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EARTHENWARE AND GLASSWARE.

The following tables show the trade in these commodities for the period under consideration:

THE UNITED KINGDOM'S TRADE IN EARTHENWARE AND GLASSWARE.1
(Hundredweights, unless otherwise noted; 000 omitted.)

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2 In gross.

1 Annual (and Monthly) Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom.

The above figures show that although both sides of this trade have declined, the British industry has been developing during the war, for exports of British goods have not declined as severely as imports. The very sharp reduction in imports in 1917 and 1918 was due in large measure to import restrictions.

Before the war about 60 per cent of the total requirements of British sheet-glass consumers was supplied by Belgium, the balance largely by home manufacturers. Flint glass came from Germany, Belgium, and other European countries; bottles were supplied largely by Germany and France. Earthenware also come largely from the continent, Germany and France being the leading countries of origin. Exports of British glass went to all markets, the British Empire taking 55 per cent in 1913.

Reexports of glassware and earthenware are small, the total in 1913, for example, having a value of but £159,477.

British industry found itself in a serious position at the outbreak of the war because of its dependence on the outside for all kinds of optical and scientific glass. Mr. Kellaway, Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions, discussed this phase of the glass industry in some detail in an address delivered in December last before the Industrial Reconstruction Council. In this address it is stated that the pre-war British output of optical glass amounted to but 10 per cent of the home requirements, per cent being imported from Germany and Austria and 30 per cent from France. However, a very satisfactory condition in this industry is now reported. Output has increased twentyfold or more, and the present capacity (output with a value of more than £600,000 per annum) is more than sufficient to meet domestic needs.

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The protection of the scientific glassware industry after the war by means of tariffs is being urged, and many other branches of the glass and earthenware trades are asking for similar assistance. It is

1 Reported in Board of Trade Journal, issue of Dec. 5, 1918.

pointed out by the various glass associations that British glass-making installations erected during the war have cost three or four times as much as similar plants existing in Germany, Austria, and Belgium before the war, and that for this reason, high labor costs and other factors, protection is urgently needed.

ELECTRICAL GOODS.1

The manufacture of electrical supplies and apparatus is another British industry which has received a great impetus during the war. Although the British output of these goods was large before the war and exports considerably exceeded imports, the United Kingdom was dependent upon Germany in particular for magnetos and other essential accessories. In Mr. Kellaway's address on "Some Developments in Industry During the War" (referred to in preceeding section) this situation is described. In 1914 but one firm in the whole country (a Birmingham establishment) was producing magnetos, and the output of this plant in 1913-14 was only 1,140 magnetos of a simple type. There are now 14 establishments turning out magnetos at the rate of about 130,000 a year. Similarly, in 1914 there were but three firms producing ignition plugs, with an output of only 5,000 annually. For the year ending October 31, 1918, the output of mica plugs was 2,148,726.

With respect to electrical accessories the British seem determined to hold the independence gained by the development of the industry during the war. The Committee on Commercial and Industrial Policy, in its interim report on certain essential industries, reports the proposal of the British Ignition Apparatus Association, that imports of magnetos from present enemy countries be absolutely prohibited for five years, and that after that period a minimum duty of 333 per cent should be levied, imports from other countries in the meantime to pay a duty of 333 per cent and thereafter 20 per cent. This recommendation is concurred in by the committee.

The trade in electrical goods for the period 1912-1918 is exhibited below.

THE UNITED KINGDOM'S TRADE IN ELECTRICAL GOODS.2

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1 Data for electrical machinery and uninsulated wire are not included in this section.
2 Annual (and Monthly) Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom.

The imports of these goods are almost entirely from the Continent and the United States; shipments received from the United States have been increasing during the war. The exports of British electrical manufactures are much more widely distributed. In 1917 France and Russia together, however, received over a third of the entire exports of such commodities.

MISCELLANEOUS.'

FOOD INDUSTRIES.

