Page:Mexico and its reconstruction.djvu/223

Rh Railroads, propinquity, and the rapidly growing manufacturing industries of the northern republic assured it the greater part of Mexican import trade. These advantages were temporarily increased by the World War, which made the United States almost the exclusive market in which Mexico purchased for import. Parallel with that of imports there was in process, meanwhile, a rapid growth in export trade and a contest for its control. The shipments out of Mexico naturally fall into two great classes—the mining products and all others. Historically the characteristic exports of Mexico are the precious metals. As late as 1872-3 they were 81 per cent of the total. But though they continued to rise in yield they fell in relative importance. The total metals export was valued at 20,294,321 pesos in 1874-5. Twenty years later the precious metals sent abroad were worth 52,535,854 pesos, 30 years later 93,885,526 pesos, and in 1912-13, 130,885,339 pesos. But in the same period commodities exports had risen in even greater proportion. In 1874-5 they had been worth 7,024,467 pesos; 20 years later they were worth 38,319,099 pesos; 30 years later in 1904-5, 114,634,924 pesos. At this latter date commodities exports had already passed the precious metals exports in value, and in 1912-13 they rose further to 169,520,212 pesos' worth. In other words, while precious metals exports had increased 650 per cent, those of commodities rose 2,300 per cent. This meant that Mexico was less distinctively a mining country than at any time in her history. Her mining, too, was becoming less characteristically devoted to the precious metals, especially silver.