Connecticut.... Georgia...... Atlantic Coast IMPORTS OF FOREIGN AND EXPORTS OF DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MERCHANDISE. Maryland. Massachusetts. New York..... 1,040,380,526 North Carolina Pallad Iphia.. Porto Rico.... Rhode Island.. Sou h Carolina Virginia....... Florida...... $822,726,000 $620,526,000 3362,337,000 $313,452,000 $1,364,353,000 $1,042,946,000 $725,455,000 $507,030,000 3235,132,000 3230,809,000 $1,092,155,000 $818,020,000 $266,034,000 $206,825,000 $332,438,000 $238.839,000 $89,474,000 $68,056,000 $445,772,000 $321,156,000 $206,789,000 $160,648,000 $46,855,000 $28,470,000 $1,431,089,000 $1,043,252,000 $417,223,000 $373,463,000 $2,029,693,000 $1,526,523,000 $536,222,000 $182,091,000 $142,654,000 $937,538,000 $708,494,000 63,586 464,718 Only establishments conducted under the factory system were Included in the census. tinguished as neighborhood, hand, and building industries, and small establishments having product of less than $500 were excluded. Those dis an annual FOREIGN CARRYING TRADE OF THE UNITED STATES EXPORTS. IN AMERICAN AND FOREIGN VESSELS. TOTAL UNITED STATES IMPORTS AND (From Report of Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of the Department of Commerce.) In the year 1865 merchandise carried in American vessels was 27.7 per cent. of total; în 1875, 26.2 per cent.; In 1885, 15.3 per cent.; in 1895, 11.7 per cent. Merchandise and specie to 1879, Inclusive; merchandise only after 1879. 8.2 8.8 9.6 2,451,914,642 10.6 9.8 10.0 9.7 FREIGHT TRAFFIC MOVEMENT." PRODUCTS OF AGRICULTURE, ANIMALS, MINES, FORESTS AND MANUFACTURES. (For year ended June 30, 1912. From reports of the Interstate Commerce Commission.) Tonnage 981,666 Fruits and vegetables. 12,879,492 Other products of agriculture. 10,124,653 Iron, pig and bloom. 12.411.460 Products of animals: Iron and steel ralls. 3,358,777 Live stock... 14,147,014 Dressed meats 2,345,721 Other castings and machinery. Other packing-house products 2,359,873 Poultry, game and fish.. 768,289 Cement, brick and lime. 35,696,289 1,453,362 Wool... 406,529 Wagons, carriages, tools, etc. 1.194,308 Hides and leather. 1,139,284 Wines, liquors and beers. 3,882,828 Other products of animals.. 3,807,461 Household goods and furniture. 2,024,892 40,875,956 139,948,653 Anthracite coal. 67,142,632 Coke. 31,752,483 Miscellaneous-other commodities. 37,567,887 Ores.. 87,316,472 Stone, sand and other like articles. 77,776,534 Grand total. 1998,282,525 11,595,163 Does not include returns for switching and terminal companies. tOf the total freight tonnage (1,786,071,066 tons), including tonnage received from connecting roads and other carriers, there were 58,906,607 tons unassigned. NATIONAL RIVERS AND HARBORS CONGRESS. THE objects of this Congress shall be collection, preparation and presentation to the Congress of the United States such statistics and other information bearing upon the question of the Improvement of the rivers and harbors of all the Nation as will secure for such purpose an annual appropriation by the said Congress of not less than fifty million dollars. To educate the people to the importance of the fact that the National Government, having assumed the control and Improvement of the rivers and harbors of the country, is unequivocally bound to discharge these obligations promptly and by sound business methods, chief among which is the placing of annual appropriations for rivers and harbors on a parity with other great appropriation bills. The membership of this Congress shall consist of commercial, manufacturing and kindred organizations, waterway improvement associations, corporations, companies, and individual citizens engaged or interested in commercial or industrial enterprises, who may subscribe to this Constitution and contribute to the support and prosecution of the objects of the Congress. President-Hon Joseph E. Ransdell, Lake Providence, La. Secretary S. A. Thompson, Washington, D. C. COUNTRIES EXCELLING IN PRODUCTION OF PRINCIPAL STAPLES AND RESPECTIVE QUANTITIES PRODUCED THEREIN. COUNTRIES HOLDING SECOND PLACE. (Compiled by Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce.) Corn........ Wheat..... Oats.. Coffee $39,197,500 a Includes 63 governments of European and 25 of Asiatic Russia. Actual production unknown. c Clean rice. d Domestic exports; no data on production. e Production in 1912. Corrected figures from the "Gordian" of July 9, 1914. g Unofficial estimate. h Production unknown; exports of raw silk, including wild, from China during 1913, 19,867,467 lbs.; exports of waste silk, 15,516, 267 lbs. iShipments from the Straits. J Commercial value. THE TWELVE GREATEST SEAPORTS. THE following table, prepared by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce, slows the relative rank in tonnage movement of the principal ports of the world. Figures of coastwise trade are not included: bThe figures for Antwerp are not strictly comparable with those for other ports as the Belgian methods of tonnage measurement differ from those adopted by other nations. Exe Exclusive of native crift, warships, transclusive of Chinese junks engaged in the foreign trade, and of steamers under 60 tons. d Tonnage of vessels entered and cleared at the Maritime Customs. ports, yachts, and sailing and steam vessels under 50 tons, but including vessels engaged in trade between the Settlements. J Excluding the tonnage of vessels that called for the purpose of coaling and for orders only. IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES. (Compiled by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce from the official records of the various countries.) (Years ending December 31, unless stated otherwise; imports for consumption and exports of domestic merchandise, gold and silver bullion and coin not included, unless stated otherwise.) Grain embraces wheat flour reduced to equivalent in wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, malt and peas. Receipts at Portland via Montreal Receipts at New York, Portland, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore include shipments from the West to foreign countries through these ports on through bills of lading. Receipts at Baltimore Include flour ground by city are duplications of receipts reported at Montreal. millers, and therefore duplicate an equivalent quantity of wheat received in grain. