The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-09-16
The Coffee Traffic.


The consumption of coffee in the
United States hiss reached the enormous
quantity of about 5000. 900 sacks nm
nually. Whlle England. France. Ger
many and the Latin Kingdoms that bor
der the Mediterranean sea import thou-
sands of tons Of the precious bean. it's
use is not as general among the peas
antry of Europe as among the laborine
classes Of our own republic. The Eng
lish and the Russian people consume
more tea than coffee. while this latter
fragrant herb Is sold as medicine in tine
drug Shops OF Spain and Italy and in
numerous Latin American republics.
In the Southof Europe neither coffee
nor tea are nf general use among the
poor, for the opmmon table wines pro-
duced In this snate are much cheaper
than eitllA: "a sos coffee, and~are the
faxoritc = =. fhes cpls Dossiblestallle
beverages t1ss peasuntry caDs@l5tafn Tn
Northern Europe, where the working
classes Obtain but starvation wages;
along the coast of the Baltic sea, IA Fin
land in the east, and Denmark, Sweden
aud Norway in the west, wine. c,ffee
and tea are beyond the reach of the till
ing poor. These people have invented
yailous table beverages, such as decoc
lions of birch bark, ales of various kinds,
etc, but none of these liquors can COM
pare with the tea and coffee drank by
lleir richer neighbOrs.
In our own favored Republic the tariff
Of wages is much higher than in any
other part of the world, and our labor
ing classes daily see on their tables food
that but seldom visits the humble
boards of their transatlantic cousins.
By consequence the fragrant extract of
the "Arabian berry" Is seen ON almost
every table throughout the wide area Of
the republic. and the American people
have earned. and they deserve the repu-
tation of a nation of coffee drinkers.
As coffee has become such necessity
to us, and as our population Is increas-
ing so rapidly that the statesmen of
Europe have learned to speak of us as
the great transatlantic nation, the ques
ton has more than once been asked,
from whence are we to draw our future
supplies of coffee.
The question is readily answered
The vast plains of Cordova, the semi
tropical jungles of San Louis Potosi and
the sheltered valleys of Michoacan,
Mexico, with the thriving plantations of
Guatamala. San Salvador, and Costa
Rica in Central America, and the i'm
mense coffee districts of Brazil will plant
aud harvest all this staple our people viii
need for centuries As our demand IN
creases their acreage of their precious
berry will also increase nor need we
fear that the price will rise with the de
mand. for our democratic brothers OF
Guaiamala. of Costa Ricl. of Sad Sal
vador and of Mexico have, since they
threw off the shackles Of political des-
potism. turned their attention to agrlcul-
ture. while coffee IS the principal staple
they produce.
To such an extent has this coffee
problem assumed serious proportions
that one of our New 0r'elns firms has
established hrancli house at Cordova,
Mexico, together with several agencies
in the same planting region.
As the coffee regions are generally
near the coast, the harvest VIII be
brought TO the nearest seaport for ship
ment, and will thus ignore the railroads
destined soon to travsrse the centre of
Mexico from the South TO the North.
This Mexican coffee, together with that
produced 10 Central America, will gravi-
tate TOW ard New Orleans as tie great
commercial distributing centre of the
Southern half of our vast Republic.
From this port the Valley of the Missis-
sippi and the numerous Western popu-
lation centres Will receiver their supply
of the fragrant berry, while New Or
leans is destined to become the grand
coffee mart of the great republic. .-Neto
Orleans DCmecrGt.