The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-06-12

The ChIonicle-In a recent address
0. P. Austin shows how for more than
1000 years the nations of the West
commerce of the East. This rich COM
mcrcial prize has grown by advance
ment of civilization, expansion of the
wants of man, and the better and
cheaper methods of transportation
until it now reaches the sum of nearly
three thousand millions annually. But
great as has been the commercial de-
velopment of the East, it is, when the
population is considered, insignificant
compared with that of Western ma
tions. Mr.. Austin shows that the ORR
ent, having more than one-half of the
worlds population, and more than
one-third of it's land area, has but one
eighth of the worlds commerce.
The reason for this disparity of
growth may be found in the develop
ment by Western nations of the steam
ship, the railroad, and the telegraph,
while the East has been handicapped
by lack of means of transportation and
communication.
The most rapid development may be
found in Japan, which. in 1874, had no
railways and a foreign trade, accord
ing to Mr.. Austin, of $40, 651 600; but in
1904 thirty years later, had $500 miles
of railway in operation, and a foreign
trade of s243, 500, 900, an increase of
nearly 500 per cent. The vast empire
of China, with it's teeming millions,
had, in 1904, but 1000 miles of railway
and 1856, 10000 of foreign commerce.
What will be the development of this
trade when the thousands of miles of
railway now authorized or definitely
proposed are in operation, and wherein
will San Francisco have any peculiar
advantage over the other cities of the
world?
Mr.. Parsons says in his Century ar
ticle: "Some years ago, when Hawaii
was annexed to the United States, the
advocates of annexation produced maps
showing that straight lines drawn
from San Francisco. or from Panama
to Japan. China, India, and Australia
waiian Islands, and that the bay Of
Honolulu would become, therefore, the
Key to the Pacific This is true only
when an ordinary map, which is but
a fat projection of curved surface,
is used. When the question of trans
pacific routes is studied on a globe, a
totally different state of affairs is
found to exist, and we find that Ha-
wall lies near only single trade
route, namely, that from San Fran
cisco to Australia. The shortest dis
lance between any two points on a
sphere is by a great circle that is,
a line cut on the surface of the sphere
by a plane passing through the two
points in question and the center of
the sphere itself. The great circle
Panama with Japan and
China or any point on the eastern
Asiatic coast passes through the Car
!bbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Gal
weston, Denver, strikes the Pacific
Coast of the United States north of
Seattle, and skirts the Aleutian Is
ands. The navigator will keep his
ship as close to the above route be-
tween the Isthmus and any port in the
Far East as land permits. That is,
litter passing through the canal, he
will first go south. then northwest
along the coast of Central America
ind Mexico, and, after clearing Cape
st. Lucas, the southern end of Lower
California, he will take the great cir
lie from there to Asia, and this great
,ircle will carry him about 100 miles
o the east of Hawaii and only 300
niles west of San Francisco. As tie
ordinary tramp freight steamer can
lot, or will not wish to, carry enough