Omaha daily bee., 1897-04-09
OUTLET FOR SURPLUS WHEAT
James j. Hill Says Orient Takes All The
Coast Crop.
POSSIBLE TRADE IN CHINA AND JAPAN
Great Northern MnRnatc Suggests Al.
justmcnt In TariH Duties of such
Nature ms to solve Trans
portntion Prices.

| WASHINGTON, April S.--James J. Hill
president of the Great Northern road, and
who also is interested largely In transporta-
tion to the Orient, has written a letter to a
western senator in which he points out the
possibilities of trade in China and Japan, and
suggests that tariff duties be so adjusted as
not to cut off trade with countries across
the Pacific. He says
"The Asatic trade is Of the greatest i'm,
| portance to this country and particularly
to such portions OF it as are interested in
raising wheat. A year ago last fall wheat
sold from IS to 22 cents per bushel in the
Palouse country, south Of Spokane Falls, and
this year 1t has sold from 65 to 10 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 -four in those
countries as against their own rice, and
found that 1t was simply a matter of price.
! then took up the consideration of building
large steamers for that trade, designed to
carry cargoes OF flour or grain at low rates.
| found we could build the ships, but that
owing to the Sailors union fixing the wages
OF sailors at $50 month and engineers and
other ship employees at twice the wages paid
by European steamers, ii would be impossi-
Bile for us to compete with the English
German and Scandinavian ships already on
the Pacific ocean.
RATES ON JAPANESE SHIPS.
After the war with China the Japanese
appropriated a large amount Of their war
indemnity for a subsidy to their merchant
marine. and we opened negotiations with the
General steamship Company of Japan, which
is owned by the leading men OF the empire
We found their subsidy was about euual to
the cost of their coal and the wages of their
sailors. They pay their sailors S5 month.
Mexican silver, or $3.50 in gold, enabling
them to hire twelve good sailors for the
wages or one American sailor. After some
protracted and difficult negotiations we con-
cluded a contract with them for a line of
steamers between Chinese and Japanese
ports and Seattle on condition that they
would carry flour from Puget sound to the
Asiatlc ports at 50 ton, as against from
81 to SS ton formerly charged from west
coast points in the United States. This low
rate fixed the rate for all other lines be-
tween the Pacific coast and Asia and has
resulted in carrying out about $4,000 900
bushels or it's equivalent in -four from the |
last crop. There is left, l understand about |
100000 bushels to be moved between now |
and the next harvest. Thus you will see |
we have beer able to find new mouths which |
nave never before used wheat bread to take |
the entire California, Oregon and Washing
ton wheat crop out of the European markets. |
This VIII reduce the amount going to Europe |
about 70 per cent, and in bushels about
3O,OO0,OOO, three times the quantity shipped
to Europe from Argentine during the past
crop year. ..r
TAKE THE COAST CROP.
1.-The prices of wheat this year as compared
with last are about 20 to 25 cents higher, and
| think 1t may be said that from 15 TO 1S
cents of this rise is clearly due to the with
drawal OF all the Pacific wheat from the
European markets. see in this mornings
marx lnarket reports telegram that European
ships are loading with barley, rye and mer-
chandise from San Francisco to Europe after
waiting for months for cargoes of wheat and
that no more wheat will go to Europe from
he Pacific coast. The only way we could bring
about this great reduction In the cost of
Of flour to Asia was by divert
Ing the tea and mating business which has
heretofore gone mainly on English ships from
Asia direct to New York and bringing these
to the Pacific coast by low
rate of transportation inland by rail to dis
.ribute the commodities to points between
Minnesota and New York
Il have given you the details so that you
VIII understand the situation and be able to |
zee that unless these ships can bring their
main cargoes of merchandise to the Pacific
,orts at rates that will compensate them for
he traffic the business must CO. as hereto
ore, to New York and the rates on -four
o Asiatic ports will be again at the old
igure or an advance of about SO cents a
'arrel. which would, in my judgment de-
troy the business that has just begun to be
'uilt up with that country. The province
# Annoy alone which is near the coast, con-
aims over S0.00O0OO people, and at twenty /
ounds of -four per capita per annum would {
onsume the product of 10000 900 bushels
f wheat. The large districts of Tien-Tsin | :
nd Shanghai both easily accessible from !
he sea- would consume about as much more /
S sCon as the trade can be fully opened | r
t is not outside the range Of possibility that | !
re could ship wheat from Devils Lake to the /
'aciic coast for trade"