larY 552 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF PORTO RICO BUREAU OF INFORMATION COMPAMTIYE STATEMENT AND SUMMARY OF THE COMMENCE OF THE ISLAND OP PORTO RICO FISCAL YEARS 1901-1906 -GOMPILED BY THE COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS DISTRICT OF PORTO .RICO SAN JUAN, PORTO RIOO 1906 The original of this bool< is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032174645 DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF PORTO RICO BUREAU OF INFORMATION COMPAMTIYE STATEMENT AND SUMMARY OF THE COMMERCE OF THE ISLAND OF PORTO RICO FISCAL YEARS 1901-1906 COMPILED BY THE COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS DISTRICT OF PORTO RICO vv" SAN JOAIV, PORTO RICQ ,/ '', 1906 '' — '/j^:':'" '^11^ T^OTES ON THE COMMEECE OF POETO EICO. The statistics issued by the United States Department of Commerce and Labor are prepared from manifests of exports and entries of imports, to which the exporter or importer is required to make affidavit as to the character, quantity and value of the goods. As an additional precaution against error, the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics causes to be kept accurate quotations of the market values of all classes of goods, and promptly calls to the attention of the exporter or importer any unusual deviations from these values, that he may be given an opportunity to correct any errors that may have inadvertently been made. Such statistics give therefore a true and accurate statement of the com- mercial relations of the United States and its outlying territories with the nations of the world. The same degree of care is exercised in compiling reports of trade between the United States and its non- contiguous possessions. While under certain special conditions it may be true that a nation may purchase more than it sells and remain prosperous, yet trade balances are generally accepted as a correct barometer ol conditions, for under ordinary conditions he who sells more than he purchases is acquiring a surplus, while he who buys more than he sells is diminishing his stock of wealth. If this be generally true, then Porto Rico is prosperous now, with every indication that it will grow more prosperous from year to year. During the fifty years prior to the United States civil administration of the Island there were but four years in which the balance of trade was in favor of the Island, and this balance aggregated but four million pesos. The net balance against the Island was 128,000,000 pesos, equivalent to about 176,800,000. The first two years of civil administration showed a trade balance of three quarters of a million each against the Island, but the past four years show a net balance of seven and a quarter millions in favor of the Island. On every hand we find evidences of this favorable condition. Especially in the sugar and .tobacco districts the people are better clothed, fed and housed than ever before. So much has been said and written about coffee in Porto Rico that some consideration of the coffee situation in the light of trade statistics seems desirable. It is sometimes claimed by commission houses which make a specialty of handling coffee that sixty per cent of the population are dependent upon this product, and that their condition, due to the low market value of coffee, is pitiable. There is no desire to deny discouraging conditions in the coffee districts further than to reduce the sixty per cent to twenty per cent at the most. Coffee forms but fifteen per cent of the total exports, and if the conditions sometimes claimed were true, forty per cent of the population would be receiving the benefits from eighty-five per cent of the total products of the Island, a condition which is hardly probable. Spain imposed an import duty on coffee of fifty pesetas per 100 kilos and a consumption tax of eighty pesetas. Coffee from Porto Rico was assessed sixty pesetas per 100 kilos, consumption tax only. Therefore, under the Spanish Government the Island's coffee received preferential treatment amounting to seventy pesetas per 100 kilos, or about four and one-half cents per pound. It is claimed that a revision of the United States tariff placing coffee on the dutiable list with a tax of five cents per pound would make it a profitable crop and restore the prosperous conditions existing in the coffee districts prior to American rule. Whether or not Congress will seriously consider the matter remains to be seen. There is at present a heavy tariff on sugar and tobacco, two of the important products of the Island, and much as it is desired, it does not seem at all certain that Congress would be willing to tax the people of the United States 150,000,000 per annum for the fostering of what must appear to them a very small industry. In 1905 the per capita consumption of coffee in the United States was 12.11 pounds, and the average import price 8. 1 cents per pound. The largest crop the Island ever produced was 59,000,000 pounds in 1896, which would about supply the demand of greater New York. It was at that time highly protected and considered the best crop of the Island. Another factor to be considered is the natural desire of the United States to increase its trade with Central and South America. A tax of five cents per pound upon coffee would be a serious blow to these countries, and their certain retaliation would mean the diminishing of the trade sought to be increased. From a purely business point of view it would seem that Congress, — unless additional revenues should be required and coffee should be selected as the most suitable article for transfer to the dutiable list, — would prefer to pay a bounty of five cents per pound, amounting annually to from two to four million dollars, than to tax the people of the United States fifty millions per annum upon a necessity. It is well known that the United States is generally opposed to bounties, and there is much ground to doubt whether this form of relief could be seriously considered so long as the revenues, which ordinarily are covered into the United States Treasury, are in Porto Rico transferred to the Insular Treasury to be expended in such manner as the Insular Legislature deems proper. The prospect for assistance of any character is far from encouraging, and the sooner planters and interested parties conclude that coffee must shift for itself the better off they will be. The disastrous effects of the hurricane of 1899 have now largely disappeared, and it is generally believed that 1906-1907 will be a banner year, the estimated output being placed as high as fifty million pounds. It is claimed by experts that with proper cultivation coffee will produce about 800 pounds to the acre. The cost of production does not exceed seven cents per pound. It is a superior article and the export price