New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-06-22
4elp @rlta,ss xepnhlteats.
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE UNITED STATES.
nFFleNl JOURNAL Of THE STATE OF LOUISIANA.
NEW ORLEA No, 1T. Louie AND
BRA I'll.
We copy the following excellent article
ftom the Richmond Head LiqIG:

We copy the following excellent article
from the Richmond Head Light:
II is somewhat strange that New Orleans
st. Louis and other large cities in the Mis-
sippi Valley have not as yet regained the Id
crative trade they enjoyed with Brazil pre-
yious to the rebellion. Before the war
almost all the Western trade in coffee and
sugar was carried on by way OF New or
leans. The interruption OF traffic oy the
channels of commerce, Aud that trace was
forced into unnatural courses, and has not
vet been restored. There are several good
and undepisble reasons why New Orleans
should monopolize the entire business
from that country. Most of the coffee
used in the West comes from, Rio
Janeiro. Water carriage is always
the cheapest means Of transportation,
and the rail from New York can not COM
pete with the river from New Orleans. Be
sides. the gulf route is the shortest to all
important points in the West. The cost,
then, of importing Rio coffee to st. Louis,
Cincinnati and other large cities in the
West is much less by New Orleans than by
New York, yet sack of coffee is hardly
ever seen going up the river now, while
before the war the steamboats, carried i'm
mense quantities of it. Another point, the
West consumes far more coffee proportion
ately than the East, while South America
uses large quantities OF Western flour. and
there should be steady and growing in
terchange of commodities between these
countries.
Western flour is the best in the American
market. This is an important advantage In
favor of st. Louis. 1t is well-ascertianed
fact that -four made from grain grown in that
latitude bears the voyage to South American
ports better than any other. The expert.
ence of importers verifes this assertion.
Our -four is then not only the finest in the
United States for home consumption, but
also the best for expectation to tropical
countries.
In 1857 this country imported from Brazil
1877, OOC, 600 pounds of coffee, worth $l7 $780,
600. In the same year, Brazil exported to
foreign markets 256, 600, 600 pounds OF sugar.
In exchange for these valuable commodi-
ties, Brazil needs lard, pork, hams, -four,
pine lumber, agricultural implements. tex
tile fabrics, and other manufactures. These
articles are the chief staples Of Western
growth and production. The Mississippi
Valley is able to supply most of the com.
mercial wants of Brazil. st. Louis and
New Orleans, as the main distributing points
of the West and South, ought to take the
lead In this grand sy stem of mercantile ex-
changes. A vast commerce must soon
spring up between this valley and the ports
of South America. But, at present, our ex-
ports TO Brazil are entirely disproportioned
to our ability to meet the commercial wants
of that country. In 1854 and 1855, the
trade of England with South America was
five times as large as that Of the United
States.
In 1860. the value of our American i'm
ports from Brazil was $40, 900 900. and the
value of our exports from Brazil for the
same time was $4,000 600.
These figures show that this country is
not a successful competitor for the rich
trade of South America. More energetic
rivals are. enriching themselves with the
Opulence Of this commerce.
The wants of the United States and Bra
iii are complementary. Each country needs
the productions of the other. The West is
the fruitful and main source of those CON-
modities which South America requires.
New Orleans and st. Louis, as the chief EN-.
poriums of the Mississippi Valley, are able,
by the vast eXpansion which they can cause
In this tropic trade, to turn the commercial
balance in favor of the United States, and
themselves become the central distributing
points Of Brazilian staples.