The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-05

the railways had opened up the country,
and We must realize that without them
this country would amount to very little.
While the railways are necessary to the
bringing of freight to the seaboard of the
Atlantic and the Pacific, 1t Is left there
for US to secure ocean transportation the
best way that We can.
COTTON FOR ASIA.
The Hon. J. ]. Hill, president of the
Great Northern railroad, recently explain
ed some of these difficulties. He said:
You may be little surprised when
tell you that last year there were carried
through st. Paul 60,000,0O0 pounds of cot
ton going to Asia. Two years ago the
Japanese were in the market for 10000
tons of steel rails. 1 asked some of our
American railmakers to bid. I said 1
will get them there for you. They did
They made a low bid and we made low
rate, and We got the rails. From that
day to this there has been no difficulty in
finding market, but the present year
we have refused over $1,000, 000 tons OF
steel In one form or another, because we
couldn't get ships to carry 1t to Asia
Early In March every available foot Of
room was engaged until after the 1st of
July for cotton. AT Seattle, where l was
a few days ago, they have a flour mill
with capacity of 1900 barrels per day,
and they cannot get shipping for 300.
saw a cable from q Chinese house at Hong
Kong asking figures on 100000 barrels of
flour. These Cinnamon are made on a big
pattern. 1t would take 2,250,0O0 bushels
OF wheat to fill that order, They wanted
1t delivered in Hong Kong
The cost of production in the United
states is rapidly approaching a point, and
may say has approached a point, when
We can supply the nations Of the world
with the articles which constitute the
main articles of commerce Our nation
TO-DAY is sending pig iron to twenty-seven
European cities. We have on land the
cheapest transportation in the world
transportation on land in the United
states Is a little less than 40 per cent of
the average cost of transportation in
EUROPE; but just as soon as we take our
commodities to the salt water, the other
nations make us drop our bundles and
Ihey carry them at our expense and
make US pay them for doing our work.
Inc commerce of the Atlantic is car
r1ed, you may say, by, steam ferries. leav-
Ing almost every hour of the dav from
one side or the other of the Atlantic
ocean. The people of the United States
cannot under existing circumstance. ex-
tenu their commerce in that direction
without the greatest effort and long con-
tlnued effort and patience. On the other
hand, lying in the west of us, in one
thlrd or the population of the globe, That
ohe-thlrd Is not an ignorant, barbarous
people, but learned people, a people
VINO nave had national vitality to keep
them as an organized nation since long
before the Christian era, even prior 70
the time when Abraham was a shepherd.
ana II Will not do for us to say that they
are not an able or a wise people.
we ought to extend our commerce. We
can produce the various articles that go
hn
III greater quantities and for little money.
and II we have a good market we
Will produce for less money than anv
ether competing nation. AS far as the
man who cultivates the land. or the man
VINO transports it, we do not fear anv
composition, but we have no market ex
cept TO carry our surplus to Europe
nat market alone likes Our prices, we
oont. The small surplus of one-ffth of
all the grain We raise makes the velna
| for the whole
NEW TRADE OUTLET
Now we must as a nation find new
people 10 trade with; we must as a ma
uon- hn6 people who will buy our pro-
uucts' people who have not heretofore
bought our products; we must have more
than one customer, and we can. 7 will
briefly suggest how we may: If this
| country would encourage the uDbuildina &,
| OF merchant marine to carry our pro-
| ducts to the markets where thew will
pr1ng the most money. I might saw
that a ship of 5000 tons capacity, leaving
the racine coast every day in the year,
| would carry 100000 tons annually across
the Pacific ocean to Asia. What wonId
1t cost? bonus of 81 per ton would in
sure the building Of ships as fast as the
! smpyards could turn them out Two
ooIIafS per ton would amount to So Co.,
coo per year
You say why don't you build ships
| why don't you build ships? Because Won
| can't run ship today under the Ameri-
| can nag in competition with the ship of
any other hation in salt water. On fresh
water we beat them all We can build
| ships and operate them for less than
| they can, for less than they do. Coal Is
taken coming from New Castle to anv
| port in the south of England at from
! two and sixpenCe to three and sixpence
and even four shillings a ton. Coal is
carried one thousand miles on cur lakes
for twenty cents. We arc In the habit
Of mourning because we haven't cheap
| transportation. We have the chaapest
transportation In the world, but when we
undertake to sail ships on the seas under
the American flag, as our laws stand at
this time II cannot be done. ! looked the
matter up with the greatest care. and We
|
with line Of Japanese boats, the Jap
anese Steamship company, manned by
japanese sailors, to carry our products to
| Asiatic waters"
have quoted from the remarks of the
Hon. ]. ]. Hill at some length, because
! they are words of experience, and come
from gentleman whose opinion will be
considered not only by the farmers Of
the Northwest, but by thinking men of
| the whole country, and receive their at
tcntion In tie past the great railway
sysem Of this country was built by gov
eminent aid. How much more is that
aid needed towards the establishment of
| merchant marine? In constructing our
railways the greatest competition was be-
| tween ourselves, whereas to build up cur
| merchant marine we have 10 compete
with the most powerful nations of the
world. A merchant marine is all i'm
portant TO the farmer and the manu-
facturer, and in helping to secure it they
will help themselves.