Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-01-18
Our Foreign Trade.


ment of which II will have the sup
port Of all classes and parties, name
". the extension Of our trade with
South America. III order to revive
our dropping Industries. lnvestiga-
ton by Government agents proves
that while we purchase III Brazil. for
example, more Of her products than
any other nation does, We >'H less
than Great Britain, France, or Ger
many, and we are gradually falling
behind other European nations IN
the business of furnishing man
ufactnred goods and natural pro
ducts to those countries that lie near
us. Why is this? Because until
this year we have had no fIst-class
line of steamers plying between our
ports and South America, while
all the European nations have sever
al each, and because We have stead
lily neglected to maintain mail steam
ship lines, while all those nations pay
their lines for regular postal service
from $50 900 to 100000 annually.
American merchants and ship-own-
ers, of course, could not compete
with the odds against them under
these circumstances, and have until
this year steadily lost in our proper
ton of South American trade.
This dangerous tendency aroused
our merchants, and last year they in
duced Mr.. John Roach to put on
line of steamers to Brazil. He OBJ
tanned a contract from Brazil for car
rying the mails, and was encouraged
by the expectation OF similar con-
tract from the United States, which
so far, the British steamship lobby
has prevented, hoping thereby to
break down his line, and again reap
the advantage of a monopoly they
formerly had. Previous to the run
ming of his line, no steamers ran
from New York to Brazil, the British
steamers running from Brazil to
New with York cargoes, receiving the
gold for them, and taking the gold
to England where they purchased
goods for the return voyage, thus
giving us no chance in those mar
kets. AS some of our merchants
and Mr.. Roach began to agitate for
the new line to accommodate our
trade, the subsidized British ship
owners put on three little steamers
from New York, making four trips
in 1877.
Again, when the subject came be-
fore Congress for its action last VIM
ter, they ran these steamers to prove,
if possible, that there was no necessi-
ty for a postal contract. AS soon as
Congress adjourned, they were
hauled off, finding it Improbable to
compete with the American line, but
now that the subject is brought be-
fore Congress by the President and
Secretary Evarts, they put these ves-
sells on again, With the double pur
pose of restraining Congress from
giving the home line a contract and
of breaking down American compe-
tition in the profitable trade of South
America. All the States of that
hemisphere are ready to pay large
sums for the maintenance of United
States lines of steamers carrying
mails and giving them eccess to our
markets, and it would be strange if
our people should not cooperate with
them, since the plan would i'm
mediately open markets for our sur
plus productions and give an impetus
to all sorts of business.
MEssRs. S. W. Hall, alias Holiday
alias Clark party who left here few
days ago for Macaupin county, Ii
liuois. have been heard from as sur