On this day in 1900, President William McKinley’s Secretary of State, John Hay, announced the so-called “open door” policy to stimulate trade with China, free of exclusion by imperial European powers scrambling for control of Chinese markets in the era before the income tax. This was significant because a very large portion of federal revenue came from tariffs or customs on imports. in 1900, federal receipts were around $567 million of which 41 percent were from customs duties. As of this past September, our imports from China were valued at nearly $38 billion for the month, while exports to that nation totaled just under $9 billion. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.