Los Angeles herald., 1908-08-29
ORIENTAL TRADE
OUTLOOK GOOD
FORESEES GLOWING FUTURE
FOR SAN PEDRO
ROBERT DOLLAR RANKS HARBoR
FACILITIES HIGH
Commerce with China Is Growing
Rapidly, but Southern California
Has as Yet Too Little
Manufacturing

That the prospects of future COM
mercial relations between Los Angeles
and Oriental ports is particularly
bright is the opinion of Robert Dollar,
president of the Dollar Steamship COM
pany, whose vessels ply between San
Francisco and Puget sound and Chi
nese AMI Japanese ports. Mr.. Dollar
arrived at San Pedro Thursday on the
cargo at the Salt Lake pier.
The first vessel that ever dropped
anchor in San Pedro harbor from a
Chinese port was the Bessie Dollar
which brought over a cargo of pig iron
some three years ago. Mr.. Dollar said
that vessels of his fleet would visit San
Pedro harbor whenever the commerce
He discussed the possibilities of a line
of vessels from that harbor to Oriental
ports.
The Dollar fleet consists of nine steel
vessels. Those in the Oriental trade
are of 1000 tons burden and touch at
Yokohama, Mogi, Hongkong, Hako-
date, Shanghai and Han Kow, on the
Yangste. The increase in trade has
necessitated the enlargement of the
fleet from time to time, the smaller
vessels being disposed of and larger
ones built.
when Los Angeles has sufficient
freight to ship to China and Japan
there will be vessels to take it," said
Mr.. Dollar. what this city needs at
present are factories and machine
works. Electrical machinery is now in
great demand in China, and all sorts
of mechanical appliances find ready
sale there and in Japan. The COM
MERGE with China has grown with leaps
and bounds during. the past few years.
When our steamships made their first
trips some fifteen years ago there was
very little trade with China. A glance
at the statistics of exports and Inn
ports will reveal a growth that is fair
ly astonishing. IOur vessels carry prin-
cipally lumber flour and wheat, and
southern California is not very pro-
ductive in these staples. With more
manufacturing concerns in Los An
geles line to Oriental points might
be made to pay.
Finds Plenty of Water
"You have the 1arbor already.
Though it can hardly be compared with
San Francisco it is good enough for
the purpose. The Hazel Dollar, 400
feet long and drawing twenty-one feet,
came in yesterday without any trouble
and anchored at the Salt Lake pier.
When the jet.y is finished and light
house built you will have one of the
best hart ors on the coast.
"a line to the Hawaiian islands
would pay If there were refinery In
Los Angeles for the sugar. A freight
line can only be made to pay when 1t
carries freight both ways, and sugar
is the chief export of Hawaii.
"As the commerce between Los An
geles and Oriental ports increases the
harbor could be dredged and expanded
to accommodate the additional ship
ping. but 1t will be large enough as II
is for many years to come.
Eat the present hour the foreign
trade is not as good as 1t might be,
though it is vastly in excess of that of
few years ago. China and Japan
have felt the effects of the business
depression and are slow to recover from
1t. 1 think we have now reached the
bottom and an upward tendency is al
ready noticeable"
Mr. Dollar, who has been in the city
on a purely business trip, will return
north today on the Hazel Dollar.