The Savannah morning news., 1903-10-14
TO BREMEN MAY BE INDORSED BY
SAVANNAH TRADE BODIES.
MERCHANTS FAVOR PROJECT
AND WILL COOPERATE WITH
TRADE BODIES IN ENDORSING 1T.

eraI Months Would Be Required
Before Steamship Line Would Be
Paying.
The establishment Of direct lire be-
tween Savannah and Bremen will
probably be Endorsed by the Chamber
of Commerce and the other trade DO lies
of the city. The matter has not hem
formally taken up by any of them thus
far, but 1t will no doubt be pres mt d
at the next meetings. The hearty in
dorsement of the merchants and BUSH
ness men of the city will also prob. bly,
be given the movement.
Tie announcement of the first trip
to be made by the Coblenz has started
the discussion as to the merits of the
line and the advantages that would
result to the city. All who are ap-
preached on the matter seem to be
strongly in favor of the movement and
believe that it would result in general
satisfaction. 1t would also mean. in
time, that there would be a falling off
in prices and yet no loss in profits
At present all import goods are sent
to New York to large importers there
and then shipped to Savannah. The
New York importer must sell to the
Savannah merchants at price that
will cover the freightage, the chang
ing of the cargo from boat to boat,
and still allow him to make a reason
able profit. When the goods arrive the
in retailing
sell at a price which will allow him to
make a reasonable profit above the
amount paid the New York merchant,
the freightage from that city to S1-
vannah, and also for the incidental
expenses which are bound to accrue.
In this way the individual consumer
is compelled to pay a comparatively
high price for the articles and yet tie
profits of the retail merchant are COM
paratively lower. If the direct line is
established and goods are imported di-
rectly to the Savannah merchant, the
freightage charge from New York to
this city will come off, as will also the
charge for transferring cargoes.
Profit for Exporters.
The profit to those engaged in ex-
porting would be practically the same
Under the present system merchants
not exporting direct by posted steam
ers must send their wares to New
York and ship them from that port to
Europe They are thus compelled to
pay to freightage charges and also a
transfer charge and their profits are
thus considerably lessened. Many OF
the more prominent exporters have
unqualifiedly Endorsed the direct line
and have stated that they will do all
tbax oap tO mako II a success.
1t will necessarily take some time
before the business would pay the
company running the steamship line
The habit of shipping all goods for the
European ports via New York is so
strong that for some months custom
would induce the merchants to cling
to the old route. When the adVan-
tages of the new route were fully I'M
dersteod and the merchants had be-
come perfectly acquainted with the
new system, there would be rush to
seize the opportunities offered and the
direct line would rapidly become a
paying one.
Extensive advertising would also be
necessary before the line would be in
a position to make it's business pay
ing one. Inland merchants would have
to be informed of the new project and
the times of sailing and rates kept
constantly D6lOIS IuSlli. IL y
carried out, however, within six or
seven months the line would be well
known throughout the entire South
and the majority would be quick to
take advantage of it's opportunities.
A first-class passenger service would
also have to be established as a fea-
ture of the line. In time the majority
of those who spend their vacations in
Europe would take advantage of the
direct line and save both time and ex-
pense by so doing.
Plans Already Suggested.
Several plans have already been sug-
gested by merchants and business men
regarding giving support to the move
ment and making the establishment OF
the line a success. One of the most
feasible is that of bringing pressure to
bear, through the Chamber of Com
merce and the other Savannah trade
bodies, on some large importers of the
North, and endeavor to induce them to
locate in Savannah and carry on their
business here.
If properly presented it is believed
that several could be induced to locate
here. The field is practically a new
one, and the territory at their COM
mand almost unlimited. Not only
would the business of all the Georgia
merchants be secured, but they would
capture that of neighboring states, as
far as Tennessee, without difficulty.
This territory represents one of the
richest in the country and the profits
to the importers would be handsome.
AS for competition with the New
York houses. that would be practically
eliminated No New York merchant
could afford to make the transfer at
New York. and the double shipment
now necessary and then sell his goods
at the same price as the Savannah inn
porter who was bringing his goods di-
rectly from the European ports. A
handsome business could be thus built
up without any great difficulty, and one
which would be as stable as any in the
country.
To Indorse the Project.
The matter of indorsing the estab-
lishment of the direct line will proba-
bly, be presented to the Chamber of
Commerce at its next meeting A
similar movement will also be brought
up in the other trade bodies and an
effort made to secure the united ac-
ton of the entire business element
of the city. Thus encouraged the
steamship company would probably put
a sufficient number of vessels on the
line to accommodate all merchants.
If large importers can be brought
here and induced to establish their
business there is no doubt but that the
city would be wonderfully benefited
in almost every way.
Savannah has reached it's present
prosperous condition with practically
an export business only. With the in
creased business that would result If
the import business were firmly estab-
Ior L.