The San Francisco call., 1901-10-22
AUCTION SALES.
TACOMA'S AMBITION.

THE Tacoma News dwells at length and with
zest, upon what it calls San Francisco's De-
cadence" 1t is melted to this pleasant duty by
the report of the Agricultural Department upon the
wheat industry. That report says: About 27,45o
600 bushels OF wheat are exported annually on the
Pacific Coast with total value of about $4,000 ooo
OF the 100000 barrels of -four annually shipped from
Pacific Coast ports during the last ten years nearly
one half IS cleared at San Francisco 1t has taken
about 100000 bushels of wheat to supply the for
eign markets with Pacific Coast wheat and -four
OF this amount California supplied more than TO-
100000 bushels
The News resents this statement of decade as
"a puff for San Francisco and proceeds to show the
rise Of the wheat business in the last three years in
Oregon and Puget Sound ports, and foresees the
when San Francisco will stand third in the list
a shipper Of wheat and flour. That prospect does
not mean the decadence OF this city Time was that
California imported the wheat and flour consumed by
her people. Her chief industries then were mining
and stock-raising Wheat is the first step in advance
OF pastoral industry This State took that STEP and
as she had been foremost in mining and stock
raising she took the lead in wheat production. The
fame Of her crop filed the world and attracted the
attention Of every four-eating country But our eli
mate indicated still profitable agriculture than
wheat-raising and California now holds the worlds
record in horticulture.
Wheat-raising was proved nober use of the soil
than stoc-growing and fruit-raising appears as
a profitable than wheat growing. 1t is not
the fault of the prosperous States and seaports in the
north that our soil and climate permit greater>va-
Tiey of profitable production than theirs. 1t is not
their fault that physical conditions enable us to
do more things with profit than they do.
In the season of 1890 shipped from San Fran
cisco I372842 centals of wheat and II74o74 barrels
OF -four. In 1900 we shipped 65Io77I centals OF
wheat and IIo5783 barrels of -four. That was loss
OF 72o867I centas of wheat and gain of 2I 600 bar
res of -four If the States output and export had sus-
tanned that a net loss with nothing to take its
place, the News might be justified in its exultation
over what it calls decadence" Our other exports
Of products that occupied the soil as wheat receded
during that decade made the following showing Greer
deciduous fruits increased 57I345 tons; citrus fruits
Io2335 tons dried fruits, 57,755,3 tons; raisins 15
49, tons; nuts, 573I.3 tons; canned fruits, 354ot
tons carloads, rail and sea- vegetables. $40; car
loads wine and brandy rail and sea- oo6z3 Measured
by carloads of tons each our exports of fruits
wines, brandy and vegetables in 1890 were 6Io5 car
loads and in 1000 were 667o7 carloads or an increase
OF 5o,6o2 carloads, 10000 tons in years Sc
that loss in wheat tonnage is exceeded by the gair
in other products by I45,587 tons
When the soils OF the north meet the fate Of a
wheat soils and decline in production we hope tha
they will prove as capable as Our productive zone
here OF subjection to other to make good the
loss