The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-08-03
FOREIGN TRADE
MUCH INCREASED
DURING YEAR

It is now possible, with the COM
plete figures of the total trade of the
United States in the fiscal year 1920,
to compare the trade of the first fiscal
year following the war with that of
the last fiscal year preceding the war.
These figures, says The National City
Bank of New York. which presents
this analysis of the foreign trade at
the present time, compared with that
of the fiscal year 1914, which ended
just before the outbreak of the war,
indicate tremendous gains, though it
must be remembered that in nearly
all cases a considerable part of the
gains are due to higher prices. In
practically all instances, however,
there is a large advance in the guam
tity of the merchandise both import
ed and exported.
Imports as a whole, adds the banks
statement, which stand at 1928 ,00O,-
900 for the fiscal year 1920, show an
increase of TT per cent. over the ifs
cal year 1914, when they were ST.
S94,000,000. Exports, which stand al
SSH, 100000, show an increase OF
243 per cent. over 1914. when they
stood at S2,365, 100000. OF domestic
exports only, excluding the foreign
merchandise re-xported. the total
stands in 1920 at $3.50, 900, 900, or
241 over 1914 when the total was
S2,330, 100000. Re-exportation of
foreign merchandise shows large
gains, the total for 1920 standing at
s160,o00,0o0 against s35.000,00O in
1914.
Manufa curing material showed the
largest increase on the import side,
and food and nlanufa ctures the big
increases On the export side The
value of the raw manufacturing ma
terial imported jumped from $634.-
| 900 in 1904 to s2,16O, 100000 in 1920,
| an increase of PAL per cent. This in
crease occurred in many lines of ar
ticles, but especially in India rubber,
raw silk, raw cotton, wool, hides and
| skins, and tin Of the 10 principal
manufacturing articles imported of a
| character which can be reduced to a
! uniform basis of pounds, namely, cot
| ton, wool. silk, fibers. rubber, hides
| and skins, tobacco, tin copper and
| gums, the quantity measured in
! pounds, increased a little less than IS 0
| per cent. when comparing the 1920
| imports with those of 1914, while the
/ total value of the same articles in
creased to a much greater extent.
| These increases in manufacturing
! material. are in many cases extremely
| large, and illustrative OF the great ac-
! tivity of the manufa curing industries
| of the country. Raw cotton, for ex-
| ample, imported in 1920 shows a
| total of slightly more than $40 million
| pounds against 123 million pounds in
| 1914; wool shows a total for 1920 OF
| approximately 42O million pounds
| against 23S million in 1914, and raw
| silk despite the very high prices of
1920, which are three times as much
as in 1914, aggregated in the fiscal
| year 1920, As million pounds, stated
! in round terms, against 20 million IN
| 1914, while the unexampled demand
| of the people of the United States for
silk. and silk goods are evidenced by
| the fact that the sum paid for raw
silk imported in 1920 was in round
terms s43o,o00,o00 against seS,o00.-
900 in 1914.
Of India rubber the increase in
| quantity was qua1ly startling the
total quantity imported in the hscal
year 1920 having been considerably
over 500 million pounds against 49,
million in 1914, this increase being
largely due to the demand for use IT
conjunction with the automobile in
dustry, though it is proper to add thai
exports of rubber manufactures grew
from $12.00O,OO0 in 1914 to approx
mate1y $7OOO0,0O0 in 1920. Hides
and skins also show a tremendous in
crease in our demand upon foreign
countries, the quantity imported II
the fiscal year 1920 amounting tt
about 500 million pounds against only
SCI million in 1914, while the value OF