The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-06-02

Sound. Francisco.
1900 ............... $10OoO,OoO $4O,Oo0,0o9
i iSo1 2oooo GOO So 50, GOO GOO
1868 1908 iestimatedi So 5ooooo ss,ooo,ooo
These figures represent, in round num-
bers, the total amount Of business trans
acted out of these ports with the orient.
The advance of the northern ports as ex-
/ port points represents the results of the
Hill. system as applied to the railroads
composing the group now included in the
Northern Securities company.
| These results show that a new Liver
pool is being created our northwest
shores. The trade of the west coast with
the great orient has already been diverted
| northward to such an extent that, in
stead of showing but 25 per cent Of the
| business of the southern port as in 1900,
| these ports will in 1903 show nearly if
not quite 125 per cent The tonnage has
| multiplied five times. An increase of 400
| per cent in four seasons has been accom-
| plished.
Remarkable Cotton Tonnage.
| On closer scrutiny the results reveal
| several startling things. In the first
place the nature of the tonnage that has
conduced to this increase of 400 per cent
is very enlightening. The most remark
| able advance has been in the cotton ton
| mage that has reached the orient thru
| Of shipping cotton from the southern
| states via the northern lines had hardly
| been thought Of. 1t seemed a roundabout
way, and the ships of the north were slow.
| Moreover, transportation was uncertain,
for none of the northern roads was what
it is now. Mr.. Hill had a few agents in
Alabama and Georgia who made half
hearted efforts to secure a little of the
shipping to China.
In the current year Mr.. Hill has boasted
that his lines carry IS per cent of the
cotton tonnage routed to the orient. This
| tatement has been questioned by other
/ railroad men, but it is at least certain
! that the cotton tonnage of the northern
roads is now something Mr.. Hill is very
proud of.
Cotton manufactures have also greatly
increased on the Hill lines. There are
no cities on his system that manufac-
ture prints, but he gets them. China,
by the way, is the best market in the
world for American prints in fact the
only foreign market worthy of the name.
The expectation of cotton manufactures
from the western ports is one of the most
important and growing branches of our
national export traffic.
In canned meats. fruits. ETC., the Hill
lines have naturally taken the lead across
the Pacific The increase in these items
is due largely to the natural increase Of
the trade, and not to the diversion of
traffic.
Iron and steel products bound for the
orient have not increased as the export
able surplus in these lines has not been
large. The Hill lines have had their
share, but nothing more. The prosperity
of this country has made it practically
impossible to widen appreciably the for
eign markets for American iron and steel
It Is not reasonable to suppose that while
American railroads are calling on England
fNv cto al i1c A,oo
porters will be able to cut into the Asiatic
market with their iron and steel wares.
Cooperation Has Done It,
In spite of government interference and
of local objection, railroad men admit that
the union of the three great northern
lines, Northern Pacific, Great Northern
and Burlington, is the primary cause OF
this increase in Puget Sound traffic. It
is not meant that the Northern Securities
company, now on trial, has caused this
advance, but that the harmonious opera
ton of the three great lines has been the
principal cause. Doubtless this harmony
could have been obtained without the
merger. The right or wrong Of the mer-
ger itself does not enter into a calcula tior
Of traffic results.
Consider the conditions that confronted
the northern lines in their efforts to OBJ
tain cotton tonnage from the south be-
fore the purchase of the Burlington by
lC..
cotton that reached Chicago from the
south went out from that point to the
Pacific lines over Burlington, Milwaukee
Illinois Central, Alton, etc. All of these
roads did their best to distribute theil
tonnage between the pacific lines, Grea
Northern, Northern Pacific, Union Pa
citic. If they showed a preference, they
did not hope to receive from the west.
ern roads against which they discrimi
mated any great amount of freight. Bur.
lington. no matter how friendly it nigh
be toward the northern lines did not dare
discriminate.
But the purchase of this road gave
Great Northern and Northern Pacific the
own line into the cotton fields of tn,
south. The result Is that Mr.. Hill is abb,
to boast of the tremendous tonnage in cot
ton that his boats carry out of Seattle
The result to Seattle and to Portland i
that these cities will yearly handle thou
sands of tons of cotton, not single poun,
of which is grown within a thousan,
miles of them, and very little of whic]
would ever have reached them, had no
Great Northern and Northern Pacifi
bought Burlington.
Other Community of Interests
Another matter that is of vital impor
lance in building up this traffic is tn
strong community of interests that exist
between Mr.. Hills roads, Erie, the Van
derbilt lines and Southern Railway. 1t ha
been said, not wisely, perhaps, by a
enemy of Mr.. Morgan in the rairoa
world that Southern railway. Monon Bun
lngton and Great Northern might as we
| be one system so far as traffic goes. III
remark was truer of Erie The secret
Iprobably the dominancy that the Morga
= influence exerts over Southern railwa
and Erie thru voting trusts. which il
r. f1uence would palpably be exerted for tt
benefit Of Northern Securities, SO far {
least as the law allowed. The real e.
tent of the Morgan equity in Northern 81
curities is not known but enough
known to make it certain that Mr.. H
is not standing by any means alone
Many other things have entered in
this result notably the growth Of lal
traffic, the prosperity of the south, IL
opening Of the door in China and IL
stand that the two great Anglo Saxon M
tions have made to keep 1t open foreve
the individual efforts Of certain capitals
to build up industries in Japan and CHR
that afford exportabIe products for Anne
lean lines.
All of these things, however would
of little avail We're it not for the fearle
- use that Mr.. Hill and his people ha,
made of their right to make rates.
MY only weapon is the rate schedule
ia Mr. :