The San Francisco call., 1898-06-02
SUPPLIES FOR UNCLE SAM
Local Commercial Bodies Co.,
 Operate. to Fill Large Gov. s": :'c- aen y,o ant Ord are =; ..

The merchants, manufacturers and pro- @ducers of this city and State are deter mined to secure as much: of Uncle. Sam s trade as possible. Accompanying the or- der for. the. first expedition of. troops to Manila to support Dewey was an. order for the purchasinr agent of this coast to get as many. of the requisite supplies here as he could and he did SO. When the order came for the second expedition to the Philippines, the traders and jobbers of the East made a stand for. as much of the trade as they could secure. and from all accounts they demanded the whole of 1t. In the meantime the n1er- chants of this city were not exactly asleep, for a meeting of several of: the commercial -boules was called, and at that gathering the Pacific Coast representa-: tives in Washington were urged to. exert themselves and secure for this coast as much of tne trade of the army and navy as possible. How we'll they succeeded maybe judged from a letter received yes- terday. by the Chamber.ofs Connmerce from Senator Perkins, which reads as follows: .::. WASHINGTON May 25, 1898.
 Hon. Hugh Craig, President Chamber of Corfi- meree, San Francisco, Cal.-Dear Sir: l. am in receipt of your telegram or May .. relative
 to the purchase of supplies for the army, and answered briefly by telegram. 1 have called on the 1luartermaster-1Iener in relation to the matter and have. been informed that orders have been issued. to purchase ;&n San Frane1sco supplies of all kinds that can be obtained :there.~< F.. ,:5 ..=: =. =; ... " s. T. of goods in the hands of San Francisco. .Iner- chants how much the Government will plfr- has been made. and if our merchants can sup ply what is needed they will have the patron age of the Government j.: ;:.::' F ...-.
 = I have placed your: telegram before the De partment as evidence of what San Francisco 5,' - -, ' = :, GEoRGE C.. PERKINS
 This assurance was all that was re- duired and the next step will be to as- certain what will be wanted. To this end a meeting will be called: to-day in the rooms of the Manufacturers, and Produc- CTS Association at. 3 o'clock, at which will be present delegates from the asso- citation named, the Chamber of Commerce, Merchants Associations California State Board of Trade, City Board of Trade, Pa eific Coast Hardware and Metal Assocta- tion. San Francisco Produce Exchange, Wholesale Grocers; Boot and Shoe Mariu- facturers and the California :?Winemak- CTS Corporations : %@...:
 CTS and Producers Association, stated that everything: that the Government wants can be obtained on this coast, and ,.at as reasonable: prices as in the East, and added; There is. no reason why California should not. come in*:for this trade as well as those: who for. years have had the idea that they had a .spe- :eial call on. the Government for furnish :1ng supplies. The: merchants here have on hand ample supplies of every kind to fit out several such expeditions; and what we have not got we can make. at very short notice. The; matter of shoes: has been discussed. Well. we can. give the 1. soldiers: all the. shoes they need if the purchasing agent Is not too particular to E have a certain number of brass. tacKs in the heels; and so many wooden: -pegs;>in the soles.t- The shoes we have in.stoek. .snr, sthis coast are as good as any::made; and so it is with. everything requfred in lit ting out the soldiers arid sailors . F. ..'What we propose to do is :tla. bring the representatives. of: all. these. oof1msrcial interests. together and make; such arrange
 ments as: to help ourselves and the pTlr
 chasing agent for: the Goverrinient:- :- We can get: some idea of what is wanted and how much of the required stock we have on hand. Shonld we happen; to be short in any. lines; by finding it out earlV the manufacturer and. producer will have. a chance to secure the needed supplies:. (nir purpose is to work fn'. harmony; for the benefit of the whole and. not for the in4 terest of any individuals: or localIties.,' -. .-s