The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-11-15
Commercial 1siations Of tIas We.t
[st. louis RspsbliosnJ

| lst. Louis RepnbicenJ
The merchants and importers of sha
cities of the North Atlantic seaboard s re
scarcely aware Of tho chgfacter and extent
of the commercial changeS which are taxi =
place in the cities of the Mississippi vallay
Hitherto New York, Boston and Philadai.
phia have been the ports of entry for Pitts.
burg, Cincinnati, Louisville, Chicago and
those cities by the sea kindly consented, for
considerations, to transact all the business
which the people might have with the ont.
side world. Railway connections were
made to meet the demands of this traffic
| with the West. The merchant prinees of
Boston and New York having grown rich.
and feeling secure in the position of 81,
premacy which they had acquired, com.
placentiy sat down and demanded the tri.
ouse OF commissions from the Western
cities. In fact, they never dreamed that a
day would ever dawn when the West could
dispense with their services. Sitting at
the gates opening upon the highwsys
OF trahc, the commercial lords of the
East exscted Obeisance from the men of
the West, nor suspected that other gate
ways to the outer world coald be opened.
The West was compliant.
But a change is taking place. The mer.
chants of the valley cities are learning their
propinquity to the American Mediterran-
ean-the Gulf of Mexico-and the facilities
which it affords, and they are beginning to
avail themselves of the advantages of the
situation.
There is steady but marked asyelop--
ment of trade with and through the cities of
the Gulf coast. The commerce carried on
between St. Louis and foreign markets
through the ports of New Orleans, Galveston
and Mobile is already of great value. But
shipments via the Mississippi river through
New Orleans, nothing was either imported
into or exported frcn this city FIVE years
ago that did not pass through Eastern
ports. Now st. Louis merchants and fac
tors are receiving whole cargoes of Cuba
sugar through Mobile and sbiploads- Of
Brazil coffee through Galveston, while
lines of sailing and steam vessels plying
between New Orleans and ports of the
West Indies and Mexico, bring whole car
goes OF the varied productions of those
regions which are consigned to st. Louis
merchants.
We have recently called the attention Of
our readers to the fact that q line of schoon-
ers now plies regularly between Mobile
and Havana; that the Messrs. A.exandres
have established o line of steamers between
New Orleans and Vera Crnz and Tuxpan,
Mexico, further, that qnite recently
steamer pioneering regular line, arrived
1t the Port of Galveston from Rio de jan
Giro with full cargo of coffee consigned to
prominent grocery firm in this city.
Already it is estimated that the encour-
'S911sonV SiSoh thcso enterprises ID 6oInclenG
70 ensure their permanence. The people,
even here, who are not in q position to
know, have no conception of the extent and
vaiue OF the commercial relations between
st. Louis and the Gulf ports. The steady
Increase in the direct foreign trade of ST.
Louis the direction which it 10 taking,
and the possibilities of the future may we'll
excite grave apprehensions among tho
Eastern Importers, who have hitherto i'm
.gined they held in their hands the key to
The vast commerce of continent.
New highways of trade are being open
ID new fields for commercial enterprise
developed, and new energies evolved
among the Western people, which will
overcome the slight obstacles now in their
way. The time is not distant IN the future
when complete revolution in the COM
nerce of the great Mississippi valley will
rave been effected. We propose to revert
@ this subject for the purpose of showing
~ facts and figures just how rapidly the
'hanges in the commercial relations and
dependencies of the West are being eff
ected.