The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1919-07-25
ENORMOUS INCREASE IN
OUR TRADE WITH JAPAN
Her Cheap Labor a Menace to the
American Manufacturer and
Laboring Men

That Japan has been buying raw
American cotton and driving America
out of the Oriental markets for cot
ton goods is one of the facts set forth
in a statement sent out from Wash
ingon, D. c., recently.
Buying of large supplies of spell
ter, tungsten, rails and ship plates by
japanese have been reported and one
case is cited in which the Japanese
purchased about 10000 tons of cop
per. The rails are to be used in some
of Japan's concessions; the ship
plates are for the construction of
freighters which the Japanese have
under way. The copper purchase was
shrewd and speedy move on their
part to stock up before the demands
of the belligerents, following the re-
sumption of normal business condi-
tions, became too persistent. The fact
is Japan has not lost an opportunity
to entrench herself in the trade and
commercial field since the opening
gun in the great war was fired, and
her people have had the consistent
support of their government in this
work.
"Japan's total trade rose from
$3.50, 100000 in 1918 to $1,319,000,0O0
in 1917-almost doubled in four years.
In 1913 her imports exceeded her eX-
ports by $48,5O0,O0O. In 1917 her eX-
ports exceeded her imports by $284,-
100000. To quote from some statis-
tics of our tariff commission on the
subject:
The dislocation of trade incident
to the war gave the Japanese an eX-
ceptional opportunity to supply var
ious countries with commodities which
had formerly come from Europe. This
opportunity was effectively grasped
and enormous increases were regis
tered in the exports of manufactured
goods to other Oriental countries, as
well as in the exports of manufac-
factured goods and raw silk to the
Occident, particularly to the United
States. The more striking gains were
in exports to China, in 1913, $780,
900 and in 1917 $31S,380,000; in the
exports to British India, in 1918, $l4,-
$4,000 and in 1917, $60,682,000; in
the exports to Australia, in 1913, $4,-
$4,000 and in 1917, $14,644, 900; and
in exports to the United States, in
1918, $92, 2,236,OOO and in 1917, $685.
26S,O0O.'
During the fiscal year ended June
30th, last, our imports from Japan
were around the S3OO,OOOo00 mark,
and over three times what they
amounted to before the war.
Zone interesting phase of our trade
with Japan shows up in the official
figures for the ten months of the fis-
cal year 1919, ended April 30th, last,
wherein Japan is seen to be, next to
lIle Oullcu hlilShOlllf inc SAthANst
purchaser of American raw Gotten,
her total for the ten months being
valued at nearly $1l0,OO0,0OO, as com
pared with $24,OOO,OOO worth for the
similar period of 1913, or, expressed
in pounds, 175,000,000 in the 1913 and
337 100000 in. the 1919 period. With
this cotton she has been rapidly driv-
ing US out of the Oriental markets
for cotton goods. Her sales to us Of
silk wearing apparel have nearly
doubled in value, and our imports of
Japanese silk fabrics woven in the
piece have been multiplied by six.
Naturally these matters are Civ
ing the ways and means committee
of the house something for serious
consideration in the preliminary work
of drafting a tariff bill which will
undoubtedly have to await the sigma
ture of republican president some
time after March 4, 1921"