The San Francisco call., 1899-09-23
ORIENTAL TRADE.

don't know by what extent OF commercial
w experience Mr.. John Barrett earned the titie
of "an expert in oriental trade. lie appears
before Chambers of Commerce to decla1m on that
subject but he leaves in doubt as to the real oO
ect OF his mission In his address the merchants
OF this city Thursday he advertised the tact that
he subscribed to the Dewey monument fund and the
fund to receive the First California and then seemed
to assert that Our oriental trade depends on lmme-
diately eecting Senator from California. Mr. Bar
rett is a gentleman who enjoys large and multiplied
contacts with public men, we do not accuse him OF
this for he admits it. and he said that throughout the
East the Senators and Representatives whom ne had
the honor and privilege OF knowing had UNANIMOUSLY
deplored the fact that California has only one oena-
tor and, nerentially had requested him to lnclude
Senatorshp in his great mission OF setting Things
right He fears that only another Senator from here
can dig the Nicaragua canal and IS sure that we Will
mourn for oriental commerce as those without hope
unless that canal is completed.
For the present take this part OF his address on
commerce for brief review He pointed out "an
anomaly in transportation the tact that great part
of the American trade with the Orient is done from
New York and not from Pacific ports, which are so
much nearer" and at the same time mixed another
Senator and the canal together as a remedy
The west coast OF South America lies east Of New
York When the canal is built that coast will be
nearer to New York than to San Francisco. There
FORE if nearness is an element in the problem New
York will do the trade of that coast which we do now
Again. New York's trade with the Orient has
to go around Cape Horn the Cape OF Good Hope,
or. avoiding this doubling OF either continent, 1t
passes the pillars OF Hercules and travels by the
Mediterranean and the Suez canal. When the Nlcar-
aqua canal is built San Francisco will be no nearer
the Orient than now but the distance from New
York to the Orient will be cut half! 1t would
seem that Mr.. Barrett carries his original system OF
logic in international politics into his statement OF
commercial problems.
Perhaps the labor of travel in many countries and
the interesting and often thrilling personal expe-
riences involved, of which he attempts to
cea have so occupied his time that he only appear
in the upper air OF commerce, and has had leisure
to devote to that part of the subject that is OF the
earth, earthly.
In commerce transportation begins at the point
where the article exchanged is produced The Orient
may want Indian corn, raised in the Mississippi Val
lev, and when an sthman canal is built it will go
down the Mississippi River, through the canal and
away and San Francisco will never see it. This iss
to illustrate the fact that if New York control now the
American trade OF the Orient it is because within the
zone OF production that pours its surplus into that
city for export there produced the articles OF
nerce which oriental trade demands. San Francisco
has zone OF production whose surplus comes here
for export That zone is nearer the Orient than the
one which outlets through New York, but if it does
not produce what the Orient wants nor consume what
the Orient has to exchange, it might be next door to
the oriental market and yet have oriental trade
Seaports canals and oceans don't trade with each
other as physical objects they have no exchanges.
They are the facilities for of peoples who trade
with each other
Therefore, to swell oriental trade We don't need
Senators, useful and nice though they be- We need
to produce more Of what the Orient consumes and
consume more of what the Orient produces, and in
proportion as we do this our trade will swell.
The Nicaragua canal is not a factor in the oriental
trade Of this city We want it built in order to profit
ably export lumber, base ores and other OF do
mestic products which do not bear long rail transit
But as far as our oriental contracts and South Aer
can trade are concerned the canal will take commerce
away from us. Mr. Barrett does not digest all his
facts together and present the resulting nutrment
rejecting the waste After kindly advising us in do
mestic politics. and upon the canal, he sad You
know as practical merchants that ii is cheaper to
carry anything in the bottom of ship than it is
across great stretch Of country in railroad train.
Commerce from the Orient comes here now for rail
transit East and figures in the forty millions of for
eign trade OF this city in the past seven months,
rather than double Cape Horn Good Hope; but
open the isthian canal and that trade goes from
never to return because it can 60 all the way by
short route in the bottom" of ship, and we may
suggest to Mr. Barrett that some of it will doubtless
find room in the hold.
Acce DodOe n he an rciI Ort Cf