The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-08-16

newspapers in his state ano III NOT
folk. We have delayed making ref
creme to it for the purpose OF secur-
ing definite information as to the
foreign and coastwise business OF the
two ports. 1t is impossible to secure
figures as to the latter. As to the
foreign exports of the two ports, we
now have the official figures OF the
government for the last two years.
Wilmington's foreign exports for the
fiscal year 1906 amounted to s1S,-
466,929, and for 1907 they reached
s1S,566,4 28, an increase last year
over the preceding of nearly $780,
600. The foreign exports of Norfolk
and Portsmouth for 1906 were $12,-
O27,215 and for the year 1907 they
were sS,359,445, a falling OF last
year from the year before of over
$500 0O.
The above figures show clearly
that Wilmington is far ahead of Nor
folk in the matter of foreign exports.
The Norfolk papers, however, try to
get around this by saying thai a
large mount of merchandise is
"barged'' from Norfolk and Ports
| mouth to Newport News where it is
loaded on vessels for foreign export
and it is credited to the latter ports
export trade instead of to the former
cities. Our information is that a
great deal of that merchandise could
not properly be credited to Norfolk
and Portsmouth or to Newport News,
for it really consists of inland ship
ments to foreign ports and is mere
ly transferred in Norfolk or New
port News from the railroads to the
| steamships. 1t does lot enter into
the traffic of those cities whatever
no more than could a consignment
of cotton from Charlotte to New York
by way of the Carolina Central rail-
road and the Clyde Line of steamers,
which was transported by the freight
cars to the steamers wharf and there
put in her hold, be claimed by our
city as belonging to her table Of cot
ton receipts of her coastwise ex-
ports.
AS to Norfolk's coastwise trade
the same state of facts exists as does
to a great deal of her foreign ex-
ports. Norfolk is the gateway
through which passes a large amount
of merchandise from northern sea-
ports to inland points in the South
Atlantic states and an equally large
amount of farm and factory products
from those states to the northern
, seaports.. She is the distributing
point for inland points in Virginia
and the CarOlinas Of merchandise
brought by steamers from Baltimore,
New York, Philadelphia and Boston,
and billed through to the points OF
destination. Also large quantities
of cotton from the southern states
en- route to the mills in New Eng
land, billed through to destination,
pass through her port, where it is
transferred from the railway ars to
the steamers. None of this, we claim,
should be credited to her as part of
her port trade. This traffic is not
consigned to or shipped by business
men of Norfolk. 1t does not form
the basis of any mercantile or finan-
cial transaction betweenm erchant OF
other business man of that city and
a consignor at the point of shipment
or a consignee at the place of desti-
nation. So it can readily be seen
how unjust it is for Norfolk to claim
as part of her traffic all such trans
fers from cars to steamers or vice
versa of goods and merchandise pass
ing through her gates, whether for.
eign exports or coastwise ship
mentS.