United Kingdom $618,000,000 $418,000,000 Germany 117,000,000 30,100,000 France 78,000,000 60,000,000 Japan 58,000,000 95,800,000 United States 55,500,000 60,200,000 Switzerland 50,300,000 65,800,000 Italy 47,800,000 30,500,000 India 38,900,000 27,300,000 Holland 30,900,000 Austria Hungary 27,800,000 Belgium 23,700,000 Russia 22,500,000 19,700,000[B] Spain 8,300,000 17,400,000 China 1,400,000 2,100,000 ----- [B] Eleven months. Thus, despite the very remarkable growth which had taken place between 1910 and 1913, the United States ranked fifth among the nations exporting cotton goods. The reasons for this might be summed up in almost a word. The attractiveness and rapid growth of the home market provided an outlet for practically the whole output of American mills. With high prices prevailing in the home market, the manufacturer was not called upon to exert himself to stimulate sales in regions where competition would inevitably be keen and profits small. Minor Handicaps to Trade Development Supporting this main objection there have been others. Until recently the banking facilities abroad were insufficient to the needs of a greater commerce; and shipping facilities, in pre-war days, were not such as to make regular shipments possible to many foreign markets. Over these conditions manufacturers had not direct control, but there were other matters in which their own short-comings were all too evident. There is little need to list again the familiar complaints, known to every reader of Commerce Reports and the export magazines. Faulty packing and insufficient attention to orders were the most frequent. The former was undoubtedly due to inexperience, and the latter to the tendency of the manufacturer or merchant to consider the foreign market as a place for disposing of a surplus unsalable at home. To this attitude may also be attributed the frequency with which shipments for which orders had been accepted have been delayed or overlooked altogether. [Illustration: _Compress bales awaiting export on a Savannah wharf_] The foreign market remained for the American manufacturer a prize so distant and of such questionable value that he was simply not willing to make the effort and spend the money that would be necessary to compete with British, German, French, and other sellers. He would have had to know local customs and tastes, and all the details that he had so arduously acquired a knowledge of for the home market. The time was not ripe. U. S. Export Trade As Affected By War