The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-02-19
STAND BY THE CANAL.

Some confusion appears 10 exist in GER
tain minds as to the effect of a Nicaragua
canal upon the trade OF San Francisco. In
one quarter it is argued that it would have
the effect of sending the ASiatic traffic which
now comes here 10 Atlantic Seaports by way
Of the canal To this it is replied that San
Francisco derives no benefit from trans
portatlon which passes through it without
breaking bulk, and that that is the case
with the bulk ofour importations from Asia A.;
thus the port would lose nothing by the
canal, and might gain something. The
point is made that the only commerce which
really benefits a port is distrbutive COM
mtrce.
In reality the trade of Asia is hardly
worth considering. If the British tea
steamers took the Nicaragua route Instead
Of the SueZ route they would, it is said, save
! three days sailing, bat they would not come
within thousand miles of San Francisco,
| canal or no canal, SO our situation would be
the same The exports of Asia are very
small and restricted to two or three articles
They would not make San Francisco a sea-
port of the first rank if they all came here
The proportion OF Them which tine Canadian
! Pacific has taken from US has not been per-
ceptlbly felt in diminution of our sea-going
tonnage or our bank clearings. In tact,
when people talk of our trade with Asia as
though it was matter of the highest con-
sequence they have not looked into the fig
ures. This Coast does some little business
with China in supplying the Chinese with
flour and kerosene oil, hut our whole COM
mercial intercourse with that empire is of
less value to the port than our traffic with
British Columbia.
ha han.ft yuhicI, tho anil ILL 49,.
upon California will be the saving that it
viii cause in the reduced cost of Transport
tation of thirty to thirty-tive millions Of
California produce now shipped to the East
and Europe and by lower rate on freight
from the Eastern States and Europe. Our
wheat and wool and wine ana dried fruit
ana canned goods, which now go 10 market
either by the Horn or by railroad, would
then in large part find their way to
the Atlantic via Nicaragua in half the time
they take to circumnayigate the Horn, and
at very much less cost than the railroads
charge for carrying them across the CONT
nent The same argument will apply to
merchandise received from the East. These
are substantial advantages, and such as
should rally to the support Of the canal
every Californian who has the prosperity Of
his State at heart.
1t is true that it would be desirable to
make San Francisco distributing market
and not permit it to become way station
like Panama or Aspinwall. But this can
only be done by reasonable freight charges
by railroads to the interior States. There
are some three millions of people living
west Of the mountains, it is true, but San
Francisco ought to send supplies largely
into the Mississippi Valley. There are sixty
| millions of people living east of the noun
tains now dependent on the Atlantic sea-
ports for their supplies. With low freight
charges by the railroads, as we have sug-
gested, San Francisco ought to receive a
| considerable trade from the Mississippi
Valley. Freights from San Francisco TO lGca-
| tiOns west of Chicago and St. Louis ought
| to be but trifle more than they are from
| New York and other Eastern cities to those
! locations, for merchandise passing from
! the Pacific Ocean via the canal and railroad
| surely no more.
Take the article of tea, for instance. OF
which the United States import one year
with another $500 O,OO0, from China and
| Japan. Looking at the map it would seem
| that this tea ought to come here and be dis.
tributed from here, by rail, among the cen
! tiers of consumption. But in fact it goes to
| New York and Boston, either by the Suez
| Canal, or by sea and rail combined routes
because freights are excessive from San
! Francisco.
The canal will form new, expeditions and
| cheap route to the East and to Europe; this
will enable US to effect a considerable saw
ing in sending our wheat and other products
to market and in buying from Europe and
the East the merchandise which we shall be
compelled to import for some time to come.