All other meat products..

2,944,486

Butter.

4,493,364

524,968

14,617

429,379 175,764

204,564 932,316

772

Agricultural produce, which constituted 83-25 per 4,636,063 cent. of the total exports in 1880 and 74-45 per cent. 448,333 in 1890, made 66-23 per cent. of the total of 1897; 74.840 mining products made 2·01 per cent., a smaller proportion than in any year since 1888; forest products 20,113 41.832 made 3.92 per cent., showing a gradual gain for 15,460 four years; fishery products formed 0.63 per cent. of the total exports of the year; miscellaneous 1,003,157 170.604 products other than manufactures formed 0.34 per 3.850,835 cent.; and manufactures constituted 26-87 per cent., 574.457 compared with 26-48 per cent. in 1896, 23-14 per cent. in 1895, 21.14 per cent. in 1894, 19-02 per cent. 224,660 in 1893, 15.61 per cent. in 1892, 19-37 per cent, in 13,181 1891, 17.87 per cent. in 1890, 12:48 per cent, in 1880. 15 per cent. in 1870, and 12.76 per cent. in 1860. The value of the agricultural products exported in 72,568 1897 was $683,471,139, exceeding the exports of this class in any year except 1892, when it was $799,328,232; the value of mining products ex140,046 ported was $20,804,573, about the average of the previous eight years; the value of the forest products exported was $40,489,321, more than 20 per 38,402 cent. more than in 1896, nearly twice as much as in 1886, and four times the exports of 1860; the value of the fishery exports was $6,477,951, a little less than in 1896, 13 per cent. less than in 1890, and 10 per cent. less than in 1889, but exceeding all other 305,418 previous years; the value of miscellaneous products exported was $3,479,228, a falling off from previous years; the exports of manufactured products were $277.285,391 in value, compared with $228,571,178 in 1896, $183,595,743 in 1895, $183,728,808 in 1894, 73.533 $158,023,118 in 1893, $158,510,937 in 1892, $168,300,441 927,315 in 1891, $151,102,376 in 1890, $102,856,015 in 24,513,567 1880, $68,279,764 in 1870, and $40,345,892 in 1860.

12,640

1,102,267 422,451

225,897

53,962 1,665,926 928,378 70.534 69.505

788,323 35,367 341,641 543,631

VOL. XXXVII.-50 A

The numbers of live animals exported in 1897 were 392,190 cattle, 28,751 hogs, 39,532 horses, 7,473 mules, and 244,120 sheep. The export of horses has increased from 25,126 in 1896, 13,984 in 1895, 5,246 in 1894, and 2,000 or 3,000 in previous years; the export of cattle had expanded for two years, but was not as great as in 1892 or 1890. The exports of breadstuffs consisted mainly of 79,562,020 bushels of wheat, 14,569,545 barrels of wheat flour, 176,916,365 bushels of corn, 35,096,736 bushels of oats, 20,030,301 bushels of barley, and 8,560,271 bushels of rye. The exports of wheat to Europe were 67,512,440 bushels, of which the United Kingdom took 55,742,689 bushels. Of the exports of wheat flour 9,234,932 barrels went to Europe, of which 8,256,630 were shipped to England and 2,168,761 to the Netherlands; 2,191,741 went to North American countries, of which Canada took 709,873, the British West Indies 543,864, Cuba only 132,738; 1,297,839 barrels went to South America; and 1,235,133 barrels went to Asia. The exports of corn to Europe have undergone great fluctuations, amounting to 154,210,002 bushels in 1897, against 88,856,848 in 1896, 23,225,540 in 1895, 53,158,579 in 1894, 30,260,017 in 1893, 69,591,177 in 1892, 23,669,783 in 1891, 89,662,689 in 1890, 60,043,851 in 1889, and 19,237,241 in 1888. The coal exports in 1897 consisted of 1,274,417 tons of anthracite and 2,384,069 tons of bituminous. The exports of ginseng have fallen off from 251,205 pounds in 1893 to 179,573 pounds in 1897, but scarcity makes the smaller quantity more valuable than the greater. The copper exports in 1897 consisted of 15,001 tons of ore and 279,393,807 pounds of metal, compared with 175,580,762 pounds in 1896, 148.446,039 pounds in 1895, and 37,642,464 pounds in 1894. The exports of Sea Island cotton have recovered from 7,983,415 pounds in 1893 and 14,225,439 pounds in 1894 to 21,585,360 pounds in 1897. The exports of ordinary cotton were 6,176,365 bales, or 3,082,169,589 pounds, against 4,659,765 bales in 1896, 6,965,358 in 1895, and 5.397,509 in 1894. The total crop of 1897 was 4,397,177,704 pounds, or 8.757,964 bales, and out of this 3,103,754,949 pounds were exported, exceeding the exports of any previous crop year excepting 1895, being 70-59 per cent. of the total product, compared with 65 per cent. in 1896, 69-83 per cent. in 1895, and 71.20 per cent. in 1894. The consumption of American spinners was 1,293,422,725 pounds of domestic and 50,710,403 pounds of foreign, a total of 1,344,133,128 pounds. The exports of cotton cloth in the fiscal year 1897 were 313,533,044 yards, made up of 83,409,441 yards of colored and 230,123,603 yards of uncolored. The principal customers were China to the extent of 140,121,035 yards; the rest of Asia and Oceanica, 36,113,401 yards; Canada, 29,254,586 yards; West Indies, 15,693,546 yards; Chili, 13,419,230 yards; Brazil, 8,331,326 yards; the rest of South America, 22.837,755 yards; Central America, 10,446,766 yards; Mexico, 5,577.808 yards; Madagascar, 10,831,409 yards; the rest of Africa, 5,452,910 yards; Great Britain, 11,094,345 yards. Among the fish exports the most notable increase has been in canned salmon, of which 35,303,299 pounds were exported in 1897. The exports of dried apples were 30,775,401 pounds; of green and ripe apples, 1,503,981 barrels, against 360.002 in 1896. The export of glucose has grown from 6,263,751 pounds in 1888 to 194,419,250 pounds. There were 168,890 tons of pig iron exported, against 29,862 tons in 1896; of steel ingots and bars 92,507,017 pounds, against 5,988,502 pounds. Iron manufactures, such as car wheels, builders' hardware, machinery, nails and spikes, printing presses, saws and tools, locomotives, wire, and sheets and plates show a steady expansion. The export of pig lead has risen from 1,885,198 pounds in 1895 to

