UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



825 



porting nations. In less than twenty years the 

 balance with Great Britain has so changed that, 

 instead of importing 1,500,000 tons from that 

 country, the United States in 1898 exported more 

 than 1,000,000 tons to the United Kingdom. 

 Exports are also sent to other European coun- 

 tries to Russia in large quantities on account of 

 the great railroad development there to Asia, 

 and to Africa. The Siberian Railroad in its east- 

 ern portion has been built of American material 

 and equipped with American rolling stock. The 

 cost of Bessemer pig at Pittsburg has in this 

 period been reduced by half, and steel rails, for- 

 merly imported at $50 a ton, were quoted for 

 export in 1898 at $15 to $17 a ton. 



The estimated number of sheep in the United 

 States on Jan. 1, 1899, was 39,114,453, valued at 

 $107,698,000. The estimated wool clip in 1899 

 was 272,191,330 pounds; imports, 76,736,209 

 pounds; exports, 14,095,335 pounds, of which 

 only 1,683,419 pounds were domestic wool; re- 

 tained for home consumption, 334,832,204 pounds. 

 A third or more of the butter and cheese of the 

 world is made in the United States. The exports 

 of butter in 1899 were 20,247,997 pounds; of 

 cheese, 38,198,753 pounds. The number of hogs 

 packed in 1899 was 29,791,000. The exports of 

 bacon in 1898 were 650,108,933 pounds; of hams, 

 200,185,861 pounds; of pork, 100,357,363 pounds; 

 of lard, 709,341,015 pounds; total, 1,659,996,202 

 pounds, of which 899,520,708 pounds went to 

 Great Britain, 305,950,114 pounds to Germany, 

 102,421,995 pounds to Belgium, 96,331,113 pounds 

 to the Netherlands, 42,785,483 pounds to Canada, 

 34,676,437 pounds to Cuba, 24,973,722 pounds to 

 France, 12,772,738 pounds to the British West 

 Indies, 12,211,972 pounds to Denmark, 11,781,097 

 pounds to Sweden and Norway, 10,922,596 pounds 

 to Hayti, 8,264,637 pounds to Porto Rico, and 

 smaller quantities to Venezuela, Mexico, New- 

 foundland, British Guiana, Columbia, Brazil, and 

 other countries. 



The extraordinary exportation, only slightly 

 less in value than in 1898, when they were swelled 

 by high prices for grain and a strong demand, 

 consequent upon short crops in Europe, together 

 with a moderate increase in imports, make the 

 total volume of trade in the year ending June 30, 

 1899, the largest in the history of American com- 

 merce. The foreign trade has more than doubled 

 since 1870, the imports for 1899 being 60 per cent., 

 the exports 212 per cent, greater. The value of 

 imports per capita of the population has declined 

 in this period from $11.30 to $9.15, while the 

 exports per capita have grown from $10.19 to 

 $16.12, a decrease on the one side of 20 per cent., 

 an increase on the other of 58 per cent. There 

 has been but little increase in the importation of 

 manufactured articles, although population has 

 doubled, nearly the whole increase being in ar- 

 ticles for use in manufacturing and in foodstuffs 

 that can not be produced in the United States. 

 The imports of woolen goods and of manufactures 

 of iron and steel are much smaller than thirty 

 years ago, and the increase in cotton and silk 

 stuffs, fibers, leather, and earthenware has been 

 far below the increase in population. The ex- 

 ports of manufactures in 1899 were not only 

 larger by $48,000,000 than in any previous year, 

 but formed a far larger percentage of the total 

 exports than ever before. The exports of manu- 

 factures exceeded imports in 1898 for the first 

 time, the excess being $60,706,000, and in 1899 

 this excess grew to $76,334,000. The increase of 

 commerce with the tropical islands that had come 

 into closer relations with the United States was 

 very marked, indicating that these islands can 



exchange for products of American growth and 

 manufacture a considerable part of the tropical 

 agricultural produce that forms a large propor- 

 tion of the natural and necessary imports of the 

 United States. The total value of merchandise 

 imports into the United States in the year endin" 

 June 30, 1899, was $697,148,489. The total value 

 of domestic exports was $1,203,93 1,222; of for- 

 eign exports, $23,092,080; total exports, $1,227,- 

 023,302, against $1,231,482,330 in 18!)8, $l,Of>0,W)3,- 

 556 in 1897, $882,606,938 in 189(1, and $807,538,105 

 in 1895. The total imports and exports were 

 $1,924,171,791 in 1899, $1,847,53], 1)84 in 1898, $1,- 

 815,723,968 in 1897, $1,662,331,612 in 189(> and 

 $1,539,508,130 in 1895. In 1890 the volume of 

 trade was $1,647,139,093; in 1885, $1,319,717,084; 

 in 1880, $1,503,593,404; in 1875, $1,04(1,448,147; in 

 1870, $828,730,176. The excess of merchandise ex- 

 ports over imports in 1899 was $529,874,813; the 

 excess was $615,432,676 in 1898, $286,263,144 in 

 1897, and $102,882,264 in 1896. 



The values of the articles imported in the year 

 ending June 30, 1899, are given in the following 

 table : 



Value. 



Agricultural implements $4,852: 



Animals : 



Cattle, free 95,353 



Cattle, dutiable 2,225,009 



Horses, free 296,252 



Horses, dutiable 254,798 



Sheep, free 46,132 



Sheep, dutiable 1,153.949 



All other, including fowls 81,559> 



Antimony ore 40,362 



Antimony, regulus and metal 179,37a 



Articles made in the United States returned. . . . 3,541,321 



Articles specially imported 681 ,216 



Art works, the production of Americans 418,857 



Art works, other 2,040,121 



Asbestus 296.388 



Asphaltum, crude 234,420 



Bark, hemlock 62,504 



Beads and bead ornaments 1,035,088 



Heeswax 109,957 



Beverages: 



Ginger ale 268,383 



All other 86,698 



Bismuth 204,473 



Blacking 58,880 



Bolting cloths 207,480 



Bones, horns, and hoofs 704,959 



Bones and horns, manufactures of 181,718 



Books, maps, engravings, etc., free 1,689,892 



Books, maps, engravings, dutiable 1,393,509 



Brass, and manufactures of 55,185 



Breadstuff s : 



Barley 53,696 



Corn 1,618 



Oats 4,432 



Oatmeal 17,740 



Rye 982 



Wheat 1,407,625 



Wheat flour 4,057 



All other, and preparations of , free 203,615 



All other, and preparations, dutiable 851,000 



Bristles, crude 



Bristles, sorted or prepared 



Brushes 



Burrstones 



Buttons 451, 



Cement 



Chalk 



Chemicals, drugs, and dyes: 



Alizarin and alizarin colors < 00,485 



Argols, or wine lees ^SJwX 



Barks, cinchona, etc 346,576 



Coal-tar colors and dyes 8T,5CS 



Cochineal *S'?S 



T ofwood 54o,*V4 



o?herdyewoods:::::: 222,967 



Extracts of dyewoods 



Glycerin 1 



Gum arabic 



Camphor, crude 322-100 



Copal, cowrie, and dammar ll844 ' 



Gambier, or terra japonica 



Gum chicle 



Shellac 



All other gums 



Indigo..... H8KS 



Licorice root HM? 



Lime, chloride of 1,159,271 



