data shown on the original documents are punched on cards, which are sorted and tabulated mechanically, and the monthly reports showing combined totals for all customs districts are transmitted to the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce at Washington. As the mechanical process was perfected reports from the individual customs districts were discontinued and at the present time all import, export, warehouse and non-contiguous merchandise trade reports are compiled by the Bureau of Customs Statistics at New York. This order did not affect the following statements, which are still sent direct to the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce by collectors of customs: Monthly statement of imports of gold and silver;1 Monthly statement of exports of foreign gold and silver; Monthly statement of exports of domestic gold and silver;1 Monthly statement of American vessels entered from and cleared for foreign countries direct; Monthly statement of foreign vessels entered from and cleared for foreign countries direct; Monthly statement of bunker coal or oil carried by vessels engaged in foreign trade; Monthly statement of shipments from Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico to the United States; Quarterly statement of articles, in the form in which imported, on which drawback was paid, and of exported articles manufactured in whole or in part from such imported material. BUREAU OF CUSTOMS STATISTICS. The Bureau of Customs Statistics, which is located at the port of New York and attached to the Customs Service, was originally organized to prepare and forward to Washington all foreign trade statistics pertaining to the port of New York, including imports and exports, vessel movements, in-transit and transshipment trade, etc. It handled returns relating only to the port of New York until 1915, when all collectors of customs were instructed to send copies of import entries and export declarations to New York for mechanical tabulation before transmission to Washington. The following is a list of the statements furnished by the Bureau of Customs Statistics to the Division of Statistics of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce: Monthly statements of domestic exports of merchandise; Monthly statements of imports of merchandise; Monthly statements of shipments of merchandise from the United States to non-contiguous territory-Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico; Monthly statement of in-transit shipments outward from Atlantic Coast *ports of Canadian breadstuffs, by articles; 1 Data covering 10-day periods transmitted through Federal Reserve Board. Monthly statements of imported merchandise remaining in bonded customs warehouses, by articles; Monthly statements of imports of unmanufactured wool, by countries of origin and shipment; Monthly statements of imports of unmanufactured cotton, by countries of origin; Monthly statements of total values of imports (free and dutiable) and exports (foreign and domestic) of merchandise, by countries and flags and by countries and customs districts; Quarterly statements of foreign merchandise shipped in-transit or transshipped; Quarterly statement of merchandise entered for consumption. The monthly reports of domestic and foreign exports of merchandise are each submitted in the form of six statements showing: Articles by country and by customs district; total trade by nationality of vessel; trade of each country by nationality of vessel; total trade by customs districts; and trade of each country by customs districts. Imports of merchandise to a large extent follow the same classification lines, and in addition are classified according to consumption or warehouse entry, and as free or dutiable. Monthly returns for non-contiguous territory are given by total trade of the United States and by customs districts. Wool is classified by country of production and shipment, and cotton by country from which imported and from which shipped. In-transit trade is noted by countries from which and to which shipped, classified by customs districts. The Bureau of Customs Statistics furnishes each collector of customs for his administrative use, statistical records of the transactions of his district. These records consist of tabulated sheets showing for domestic exports and imports all the data shown on the punched card, including original entry and declaration numbers, to enable collectors to trace individual transactions. Typewritten and mimeographed monthly statements covering domestic and foreign exports and imports showing articles by country of shipment and destination are also compiled separately for each customs district and furnished to each collector for official use and for distribution to interested parties. Copies are furnished to the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce for use in answering special inquiries relating to trade of particular customs districts. The function of collecting and assembling data on foreign trade from the original entries and declarations has remained within the jurisdiction of the Treasury Department, but under the Act of February 14, 1903, creating the Department of Commerce [and Labor] the control of the work of gathering and distributing statistical information relating to the foreign trade was placed in that Department. The original data are taken from import entries, withdrawal entries from warehouse, permits for transportation of goods, and ex port declarations filed at the various custom houses, which must be executed before the merchandise is cleared through the customs. The classification of goods and foreign countries is determined by the Secretary of Commerce and is shown in the schedules issued by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. The schedules are three in number and are employed to guide collectors of customs in making returns: The Import schedule is the basis for rendering the monthly and quarterly returns of imports of merchandise, monthly statements of imported merchandise remaining in warehouse and the monthly statement of exports of foreign merchandise. The Export schedule governs the classification of domestic merchandise exported, as well as the monthly returns of shipments from the United States to non-contiguous territories. The third schedule prescribes the classification of countries to be followed in the import, export, and navigation returns. The original material, consisting of import entries and export declarations, is transmitted daily by collectors of customs to the Bureau of Customs Statistics at New York for use in the preparation of the reports required by the Department of Com merce. Publications. The following statistical publications are prepared by the Division of Statistics from the returns made by the Customs Service, and issued by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce: 1. Monthly Summary of the Foreign Commerce of the United States. This publication gives the total imports and exports of merchandise, and of gold and silver, by months; imports and exports of gold and silver, by countries and customs districts; total imports and exports of merchandise by countries and customs districts; imports of merchandise by articles and principal countries; monthly average import prices of principal articles; exports of domestic merchandise by articles and principal countries; monthly average export prices of principal articles; exports of foreign merchandise by articles; cotton imports by countries of production, and domestic exports of cotton by countries; wool imported into the United States, by countries of production and shipment; imported merchandise remaining in warehouse, by articles; tonnage of vessels entered and cleared in the foreign trade, by countries, and commerce with noncontiguous territories. 