, 1869-05-11
CHICAGO AND TIE ASIATIC TRADE.

ANY schedule u 1relHhtS md fArGd WHICH
the Pscihc Railroad may at present adop:
will doubtless be sspro7isional merely,
and open to revision as tho business Of the
road deye}opes- But we are satisfied that
the prosperity Of the road itself, and the de-
gree in which it will fulfil the great hopes
based upon it, and benefit the country at
large, depend on the breadth Of view and
sagac:tr [uot Of the penny-wise, pound
foolish sort. which its Directors shall bring
to the adjustment Of its schedule, especially
Of through freights and fares. There will
he temptation ut first, in view Of the ab-
scnce OF railway competition, the difficulty
Of supplying fuel along the route and the
high cost Of Western labor, to pnt up both
frejghts and fares to the highest possible
point, Perhaps We nre not wrong in saying
that the charge Ut S.lG.95 for fures from
Chicago to San Francisco T., 800 miles), or
about nine cents per mile, is an illustration
Of this tendency. Assuming that this,
which is three times the average rate on the
other railroads Of the country, is fair
guide 10 The rates at which freights
also will be charged, We hare starting
point from which to calculate whether it
will he profitable to import teas, indigo,
silks, spices, opium and other Of The more
compact Asiatic goods by This railway,
OF whether they arc still to follow their
ancient channels Of commerce, AL great
improvements in modes OF transportation
have dried up the former channels Of com-
n,erce. and depopulated the commercial
cities relying upon them, mud created new.
The trade between India and China, on
the cast, md Asia Minor aud Europe, or
The west, when carried on tho backs oi
camels, bnilt the cities Of Babylon, Sineveh
Tyre and Baglal. When it began to b.
carried partly in vessels, Alexandria anG
constantinople rose into power. But tn
mariners compass md the East Indi
packets transferred this trade to Calcutta
Bombay, Lisbon. Genoa, Amsterdam, mn
it now centres in the two first and London
Without railways, Chicago would nos
have been snug little like port of one
tenth its present population.
The whole question whether vast m
almost in,1neasnrab1e East India trade
10 he detected from its ancler
channels, ei.' London and New York, an
caused to flow into n new route, ri" 81
Francisco and Chicago. depends upon bu
one point-cost. If the teas consumed i
the Unitcl States can be Imported to an
distributed from Chicago more cheaply thu
from any other point, here they must CONF
by law as irresistible Us grAvisadon. Th
cost Of rai!-oad frcights On the other road
of the country ranges from eight to dftee
mills per ton per mile, averaging one eeu
per mile. If we suppose that the Pacif
road will charge three times as nuch, {
three cents per ton per mile (Which is tu-it
too nuch). the freight Of ton (2,0O0 l,s
If tea fru.n S,n Francisco to Chicago vi
lie so. The ocean transportation save
ia San Francisco and the pacii
Railroad, compared with the Cape Hol
or the Cape u Good Hope,
ab,nt 1...0Gu miles. The freight at oces
rates. for this la.ot,o miles, averages tv
mills Ier ton per mile, or SEA. The ton
teas. at ordinary invoice rates go cts p
t'), would he worth 500, and the tin
consumed hy the ocean route would exec,
by si1 months the time consumed ri" Sd
Ffanc1eco and Pacific Railroad The
would be saved by the latter route, thel
fore: the interest On 800 for SIX naontl
OF S2i.:n. The rntes Of marine insurant
from London to Sss York, a1e Il per eel
We have not the rates from, China to Lo
: don snd New York. but they cannot ran
less thsn from two to four per cent.
least two per cent would be saved on n
rine insurance BY the route, or 5l+, and
railway cost Of bringing the teas from n
York to Chicago, $40. The relative cost
i. h1ineing the ton Of tens 10 Chicago
ocean and Pacific Railway, would comp
some hat rs follows
Cost Of freight from San Francis
co 10 Chicago. t6f
Ofwt.
]. Saving IN OCEAN freight.....- .4e4-00
g Saving tn interest on cost OF tca5 AsO
J. SAVING III marine intlr1nce..-. 1AGO
4. SAving In freight from New