328 



FINANCES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



$6,786,669. The total gold value of exports 

 of domestic merchandise from the United States 

 Las increased from $269,389,900 in 1868 to 

 $680,709,268 in 1878 an increase of 153 per 

 cent. 



With one or two unimportant exceptions, 

 the United States stands alone among the com- 

 mercial nations of the globe with respect to 

 the excess of exports over imports. The in- 

 crease in the exports consisted mainly of bread- 

 stuffs, provisions, agricultural implements, iron 

 and manufactures of iron, copper and manu- 

 factures of copper, manufactures of cotton, 

 leather and manufactures of leather, and pe- 

 troleum. The exportation of the manufactured 

 articles referred to increased from $14,287,486 

 in 1868 to $37,250,882 in 1878. (See COM- 

 MERCE.) Many highly wrought products of 

 American manufacture previously exported in 

 very small quantities, or not at all, now find 

 profitable markets in foreign countries; and 

 certain of these commodities are now being 

 exported to countries from which a few years 

 ago they were largely imported into the United 

 States. Many branches of industry are now 

 feeling the quicken-ing influences of a foreign 

 demand, and the possibility of successfully com- 

 peting in the markets of the world with some 

 of the older commercial and manufacturing 

 rivals is a source of the highest encouragement 

 and of confidence in the future. Of the exports 

 of domestic merchandise during the year, the 



products of agriculture comprised '77 per cent., 

 and exceeded the entire value of the imports 

 of all classes of merchandise from foreign coun- 

 tries. The exports of these products have risen 

 from $368,852,972 in 1872 to $536,039,951 in 

 1878, and the capacity for their further increase 

 would seem to be limited only by the demand 

 therefor. 



In connection with the increase of the ex- 

 ports is the decrease of imports of merchan- 

 dise from $642,136,210 for 1873, when they 

 reached their maximum, to $437,051,532 for 

 1878 a decrease of $205,084,678. This de- 

 crease of imports consisted chiefly of manu- 

 factures of cotton, flax, and silk, of wool and 

 manufactures of wool, and of iron and steel 

 and manufactures thereof. Of the latter, the 

 importation of railroad bars of iron and steel 

 decreased from 595,321 tons in 1872 to 12 tons 

 in 1878 ; but their product in the United States 

 increased from 2,958,141 tons during the five 

 years from 1867 to 1871 to 4,056,340 tons du- 

 ring the five years from 1873 to 1877; and 

 from this product has been supplied the demand 

 for such bars necessary for the extension and 

 renewal of railroads, of which there are in 

 operation 79,000 miles. (See COMMERCE.) 



The receipts from the several sources of tax- 

 ation under the internal revenue laws for the 

 fiscal years ended, respectively, June 30, 1877, 

 and June 30, 1878, are shown in the following 

 tabular statement : 



The number of collectors is 126. 

 The total tonnage of vessels of the United 

 States is 4,212,764 tons, a decrease of 29,836 



tons from that of the fiscal year ended June 

 30, 1877. The following table exhibits the 

 tonnage for the last two years : 



The decrease in the total tonnage is exhibited in the following table : 



f f IT 1 ! , built is about 83 per the excess of the losses of tonnage by wrecks, 

 xcess of that of last year. By refer- sales to foreigners, and other causes, over the 

 ence to the foregoing table, it will be seen that 



' Total increase, $647,660.77. 



