The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-07-04
STEAMSHIP LINES.

The Presidents message to Congress,
covering a letter from Mr.. Blaine on the
subject of steamship communication be-
tween San Francisco and Valparaiso,
places on that body the responsibility of de-
Gliding whether the American flag shall or
shall not resume its proper supremacy Oh
the Pacific. As matters stand, the Ameri-
can merchant navy cuts no figure on that
ocean. We have one line-the Pacific Mail
whose ships are seen in the ports of Hong
Kong and Yokohama. Those ports are
thronged with first-claSS steamers carrying
the English, French, German, Chinese and
Japanese flags. Between Sydney, n. S. W,
and London there are four European steam
ship lines, which sail full of merchandise
and passengers; we have one line, which
dispatches a monthly steamer from sgd
ney TO San Francisco. Ocean steamers
with an aggregate tonnage of about 100000
enter and clear every year at Chilean ports;
our share is less than COCO tons.
The foreign commerce of the four coun-
tries of South America which are washed
by the Pacific amounts on the average to
about S195 100000 q year. divided as fol-
lows: Chile. sI30o0o 600; Peru, 5GOO,0 coo;
Bolivia and Ecuador, about s20. O0oC00 each.
This trade is so thoroughly monopolized by
Europe that our share is hardly worth
reckoning. Yet we have in excess nearly
all the articles which South America on the
Pacific imports; and for the articles which
that coast exports there is as good a market
here as anywhere in Europe. The chief ex-
ports of Chile are copper and silver: those
of Bolivia silver. hides, Peruvian bark,
cocoa and coffee; those of Peru nitrates,
nd oil IF
coffee, Peruvian bark, hides and rubber.
For all these articles there would be as
steady and satisfactory a market at San
Francisco as at London if they came here
for sale. Ecuador buys from abroad cotton
goods. hardware, machinery, kerosene oil
and flour; Bolivia buys cotton goods, hard
ware, machinery, wearing apparel, canned
provisions and notions. Before the war
Peru bought large quantities of wooden and
cotton goods, hardware, machinery, kero-
sene oil, lumber, readymade clothing and
notions. When her finances are restored
she will be as large consumer of these
commodities as formerly. Chile buys linen,
cotton and WOODEN goods, hardware, ma
chinery, cereal food, provisions, furniture,
woodenware and notions. II will be per-
ceived that Of all the articles required by
South Anne ricans we have a surplus which
we should be glad to dispose OF, and that
we can consume the various commodities of
which South America has a surplus The
exchange is the most natural thing in the
world and would be advantageous all round.
But the reciprocal traffic would take so
long to build up that no ship-owner would
run the risk of putting on line of steamers
for its accommodation. Before the ex-
change became general he would be broken
and his steamers laid up. The case is PIE
cisely one of those in which wise states
manship would guarantee the pioneers in
the enterprise against loss until the trade
was well established and the steamship
line became self-supporting.
Both the President and Mr.. Blaine refer
to an expectation that the South American
countries would contribute subsidies to
such line. That would probably be the
case. The Pacific Mail Company is now IN
receipt of liberal subsidies from Mexico and
from the States of Central America; but it
will not do to make the success of the
scheme dependent on the action of South
American Governments. They are pro-
verbally slow, and if they subsidze steam
ers they will naturally want 60 have them
sail under their own flags. Whatever the
United States do had better be done as if
we were alone in the matter. Then we
shall know what we have to expect and
shall be able to avoid occasions of friction.