The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-23

III LIS SohStcsS Huessdke fTeSlueut
WILSON speaks of our imports as IL,
because of the war, they were tri-
ding matter. They seem also to be
regarded by various members Of the
House and Of the Senate as negligl-
BILE. Without knowing anything about
1t, pretty nearly everybody. In truth,
takes 1t for granted that the war
annihilated our import business As
a matter Of fact it Is huge.
With Germany and Austria shut
out of our markets, with France hav-
ing little to sell to us or to anybody,
with the United Kingdom devoting
the great part of its exportable prod
ucts to the Allies and their Deepen
dencies, nevertheless 1t Ia a fact, a
marvellous fact, that ever since Eu.
rope went to war, now nearly five
years ago, and ever since we our
selves went into 1t, now two years
ago, our imports have climbed, and
climbed high.
1t happens that at the very moment
President WILSON was addressing
Congress on the subject our foreign
trade figures for April were given out.
By whatever chance, the figures Of
this year at $273. 5000 were some
100000 lower than for April year
ago. But they were $70,OO0,O0O
higher than for April. 1917, just when
we were going to war. They were
S55,O00,0O0 higher than the year be-
fore we went to war. They were
S100,00o,0O0 higher than in April of
1914, the year Europe went to war.
They were s13O.0O0,UOO higher than
in the year before Europe went to
war. They were $15O,OOO, 900 higher
than exactly ten years ago. with no
war cloud visible and mono suspected
in the sky OF civilization. fhey were
not far from 5000, 100000 higher than
in 1908, with total for April in that
year of a mere SST, 600, 900.
With the United Kingdom, France
and Italy still virtually out Of our
markets, with Germany, Austria and
Russia still out, with much of the
Old World still hampered by shipping
conditions from getting into our mar
kets as freely as they seek to get in,
the great big truth Is that our i'm
ports in April of this year were 1--WE
times what they were only twenty
years ago.
The April showing, moreover, was
not n mere accident of statistics. The
ten months ending with April tell the
same story OF swift and enormous
increase year after year. For the ten
months of the fiscal year ending with
April, 1917, just when we were going
into the war. our imports were two
billions of dollars. For the CORE
spending period ending with April Of
this year they were approximately
two and half billions of dollars. For
the ten months of the fiscal year end
Ing with April, 1914, Just before the
war flame burst over Europe, our i'm
ports were little more than a billion
and half of dollars--nearly a billion
dollars lower than this year.
Ten years ago the first ten months
Of the fiscal year of 1909 showed i'm.
ports slightly In excess Of a billion
dollars, as compared with this years.
two and half billions.
Now, 1t Is to be kept In mind that
in the case of our imports as in the
case Of our exports, part of this In
crease is expressed merely in dollar
marks, not tons of steel. bushels Of
grain, yards of textiles. &c. Exactly
as foreigners, for example, have had
to pay W. billion dollars for 400.
OO0,0 bushels Of " heat where, at the
pre-war prices, II would have been
somewhere around four hundred mill
ion dollars, so we have had to nay
more for given number of tons Of
rubber. or sacks of coffee, or bales of
silk. or whatever 1t happened to be-
But neither with exports nor with i'm
ports have the higher prices accounted
for anything like the increase Of our