Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-20
A USE FOR BANANAS
WOULD BE VERY NUTRITIOUS
MADE INTO FLOUR.
Representative of San Franchises
Chamber of Commerce
After Facts

"a sign of the times illustrating the grow
ing commercial importance of Washington
is the action of the chamber of commerce
of San Francisco in providing for con-
tinuous representation in this city. About
eighteen months ago. facing issues result
ing from the increased maritime and in
dustrial activity due in part to the annex
alton and expansion policies of the govern
ment, the chamber of commerce of San
Francisco sent to this city for one year Mr.
William NJ. Bunker, one of it's former
trustees, with the understanding that he
would remain here for year and assist in
solving the various questions affecting the
commercial community of the city by the
Golden Gate. AT distance Of 1900 miles
from the seat of national government the
commercial community Of San Francisco
found itself badly handicapped in cases of
emergency. AS it was ineXpedient to send
committee after committee to Washington
the chamber adopted course that has
proved entirely satisfactory. At the end
of the first year Mr.. Bunker was asked to
remain here indefinitely. All the CONNER
cial issues brought to the attention of the
chamber, and which affected by de-
partment rulings, are forwarded to the
Washington Office. with recommendations
and suggestions, and in due time the cham
Der receives the information for which 1t
has a practical use. The commercial ex-
pansion Of San Francisco and the Industrial
development of California have raised hun
dreds of new issues that call for depart
ment rulings. A few figures will illustrate
this California progress. The bank clear
ances of San Francisco amounted to $1,373,-
362. 025.31 In 1902, an increase OF 1885, 1872
4S9.01 over the preceding year, or an in
crease of over $500 COO per day for every
day of the year. The merchandise exports
by sea aggregated $45. O00. 900 and the i'm
ports by sea reached $50, 10000. The in
fov, ,f fln H.
nary Industrial progress gained through
electric energy and fuel Oil and the in
crease in the variety and amount of the
agricultural and mineral products Of the
state also indicate the intensive develop
ment that has brought San Francisco and
the departments into closer contact
While Mr.. Bunker was indisposed to dis
cuss in detail the various questions referred
to him by the chamber of commerce, many
of Them of course. relating to Pacific coast
policies. he was willing to talk Of one Of the
minor. though interesting. phases of his
work. This was the story of banana -four.
Banana Flour.
In March last a firm in Sydney, Austria
lie, asked the chamber for facts about
banana flour. The query read:
The excuse for troubling you is that our
company is interested largely in the Ffjian
fruit production. and we are anxious to do
anything we can to help the growers Some
little time ago there were more or less
lengthy reports in the newspapers and
magazines relative to the growth in the
trade between the United States and Cuba
in manufactured banana flour and desie-
Gated or evaporated bananas, and as today
there are thousands of punches of this
fruit wasted in the Fijis which might and
ought to be turned into some profitable
channel 1t occurs to me that it would be
possible to utilize the present woeful waste
in some way. If you could get some one to
write US fully on the procedure and posi-