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD. THE new banking and currency law, known as Federal Reserve act, was passed Dec. 23, 1913. Under the system known as the National banking system, which was inaugurated at the latter end of the civil war, the National banknote currency was based upon Government bonds deposited in the Treasury, and the currency thus issued has been classed by economists as currency. This plan was evolved not only to nationalize and unify the currency, which had theretofore consisted of notes issued by State banks, but as well to create a market for United States It was entirely successful for the latter purpose, bonds, and in this way to sustain their value. bond-secured but has outworn its usefulness as a banking system because of its entire want of elasticity. The Federal Reserve act is the result of a long discussion by statesmen, financiers, economists and bankers, and is a constructive measure based upon and growing out of many bills which have Under it twelve citles, known as Federal Reserve been introduced within the past twenty years. The twelve districts and their respective cltles, are established, and the (continental) United States is divided into twelve geographical districts, each district containing one of the reserve cities. reserve cities are as follows: Dist. No. 1..Boston, Mass. Dist. No. 5.. |Richmond, Va. Dist. No. 9..|Minneapolis, Minn. Every National bank is required to become a stockholder in the Federal Reserve bank of the There are at the present time district in which it is situated, and any State bank or trust company which complies with certain specified requirements is permitted to become a member bank. approximately 7,500 National banks in the United States which have thus been required to become member banks. The largest district, in respect to number of member banks-the seventh or Chicago districtThe smallest district-the sixth or Atlanta district-has 372 member has 952 member banks. banks. The number of member banks may largely increase in the near future from the addition of State banks and trust companies as member banks. Each member bank is required to subscribe to the stock of the Federal Reserve bank of its district in the amount equal to 6 per centum of its paid-up capital stock and surplus. The Federal Reserve bank does not do business with the publle in the sense that banks usually do; It may better It is made a depositary for a certain proportion of the reserve of be described as a bank of banks. all the member banks, and in addition may also be a depositary for Government funds. An Important function 's as a bank of issue and redemption of currency, for it may secure from the Treasury Besides this, Federal Reserve banks are Government notes known as Federal Reserve notes, which it is authorized to issue against commercial paper with a minimum gold reserve of 40 per centum. granted certain powers in the matter of operations in the open market, such as the purchase of commercial paper, foreign exchange, etc., and in a general way are expected to perform important functions as clearing houses between their member banks. Each Federal Reserve bank has nine directors, three of whom represent the member banks, three represent commercial, agricultural or other Industrial pursuit (these six being chosen by the member banks), and finally three Government directors chosen by the Federal Reserve Board. These nine directors are charged with the duty of appointing all necessary officers, including the active manager of the bank, who is designated as its President or Governor. Under the act the whole system is under the supervision of a central board in Washington, known as the Federal Reserve Board, consisting of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller of the Currency acting ex-officio, and five members named by the President with the approval of The five members first selected (who took oath of office August 10, 1914) are as follows: the Senate. Paul M. Warburg, term of office, 4 years. W. P. G. Harding, term of office, 8 years. Charles S. Hamlin, Governor, term of office, 2 years. A. C. Miller, term of omce, 10 years. Frederic A. Delano, Vice-Governor, term of office, 6 years. At the termination of the term of office of these five members all subsequent appointees will be named for ten-year terms, except, of course, those who may be selected to fill unexpired terms. The salary of the members of this board is $12,000 per annum each, which salaries, together Secretary to the board, H. Parker Willis; Assistant with all other expenses of operating the system, are assessed against the Federal Reserve banks in proportion to their capital stock and surplus. Headquarters, Washington, D.C. Secretary, Sherman Allen. When organized, the capital of the Reserve banks of the system was as follows: Dist. No. 1 (Boston) Dist. No. 2 (New York). Dist. No. 4 (Cleveland) Dist. No. 5 (Richmond) Dist. No. 6 (Atlanta). $9,924,543 Dist. No. 7 (Chicago) 12,100,384 Dist. No. 10 (Kansas City) 4,702,558 Dist. No. 12 (San Francisco). $12,967,701 6,367,006 4,702,925 5,600,977 5,653,924 8,115,494 |