The morning call., 1893-01-22
THE TRADE OF 1892.

i
Coast for the calendar year 1892 have been
made up al Washington and are now in the
hands of the public. The exports of San
Francisco for that year foot up S31, III, 400.
ard the imports S45,6O7, $50; so that the total
movement of trade for the year was ST.
Sl9. 449. This indicates diminished activity
In trade. III 1890 the volume was nearly $685.
O0O,00O One cause is probably to be found
in the increased movement from Seattle.
Tacoma and Vancouver. The former ports
are sending out considerable lumber and
-four which used to go from here, while the
Canadian seaport is receiving tea which
used to come here by the Pacific Mail
steamers. 1t may be observed. by way of
parenthesis, that within few weeks the
Canadian steamers have been gaining on the
Pacific Mail ana o. and o. steamers in pas
senger business, in consequence of the
marked superiority of the table on the
former.
The export trade of Willamette, Or. and
the Puget Sound ports-which consists of
lumber and fl urls progressing rapidly.
In the calendar year 1892 it amounted to
S1l,000,000. Perhaps half of this trade
might be attracted to San Francisco if
proper exeri0ns were made; the export of
lumber will. of course, be retained by the
ports nearest the forests where the lumber
Is grown II the entire or nearly the entire
-four export were concentrated here our
trade movement would again approximate
to the movement of Baltimore-say an
average of about SS4 00O 900, as against
$50, 900 O00
San Francisco exported in the calendar
year 1892 39,157, coo bushels of wheat. De-
due ing he proportion supplied by Oregon
this implies an export movement of some
thing like million tons. As after the GUS
tomary reserve of 100000 bushels was set
aside for seed and consumption no surplus
was accumulated Nothing but the bounti-
iul crops Of 1891 and 1892 enabled the port
to send out so much. In 1890 the total crop
WAS only sol. 600 tonS-leSs than was
exported in 1899. 1t is observed at the
Bureau of Agriculture that the price real
lied by the wheat of California was higher
than was paid for the wheat of Dakota and
Minnesota, as usual. The new French pro-
tective duties had the effect of excluding
the cheaper article and did not interfere
with the consumption of high-Grade wheat,
for which the demand was peremptory.
Washington and Oregon are credited with
wheat product Of 100000 and $4,000
bushels reSpeciyely; but the price realized
was only about 60 cents a bushel, while the
California wheat is appraised az 70 cents.
Washington and Oregon are credited with
a considerable product of oats-about TO-
100000 bushels between them-while CALI
fOTnia produced only about 100000 BUSH
els; on the other hand this State raised
over 1000. COO bushels Of corn. while the rest
of the slope altogether only produced about
100000 bushels. Land in this State is too
valuable to be employed in producing the
cheaper grains. In the river valleys land
which will grow nothing else produces forty
bushels Of corn to tie acre. but the farmer
is often glad to get - cents a bushel on the
farm, or in other words $40 an acre for his
crop
The foreign trade in this port will not u-
crease substantially until it is conducted
with countries which are far away. We
ship our principal crop around the Horn to
regions which are almost in the Antipodes,
and we receive from the same countries
large share of our rmpOrtations. We neg
lect the Mexican and Central and South
American countries, and to a large extent the
p0pulOus countries of Asia, which are right
in front OF Us, and whose capacity to consume
goods has never been tested A vigorous
exhibition Of enterprise by San Francisco
merchants would wrest out Of the hands of
the Germans and English the South and
Central American markets on the Pacific,
out Of which so much money is made every
year. The principal trading port of Japan
Yokohama-ls 400 miles from San Fran
cisco. II is separated from Southampton
by nearly half the circumference of
the globe. yet of the foreign i'm
portations of Japan England supplies
$50 000.0 and the United States about
Sc O00,0 COO a little energy would transpose
the fgGres. II they were tranSposed, the
volume of exports Of San Francisco would
be swelled so that our trade movement
would not be far short of Boston. and would
far surpass that OF Baltimore.