FOREIGN COMMERCE. The value of our imports of merchandise during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1896, was $779,724,674; of gold, $33,525,065; of silver, $28,777,186. The value of our exports of merchandise was $882,606,938; of gold, $112,409,947; of silver, $60,541,670. Our total exports and imports of merchandise amounted in value to $1,662,331,612, as against $1,539,508,130 during 1895, and $1,547,135,194 during 1894. The excess of exports over imports of merchandise amounted in value to $102,882,264, as compared with $75,568,200 in 1895. The total value of exports of domestic merchandise during 1896, was $863,200,487, as against $793,392,599 in 1895, and $869,204,937 in 1894. Our products of domestic manufacture constituted 26.48 per cent. of our total exports of domestic merchandise in 1896, as against 23.14 per cent. in 1895 and 21.14 per cent. in 1894. The value of our exports of oil, mineral and refined, during 1896 amounted to $56,261,567, which was larger than that of any other article exported of the products of domestic manufacture that year. The next article in order of our domestic manufactures exported was iron and steel and manufactures of, not including iron ore, the value of which was $41,160,877; and then follow in the same order leather and manufactures of, copper and manufactures of, not including copper ore, and cotton and manufactures of. The value of our exports of the products of domestic manufacture amounted to $228,571,178, as against $183,595,743 in 1895, $183,728,808 in 1894 and $158,023,118 in 1893. Our products of agriculture exported, amounted in value to $569,879,297, as against $553,210,026 in 1895 and $628,363,038 in 1894. The value of breadstuffs exported was $141,356.993 as against $114,604,780 in 1895, and $166,777,229 in 1894. The value of manufactured cotton exported was $190,056,460, as against $204,900,990 in 1895 and $210,869,289 in 1894. Our exports of wheat during the last fiscal year aggregated 60,650,080 bushels and amounted in value to $39,709,868, as against 76,102,704 bushels valued at $13,805,663 exported in 1895. Our exports of wheat flour during the year aggregated 14,620,864 barrels and amounted in value to $52,025,217, as compared with 15,268,892 barrels and $51,651,928, respectively, in 1895. Of the volume of wheat exported during the fiscal year 1896, 43,648,077 bushels were shipped to the United Kingdom, 3,343,615 bushels to Belgium, 3,062,920 bushels to Portugal, 3,537,243 bushels to the Dominion of Canada. Of the number of barrels of flour exported, 8,211,236 barrels were shipped to the United Kingdom, 871,473 barrels to Brazil, 825,612 barrels to Hongkong, 1,270,140 barrels to the West Indies, 760,263 barrels to the Dominion of Canada, 664,435 barrels to the Netherlands and 218,224 barrels to Venezuela. Our exports of corn aggregated 99,992,835 bushels, valued at $37,836,862, as against 27,691,137 bushels valued at $14,650,767 exported during 1895 and 65,324,841 bushels and $30,211,154, respectively, in 1894. The following official statement is submitted, showing the value of provisions, exhibiting the course of commerce in bacon and hams, lard, meat and dairy products since 1859: 21,126,592 1872 9.571.493 138.401.591 9.580.227 145,270,643 6,632,857 133.634,379 6.299,570 131,503,590 8,844,015 697.067 9,338,538 64,306,139 9.515.952 575,407 11,545,314 82,911,660 11,091,996 9,890,159 4.402,141 9,837,302 10,916,018 848,246 13,070,394 83,511,275 735,112 15,290.164 | 83,100,165 1,068,535 13,498,128 92,325,308 4,571,792 17,249,302 118,579,676 5,315,177 18,163,635 | 124,845,137 8,843,564 18,121,056 119,857,692 10,654,342 18,983,420 132,488.201 10,047,360 22,775,742 156,809,840 7,356,314 17,124,135 122,020,530 9,311,993 13,605,696 | 109,217,119 5,758,277 15,617,492 114,353,788 5,710,219 14,309,339 | 107,332,456 4,117,407 10,876,466 90,625,216 5,768,194 92.783,296 93,058,705 3,827 080 Of the value of our exports during the fiscal year ended June 30th, 1896, $70,392,813 was carried in American vessels, while $751,083,000 was carried in foreign craft, or but 81 per cent. of the value of our exports was exported in American vessels. Of the value of our imports $117,299,074 was brought in American vessels and $626,890,521 in foreign vessels, or 15.7 per cent. of the value of our imports was carried by foreign craft. Twelve per cent. of the total value of our foreign trade, including both imports and exports, was carried in American vessels; the value carried by foreign vessels being $1,377,973,521, and that. carried in American vessels $187,691,887. In 1860, 66 per cent. of our imports and exports was carried in American vessels. The value of our foreign trade carried in American and foreignvessels during the year 1895, was $1,456,403,388; of this amount, American vessels represented $170,507,196, and foreign vessels $1,285,896,192. The value of our foreign trade transported in vessels during 1896, was 1,565,665,408, of which American vessels represented $187,691,887, and foreign vessels $1,377,973,521. The share of our foreign trade carried in American vessels in that year was 11.7 per cent. of the total, which is the lowest point reached in American shipping. In 1895 American ships carried but 3.18 per cent. of our imports from and our exports to Great Britain, but 5.44 per cent. of our trade with France, 6.56 per cent. of our trade between the United States and Brazil, and only onethird of one per cent. of our trade with Germany. In 1845 American ships handled 81 per cent. of our imports and exports. In 1855, 75.6 per cent.; in 1860, 66.5 per cent.; in 1870, 35.6 per cent.; in 1890, 12.9 per cent. ; in 1895, 11.7 per cent., and in 1896, 12 per cent. In 1895 the American Consul General at Bangkok, in a report on the foreign trade in Siam, said: "The lack of American shipping everywhere is so noticeable as to give the impression among Asiatics that we are not a commercial nation. Of over 500 merchant steamers and ships that entered the port of Bangkok in 1894 not one was American. Of over 1,700 vessels that entered the ports of Japan in the same year only 32 carried our flag.” A British foreign office report on the commerce of Rio de Janeiro for 1895, records that only 51 American ships entered that port out of a total of 1,460. At Pernambuco there were entered in 1895, 351 British ships, 120 Norwegian and 88 German, with only 5 American sailing vessels and not a single steamer under the United States flag. Newport News as an export point is growing in importance, especially with reference to grain. From that port were exported, among other articles, 8,134,631 bushels of corn, 1,994,091 bushels of oats, 204,869 bushels of wheat and 1,235,981 barrels of flour— during the fiscal year 1896; and during the year ended December 31st, 1896, 10,376,625 bushels of corn, 3,750,054 bushels of oats and 1,611,952 barrels of flour, as against 4,866,355 bushels of corn, 104,982 bushels of oats and 1,274,045 barrels of flour during 1895. During the calendar year, we exported 15,731,129 barrels of wheat flour, 82,748,191 bushels of wheat, 5,323,889 bushels of rye, 40,676,350 pounds of oatmeal, 30,378.552 bushels of oats, 128,518,437 bushels of corn and 16,278,780 bushels of barley, as compared with 14,187,483 barrels of wheat flour, 66,371,200 bushels of wheat, 837 bushels of rye, 35,051,681 pounds of oatmeal, 2,019,858 bushels of oats, 61,469,669 bushels of corn and 3,539,096 bushels of barley during 1895. The noticeable feature in this comparison is the enormous increase in the quantity exported of oats and of corn. CHICAGO. The receipts of grain and of flour in its grain equivalent, during the year 1896, aggregated 253,802, 134 bushels, against 189, 432,819 bushels in 1895, 187,553,469 bushels in 1894, 246,972,966 bushels in 1893 and 255,832,556 bushels in 1892; the shipments during the year aggregated 219,710,781 bushels, against 171,464,137 bushels in 1895, 148,638,822 bushels in 1894, 198,791,216 bushels in 1893 and 216,182,008 bushels in 1892. The receipts of wheat during the year aggregated 19,933,402 bushels, against 20,637,642 bushels in 1895, 25,665,902 bushels in 1894, 35,355,101 bushels in 1893 and 50,234,556 bushels in 1892; the shipments during the year aggregated 25,888,647 bushels, against 22,775,780 bushels in 1895, 18,213,443 bushels in 1894, 24,715,738 bushels in 1893 and 43,833,795 bushels in 1892. Of the quantity shipped during the year 1896, 13,232,878 bushels went by the great lakes. On page 3 may be seen a statement showing the quantity taken by the various railway lines, respectively. The receipts of corn during the year aggregated 92,722,348 bushels, against 59,527,718 bushels in 1895, 64,951,815 bushels in 1894, 91,255,154 bushels in 1893 and 78,510,385 bushels in 1892. The largest quantity brought in by any railroad was by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and was 19,685,761 bushels. The receipts on the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R'y were 14,388,200 bushels, and on the Illinois Central R. R. 13,381,950 bushels. These great railway lines, grandly equipped, run into those vast and prolific regions known as the great corn belt, comprising the States of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, whose combined yield of corn aggregated, last year, 1,332,394,596 bushels. The shipments of corn during the year aggregated 87,713,321 bushels, against 59,964,265 bushels in 1895, 54,528,482 bushels in 1894, 78,919,781 bushels in 1893 and 66,104,220 bushels in 1892. The receipts of oats during the year aggregated 109,725,689 bushels, which in volume are without precedent. 30,000,000 bushels of this aggregate were brought by the Chicago & North Western Railway, 17,500,000 bushels by the Illinois Central Railroad, 15,300,000 bushels by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, 12,700,000 bushels by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and 14,940,000 bushels by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. The shipments during the year aggregated 82,119,852 bushels, against 66,839,596 bushels in 1895, 50,376,089 bushels in 1894, 67,129,119 bushels in 1893 and 67,332,322 bushels in 1892. Of the total shipments during the year 1896, 23,798,409 bushels were shipped via the great lakes. Detailed statements of receipts and shipments of grain may be seen in the statistical part of this volume. A proper and impressive comparison of the volume of the receipts of grain at Chicago with those at other principal grain markets may be made by consulting page 181 of this report. It may there be seen that the total receipts of grain and of flour in its grain equivalent at Chicago, aggregated, as elsewhere stated in this review, 253,802,134 bushels; the next market in order is Duluth, where were received 91,483,101 bushels; the next, Minneapolis, with 85,183,904 bushels; then follow St. Louis with 56,635,702 bushels and Milwaukee with 52,780,069 bushels. Chicago's receipts of grain during one month in 1896 aggregated about 42,500,000 bushels. The number of cars of grain inspected during the year amounted to 295, 138, against 222,960 in 1895 and 204,408 in 1894; the quantity of grain inspected, received by lake and canal, was 3.944,814 bushels, against 4,294,138 bushels in 1895 and 2,270,931 bushels in 1894. The week of the largest receipts of flour and grain was that which ended on October 17th, when 12,514,405 bushels were received, 5,003,419 bushels being of oats, 4,441,800 bushels being of corn and 1,410,490 bushels being of wheat; not to make invidious comparison, but merely to |