The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-09
THE COMMERCIAL DECADENCE OF
NEW YORK.

The question whether New York city is
losing its commercial supremacy and pres
tige is one of general interest because it
involves to some extent, the development
of national prosperity in other directions.
1t should be understood at the outset of the
inquiry that any decline in the trade of New
York which may appear on the face Of
statistics is only relative. In actual wealth
and trade the city is probably growing as
fast as ever, but the growth of trade at
other points may lower the degree of its
supremacy. The time is far distant when
New York will cease to be the commercial
metropolis Of America, though time pro-
crosses other cities may command a larger
share of foreign trade than they have done
heretofore. There have been instances i'll
history of great commercial cities losing
their supremacy and falling into decay, but
the time when that will happen to New
York is very remote-almost as remote as
the time when Macalays traveller from
New Zealand will sketch the ruins of st.
Paul from a broken arch of London bridge.
The annual report of the State engineer
of New York presents some figures on the
subject which are summarized as follows
The port of New York, which a third of a
century ago commanded % per cent. OF the
total exports of the Nation, to-day COM
mands but 81 per cent. of them. Statistics
presented show that New York's foreign
commerce has never been so low as last
year since 1850. 1T is in her exports that
New York'S commercial losses nave oc-
Cured. In imports she almost holds her
own at two-thirds of the Nations total
In exports she has fallen from two-thirds
to little more than one-third of the whole
From 1880 to 1887 the Nations foreign COM
merce increased 100000 900 in value. During
that time New York's increased $40, ,O00
Boston's 1863, 000 Galveston's $29, ZOO, 600,
and New Orleanss $lI 100000
These figures certainly seem to show a
decadency, and the engineer uses them eff
fectively as an argument in favor of enlarg-
ing and extending the city's transportation
facilities from the interior and also improv-
ing terminal facilities for minimizing the
cost of transportation and of handling COM
meree New York cannot afford to over
look these points. The city is a long dis
lance from the Mississippi valley, and if it
expects to retain the lions share of the
grain trade it will have to improve it's lines
of transportation to the interior The Mis-
sissippi river is being utilized more and
more every year as an outlet to the sea for
the grain-producing States, and, in connec-
ton with new railway lines, is building up
the foreign trade of Southern and gulf ports
very rapidly The time is coming, too,
when the development of our trade with
China and Japan will give the Pacific coast
cities an advantage over New York. Yet,
after all is said, the fact remains that dur
ing the eleven months ending Nov. 80, 1891
out of a grand total of $6s1 ,S9l worth Of
imports into the United States, is2,1l5,17O
came through the port of New York, and
it's exports during the same period were
1856. PA. S45 out of a total from the United
States of 4.649, AS Those figures do not
show that New York is in a rapid decline