The Nome daily nugget., 1907-06-12
NOME, ALASKA, JUNE 12, 1907.
THE PACIFIC TRADE

There seems little doubt that the United States is in danger of losing the Pacific trade. Recently, as tele- graphed to The Daily Nugget, and made the subject of comment in these columns, the Oceanic Steamship Com pany, of San Francisco, withdrew it's service between San Francisco and Sydney, N. s. w., by way of Honolulu, Pagopago and Auckland.
 James J. Hill has also declared that he will not replace the Dakota, his magnificent five-masted ship, that was wrecked off the coast of Japan. Both these items of news have stirred the that this loss of Pacific trade is due to the fact that the Littauer bill was filibustered to death during the last hours of congress.
 The Oceanic Steamship Company frankly states that the failure of the subsidy ffif is the reason for it's with drawal from the route named. In any case, after forty years the American flag is hauled down at time when direct competition had become impos- sible. The Canadian Pacific parallels the abandoned route by its line from Victoria, B. C., and Sydney by way of Honolulu and Fiji. American trade and travel must now go in British ships and through British ports.
 It is now rumored that the Minne- sota, the sister ship to the Dakota, will be sold to Japanese company. Japan's striving for the control of the Pacific trade has been frequently pointed out in these columns. The Japanese are sending vessels to Port land and Seattle for American wheat and flour. They carry this wheat and flour at from 8 to $3.5O ton. This is fully one-third less than would be possible even for a subsidized Amer ican vessel
 The Japanese vessels can make money for their stockholders at rates that are unprofitable for any Amer ican line. Under such conditions nothing can prevent American ships from passing over to the Japanese flag. It was in this way that after the war of 1872 and later the Amer ican carrying trade passed wholly into the hands of the British. Two years ago, out of the many names of vessels that passed through the Suez canal, only one carried the American flag The Pacific. apparently, will soon be deserted by the same flag, except on American warships.
 American shipping men will take stock in Japanese or other foreign companies unless prevented by the conditions of foreign subsidy laws. If they can make money by so doing, that is what will happen.
 The Japanese can handle merchant ships as efficiently as they can handle war vessels. The Japanese govern ment aids its merchant shipping com panies in every way. The Japanese have an enormous advantage over the Americans in the matter of merchant shipping in so far as they have a very low standard of wages. The Japanese captains receive about as much pay as the American cook. The Pacific Mail Company has been able to com pete with the Japanese companies only by employing Chinese crews and giv- ing the Japanese lines share in the business.
 It is getting to be a matter of more than doubt if the American dream of dominating the Pacific will ever be realized. It certainly will never be realized as long as the Japanese are able to capture the trade that has hitherto belonged to the Americans.