The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-19
lance to travel, and the advantage Eng
lish vessels have in government aid


Our captious contemporary asks:
American steamers that runs on that
route, and did it ever hear that English
steamers because of the subsidy which
pays a great part of their running eX-
nenses. VIII always take goods from
American ports at rates which the IN
subsidized American steamers cannot
best trade between America and South
Africa IS on goods that are carried on
the Pacific in sail ships. such materials
as lumber. mining machinery. canned
fruit canned fish, miners blankets and
peculiar mining tools which the neces-
sites Of California evolved from the old
cumbersome articles that were the
original product of the east.
We do not know the name OF any line
Of steamers plying between New York
and the ports of South Africa, but gov
eminent statistics tell us that there are
such lines in operation, carrying on a
regular trade between our Atlantic sea-
ports and those of South Africa, run in
the interest of American commerce,
bearing American exports out and
American imports in, driving British
merchantmen from the colonial markets
of Great Britain, wherefore our neigh
boris supposition that they are steamers
subsidized by the British government
for doing this thing is clearly errone-
Gus.
But when it says that "the best trade
between America and South Africa is
on goods that are carried on the Pacific
in sail Ships it shows how far behind
the times it is. That was the case fif-
teen or twenty years ago, before our
neighbor gave up trying to keep pace
with the times It is altogether differ
ent today. The wonderful Improvement
in the country and increase in the trade
have given American shipping chance
in South Africa, and it has had advan
tage taken of it. No longer are con-
sumers there content with secondhand
machinery and crude mining tools such
as used to be sent TO them from the CAL
ifornia coast on slow-going sail vessels.
They are buying many things besides
canned fish and miners blankets today.
It is a different era from that in which
our neighbor fingers.
Look at the improvement in our trade
with British South Africa during the
past eight years. for instance. Official
returns show that in 1891 the United
States sent to South Africa 5000 900
worth Of goods and produce; in 1895 this
had increased to 5.2OS, 37S; in 1896 it was
$l4 1881 $40, and last year it was esti-
mated to be over 100000
Exports from the United States to
British South Africa are chiefly bread
stuffs. In 1895 the value of the5 was
$361 600; in 1896 this line of expectation
had increased TO $1,54S,O 600, and last year
the figures of 1896 were almost doubled.
our wheat flour export to this section
has increased from 100000 three years
ago to over $1OOO,OOO last year. There
have been no particular gains in the
expectation OF mining machinery, but
our agricultural implement trade has
grown to enormous proportions. Amer
lean illuminating oils. manufactures of
cotton, bicycles and carriages have
found a growing demand in South
Africa. 1t isn't the old line of goods or
the old-fashioned way of carrying them
any more.
In his report for 1897, Consul Roberts,
at Cape Town. said:
The remarkable development Of trade
between South Africa and the United
States is indicated further by shipping
which show an increase in
the last two years of at least 30 per
cent. A line of steamers running at reg
ular intervals is now connecting the
two countries, and they are packed with
goods as they arrive from month to
our contemporary would better con-
fine its efforts to storm-starting. When
it undertakes the discussion of mod
ern topic it is like a rudderless ship on
an unknown sea in a dense fog.