2. Quarterly Statement of Imported Merchandise Entered for Consumption. This publication presents in quarterly form by calendar years the quantity, value, and rates of duty on merchandise entered for immediate consumption and withdrawals from warehouse for consumption. The first issue each year covers the returns for the first quarter (January 1 to March 31), the second issue, the returns for the second quarter (April 1 to June 30) in conjunction with those of the first quarter; the third issue, the returns for the third quarter (July 1 to September 30) in conjunction with the returns of the first and second quarters, and the fourth issue, the returns of the fourth quarter (October 1 to December 31) in conjunction with the returns of the three previous quarters.1 The publication of the Quarterly Statement of Imported Merchandise Entered for Consumption has been temporarily suspended. 3. Foreign Commerce and Navigation of the United States. This publication is issued annually. The tabulations show classes of merchandise imported from and exported to each foreign country for a period of five years. Other tables show for the current year the imports and exports of merchandise, by countries and customs districts; imports and exports of gold and silver, by countries and by customs districts; imports entered for consumption with rates of duty and duty collected on each article; drawback paid on exported articles manufactured from imported materials; in-transit and transshipment trade, by countries from which received and to which shipped; number and tonnage of vessels entered and cleared in the foreign trade, by customs districts and countries, and number and tonnage of vessels entered and cleared, by countries and nationality. 4. Trade of the United States with the World. This publication is issued in two sections, one dealing with imports of merchandise, by countries and principal articles for a two year period, and the other with exports of merchandise by countries and principal articles for a two year period. 5. (a) A monthly multigraphed statement of two pages showing Total Values of Imports and Exports of Merchandise and of Gold and Silver, by months for a period of five years. (b) A monthly multigraphed statement of one page showing Exports of Domestic Breadstuffs, Cottonseed Oil, Meat, and Dairy Products, Cotton and Mineral Oils. (c) Analysis of the Foreign Commerce of the United States, by great groups, by grand divisions and principal countries, 2 page multigraphed publication issued monthly. 6. Besides the monthly statements above enumerated, the Division of Statistics issues about 90 monthly photostat statements of imports and exports of such important commodities as are of particular interest to American industries. These statements show the country of origin and destination. They cover such articles as steel products, automobiles, electrical equipment, tea, coffee, etc. The Division of Statistics also disseminates through the medium of Commerce Reports and the press special articles prepared occasionally, dealing with important developments in foreign trade and reviews of trade by calendar or fiscal years. DIVISION OF RESEARCH. This Division may be classified as a statistical unit, inasmuch as a considerable proportion of its attention is given to the compilation and preparation of statistical data for publication. Its work differs, however, from that of the Division of Statistics in that the figures compiled are not derived from original sources but are assembled from domestic or foreign publications. One important activity of the Division of Research is the preparation of the annual Statistical Abstract of the United States. This is a volume of about 800 pages, serving as an official handbook of miscellaneous statistical information relating to the United States. Its compilation of course necessitates the collaboration of other departments. The tabulations, in some instances, are furnished com plete by other departments or bureaus, and in other instances they are compiled from printed reports. Statistical material is also secured from chambers of commerce and other trade organizations, and from trade journals. The aim of the publication is to bring together in a convenient compass all important statistics relating to the United States that are found scattered through a number of other publications. The Statistical Abstract covers a wide range of subject matter, including such topics as area, natural resources, population, education, production of agricultural and mineral wealth, manufacture, foreign and internal commerce, prices of commodities, wages, banking resources, financial statistics of government, etc. Another annual publication compiled by this Division is the bulletin giving wholesale prices of principal articles in the markets of the United States.1 This is a pamphlet of 16 pages, which has been issued annually since 1913. Some of the quotations in this publication are obtained from standard trade journals, others being furnished from week to week by trade or business organizations. Special publications relating to the trade of foreign countries in particular commodities are also compiled in this Division. These reports are issued from time to time as the investigations to which they relate are completed. They are designed to serve as a guide for the American exporter seeking markets in foreign countries. They show the imports of each commodity by countries of importation, and indicate the quantity, value, and country of shipment in so far as these details are shown in the official reports of foreign governments. Weights, measures, and values are uniformly expressed in American units so that the tables for each country may be compared. These publications are compiled from official printed reports of foreign governments. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. The Office of the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries was established in 1871. The purpose of the legislation authorizing this office was to conserve the fishery resources of the country, which were rapidly diminishing in value and importance as a result of intensive exploitation. The Commissioner was directed to "prosecute investigations and inquiries on the subject, with the view of ascertaining whether any and what diminution in the number of the food-fishes of the coast and the lakes of the United States has taken place; and, if so, to what causes the same is due; and also whether any and what protective, prohibitory, or precautionary measures should be adopted in the premises.' 1 The publication of this bulletin has been temporarily suspended. |