Evening star., 1923-11-04
ENORMOUS IMPORTS VITAL
TOU.S. INDUSTRIAL SUCCESS
National Foreign Trade Council Survey
Reveals Dependence of Nation on
Worlds Raw Materials.

nnance the purchase or ado1tlonal
even maintain his establishment.
The transportation of these i'm
ports Is an interesting side light on
the benefits derived from a large
trade Of this class. Last year. for
| instance, American ships carried 1876
per cent Of imports to this country;
Imports valued at more than $500,
100000 Inbound freight is essential
F, American merchant marine, and a
successful merchant marine benefits
directly that vast American industry
| shapes and plates. which build and re-
! pairs ships and which furnishes them
| with marine engines and other equip
] ment. From the seaports and from
New Mexico the railroads carried
| imported products. adding to their
business. calling for more equipment
| A vivid illustration Of the depend
ence Of American industries on i'm
ports is seen In the steel industry. pop
| ularly regarded, more than any other
asgs tds ths ,ndTstrV as
whole, the. foreign trade council
| points out. twenty separate imported
| items. representing sixty countries.
Certain types Of steel or in their
| manufacture. Several of them are
| either not to be found in this coun-
| try. like tin, or are produced In
Kansse Ranaaiam aed nieKe as mail All
American steel manufacturers. it is
pointed out. may not be SO dependent
on foreign importations. and. while
| continue eS for an IN indefinite period
without drawing on imports from
abroad, the steel industry as a whole
! outside supplies are necessary in the
| maintenance Of operations steadily.
| continuously. at a reasonable capac-
/ ity and in fully rounded out lines.
| Tin Imports vital.
| One great branch of the steel In
eustry-the manufacture of tinplate-
is virtually dependent on imports.
| Tin is used in countless forms, its
manufacture employing thousands of
| workers. Yet in 1921 the United
| States produced only four tons. In
! ported something like 10000 tons.
! Census reports show that the tin in
! dustry In this country alone was di-
vided between twenty-four establish
ments, employing 3,122 wage earncrs
and representing invested capital oi
| $34.315, ,066.
/, Inseparably interlocked with the
steel industry is the great machine
! industry which manufactures the au-
| tomobile, agricultural implements,
| foundry and machine tools. hardware.
building construction materials and
| countless other products, all depend
| ent upon steel. Take the automobile
! industry alone. Into their manufac-
| ture goes foreign and domestic alumi-
mum. imported cattle hides for leather
| cushions, automobile tires and in
numerable alloy steels: invariably re-
| Quiring the use of imported ores.
| ing automobiles in this country. en-
ploying 69.119 persons. The value Of
/ the machines manufactured in 1921
| was $408.o16.532.
Many Other Imports.
Reams could be written. and reams
| have been written. about the depend
ence OF agriculture, with all the
ramif1cations of that great industry.
upon imported nitrates for fertilizer.
| But agriculture does not stand alone.
The basis of the pottery industry Is
| kaolin clay, and the production of
kaolin clay, and the production here of
! iron plumbing fixtures Americans use
| assorted pig-iron. imported in large
| quantities. In the manufacture Of
| amber ware for packers and drug
gists, foreign sources are drawn upon
, to an important degree. The rubber
I industry, with its scores of branches.
ply. The textile industries are de-
| pendent to a large degree on i'm
ports Silk manufacturers draw their
| entire supply from foreign countries,
/ while the wool industry draws from
IS to 80 per cent of its raw material
! from other countries. Cotton. the
third branch of the textile industry,
draws virtually all Of its raw ma
( terial from this country. Crude drugs
and herbs are purchased by Ameri-
can manufacturers from all parts OF
the world, few of which grow, or can
be produced In the United States.
Some OF the replies to the question
naire submitted by the foreign trade
council summarize commodities for
which manufacturers are dependent
upon their imports as follows: As
phalt, candles. chewing gum. tncan-
descent gas Inantles, insulated wire
and cables. and precious stones.