Evening star., 1897-04-08
TARIFF SUGGESTIONS
Trade With China and Japan Should Not Be
Cut OF BY Duties.
Twenty Per Cent Of the Northwestern
Prices Have Greatly Increased.

the Great Northern road, and who also is
interested largely in transportation to the
orient, has written a letter to one of the
North Dakota senators in which he points
out the possibilities of trade In China and
Japan, ana suggests that tariff duties be
so adjusted as not to prevent or cut eff
trade with the countries across the Pacific
He says: 1.-The Asiatic trade is of the
greatest importance to this country, and
particularly such portions Of it as are in
terested in raising wheat" and continues:
"A year ago last fall wheat sold for from
IL to q cents per bushel in the Palouse
country, south of Spokane Falls, and this
year 1t has sold for from IS to 20 cents
About three years ago / sent an agent to
China and Japan to investigate thoroughly
what steps could be taken to introduce
the general use of wheat flour In those
countries. as against their own rice and
found that 1t was simply a matter of price
l then took Up the consideration of build
Ing large steamers for that trade designed
to carry cargoes of flour or grain at low
rates.
High Wages Prevented.
Il found that we could build the ships,
but that owing to the Sailors Union fixing
the wages of sailors at $50 a month and
engineers and other ship employees at about
twice the wages paid by European steam
ers, 1t would be impossible for us to COM
pete with the English, German Italian and
scandinavian ships already on the Pacific
ocean, After the war with China the jap
anese appropriated a large amount of their
war indemnity for subsidy to their mer-
chant marine. and we opened negotiations
with the General Steamship Company of
Japan, which Is owned by the leading men
OF the empire. We found that their sub
sidy was about equal to the cost of their
coal ana the wages of their sailors. They
pay their sailors s. a month. Mexican. or
$50 in gold, enabling them to hire twelve
good sailors for the wages of one American
sailor. After some protracted and difficult
negotiations we concluded a contract with
them for a line of steamers between
Chinese and Japanese ports and Seattle. en-
condition that they would carry flour
from Puget sound to the Asiatic ports at
s. ton. as against from 81 to S. a ton
formerly charged from west coast ports in
the United States.
A New Market.
This low rate fixed the rate for all other
lines between the Pacific coast and Asia,
and has resulted in carrying out about 2S.-
UO,UO bushels of wheat or it's equivalent
in flour. from the last crop There is left,
l understand, about 5,0O0,OOO bushels to be
moved between now and the next harvest
mus you VIII see we have been able to
find new mouths which have never before
used wheaton bread. to take the entire
California, Oregon and Washington wheat
crop out of the European markets This
VIII reduce the amount going to Europe
about 70 per cent and in bushels about
:'O.0Oo.OO0 three times the quantity shipped
TO Europe from the Argentine during the
past crop year. The prices of wheat this
year as compared with last are about 20
10 p cents higher,and ! think it NAV be
said that from IL to Is cents of this rise
IS clearly due to the withdrawal of all the
Paclffc wheat from the European markets.
L see In this mornings market reports a
telegram stating that European ships are
loading with barley, rye and merchandise
from San Francisco to Europe after wait
ing four months for cargoes of wheat and
that no more wheat will go to Europe
from the Pacific coast.
Return CnrgOes Secured.
The only way We could bring about
this great reduction in the cost of trans
portation of -four to Asia was by diverting
the tea and mating business, which has
heretofore gone mainly on English ships
from ASIA direct to New York, and bring
ing these commodities to the Pacific coast
by low rate of transportation inland by
rail to distribute the commodities to points
be tween Minnesota and New York. l have
given you the details so that you will un-
derstand the situation and be able to see
that. unless these ships can bring their
main cargoes of merchandise to the Pacific
for the traffic, the business must go as
heretofore TO New York, and the rates on
Hour to Asiatic ports will be again at the
Old hgure or an advance Of about 10 cents
barrel, which would. in my judgment,
destroy the business that has just begun
to be built up with that country.
More Mouths to Feed.
THE province Of Annoy alone, which is
near the coast, contains over SO,OO0, 600
people. and at twenty pounds of flour per
capita per annum would consume the prod
uct Of 4O.OOO.OOO bushels Of wheat The large
district Of Tien Tsin and Shanghai, both
easily accessible from the sea, would con-
sumo about as much more. as soon as the
trade can be fully opened. 1t is not out
side the range of possibility that we could
ship wheat from Devils Lake to the Pa
cific coast for this trade. We certainly
could at % cents bushel cost for the
wheat at Devils Lake points west as
long as the demand for flour continues to
grow as 1t has for the past six months"