The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-10-15

the wide Arabian Desert by caravans Of
slow-fOoted, patient cnmels. to the sea-
coast of Palestine or the great cities OF
Egypt. Jerusalem was the stopping place
before they reached the coast, and this
made her great.
Then Venice rose because she was at
the head Of the Adriatic, and the fur
thest point toward the center of Europe
which could be reached by the vessels tax
ing their loads from caravans at Smyrna,
Tyre, Sidon and Alexandria. .ut,.t
The doctrine Of the Longest haui' pre-.
vailed in those days as well as to-day.
and the vessels carried their cargo as
far MS possible toward the midst of the
pidlyincreasi population of Europe.
which was Venice. The ambitious young
countries of Spain and Portugal were OH.
of the way Of this traffic. as they were
at the further end of the Mediterranean
and remote from the European centers
Of consumption. The Portuguese dreamed
of finding an easier and shorter route
across Africa, and for decades kept creep
ing further and further down the western
coast of that continent, in hopes of find
ing the end of the land, and 'sea way
around to the Indies.
Columbus was holder, and conceived
the plan Of sailing directly across the
ocean to them. He stumbled on America
as land barrier across his path. Six
years after he had discovered this new
world, Vasco Da Cana, a Portuguese
Captain, while following the Portuguese
idea, discovered the end of Africa at the
Cape of Good Hope, and at last found
the "sea way to the Indies"
Over this the Spaniards, Portuguese.
French, Dutch, and British sailed and
warred for four centuries more, to bring
the wealth Of the East to build up their
own countries The Atlantic became the
highway of the world, where the Mediter
ranean had been for thousands Of years,
and Venice and Genoa, faded, while the
cities of England, Holland and France
grew.
AMERICAS OPPORTUNITY.
Now all the wealth is pouring into our
western ports. 1t is only about 5000
miles from San Francisco to Yokohama
and Hong Kong, where it is from 1000
to $4,000 miles by the way of Suez and
to Liverpool and Amsterdam.
Things are coming our way faster than
any body realizes.
aJim' Hill, of the Northern Pacific
Railroad, is getting ready to launch ships
at Seattle, each of which will carry 10000
tons across the Pacific. or more than
twice as much as any ship sailing from
Europe to the Far East can carry. The
overwhelming bigness OF these can best
be realized by the comparison that it
will take the loads of at least % miles
Of railway cars to fill one of them. Mean
while the other trans-continental roads
are not idle, but are putting forth siren
uous efforts to capture the trade. More
ships are being put into it by them and
the competition between the various lines
is making transportation across the Pa
ciic wonderfully cheap. l talked with the
manager of one Of the Trans-Pacific lines.
He was complaining about the fierce COM
petition, and said that only few years
ago, they got $50 for a steerage passenger
fare across the Pacific, which was regard.
ed as extremely cheap, but the rate was
reduced to SIS per head for the Storage,
and recently there was still another cut
made to $40, which would only allow the
steamship companies $3.50. The freight
rates have been cut in the same proper
ton. Only q short while ago $15 ton
was the ruling rate, but now it has been
cut to S1.5O. OF course these low rates
can not long be maintained, but it Ger
tainly looks as IL it would be about as
cheap to go across the Pacific as it now
is to cross the Atlantic, and the trade OF
the Orient must be every year much moro
strongly drawn towards us and diverted
| from Europe.
The Chinese and japanese are becom
ing great consumers of our corn and -four
| They are at last beginning to take to then
| instead of the milet which has formed
large portion of their food for centuries
and if they should become extensive bread
eaters, their consumption Of our corn ant
wheat must almost be beyond calculation
| When we stop to think OF the 100000, 00t
people in China, a single loaf of bread t.
/ each one of them would make havoc il
our wheat supply. They are very font
of our corn, of which they do not seen
able to get enough, particularly canned
corn. Eng Hok Fong, a, highly inteli
gent Chinaman and President and Gene
raj manager of the China Commercial
Steamship Company, aud nephew o
Ex-Minister WI, who Travelled with m,
across the continent to Washington, ex
horted constantly upon a policy of send
ing more canned corn to China. He wa
exceedingly fond of corn, and at ever,
dinner we had on the train he had al
extra portion Of roasting ears for him
self. Probably they take more favorabl.
TO corn than to wheat because of thei
familiarity with millet, which is clos
kin TO corn.
| Catch hold of something to steady your
self, and think OF the overwhelming big
ness of trade with China alone.
There are 400,000.0G0 ],aople in China
IL we sold bushe! Of wheat for each i
would take two-thirds of our whole crol
and Ire twice as much as our present tota
exports.
i If we sold every one of them just on
yard of calico or mnslin, it would TAX
more than all the mills ut present run