﻿744 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  been 
  the 
  chief 
  cause 
  of 
  the 
  decline. 
  Indeed, 
  in 
  summing 
  up 
  the 
  

   whole 
  matter, 
  the 
  Canal 
  Improvement 
  Committee 
  of 
  1903 
  states 
  

   that 
  year 
  after 
  year 
  the 
  port 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  has 
  been 
  steadily 
  

   losing 
  its 
  proper 
  share 
  of 
  the 
  export 
  and 
  import 
  traffic 
  of 
  the 
  

   country, 
  and 
  this 
  committee 
  further 
  states 
  that 
  New 
  York's 
  

   growth 
  in 
  manufacturing 
  and 
  industrial 
  enterprises 
  has 
  not 
  

   kept 
  pace 
  with 
  isister 
  states 
  in 
  proportion 
  to 
  natural 
  advantages. 
  

   In 
  regard 
  to 
  this 
  latter 
  proposition, 
  the 
  statistics 
  cited 
  on 
  the 
  

   preceding 
  pages 
  of 
  this 
  report 
  show 
  that 
  irrational 
  and 
  non-pro- 
  

   gressive 
  laws 
  are 
  the 
  chief 
  causes 
  of 
  the 
  failure 
  of 
  New 
  York 
  State 
  

   to 
  increase 
  in 
  manufacturing 
  and 
  industrial 
  enterprises 
  in 
  the 
  

   same 
  ratio 
  as 
  sister 
  states. 
  Moreover, 
  the 
  proposition 
  that 
  the 
  

   foreign 
  commerce 
  of 
  New 
  Y^ork 
  is 
  falling 
  away 
  may 
  also 
  be 
  open 
  

   to 
  question, 
  and 
  the 
  following 
  from 
  the 
  Report 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  

   Statistics 
  for 
  1903 
  may 
  serve 
  to 
  show 
  the 
  contrary. 
  In 
  the 
  fiscal 
  

   year 
  ended 
  June 
  30, 
  1903, 
  exports 
  from 
  New 
  Y^ork 
  amounted 
  to 
  

   1505,000,000, 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  |158,000,000 
  over 
  1893. 
  A 
  compari- 
  

   son 
  of 
  seven 
  Atlantic 
  and 
  Gulf 
  seaports 
  stands 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  

  

  Exports 
  in 
  1893 
  Exports 
  in 
  1903 
  Increase 
  

  

  New 
  York 
  f 
  347,000,000 
  #505,000,000 
  f 
  158,000,000 
  

  

  Boston 
  85,000,000 
  88,000,000 
  3,000,000 
  

  

  Philadelphia 
  49,000,000 
  73,000,000 
  24,000,000 
  

  

  Baltimore 
  71,000,000 
  81,000,000 
  10,000,000 
  

  

  Savannah 
  20,000,000 
  54,000,000 
  34,000,000 
  

  

  New 
  Orleans 
  77,000,000 
  149,000,000 
  72,000,000 
  

  

  Galveston 
  37,000,000 
  104,000,000 
  67,000.000 
  

  

  In 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  increase 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  southern 
  ports, 
  New 
  

   Orleans 
  and 
  Galveston, 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  largely 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  high 
  price 
  of 
  

   cotton 
  in 
  1903. 
  It 
  is 
  evident 
  that 
  this 
  staple, 
  which 
  is 
  exten- 
  

   sively 
  grown 
  in 
  Texas 
  and 
  Louisiana, 
  will 
  naturally 
  go 
  to 
  nearby 
  

   ports 
  and 
  will 
  not 
  in 
  any 
  case 
  come 
  to 
  New 
  York. 
  

  

  Moreover, 
  New 
  York 
  is 
  ahead 
  in 
  imports. 
  In 
  1903 
  her 
  trade 
  

   amounted 
  to 
  f 
  618,000,000, 
  while 
  the 
  imports 
  at 
  all 
  the 
  other 
  

   Atlantic 
  ports 
  combined 
  was 
  only 
  $203,000,000, 
  an 
  excess 
  at 
  

   New 
  York 
  of 
  f 
  415,000,000 
  over 
  all 
  the 
  other 
  ports. 
  

  

  This 
  matter 
  of 
  the 
  decline 
  of 
  New 
  York's 
  commerce 
  having 
  

   become 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  considerable 
  discussion, 
  the 
  Legislature 
  

   passed 
  an 
  act, 
  chapter 
  644 
  of 
  the 
  laws 
  of 
  1898, 
  authorizing 
  the 
  

  

  