The St. Johns herald., 1896-08-08
COMMERCE IS CALIFORNIA;
 HOPE.
What Must be Done to Place Our State in the Condition of Prosperity it
 Deserves.


 the Condition of Prosperity it
 Deserves.
 Productions of California, whicl
 must seek a foreign market, do st
 naturally by the cheapest route, water
 It is matter of grave importance tC
 the people of the entire State that aE
 large an amount of goods be-. shipped
 away as possible, because s by thi:
 method; the selling of our productions,
 and this alone, can we expect to at
 tract money to our cotfers. Ii 1t ls
 demonstrated that it pays to cultivate
 the soil in California, then our lands
 will be sought after; we will have
 more farmers, more shipping and con-
 sequently more business for every body.
 This means that agriculture, horticul-
 ture and all other s farming pursuits
 must be encouraged if we wish to pros
 per as people.
 How shall this be done? First, we must secure for our goods the cheapest possible water transportation in order that the net returns may be sufficient to give to the legitimate farmer fair remuneration for his labor and invest ment.
 This done and we have opened the markets of the world to our people, especially to those who are enabled to reach the seaboard at moderate cost. | The cheapest water transportation will be provided by the people of California themselves if they will give every pos sible encouragement to owners of ships to induce them to make and afford to provide low rates of reight to foreign ports. Unusual, unnecessary and ex- cessive burdens exacted by authority of State laws must be removed from our shipping as first move. This can be accomplished through the State Legislature at the proper time if the voters will give it their moral support when asked.
 Let us see how the matter stands with the shipowner. We assert that the farmer must have fair return for his labor and investment, and as human nature is pretty much the same in all lines of business, it may be presumed that the owner of ships is naturally looking for similar returns. The farm will not be cultivated if the farmer must starve or lose money, neither will the ship sail the seas if her owner cannot earn something. A ship represents the investment of capi- tai, and her only excuse for being af1oat is the prospect of making money. You cannot get something for nothing in this wide world and ship is no ex- ception to the universal rule. A ship is subject to constant depreciation by wear and tear an also to the eyer pres ent dangers of navigation on the high seas. Certain fixed charges, such as repairs, salaries of masters, mates, stewards, carpenters and sailors; in- surance, State and county taxes, wharf age, dockage, pilotage, etc., must be provided for, besides the earning of interest for the owner sucfficient to in- duce him to put his money into such precarious investment. And is it not self-evident without argument, that the producer who supplies the cargo, and no one else, pays all of these charges from the sale of his produc- itons? Of course it is, because the | carrying of goods is the only means the ship has of earning money, and, | therefore, no other class of citizens is so directly affected by and interested | in cheap transportation as the producer ] of wares that must seek foreign mar ket, and therefore in the reduction of | any if these charges that are excessive or uncalled for. But the entire State ! is interested in the encouragement and building of our Commerce, because of the inufence of commerce upon the | general prosperity of @ people and to that end, the producer and the ship owner must be aided and invited in every reasonable way to work together for the welfare of all. They bring to our shores in exchange for our products and make it profitable for others to do business in our State, and when everybody is proftably en- ployed happiness results. Agriculture and Commerce must work hand in hand, otherwise California's grain fields would soon be barren waste Fleets of well-laden ships coming and going freely from January to Decem Der, carrying to the outside world the products of our soil and labor will supply the silver trimmings for our Golden Gate, which is now in danger of becoming covered with fossils and rust and falling from its hinges into the sands of the ocean, while we enfold ourselves in the narrow selfshness of and self-satisfaction, and wonder "why business is dull" Stop the ''stand and deliver" policy by which we strangle the "Goose that lays the golden egg" and the fleets will start and their cargoes will in- crease apace. No people on earth are favored with natural blessings and ad- vantages equal to these that surround us on every side; they abound on top of the ground, in the bowels of the earth and on the blue waters within and beyond our borders; and added to all variety of climates unknown else- where on the face of the globe, suited alike to the most delicate and the most sturdy of men. The orange blossoms, the ripe fruits and the full blown flow ers nestle and flourish in the laps of the valleys beside the snow-capped which furnish an everlast- ing irrigation system; holding mil lions of golden eagles that await but the seeking. And yet with all these things before our eyes, we see them