17,632,455 in 1897. The export of crude petroleum in 1897 was 131,726,243 gallons, against 110,923,620 in 1896; of illuminating oil. 771,350,626 gallons, against 716,455,565; of lubricating oil, 50,199,345 gallons, against 50,525,530. The cotton-seed oil exports were 27,198.882 gallons, against 19,445,848 gallons in 1896. The exports of paraffin, amounting to 126,365,128 pounds, have doubled in the course of five years. The exports of canned beef in 1897 were 54,019.772 pounds, 9,578,000 pounds more than in the preceding year; of fresh beef, 290,395,930 pounds, 65,612,000 pounds more; of salted and pickled beef, 67,712.940 pounds, 2.997,000 pounds less; of tallow, 75,108,834 pounds, 22,349,000 pounds more; of bacon, 500,399,448 pounds, 75,047,000 pounds more; of hams, 165,247,302 pounds, 36.211,000 pounds more; of pickled pork, 66.768,920 pounds, 2,730,000 pounds less; of lard, 568,315,640 pounds, 58,781,000 pounds more; of margarine butter, 4,864,351 pounds, 1,199,000 pounds less; of margarine oil, 113,506,152 pounds, 10,230,000 pounds more; of butter, 31,345,224 pounds, 11,971,000 pounds more; of cheese, 50,944,617 pounds, 14,167,000 pounds more. The exports of leaf tobacco in 1897 reached the total of 305,978,292 pounds, though the value was little greater than in the preceding year, when the exports were 287,700,301 pounds. The exports of beans and peas were 900,219 bushels, almost double the amount for 1896. The exports of sawed timber were 391,291 thousand feet; of hewn timber, 6,406,824 cubic feet; of boards, deals, and planks, 876,689 thousand feet.

Of the total imports by sea in 1897 only 15 per cent. were carried in American vessels, compared with 157 per cent. in 1896, 155 per cent. in 1895, and 19.4 per cent. in 1894. Of the total value $109,133,454 arrived in American vessels and $619,784,338 in foreign vessels, making the total by sea $728,917,792, while $35,812,620 came in land vehicles. Of the total exports $65,082,305 went by land and $985,911,251 by sea, $905,969,428 in foreign vessels and $79,441,823 in American vessels, the proportion being 81 per cent. of the sea-borne commerce, compared with 8.5 per cent. in 1896, 8-2 per cent. in 1895, and 8-7 per cent. in 1894. Of the total carrying trade the percentage falling to American ships was 11 per cent., whereas it was 12 per cent. in 1896, 12 per cent. in 1891, 15 per cent. in 1886, 163 per cent. in 1881, 273 per cent, in 1876, 32 per cent. in 1871, 50 per cent. in 1862, and 661 per cent. in 1860.

The commercial intercourse of the United States with the different countries of the world in the year 1897 is shown in the following table:

of track of 178,549 miles of railroads was 235,482 miles, including 56,933 miles of side tracks and sidings. Of this total 207,618 miles consisted of steel and 27,864 miles of iron rails. The total liabilities of the railroads, including capital stock, bonded debt, unfunded debt amounting to $339,502,302, and $386,382.440 of current accounts, amounted to $11,432,690,278, and the total assets, comprising $9,953,767,710 of cost of railroad and equipment, $1,450,418,025 of real estate, stocks, bonds, and other investments, $231,915,121 of other assets, and $161,396,357 of current accounts, was $11,797,497,213, leaving $364,806,935 excess of assets over liabilities.

