The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-14

can cotton which, If followeo
up properly, will more than
counterbalance the nearness and cheap
ness Of Indian, Chinese and Egyptian
supplies. One is the quality Of American
cotton. Both the japanese and Chinese
| manufacturers distinctly prefer it, IL is
manufactured more easily and seems to
make more and better cloth. Then when
placed on the market the buyers prefer
both the yarn and cloth made from It.
THE FREIGHT RATES THE CHIEF
EMBARGO.
Seventh. The only serious difficulty in
the way of American cotton is the price
which is made high solely by the freight
rates from the South 20 Japan and China.
l have visited every cotton manufaetory
Of any Importance in these two countries
and wherever / found them using Indian,
Chinese or Egyptian cottou~ the mana
gers frankly told me that they would buy
American cotton exclusively if the com
bined rail and steamer charges were not
often prohibitive. The American cotton
now shipped to the far east as consumed
by mills which nave a special market, but
they represent a small proportion of the
total In short, were freight rates favor
able and did the Southern exporters
push the market American cotton
would monoDolize the supply for the
mills Of trans-Paciflc lands. What then re-
mains to be done?
THE NICARAGUA CANAL IS THE KEY
TO THE SITUATION.
Eighth. The supreme advantage to be
gained, which win, with zone fell stroke
accomplish the end desired, is the early
construction and operation of The Nicara-
qua canal. Unless that waterway is dug,
l cannot see how the South can ever gain
even fair share of this mighty Pacific
ira1 to
experts i'm the far east whom / have con-
suited. A transishtmian canal is the key
to the. trans-Pacifcl The long rail haul
from the South to the Pacific seaboara will
always keep the delivered cost of American
cotton just beyond the point of general and
successful competition. Dig the canal, and
a large fleet Of steamers viii carry cotton
in bulk from all Southern ports to the far
east for the same rate that is now charged
from San Francisco to Kobe and Shang-
hal As this statement is read l can i'm
agine a skeptical look on many faces, and
an insinuation that / am INDUCING in ex-
aggeration
Ninth Let us see. In the first place, the
rates charged by steamers cross
ing the Pacific are equal 10
or greater than those charged by
steamers from the Mediterranean,
going a greater distance, and not much
Liverpool, Hamburg, Bremen and Am
sterdam, thus showing that there is yet
a large margin on the Pacific that can be
taken off If necessary.
MOST IMPORTANT STATEMENTS.
In the second place, 1 desire TO lay be-
fore the planters and exporters of the
South two most important statements
made 70 me, respectively by leading stock
holders of the Nippon Yusen Kursha, ia
pans great navigation company and the
Pennsular and Oriental Steamship Com
pany, Euglands chief foreign line, which
two companies combined control moro
steamers than any other three companies,
barring one German and one French sys-
tenn, in the world. The representatives of
the former said TO me that the moment
the Nicaragua canal was opened
mis- company would put a fleet
of at least ten large steamers to-
run from Japan and China TO the leading
ports Of the South, the principal object of
which would be to carry cotton. In orr
der to have outward cargoes they might
touch en- route at San Francisco and then
on the Atlantic sidep go on to Baltimore,
Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, but
their chief destination would be the
Southern ports like Galveston, New Or
leans, Mobile, Charleston Savannah. He
said this plan had been carefully consider
ed by the company-and in expressing sur
prise that the United States had not al
ready dug the canal added with pride, IF
Japan controlled the opportunity or con-
cession, the canal would have been COM
pleted and opened to the worlds traffic be-
fore thisi"
The representative of the Peninsula and
Oriental informed me almost in a conf
dental way that his company had long
considered the revolution of the trade of
the world that would be accomplished by
the construction of the isthmian canal.
and Intended to put on spe-
cial line of large carriers TO
run practically around the world via the
Southern ports of the United States and
through the canal 10 Asia in order to carry
the cotton of the South TO Japan and Chi
ma. From the latter they would take car
goes via Suez to Europe, from Europe to
America, and so on. Certainly both of these
are practical schemes while they show the
Importance of the South's opportunity On
the Pacific. Both authorities told me that
their steamers would carry cotton from
Southern ports to Japan and China a. COM
petitive rates with other sources of supply
and less than those now charged from San
Francisco, Portland and Seattle, to Yoko-
homa, Kobe and Shanghai.
HAWAIIAN ANNEXATION AND A PA
CIFIC CABLE.
Without weakening the force of my main
proposition by introducing Interior issues
but desiring to make my treatment of the
question comprehensive, / would urge the
South TO use it's powerful influence in ia
Nor of two other projects whose consum-
nation as necessary if the United
States would control the commerce
and trade of the Pacific or be-
come the great material and moral power
in its waters the annexation of Hawaii
and the construction of a Pacific
cable. We need Hawaiians
to properly protect our cotton, flour and
richly laden ships which, with the open
ing of the canal and the inevitable growth
| of our merchant marine, win one day ply
on the Pacific like the Spanish galleons
of old--to provide them with a coaling
station in mid-ocean under our hag-to
! prevent other nations from
l seizing and utilizing it as
point from which to dispatch
| commerce-destroyng squadrons, and in
short to make ourselves actual and not
| theoretical masters of the Pacific seas
We require a Pacific cable under American
control to telegraph cotton and other or