Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-17
CITY HALL, HoNaKoNG.

money on the first order, but they gain a
permanent customer.
Another serious defect in our methods
is Indifference to packing. 1 have referred
to this before, but here in Hongkong l
find the same complaints that are made in
India, in Burma, in South Africa and
everywhere that 1 have been concerning
the carelessness shown by our manufac-
turers in putting up their goods This
fault lies, of course, with incompetent or
careless porters, but 1t should be looked
after.
The trade between Hongkong and the
United States Is comparatively small, and
1t might be very much larger Last year,
as usual, our exports were almost exclu-
sively confined to -four and refined petro-
1eum, valued at about $5,000.00O alto
gether. The Standard Oil Company has
its principal Asiatic Office here and brings
out oil in its own tank ships, sailing yes
sells of enormous tonnage, which come
around Cape Horn from New York. and 1t
has small tank steamers here to distrf-
butte the oil among the various ports
along the China coast. 1t completes sue
cessfully with Russia, as the transporta-
ton distance is about equal. A flour COM
branch house here and is building up a
large trade. Last year it handled 5,513-
794 sacks of American flour, and the trade
is rapidly increasing.
The big ships recently put in service by
the Pacific Mail 8. s. Company and the
two fine steamers belonging to the Boston
Towbcat Company, which are now sailing
between Tacoma and Hongkong, are able
to handle flour at much less rates than
were formerly charged, and the tremendous
freighters which the Great Northern rail-
road Is building have sufficient capacity to
carry all the flour that will be needed on
the Asiatic coast for many years to come.
1t Is Only necessary now for the millers
OF the Pacific coast to send men out here
to cultivate the f1our-eating habit among
the Chinese, which will be comparatively
easy because they like it better than rice,
and the impossibility of feeding the enorm-
Gus population from their own soil is being
demonstrated every year. The market for
flour is almost unlimited, but until recently
nothing has been done to cultivate it.
Imports From Hongkong.
The exports from Hongkong to the United
States are comparatively small. Last year
they amounted to only $3O61,7 O5 and con-
sisted of rice raw silk, native provisions
and medicine for the Chinese colonies in
America, silk piece goods. mating. rattan
ware, hogs bristles, peanut Oil, preserves
and sundries.
Hongkong and the United States are ample.
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company sends
a steamer from San Francisco every week,
and the Great Northern railway has a
line from Seattle, but both of these serv-
ices have been somewhat crippled recently
because the Japanese steamers they were
using have all been withdrawn to serve
as transports during the war. There is
a third line running in connection with
the Northern Pacific railroad from Tacoma.
We now have or will have a splendid feet
of merchant ships upon the Pacific as
fine as float upon any water. The Boston
line which runs in connection with the
Northern Pacific railroad has the fremont
and Shamut, each of 1900 tons; the Pacific
Mail has the Korea, Siberia and will soon
have the Mongolia and Manchuria of 1O.500
tons each, and the old China. which has
been the queen OF the Pacific for dozen
years. The Great Northern steamers, the
Minnesota, Dakota and Montana OF 49,
coo tons each, have not yet made tne:r APP
pearance but are expected to go in.o serv-
Ice during the coming summer. They were
built at New London, the new Pacific Mall
ers at Newport News and the Northern
Pacific steamers at Sparrow's Point, Bal
timore.