The manufacture of food products is an important industrial activity of the United Kingdom, particularly since most of the foodstuffs imported might be said to be in the raw form. In discussing the trade in foodstuffs in Chapter II, several references to the extent of British food manufacturing were made, and the large imports of wheat, unrefined sugar, raw cocoa, oilseeds, etc., shown there suggest the extent of this industry. As was stated in that chapter, complete figures for the production of food manufactures are not available, and such data as are available are not for recent years. The census of 1907 gives figures and estimates for certain items of food preparations. Butter factories in that year, for example, are stated to have made 1,100,000 hundredweights of butter, and about the same amount was manufactured on the farms. Production of cheese in 1907 is given as 600,000 hundredweights. The output of "meat, poultry, game, and fish, preserved, tinned, potted, or bottled," had a reported value of £3,022,000. Fruit canned or bottled in the United Kingdom in the same year amounted to 91,000 hundredweights, and marmalade, jams, and fruit jellies were put up to the extent of 2,776,000 hundredweights, of which 132,000 were exported. The factory production of lard, according to this census, was 600,000 hundredweights, about 75 per cent of the consumption requirements. The factory production of margarine was 863,000 hundredweights, and imports of the same year amounted to 876,000 hundredweights. Production of oleomargarine and other refined fats is important, although there is a net importation of such material (in 1912-13 exports exceeded imports).

per year.

As was stated in Chapter II, the United Kingdom imports very large quantities of cotton seed, linseed, and oil nuts, and the expressing of oil from these materials and the manufacture of oil cakes for fodder as a by-product is an important industry. The production of coconut oil just before the war amounted to 60,000 hundredweights The output of cottonseed cake in 1907 amounted to 522,000 tons and of linseed cake 249,000 tons. (See memorandum concerning the "Food and Raw Material Requirements of the United Kingdom," issued by the Dominions Royal Commission, 1915.) Recent production figures for most of these materials are not available, but the trade figures suggest the extent of the activity of the oil crushers during the war. The importance of this whole group of oil manufactures is emphasized when it is noted that the exports of oils of domestic manufacture in 1913 totaled £4,462,505. In 1917 the corresponding figure was £6,465,994.

The manufacture of cocoa, chocolate, and other related products is important. The total of such preparations ground, put up, or

1 See Appendix D for an exhibit of still other miscellaneous trade items of importance.

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manufactured in the United Kingdom in 1907 amounted to 60,000,000 pounds. Domestic exports of this class of commodities were 3,360,000 pounds, while net imports totaled 11,000,000 pounds. The output of molasses and liquid sugars in 1907 was reported at 3,110,000 hundredweights. Domestic exports, however, were small, but 384,000 hundredweights, while net importations totaled 2,700,000 hundredweights.

There are certain items of food preparations entering into the trade of the United Kingdom which were not discussed in Chapter II, but which are sufficiently important to be mentioned in this connection. The exports of biscuits and cakes of British manufacture totaled 481,471 hundredweights (£1,561,640) in 1913. In 1917 this trade had fallen to 102,054 hundredweights (£537,497). The imports of bladders, casings, and sausage skins in 1913 totaled 12,839,009 pounds, with a value of £636,542. In 1917 these imports had fallen to the small figure of 1,997,640 pounds (£356,253). Exports of such materials of British origin average about 50 per cent of the imports. Reexports in 1913 amounted to over 4,000,000 pounds; but in 1917 the reexport trade was negligible. The exports of condensed milk of British manufacture in 1913 amounted to £1,000,000. Exports of miscellaneous provisions in 1913 amounted to £1,108,546, and in 1917 to £449,331. In the same years sauces and condiments of British manufacture were exported to the amount of £680,656 and £600,098, respectively. Exports of domestic confectionary, jams, fruit, vinegar, etc., are of some importance. Imports of manufactured yeast in 1912 amounted to 239,545 hundredweights (£411,983), and in 1917 to 22,089 hundredweights, with a value of £249,212.

