relative to the customs laws and regulations of foreign countries,' and this branch of the work has already assumed considerable proportions.

The library connected with the foreign tariff work, in which can be found official publications of the various governments, reference books, and general works treating of foreign tariffs, has been enlarged until it now contains approximately 2,000 volumes and pamphlets. Access to the library is granted freely to students and business men engaged in researches in the field of foreign customs legislation, and whenever practicable documents and manuscript reports on file are loaned for a limited time to responsible persons.

It is believed that the importance of the work of this Bureau to manufacturers and exporters justifies special interest in its growth and liberal support of its activities by Congress. The Bureau has been thus far, as stated in my report last year, scarcely more than well established. The field to be developed is very large and has great possibilities of useful and profitable service. When these possibilities are fully understood by commercial, industrial, and manufacturing interests, there will no doubt be an insistent demand for an adequate personnel of commercial experts and ample equipment to carry forward the legitimate work of the Bureau for the "fostering, promoting, and developing of the manufacturing industries of the United States."

BUREAU OF STATISTICS.

The Bureau of Statistics, which records the foreign commerce of the United States, together with such information regarding the internal commerce as can be gathered with its limited facilities therefor, has materially increased the detail of its work during the year.

VALUES OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

According to the records of the Bureau, the foreign commerce of the country in the fiscal year 1911 showed a larger total in value of exports than in any earlier year and a larger value of imports than in any year except 1910. The total value of the exports was $2,049,320,199, an increase of $304,335,479 over 1910 and of $168,469,121 over the former high-record year, 1907. The imports were valued at $1,527,226,105, a reduction of $29,721,325 below the figures of 1910.

The fall in the value of imports occurs in the group "Manufacturers' raw material," and is chiefly due to a reduction in the importation of india rubber, hides and skins, and wool, of which the imports of 1910 were exceptionally heavy, the other classes of raw materials showing larger totals in 1911 in most cases.

The growth in exports is about equally divided between manufactures and manufacturers' materials, the increase in the value of manufactures exported (including manufactures ready for use and those for further use in manufacturing) being $140,538,596 and the increase in manufacturers' raw materials $147,083,249. The growth in exports of raw materials occurs chiefly in cotton, of which the export price was exceptionally high. The increase in manufactures exported occurs in many of the important articles, but especially in manufactures of iron and steel, which amounted to $230,725,352 in value, against $179,133,186 in the preceding year. Manufactures of wood also show a growth of $13,442,148, those of cotton $7,454,821, agricultural implements $7,849,365, and copper $15,080,502.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FOREIGN-TRADE MOVEMENTS.

The foreign commerce of the United States has greatly increased during recent years, and with this increase has also come a marked change in the character of trade movements. Manufactures, which in 1880 formed less than 15 per cent of the exports and in 1890 but about 21 per cent, formed in 1911 over 45 per cent of the greatly increased total, and at certain seasons of the year were more than 60

per cent of the total, while manufacturers' raw material, which in 1880 formed less than 20 per cent of the imports, formed in 1911 33 per cent of the greatly enlarged total. The actual value of manufactures exported in 1911 (including in this term both manufactures ready for use and those for further use in manufacturing) amounted to $907,519,841, against $465,777,992 in 1901, having thus practically doubled in a single decade, while the value of manufacturers' raw material imported increased from $248,006,751 in 1901 to $511,362,140 in 1911. Meantime the value of foodstuffs exported has fallen from $582,999,518 in 1901 to $385,418,436 in 1911, despite the advance in prices during the decade. The share which foodstuffs formed of the exports of domestic merchandise has fallen from 56 per cent in 1880 and 42 per cent in 1890 to less than 20 per cent in 1911.

NEEDED EXTENSION IN RANGE OF STATISTICS.

These changes in the character of the imports and exports have materially affected trade currents, the share of our exports which is sent to Europe having fallen from approximately 80 per cent a quarter of a century ago to less than 64 per cent in 1911, and that to other parts of the world proportionately increased. These changes in the character of the commerce and its movements, as well as the increase in the volume of both imports and exports, have stimulated the desire on the part of the public for commercial information in much greater detail and to be presented with much greater promptness. Such increases in the detail of the statistics and the process of presentation could only be obtained by a material enlargement of the force now assigned to their preparation in this Department and presumably also in the customs service of the Treasury Department, by which the figures of imports and exports are now supplied. In order to fully and intelligently consider this subject of a material enlargement of the statistical statements of our commerce, committees have been appointed by this Department and the Treasury Department to jointly consider the entire subject, including a comparison of our own methods with those of other countries, and these committees have already entered upon a consideration of the subject.

QUARTERLY STATEMENT OF IMPORTS FOR CONSUMPTION.

The statement entitled "Imports for consumption," which shows about 3,000 articles imported, stating value in each case, quantity wherever possible, rate of duty, and duty collected on each, formerly issued as an annual statement only, is now issued in quarterly as well as annual form and distributed to importers, customhouses, trade bodies, the daily and commercial press, and others interested in the details of the import trade of the country.

The preparation and publication of this statement in quarterly form has materially increased the labor of the Bureau and also added considerably to the expense of its publications. The monthly statement of foreign commerce was, at the close of the fiscal year, so enlarged as to increase by about 20 per cent the number of articles enumerated in both the import and export statements, an increase which will add considerably to the work and in some degree to the expense of the Bureau. Both these enlargements of the work were made as a result of numerous requests from trade bodies and individuals engaged in commerce, requests which were so numerous and urgent as apparently to justify the increased expense of preparation and publication.

The increase in the labor of the Bureau consequent upon the enlargement of its statistical statements, coupled with the unusually large demands upon it for special information for the legislative and executive branches of the Government, renders necessary a small addition to its working force, the details of which are shown in the annual estimates for the expenses of the Department of Commerce and Labor, forwarded to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury.

BUREAU OF STANDARDS.

CUSTODY OF THE STANDARDS.

The standards of the Bureau include those used in the measurement of length, mass, volume, temperature, quantity of heat, light, electrical quantities, and the properties of materials. Many of these are based upon standards adopted by international agreement. The custody of these standards comprises not merely their care and preservation, but also comparisons and researches necessary to maintain their constancy. The standards are of great variety. Some standards, such as the platinum-iridium standards of length and mass, are very permanent in character and are preserved in the standards vault of the Bureau. The duplicates of these reference standards are used for ordinary work. Others, such as electrical and photometric standards and standard thermometers and pyrometers, require constant study and comparison to maintain their constancy. For example, the standards of electrical pressure are kept in an underground vault in an oil bath and maintained at constant temperature, not varying more than one hundredth of a degree. The conditions necessary to insure the perfect constancy of such standards are studied with the greatest care, and the Bureau is provided with unique facilities required for the most exacting systems of control. The construction and maintenance of such standards becomes an important part of the Bureau's work. For example, the standards of light intensity now consist of specially prepared electric lamps whose values are accurately known. Their values change very slightly with use, and frequent comparisons are made to detect and reject any lamp showing appreciable change. Every effort is made to prevent possible drift in the value of the standard candlepower. Similar care is required in maintaining the constancy of the other standards. It has been found by the Bureau that electrical resistance standards should be protected from the effects of atmospheric moisture, that standards of electrical capacity may be affected by changes of atmospheric pressure, and that the heating and reheating of thermometers affects their zero points. Precautions must be taken against such changes or exact allowance made therefor.

In addition to the instrument standards, the Bureau has also the custody of certain standard materials used in industrial work. These comprise 37 different standards, such as steels, irons, ores, brasses, limestone, sugar, and others. During the year nearly 1,500 of these standards of materials of known composition were furnished to the