The Saint Paul globe., 1903-05-17

or almost indefinite expansion In years
of large American cotton crop. From
the state of Washington the trans
continental railroads. carried to eastern
destination duringe 1902 $4,000 ear loads
| OF lumber and shingles, and the SNIP
ments would have been 5000 car loads
greater but for the. impossibil1ty, at
seasons of the yearsof getting cars in
sufflcient number to handle the traff1c.
American Beefafor Nabobs.
What is being done with cotton,
what can be done with corn with low
transportation rates,Ecan be done with
scores Of the products of the middle
western states. With the development
or this new and cheaper route between
America and the fart East the Oriental
potentates will within few years eat
American beef from the middle West
ern prairieS, China will be gr1d1roned
with railroads laid with steel manu-
factured from the ores of Minnesota.
and the wheat raiSerS of the northern
tier of Western states will be rendered
happily independent of the Liverpool
quotations by the ready and expensive
market for their product in the far
East.
But the representatives and agents
or the company which is soon to place
the new steamers in operation are not
West-bound cargoes alone. At the pres
ent time there are, aside from the
United States army transport fleet of
thlfteen vessels, with an aggregate
gross tonnage of 60,238 tons, thirty
large ocean going vessels engaged reg
ularly in the trans-Pacific trade.
Twelve of these, with an aggregate
gross tonnage of 96,615 tons, sail from
San Francisco three, with an aggre-
gate gross tonnage of 14,700 tons, sail
from Portland, and tWenty-fOur with
an aggregate gross tonnage of 1915
tons, sail from Puget Sound. OF the
Puget Sound fleet, five vessels, with
an aggregate tonnage of 27,400 tons
sail from Victoria, B. c., in connec-
ton with the Canadian Pacific rail-
road, While the other nineteen, with
an aggregate gross tonnage of 104,157,
sail from the American ports of Sc
attic and Tacoma
. These American Puget Sound steam
1ers constitute four fleets, the steamers
of three of which depend in a large
measure for their cargoes upon the
traffic arrangements which they have
With the Northern transcOntinental
railroads. These contracts are so
drawn as to permit of their abroga-
ton by the railroad companies, and by
.abrogat1ng one or emore of them the
railroad companies will be able to pro-
vide full cargoes for the big new
steamers from the time they are placed
in commission.
Mr.. Farrell's Important Mission.
j. D. Farrell, president of the Pacific
Coast company, assistant to President
Hill, of the Great Northern and pros
-pective president Of the Great North
ern Steamship company, is now in the
far East studying the trans-Pacific
freight n hat int
of vantage. With power to enter into
traffic arrangements with other trans
;portation companies, to establish agen-
cieS and to make contracts for carry
ing freight, Mr.. FarrelIs visit is of
large significance in the approaching
contest between the trans-Pacific
steamers and those of the Suez route
for carrying the trade between this
country and the countries of the Ori-
sent. AT the present time this trade
is carried chiefly by the Suez steamers.
TIhe approaching contest will decide
whether it viii continue to be, and
whether the cities Of Europe will com
stinue to wax fat on this traffic as they
have done for ages. nE O.
4 significant suggestion of the char
sacter of the result to be anticipated
from Mr.. FarrelPs visit is contained in
the. recent action of the tranS-Paeifie
steamship companies, having traffic
contracts with the transcontinental
railroads, in the contest for the hemp,
traffic. n The imports of Philippine
island hemp into the, United States now.
amount to 100000 tons annually and are
increasing with great rapidity' AT the
present time this commodity is carried
via the SueZ canal tot tfae Atlantic coast
ports, thence moved by rail to the in=l
terior aeities where it is manufactured
and eventually a large portion of tits
consumed in the Mississippi valley
states in the form of harvesting twine.
The rate on hemp from Manila to Ohi-
cago has been SIS a ton, and the trans.