The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-24


Suppose" he said to a representative
of this paper, our wheat trade with
China alone to amount to one per cent.
per capita for each day in the year,
that would amount to $4,O0O,OOO a day
near $500 900, 900 a year"
Mr.. Hill believes that an Asiatic
market can be secured for the Ameri-
can farmers wheat. He bases this be-
lief on the fact that wherever wheaton
flour has been introduced to any race,
with the single exception of the black
race, they are ready to consume it from
that time on" He believes this SO
| firmly that he is building the five larg-
est steamers that the world has ever
seen to carry the wheat of the Pacific
| coast to China, Japan, the Straits Set
Elements and other Oriental lands.
In short, his scheme is to make wheat
scarce by opening new markets, thus
| advance its price at home and abroad,
and thus put more money in the pocket
of the man who has been called the ma
TONS baCkbone-the farmer.
Mr.. Hills views on an Asiatic mar
ket for America, in view of the present
international concern over the "open
door" in the East, are exceedingly
timely. He says:
The question of a market is next in
Importance to the question of raising
the commodities we have to sell. We
have extended our fields. extended the
areas from which our agricultural
products are raised, until we have
practically created a supply that is In
excess of the demand for a large por-
ton of the time.
THE population of this country
doubles about every thirty years. In
the year 1880 we shall have a popula-
ton of from 10000, 900 to 100000, 900. All
the people must be occupied. If the
population continues TO increase in the
ratio indicated, where are we to put
them all and what are they to do?
Our country is expanding in popu-
lation. What has been done to expand
our markets? What intelligent work
has been done since the Civil War-and
that Is as far back as most of us re-
member or need to go-to add to our
foreign market?
IT have given the subject some at
tention and am free to say that l have
failed to find a single intelligent SEN
tence, written or spoken by any one,
in an endeavor to improve our market
for agricultural products.
with our great growth of population
we must consider how the people must
be employed so that they may be in
telligent, prosperous and happy We
sell 80 or 70 per cent. of our entire
products to one country-Great Brit
ain. If for any reason that country
were not able to buy from US, our peo-
pie would realize very quickly the stu
alton they are in. Where can we sell
our wheat crop? In France, Italy,
Austria or Germany we are met with
hostile legislation. We are not well
come. To take our wheat to Russia
would be like carrying coal to New
castle. That country has a surplus to
SELL
IF only one-third of the people of
the world are wheat eaters and the
other two-thirds live on rice or maize
or rye, we must find our markets with
people who are not now consumers of
our crop 1. believe that wherever
wheaton flour has been introduced to
any race, with the single exception Of
the black race, they are ready to con-
sumo it from that time on. The Ash
attic rice eaters are as fond of -four as
the white race and as ready to eat it, if
they can get it at a fair price.
1.-THE question may arise, how can
people who work for wages of from
10 to Is cents a day, and have lived for
centuries on just such wages, buy flour
which must be carried across the Pa
cific ocean? If they did buy flour, even
at the rate of one bushel per capita,
we in this country would have to go to
eating corn pone. We simply could not
sell it to them. If we could sell them
one bushel per capita it would take
$50, 900, 900 bushels to supply China and
Japan alone, to say nothing of the
Straits Settlements and other countries
having large populations.
I'm the north and west parts of Chi
ma there is an excellent farming coun-
try, where corn and wheat can be
raised, but the products are so far from
the dense population on the seacoast
that it cannot be carried there. We
may perhaps fear that Russia, with
the Siberian Railway completed, may
enter into competition with us for the
Asiatic flour or wheat trade. The trans
portation question settles that. The
average rate on the Russian state rail-
roads is is cents per ton per mile. If
the actual cost of operation amounted
to but two-thirds of this figure-1.2
cents per ton per mile-this rate, APP
piled to the distance from that part Of
Siberia where the wheat is grown,
would give transportation charge Of
81. 20 per barrel on flour, while it should
be carried from our Pacific ports to
Yokohama, Nagasaki, Kobe, Shanghai
and Hong Kong for rs cents a hundred,
S. ton, so cents a barrel.
Russia is not in position to COM
pete with us at all, even if the wheat
and -four were carried for the naked
cost of it's transportation to the gov
eminent. What applies in this respect
to our wheat applies to cotton from
the South and to every other article
we export, even to iron and steel.
eff our home market, which we
have nursed so long for iron and steel
industries, is of so much value, let us
now go on and take some care of our
agricultural interests and not leave
them where they are to-day-without
an iota of assistance from any point
"a year ago you could buy nails for
81 rs a keg; now they are 1925. You
know how lumber has gone up and
all other articles of prime necessity
on the prairie farm. Fuel has adj
vanced. But the wheat crop has not
advanced, because 1t is sold in open
competition with the product of the
world And until we get other people
to eat wheat it will not advance and
we will go on hoping against hope. We
will not get a high price for our wheat
until wheat is made scarce. II we could
increase our export to the Orient by 50,-
000 900 bushels I have not the slightest
doubt that 1t would advance the price
Of what we do send to Europe Is or 20
cents.
"In the first place. what we would
send to the Orient would go from the
Pacific coast. The grain Of that coast
is handled at present in a manner en-
tirely different from that which pre-
walls east of the Rocky Mountains.
Having TO cross the Equator twice, il
must he carried in saoka IN yrayopt