The Portland daily press., 1884-01-29

Thomas, Jr., Minister resident at Stockholm,
sends TO the State Department. the following
report:
of State on the subject of direct steam oommu-
nication between Sweden and the United
States.
PRESENT ROUTES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES
AND SWEDEN.
The traveller from the United States to Swe-
den usually takes one of the great trans-Atlan-
tic steamers to Liverpool, thence few hours
by rail carries him across country to Hull. on
the east coast OF England; embarking here,
voyage of two days carries him over the stormy
North Sea, past the Skaw, on the northern
sandy point of Denmark, and into the port OF
Gothenburg, Sweden One may also lesTS
America by the German Atlantic steamers
and landing at Bremen or Hamburg, keep on
BY rail and boat to Copenhagen, whence a
steamer will take him-aeross the sound to
Malmo, Sweden, in less than two hours. Some
four years ago. tie Danish Thingvalla Steam
ship Company was founded. This line plies
once fortnight between Copenha gen and
new York. One may now, therefore, sail
from New York to Copenhagen direct. and
then changing steamer and crossing the sound
arrive at Malmo, Sweden. The great bulk of
the traffic between Sweden and America pass
es over the first mentioned route to wit: From
Gothenburg, Sweden, across the North Sea, to
Hull, England; thence by rail to Liverpool:
thence by steamship to America; in fact, more
than nine-tenths of the emgrants from Swe-
den TO the United States take this route.
Each OF these lines has its peculiar adyans
tages, but they all have this one great disad-
vantage in common-that goods sent from the
United States to Sweden must be discharged
and reloaded at a foreign port en- route, with
all the delays, breakages, damages, agencies,
custom-hOuse supervision and annoyances
which such transhpment is sure to occasion.
OF course the same is generally true of goods
sent from Sweden to the United States. and
passengers and emigrants from either country
to the other, together with all their luggage,
must be likewise transhipped.
TRADE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND
SWEDEN.
Yet, in spite of all hiudrances and inconye-
niences the commerce between the United
States and Sweden has attained large ard
ever-increasing proportions The United
States exports to Sweden large Quantities of
pork, lard, cotton, petroleum, rosin, maize,
TOOLS sewing machines, and Yankee notions,
and some cheese and black walnut timber;
while Sweden sends to the United States thou
sands of honest and industrious emigrants, and
thousands OF tons OF iron every year. Since
last Julysthere has also been an active ship
ment of matches from Sweden to our country
OF pork alone, (chifly sides,) the yearly export
from the United States to Sweden, may be
reckoned at from 10000 to sc, 900 boxes, or TO-
600 to 1900 tons; while Sweden sends to the
United States every year about 10000 tons of
iron.
or emigrants there sailed from the port of
Gotbenburg, Sweden. for the United States, in
round numbers, in 1881, 10000; in 1882, 10000;
in the present year, 1883, the number will
reach 20 900, notwithstanding the hard times,
and the consequent difficulty of obtaining en-
ployment in the United States
Here, then, is grand commerce sufficient
to handsomely support a weekly line of steam
ships, yet no steamer plies between the two
countries. Furthermore, it is perfectly evil
dent that the present extensive traffic must be
materially increased by direct steam communi-
cation; indeed, it can never reach anything
near its full fruition without this.
EFFORTS FOR DIRECT STEAM COMMUNICATION.
AS long ago as 1868, 1864 and 1866, while
was stationed at Gothenburg as consul for the
United States the suit ect Of a line of steam
ers from Gothenburg to New York demanded
and received much of my attention and effort,
and remember with pleasure that one of the
Gothenburg merchants who WAS most impress
ed with the practicability and importance OF
the matter, was Mr.. Adolf Meyer.
On my return TO Sweden. in August last, in
the service of the United States, 1 found that
my old friend, Mr.. Meyer, had not lost his in
terest in this subject, and that during all the
intervening time, more especially during the
last ten years, he had been actively endeavor-
ing to form a company and raise the necessary
funds to establish a Swedish steamship line
between. Gothenburg and New York. He had
prepared tables, by which it was clearly PROV
ed that there was already more than sufficient
business between the two ports to keep four
steamships constantly and remuneratively en-
ployed Yet despite this, apd Mr.. Meyers
own very influential position among the BUSH
ness men OF Sweden, he had not succeeded in
getting the necessary capital Subscribed.
One cause, which no doubt operated largely
against the enterprise, was the Swedish emil
grant law of 1869, by the provisions of which
80 per cent more space on shipboard yas re-