The morning call., 1893-05-05
A CHANCE FOR SOMEBODY.

There is a promising opening for the
establishment of direct trade between this
port and the port of Singapore in the Straits
Settlements. The present trade of the
United STA tes with that port amounts tn
So, 100000 annually, TO wit, SO, ZOO. 600 of
goods imported by the United States from
Singapore, and 81, 100000 of goods imported
by Singapore from the United States. The
exchanges are mainly effected in Eng
lish bottoms and the goods are shipped
from Singapore, or consigned TO English or
German films at Singapore-theIe being not
one single American house in business
there. We take from the Straits Settlements
Sl0,000000 worth of tin. gambler, copal,
coffee, rattans, pepper, tobacco ard other
products of the East, for which we mainly
pay in drafts on London: when the drafts
are paid the proceeds are invested in Eng
lish hardware, textiles and machinery and
shipped to the Settlements. The problem is
how to pay for our impOrtations in Ameri-
can goods.
The English have got control OF the trade,
first, because they have steamships plying
between Singapore and British ports, and
next, because the English houses who con-
troll the trade OF the port naturally promote
exchanges with England. and discourage
exchanges with other countries. To get our
share OF it we must have steamers plying
to Singapore, and probably touching at
Manila, where they can always get some
cargo in The shape of sugar, hemp and to-
bacco: and we must have at least one or
two American houses of good standing and
adequate capital at Singapore. Such houses
would soon get et least half the American
trade with the Settlements. and the mercan-
tile commission on a trade Of six millions
ought to amount to something handsome.
When tile attention of merchants is drawn
to ths opportunity. the objection is made
that tie Pacific Mail and the o. and O. lines
plying to China and Japan are not making
fortunes. Those lines are doing better
than they care to confess, and they have to
compete at HongKoug and Yokohama with
established British lines which have almost
| daily departures. 1t is never easy to divert
traffic out Of established into new channels.
! Ever since Asia has had steamship inter-
| course with the outside world. that trade
has followed western conrse-rOund the
straits and the capes, through the Suez
! canal, ever since 1t was opened, and thence
| through the Mediterranean. 1t does vio-
| leuce to the habits of Orlentals TO propose
! TO divert it to the direct line across the
| Pacific Yet the distance between the east
| ern ports Of Asia and the western coast of
| North America-if measured in time-is
| but little over half the distance which
! divides Hong-K0ng from Southampton.
| Trade Will not always take two days to do
| that which can be done in one. Some day
| direct intercourse between Singapore and
| San Francisco will be established as direct
intercourse has been established between
San Francisco and Sydney. The question is
whether we in this city are going to estab-
lish it, and take the profit of it, or whether
we are going to leave it to some one else.
IN the dim and distant future the Pacific
Ocean will present picture of far more
maritime activity than the Atlantic Ocean
tween our Atlantic seaboard cities and the
seaports Of Liverpool Southampton, Hayre,
Hamburg and Bremen has been created by
the enterprise of man with little assistance
from nature. Barring the export of food
from this country to Europe our trade with
that continent has been forced; there are
hardly any natural exchanges. But the
bounty of nature has been SO curiously dis
tributed among the countries which are
washed by the Pacific that each one ha:
something which the others lack; each can
take something from the others and pay fol
it in products which those others need
| There are no limits to the exchanges which
could be effected between the various re.
gions of the Americas and Asia if adequate
transportation were provided ard the ma.
chine of commerce were once set in working
order.