It is noticeable that none of these export figures are large in comparison with the imports of raw foodstuffs, and, as far as total food preparations are concerned, imports greatly exceed exports, as has been shown above and as is shown by the figures given in the chapter on "Foodstuffs." Summing up, then, it might be said that the United Kingdom is not a net exporter of food preparations, although domestic requirements of manufactured foods are largely supplied by the domestic mills and factories.

The direction of the food trade was sufficiently discussed in Chapter II.

TOBACCO AND LIQUORS.

It is well known that the brewing and distilling industries of the United Kingdom are very large. Official returns for the output of the breweries during the war are not available. For several years before the war the output was surprisingly uniform. In 1913 the production of beer and ale amounted to 35,500,000 barrels. The annual output of spirits has also been very uniform for the last 10 years. In 1913 the total reported was 50,400,000 proof gallons. The trade figures for liquors are comparatively small. Large quantities of wine are, however, imported from Spain, Portugal, and France. In 1913 these imports had a value of £4,078,143; in 1917 the corresponding figure was £2,403,461. Reexports for the two years given were a little under £500,000 per year. The exports of beer and ale of domestic manufacture amounted to 665,461 barrels in 1913, and in 1917 to but 282,844 barrels.

The amount of tobacco grown in the United Kingdom is negligible. The total crop in 1913 was but 139,226 pounds. In 1913 the imports of manufactured tobacco totaled 3,587,988 pounds. In 1917 these imports had fallen to 2,237,322 pounds. Imports of unmanufactured tobacco for the same years totaled 162,365,925 pounds and 36,453,001 pounds, respectively. Exports of tobacco manufactured in the United Kingdom amounted to 32,993,905 pounds in 1913, and 27,629,862 pounds in 1917. The imports of unmanufactured tobacco in 1917 were apparently very small, but in the other war years receipts were approximately normal. Reexports of tobacco are very small, relatively, amounting in 1913, for example, to but £264,878. Over 90 per cent of the imports of raw tobacco are received from the United States.

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES.

With respect to materials for building purposes, the United Kingdom is practically self-sufficient, excepting in the case of timber. It is stated in the report of the Reconstruction Committee on the Building Industry after the War that for some time after the cessation of hostilities, even if production is stimulated as far as practicable, there will not be a sufficient supply of certain materials to meet the demand. In some quarters, for example, it is being urged that 300,000 workmen's houses will be built in England and Wales in the first year after the war. This would require 6 billion bricks, 50 per cent more than may be expected in output, even if the existing works are made to produce to their utmost capacity. The approximate production of bricks in 1917 was only a little over 1 billion. The average annual output for the three years preceding the war, however, was nearly three times that figure. It is estimated by this Reconstruction Committee that the maximum output of existing plants, provided sufficient labor is available, is in the neighborhood of 4 billion bricks. Exports of bricks in 1913 amounted to only about 100 millions, with a value of £365,485. This trade during the war has fallen off considerably.

The production of slate, granite, and other related materials is large and can be made sufficient to satisfy all requirements. Before the war there was, however, a considerable importation of such materials. In 1913, 1,300,000 tons of granite, marble, and slates were imported. In 1917 the corresponding figure was only 150,000 tons. As might be expected, trade in such materials would be especially curtailed because of the shortage of shipping. These imports come almost entirely from continental Europe, Italy and Belgium furnishing particularly large amounts.

It has been stated that the Portland cement industry is not developed to any great extent in the United Kingdom as yet, but the British trade statistics, nevertheless, show a considerable export of cement. In 1913 this export of domestic cement amounted to 747,736 tons (£1,273,080). In 1917 the corresponding figure was 356,711 tons (£1,116,354). The exports of clays of all kinds totaled 772,594 tons and 356,116 tons, respectively, for the same years. A large part of this material is used in manufacturing pottery and chinaware rather than for building purposes.

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