Besides these harbor improvements, the erection of more and better lighthouses and signals has made the approach of vessels safer. The United States Weather Bureau has also done much to lessen the dangers of navigation by its weather forecasts and its warnings of approaching storms. Although the Bureau was established only twenty-nine years ago, and in a small way, its services have so increased and in such a practical manner as to have come to be regarded as indispensable by the commercial interests.
The first successful trans-Atlantic cable was laid in 1866; at the present time there are 170,000 miles of submarine telegraphs in use. The cables now used for commercial purposes number 320 and include about 150,000 miles of lines, the other 20,000 miles being short government lines connecting forts, batteries, signal-stations, and lighthouses. The total cost of these cables has been about $250,000,000. The influence of the cable upon commerce has been so great as to revolutionize the methods of international trade that prevailed a century ago; indeed, ocean telegraphy has made it no more difficult to effect international sales and purchases than it is to make domestic exchanges. With thirteen cables in successful operation between the United States and Europe, we have had no difficulty in building up an immense trade across the Atlantic; but, with no trans-Pacific line, we are experiencing much difficulty in securing a large place in the trade of the Orient. Of course the development of our commerce with the East is conditioned by numerous other factors; but no one doubts that the construction of the proposed Pacific cable will be of assistance to our commercial progress in the Orient.
Among the other agencies that have promoted the progress of commerce, mention should be made of the extension and improvement of international credit systems and banking facilities. In this regard the United Kingdom leads the nations of the world, London being the clearing-house for a large part of the world’s trade. Germany, France, and the Netherlands have also developed good facilities for international banking; but the United States has not yet done so. Our merchants are still obliged to settle most accounts through foreign banks, but it is probable that our recent acquisition of foreign possessions will cause us to establish some system of international banks.
IV. EXPANSION OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE DURING THE CENTURY.
In the introductory paragraph of this paper it was stated that the commercial progress of the past hundred years is one of the salient features of the history of the century; and, in contrasting the commerce of a hundred years ago with that of the present, a few figures were cited that indicated in a general way the growth that the foreign trade of Great Britain and the United States has enjoyed. The expansion of international trade during the century merits fuller presentation and analysis.
Accurate figures for the whole world’s trade are not obtainable for the earlier years; and if it were possible to present comparative statistics of the international trade of the world, as a whole, the comparisons would not be so instructive as those which present the progress of the commerce of those countries which rank highest among trading nations. Accordingly it will be most profitable to confine our statistics and analytical study to the commerce of Great Britain, Germany, France, and the United States.
The progress which the commerce of the United Kingdom has made during the century is shown by the following table, giving the imports, exports, and total trade for the years 1800, 1839, 1897, and the annual average for alternate quinquennial periods between 1855 and 1890.
TABLE SHOWING GROWTH OF COMMERCE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.
| Years. | Imports. | Exports. | Total Trade. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1800 | $148,876,000 | $210,240,000 | $359,116,000 |
| 1839 | 300,474,000 | 321,564,000 | 622,038,000 |
| 1856–60 | 890,723,000 | 604,854,000 | 1,495,577,000 |
| 1866–70 | 1,425,936,000 | 914,586,000 | 2,340,522,000 |
| 1876–80 | 1,862,775,000 | 980,818,000 | 2,843,593,000 |
| 1886–90 | 1,897,352,000 | 1,453,695,000 | 3,351,047,000 |
| 1897 | 2,194,932,524 | 1,431,598,345 | 3,626,530,869 |
During the first four decades of the century, the growth of the commerce of the United Kingdom, though considerable, was not rapid,—the figures for 1839 showing an increase of 73 per cent over those for 1800,—but during the fifth, sixth, and seventh decades the progress was phenomenal. The value of the exports in 1873, as compared with 1839, shows a gain of 379 per cent, and the total foreign trade increased nearly 450 per cent; that is, it was five and a half times as much in 1873 as it was thirty-four years previous. Since 1880, the quantities of imports and exports have largely increased, but the fall in prices has been such as to make the increase in the total value comparatively small.