The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1900-04-25
WHOLESALE TRADE OF
VAST PROPORTIONS
Extending All Over the South and to
Foreign Countries.
A Commerce Built Up by Energy
and Honesty,
And in Which Millions Are Invested
by Local People.
Prosperity Of Recent Years and Its
Effect on the General Trade
Conditions.

A history of the wholesale business of
New Orleans would be a commercial his
tory of the entire south. The oldest city
of commercial importance in the south,
she early took the lead as a wholesale
market, and has steadily maintained her
position. This has been due to many
causes, but chiefly to her location as
natural distributing point. Texas, Ar
kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama
and Florida are by their geographical
positions dependent upon the New Or
leans market for their supplies, while the
great facilities for transportation, import
and export, enjoyed by New Orleans, has
made 1t easy for her to meet their needs
and to extend her field of operations far
beyond the borders of the territory
named.
Distribution to this vast scope Of coun-
try Is made easy by the large number OF
railroads having termini In the city, pr1n-
cipal among which are the Illinois Cen
trail, Iazoo and Mississippi Valley, South
ern Pacific, Texas Pacific. Louisville and
Nashville. New Orleans and Northwest
S 6 Southern Fern East Louis ahS
Grand Isle. while the waterways Of the
Mississippi valley are factor of no less
Importance. Easy access for deep
draft ships to safe berths on the fifteen
facilities for foreign commerce superior
to those of any other city In the south,
and with no other advantages, this alone
would have been sufficient to
PLACE HER IN THE LEAD
In commerce with the West Indies, Next
can. Central American and Caribbean sea
ports.
ton. It is not surprising that New Or
leans should respond readily to the con-
dirions which have prevailed from time to
time throughout the southern states. 1t
is true that the period of development
which lasted so long did not affect the
business of New Orleans to the same
extent that 1t affected that of our sister
cities of the south, but this Is due TO
her position as port of entry and ex-
port, for an immense territory, not trib-
utary TO her In any other sense. On the
other hand, the return of prosperous con-
ditionS to the south was for the same
reason more quickly felt here than else
where. and of this prosperity the whole
To-day New Orleans, as a wholesale
market, has fairly entered upon a period
of unprecedented prosperity. This state
ment has the semblance of an advertising
platitude, but slight examination of the
causes contributing to this prosperity
will convince the most skeptical that 1t is
but fair presentation of the fact. Prob
ably the most potent factor, and the one
affecting tue ldIStoL Is The
immense advance in cotton and in the
products of cotton seed. From a scent
basis cotton has advanced to IL cents
spot, and September futures are selling
at 1915 cents, while the seed now COM
mands a price three times as great as
that Of two years ago From this source
alone
MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS
Of dollars have been poured Into the
south In excess of the amount which 1t
was calculated would be received, and
this excess has enabled vast numbers of
small merchants and farmers to become
self-sustainins and free from debt, who
before had to be carried from year to
year by the wholesale merchants and the
banks. At the same time 1t has re-
duced the book accounts of the whole
sale merchants 10 cash assets, and has
added very large to the purchasing power
of the masses of the people. The terri
tory affected most benefcially by this
condition. 1t will be seen at a glance, Co
as seos sspS y dependene upon New
Orleans for Its supplies.
In the same states are situated the
principal pine forests or the United
States, and pine lands WHICH We're to be
per acre five years ago cannot now be
bought for less than $40 to S14 per acre,
and at those prices the demand Is I'M
limited. In addition to the sale Of these
lduus, uic ~ Paic AuhiocA
in the states mentioned has assumed g.
gantic proportions. and is distributing
an enormous amount OF money to the
classes of people who have stood most
in need Of 1t.
The iron and coal Interests of Alabama
are another active factor in the prosper
ity of New Orleans, keeping money In the
south that heretofore went to Pennsyl-
vania and other northern states. And
the recent advance IN iron and all its
reiated Industries and products has been
felt benefcially in the south to an extent
hardly TO be realized.
Manufactures have sprung up through
out the south of late so rapidly that 1t has
been impossible to keep track Of them,
and this, too, has contributed TO the pres
ent prosperous conditions On no small de-
gree.
All these elements of prosperity are
of recent development and affect the en-
tire family OF gulf states, and through
them New Orleans, the heart and nerve
Ii will be seen, then, that the statement
made above Is conservative one, ex-
pressive of actual conditions, and with
return of normal prosperity In the sugar.
producing sections II IS difficult to esti-
mate the strides that the wholesale inter-
ests of New Orleans will take.
New Orleans Is best known In COM
mercial way as the worlds greatest cot
ton market, and her pre- eminence In this
respect has overshadowed other business
interests here to such an extent that the
magnitude and Importance of the
WHOLESALE TRADE
is but little known, even among her own
.k,la In txaA Ia 81 al "