Foreign Countries and World Markets 
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THE EUROPEAN MARKET 
We have already seen that because of the high civilization of Europe 
the inhabitants are large consumers. With 400,000,000 inhabitants and 
with more people living in cities than is the case in any other continent, 
Europe is the greatest of the world’s markets. One might think that 
in a continent where manufacturing is so active few manufactured goods 
would be imported from abroad. Nevertheless, in normal times, the 
United States sells almost as many manufactured goods to Europe as 
to the rest of the world combined. On the whole, however, Europe 
is a market for the foodstuffs and raw materials of other countries 
rather than for their manufactured articles. 
What the United States contributes to the European market. Al- 
most every part of the earth sends food and raw materials to Europe. 
The United States is one of the chief contributors, for about half of 
our exports usually go to European countries. As foodstuffs, we send 
great quantities of wheat, corn, flour, hams, bacon, lard, and beef. 
As industrial raw materials, we send cotton, copper, tobacco, and 
leather. Cotton is the most important item of the list. No less than 
half a billion dollars’ worth goes to Europe annually. 
American labor-saving machinery in the European market. Among 
the manufactured products of the United States, labor-saving machin- 
ery finds an especially ready market in Europe. American cash reg- 
isters, typewriters, and automatic weighing machines are found in 
European stores and offices ; American sewing machines in European 
homes; and ingenious shoe machines, screw machines, and many 
others in European factories; while many European fields are harvested 
by machines made in America. 
The American machines, however, are soon copied by European 
manufacturers, and the market is lost unless improvements are made 
constantly. Thus far Americans have to a large degree been able to 
make such improvements, for the power of invention seems to be more 
highly developed in America than in any other country. This is 
partly because wages in the United States are so high that employers 
are eager to adopt every possible invention that will save labor. 
Advantage of exporting manufactured goods instead of raw materials. 
The United States need not take satisfaction in sending to Europe 
sreat quantities of foodstuffs and raw materials. Many people think 
that this country would be far better off if we manufactured all our 
surplus cotton, copper, and other raw materials into finished products 
for foreign markets. We should then make not only a primary pro-