for several years has ruled from eleven to twelve and one-third cents. A net profit of thirty-two dollas per acre is not to be despised. Many of the plantations are heavily mort- gaged at usurious rates of interest, and planters have not had the means to cultivate as they should, but the problem will probably solve itself in due time. Due to a high protective tariff, sugar is now the principal product of the Island. In 1901 but 68,600 tons were produced; in 1906 205,000 tons, and increase of 200 per cent in five years. This rapid increase has been partially due to the erection of modern mills, giving a much larger extraction, but largely to the increased acreage. The acreage under cultivation has not reached its limit, and it is believed that with the additional modern mills being erected and scientific fertilization, the present output can be easily doubled. Tobacco is increasing more rapidly than any other product. In 1901 but eleven million cigars, valued at $296,000, were exported. In 1906 one hundred and thirteen millions, valued at |3,069,000, an increase of 930 per cent in five years. The cultivatible area is large and the markets practically un- limited. There appears to be no reason why the Island should not ship five hundred million cigars per annum within the next five years. During the past year one company alone manufactured and shipped to the United States forty million cigars, — nearly four times the total exports of 1901. Both tobacco and sugar are better crops for the laboring classes than coffee. Coffee requires comparatively little labor in its cultivation, one man caring for several acres. During the picking season large numbers of people, including many women and children, are given employment, but wages generally are low. It has an advantage, however, in being largely cultivated on small farms owned by the peasantry. Tobacco and sugar, on the other hand, are largely owned or controlled by large corporations, but in both cases not only is the cultivation extensive and more expensive, bat the factories give employ- ment to thousands of people of all classes at good wages. In fact, the making of sugar and cigars are practically the only forms of extensive manufacture. Since American occupation considerable attention has been given to the cultivation of citrus fruits. No shipments of importance have yet been inade, but conditions are favorable and the outlook promising. The exports of "fruits and nuts" shown in the annexed tables are almost wholly cocoanuts and wild oranges. The quantities exported have varied considerably from year to year, due, not to any crop failures, but discouragements from poor transportation facilities, fruits being often landed in New York in an unsound and unmarketable condition. Pines are receiving special attention now and will in time induce the establishment of canning and preserving factories. For the twelve months ending June 30, 1906, the total trade of the Island was |45,085, 195, or approximately $10,000,000 greater than any similar period in its history. The trade balance in favor of the Island, however, Avas but |1, 429,865, due to a fall in the price of sugar below the proceeding year and a large increase in the price of rice, the principal articles of export and import. There appears to be no reason, under normal conditions, why the trade should not increase to $75,000,000 within the next decade, and it also seems reasonably certain that the Island will not only retain its annual trade balance, but increase it in like proportion. The estimated production of principal commodities for the twelve months ending June 30, 1907, is: Fruits and nuts, I 500,000 Molasses, 700,000 Sugar :... 17,000,000 Cigars, 5,000,000 Coffee, : 5,000,000 Other articles, 2,000,000 Total $30,200,000 The total trade of the Island for such period is estimated at $55,000,000. The appended tables are issued to supply an ever increasing demand for information of the trade of Porto Rico. More detailed data on specific subjects may be had upon application. J. H. CAUSTEN, Collector of Customs. NOTAS SOBRE EL COMEECIO DE PUEETO EICO. Las estadisticas publicadas por el Departamento de Comercio y Trabajo de los Estados Unidos se preparan teniendo -k la vista los manifiestos y declaraciones de exportaci6n e importaci6n, i los euales pi exportador 6 importador ha de agregar una declaracion jurada sobre la naturaleza, cantidad y valor de las mercaderlas. Para evitar cualquier error, el Jefe del Negociado de Estadistica hace que se tengan en su oficina las cotizaoiones exactas del mercado sobre toda clase de efectos, y llama sin demora la atenci6n del exportador 6 importador hicia toda extraordinaria desviaci6n de tales cotizaciones, ddndole asl la oportunidad de eorrejir los errores que pueda haber hecho inadvertidamente. Dichas estadisticas dan, por lo tanto, una informaci6n veridica y exacta de las relaciones comerciales de los Estados Unidos y de sus territories de fuera del continente con las demas naciones. Se emplea el mismo cuidado al compilar los informes del tr^fico que se hace entre los Estados Unidos y sus posesiones no contiguas. Aunque, dentro de ciertas condiciones especiales, puede suceder que una naci6n compre mds que lo que venda, y este en una situacion prospera, no es menos cierto que la balanza del comercio de un pals se acepta generalmente como barometro exacto de su estado econ6mico, porque, en condiciones ordinarias, todo el que recibe por los artlculos que vende un valor mayor que el de los artlculos que compra obtiene un sobrante, que va aumentando su riqueza, al paso que el que compra mds que lo que vende ve disminuir la suya. Siendo 6sto positivo, en t^rminos generales, hay que convenir en que Puerto Rico goza ahora de prosperidad, y en que todos los indicios muestran que esta situaci6n floreciente ird mejorando de ano en ano. Durante el perlodo de cincuenta aiios anterior al establecimiento en la Isla del gobierno civil americano, solo en cuatro anos la balanza mercantil fue favorable al pals, y el excedente de esos cuatro alios no alcanz6 mds que d cuatro millones de pesos. La cantidad total neta contra la Isla en los cincuenta anos fu6 de unos 128,000,000 de pesos, equivalentes 4 76,800,000 dollars, m4s 6 menos. En cada uno de los dos primeros alios del gobierno civil, la balanza comercial dio un saldo contra la Isla de 750,000 dollars, pero en los liltimos cuatro alios la suma total neta en favor del pals ha sido de siete millones y cuarto. De este propicio estado de cosas encontramos senales en todas partes. Especialmente en los distritos azucareros y tabacaleros, el pueblo ocupa mejores casas y est4 mejor vestido y alimentado que en cualquier Ipoca anterior. Se ha dicho y escrito tanto sobre el caf6 de Puerto Rico, que parece conveniente hacer algunas consideraciones sobre la situaci