this con-
nection that in the islands of the West
Indian archipelago there are approXi-
mately 100000 people to be furnished
with the necessities of life. Manufac-
turing in these islands is virtually neg
ligible. Their industries are concerned
with the exploitation of agricultural,
found by those making the study that
vast quantities of manufactured goods
must be bought from the great ex-
porting nations of the world. AS a
source of supply for these require
ments the United States occupies a
peculiarly favorable position.
Figures Show Extent of Trade.
| Many manufacturers of this country
10 not realize fully the Importance of
the West Indies as a market for Amer
| lean goods. it is claimed, and this is
one Of the reasons that the investiga-
ton was made by the bureau. The po-
sition oe the archipelago in the foreign
trade of the United States may be best
illustrated by comparisons with other
fields. In the past fiscal year of 1915
| This country sold to the West Indies,
Including Porto Rico, more goods than
the entire continent of South America,
the figures being $191.195,791 and
SIT, G2S.G11, respectively. In that year
Cuba alone bought from the United
States more than Argentina, Brazil,
Bolivia, Ecuador. Uruguay and Para
quay together. The-Mest Indies took
nearly eleven times as much as the
J Central American republics of Guate-
mala, Honduras, Salvador Nicaragua
land Costa Rica combined.
Experts of the bureau say that China
is rightly regarded as one of the prin-
cipal fields for commercial effort by
American exporters; vet in the fiscal
year 1916 the great Oriental republic,
with its 400000,n00 people purchased
from the United States less than one
seventh as much as was taken by the
islands of the Antilles. The West In
dies, in fact, took considerably more
than two-thirds as much as the entire
continent of Asia and all the islands
of the East Indies
Field Can Be Developed.
ii can, therefore, be seen, the ex-
perts declare, that the West Indian
islands constitute an export field of
genuine Importance to the people of
the United States; field, moreover,
that is susceptible of great develop
ment. Hayti and the Dominican repub-
lie, for example, are countries rich in
agricultural and other possibilities,
needing only stable conditions and the
,udicious utilization 81 capital to pro-
duce, many artiGW are vaserly
a -1,A tn, thn 4 z