Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-28
SAN rRANcIsco's coresR or VANTAGE.

The merchants OF San Francisco say
that business never was in 90 depressed
a condition in that city ~ it is now.
They claim that the drummers of Chi
cago come to their very doors and take
orders which they cannot fill at the
prices offered by the enterprising rep
resentatives of the windy city, and they
ascribe all this disadvantage to the high
local rates charged by the Southern Pa
cific railroad. But as they do not COM
plain of the overland freight rates, there
must be something wrong in their rea-
soning. To interior points from the
east the charges are fixed at the rates
charged to terminal points and return,
go that upon all goods imported from
the east the Chicago men could
have no advantage over the San
Francisco merchants, as far as the cost
of transportation is concerned. We.
must therefore look elsewhere for the
success of this transmontane compete
ton. 1t will probably be found in the
fact that eastern merchants are satisfied
with less profits than San Francisco
jobbers. There is doubtless disad-
vantage against San Francisco manufac-
turers in the sale of competing goods on
account OF the higher wages paid to
mechanics there than in eastern cities,
and for this the railroad is not RESPONSE
BILE. Whilst the interior rates of freight
are great deal higher than they ought
to be, to lower them would not give the
relief which San Francisco thinks it
would. The thing that would restore
the bay city to it's highest degree of pos
sible prosperity would be to make the
greatest use attainable of its magni-
fcent harbor. In restoring its mari
time commerce to its old-time prosper
ous condition, it must reach out for the
trade Of the South Pacific. by establish
ing lines OF steamers, which its mer-
chants could control, and which the
railroads could not subsidize. The
great bulk of the heavy freight that is
now hauled by rail from the east could
be brought by way OF the Isthmus and
the straits, if San Francisco merchants
would take advantage of their fine har-
Dor situation. They talk about building
an independent railroad to Salt Lake to
compete with the Southern Pacific. We
all know what would be the end of
such an undertaking. 1t would be
undermined by the railroads and
ultimately fall into the hands of
the very power they now complain of.
The real key to their commercial pros
perity lies in the great ocean highway.
They have it in their power to control
the coastwise trade of Mexico, Central
and South America, if they would de-
vote their capital and energies to the
establishment of their own lines of
steamships to reach out for the COM
merce of the Pacific. If they can lay
down goods in their city by sea from all
parts of the world cheaper than they can
be hauled three OF four thousand miles by
rail-and they undoubtedly can-they
will be in position to undersell eastern
competitors, and therein lies their mer-
camille strength. The Traffic association
would make greater headway in that
direction than in building competitive
railroads, even if they were able to do
80. With one-half the money it would
take to build and equip road to Salt
Lake, they could build several lines of
steamers, and open large and profit
able trade with Central and South
America.