The San Francisco call., 1909-12-04
INCREASED EXPORTS
OFFICIALLY SHOWN
San Francisco Gains 81, 900, 900
in Nine Months, While Puget
Sound Ports Lose

San Francisco businessmen and finan-
! ciers are congratulating themselves on
the striking advantage that San Fran
cisco has just manifested in CONNER
iscial way. This fact is evidenced by a
series of figures that has just been
received through the bureau of sta
| tistics of the department of commerce
| and labor at Washington 1t appears
from this official statement that San
Francisco increased the value of its
exports in the nine months of 1909 that
ended with September to the extent OF
about $1.000.000. while the Puget sound
| ports show a falling off in the volume
| of their combined exports for the first
mine months of the present year that
amounts to more than s13,000,000.
/ This is enough of phenomenon in
! both directions to seriously challenge
the attention of all public spirited men
! who are keeping track of the progress
of the Pacific coast and. particularly,
! of the progress of~San Francisco. The
! showing of this city is much more re-
merkable, as a commercial port when
i considered in the light of statistics for
| the first nine months of three consecu-
| tive years. The government officials
| report that in the first three quarters
merchandise to the total value of S2S,-
/ 1890 That was the year after the
San Francisco fire, and San Francisco
was diStanced in exports by more than
! s7,000,000. as compared with the Puget
sound country. The total value for the
first nine months of 1907, for export,
| was $20.9S1,347
! In the succeeding year, namely 1908,
(, Puget sound ports exported $28,592, ,113
and San Francisco dropped TO S19.-
! 3SS,012, or a total difference as
against San Francisco of more
| than s9,000,0 900. These two years
| following the San Francisco dis
aster gave such a decided advantage
/ to the various ports of Puget sound
| that the people of the state of Wash
| ing boldly announced that their predic-
| tions had been fulfilled and that they
! had demonstrated that the preponder-
ance of commerce, especially of exports,
| had come to the northwest to stay as
against San Francisco San Francisco
| in 1909, during the first three quarters
alone. has gained in its showing of
! exports more than sl,000,000, while
Puget sound has lost more than $13,
| 600 600. which figures combined make a
turnabout in the relative exporting sit
uations on the Pacific coast of more
| than S14 100000 in nine months in favor
| Of San Francisco.
| There is no surprise expressed on
the part of San Francisco men who are
engaged in commerce that the local tide
| is rising again. There were many rea-
sons, in the period between 1905 and
1909, why San Francisco should be un-
] favorably affected. The loss of hun
dreds of millions of dollars by fire. the
| temporary nature of business locations,
the cost of reconstruction. the large
| sums of money that were required TO
4 a q n - nGi fnF,o n or
Were partly in the formative state in
April. 1906, and then the financial dis
| turbance which was common to the
whole country in 1907-0S and which fell
upon San Francisco as one of series
! of accumulated disasters. further acted
to the detriment of this port. San
| Francisco led the Puget sound port in
the volume of exports quite largely
+; prior to 1905.
For instance in 1903 the foreign
trade of the Puget sound ports that is
exclusively the exports, amounted to
$27.45o.507 for the entire calendar year.
The showing for San Francisco during
the II months of 1908, exclusively in ex-
| ports, was S32.711.195, or an advantage
of more than $4,000. 900 for this port.
The next year, that is 1904, showed San
| Francisco in even a more favorable
light In the 2 months of 1904 the ex-
ports of Puget sound were s26.s9S. .423.
while San Francisco exported s39022.
! 220, or more than $12, 900 900 more than
Puget sound. Then began the series of
years in which the northwest ports on
Puget sound led San Francisco in ex-
porting. This is best shown by brief
tabuiation which is as follows
1905 1905
Puget sound ports. $50, ,2DO,O17 s42. .7sI 900
San Francisco. ........ 47.7lS,01I So S6I 374
Puget sound ports. $40, ,9e4. 100 sa7,5s7,55s
| San Francisco. &c, ,31S. $50 81 $50 nas
! BY this it will be seen that Puget
! sound led San Francisco in exports in
| the entire year of 1907 more than s13
| 100000 but that in 1908 the lead Of
! Puget sound was but s600o.00O, Now
in nine months of 1909 San Francisco
leads Puget sound by $14.O0O,0oo in
round figures. Is this an explanation
of the many rumors relating to the
desires of Jim" Hill to break into
San francisco with his transportation
ilne 1T would seem to be as reason
able an explanation as any
commerce seems again to be grow
ing stronger outward through the port
OF San Francisco in the shape of ex-
| ports, and if the figures for the first
nine months of 909 are Indicative the
attempt of Jim Hill to build up Puget
sound at the expense of San Francisco.
by the combination of rail interests and
the construction of the largest freight
carrying steamers af1oat on the Pacific
has failed.
1t Will be noticed especially that the
] figures supplied by the bureau of sta
tist1cs of the national department of
commerce and labor apply to only nine
l months of the three years that are en-
! bodied in the table which has been
/ compiled for this paper as follows.
Imports Of Pacific coast ports for nine months
| Alaska ..............
Humboldt. Cal. .............
Los Angeles.
Oregoi =.
San Diego. Cal. :.
! San Francisco !. Il
southern Oregon,
Willamette. Ore. ...................
Exports Pacific ports for niue months ending
/ Alaska ...........
+ Hawaii ......... .
| Humboldt Gal !.
80 ''sei's.
eon
Puget sound, Washington. ..... :. ...-..-.--
t,dii ,.e-o. tdl.'
S., sshn : IdiicS'o
oouihtllf oregon.
Willamette. Ore. ......s.................
| AotaiS. . .. . =. . : .