Telegraphs.-The Western Union Telegraph Company on June 30, 1897, had 190,614 miles of line, with 841,002 miles of wire, not including 8,000 miles of line and 60,000 miles of wire belonging to the New York Mutual Telegraph Company, 6,711 miles of line and 54,087 miles of wire of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and 2,684 miles of line and 20,370 miles of wire of the American Rapid Telegraph Company, 8,000 miles of wire of the Northwestern Telegraph Company and other lines, making over 210,000 miles of line open to traffic, nearly all operated by the Western Union Company. The number of messages sent in 1897 was 58,151,684. The receipts were $22,638,859; expenses, $16,906,656; profits, $5,732,203. The capital stock is $100,000,000.

Arbitration Treaty with Great Britain.-On Jan. 11, 1897, a treaty providing for the settlement of future disputes arising between the United States and Great Britain by arbitration was signed at Washington by Secretary Olney and Sir Julian Pauncefote. The establishment of a system of international arbitration for the adjustment of disputes between the two governments was the subject of communications exchanged between Secretary Gresham and Sir Julian Pauncefote in the spring of 1895. When Mr. Olney, on Feb. 27, 1896, proposed a joint commission and ultimate binding arbitration for the settlement of the Venezuela boundary dispute Lord Salisbury took the view that he was not prepared in matters of high political import to admit unrestricted arbitration. On March 5, 1896, in a dispatch to the British ambassador at Washington, he proposed a general arbitration treaty, excluding issues upon which neither government was willing to accept arbitration, such as involve the national honor or integrity. In the wide region that lies within this boundary the United States desired to go further than Great Britain. A system of arbitration would be an entirely novel arrangement, and therefore the conditions under which it should be adopted were not likely to be ascertained antecedently, and the limits ultimately adopted must be determined by experiment. In the interests of the idea and of the pacific results that were expected from it, the British Minister of Foreign Affairs thought it wise to make a modest beginning. He inclosed in the dispatch a draft treaty, the adoption of which would give an opportunity for observing more closely the working of the machinery, leaving it entirely open to the contracting parties to extend its application and to bring under its action controversies to which for the present it can only be applied in a tentative manner and to a limited extent.

In the draft treaty Lord Salisbury proposed that the British and American governments should each appoint two or more judicial officers, and on the appearance of any difference between the two powers which in the judgment of either of them can not be settled by negotiation, each of them should designate one of the said officers as arbitrator, and the two should hear and determine any

matter referred to them in accordance with the treaty, having previously selected an umpire, by whom any question upon which they disagree. whether interlocutory or final, should be decided. No question which in the judgment of either power affects its honor or the integrity of its territory would be referred to arbitration except by special agreement. Any difference whatever might be referred by agreement between the two powers. with the stipulation that the decision should not be valid unless accepted by both powers.

Secretary Olney, in his answer of April 11, 1896, said that the President reciprocated in behalf of the Government and people of the United States the desire manifested in the proposals of Lord Salisbury that the two great English-speaking peoples of the world should remain in perpetual peace. In regard to the scope of arbitration, he proposed that all disputes should be considered arbitrable unless the Congress of the United States or the Parliament of Great Britain by act or resolution declare that the matter in controversy involves the national honor or integrity, and withdraw it from the operation of the treaty. In regard to the appellate arbitration machinery he proposed that a majority of the six American and English Supreme Court judges should decide, and if the court be equally divided upon the subject of the award, that three learned and impartial jurists npon whom the six judges have agreed beforehand, should be added, and the award of the court so constituted, whether rendered unanimously or by a majority vote, should be final. If the award of the original arbitrators be unanimous there should be no appeal. The British Secretary of State insisted on retaining the right to reject the award on territorial questions unless the vote of the court of appeal was five to one, and Mr. Olney finally gave way.

In the treaty which was negotiated and signed, but which the United States Senate refused to ratify in its original form, introducing amendments that were not pressed by the United States Government, the contracting governments agreed to submit to arbitration all questions in difference between them which they fail to adjust by diplomatic negotiation. Pecuniary claims or groups of claims arising out of the same transactions or involving the same issues of law and of fact, and which do not in the aggregate exceed £100,000 in amount nor involve the determination of territorial claims, were to be dealt with and decided by an arbitral tribunal composed of one arbitrator, who should be a jurist of repute, nominated by each of the high contracting parties, and a third member to act as umpire and president of the tribunal, who should be selected by the two arbitrators; or on their failing to agree on any person within two months, by an agreement between the United States Supreme Court and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Great Britain; or, failing such an agreement, by the King of Sweden and Norway. The award of the majority of the members of this tribunal would be final. Pecuniary claims or groups of claims exceeding £500,000 in amount and all matters in difference in respect of which either of the high contracting parties should have rights against the other under treaty or otherwise, provided they do not involve the determination of territorial claims, were to be dealt with and decided by an arbitral tribunal consisting of five jurists of repute, two to be nominated by each of the contracting governments, and the umpire to be selected by them or by the United States Supreme Court and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, or by the King of Sweden and Norway. The award of a majority of the members of this tri