The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-12-09

'uies' MI Claude N. Bennett, manager
OF the congressional information b,,.
ieau' declared that the opening of the
fanama canal in 1915 will give the
south the first call upon the trade of
oc'o00,OO0 people. These are in South
A'herica and the orient. The NORTH
ana East have beaten the South in
european trade largely because of
thelr greater proximity to European
ports. Now comes the South's turn
Oh advantage with these undegeloped
countries of the far south and the far
east. The west coast of South Amer.
lea alone, which is now inaccessible
70 the South, and which does for.
elgn business of more than $3.50. 0OO.
o0o, Will be brought next doo~ to the
South BY the Panama canal The
markets for Southern products in these
countries are simply limitless.
All railroad men all steamship men
and the people who pay the freight
Know that the element of transporta.
ton is as important as that of pro-
ductlon in fixing prices. The saving
or mileage is a constant desire. The
railroads spend millions to straighten
curves and save few miles. The
most colossal saving of distance ever
accomplished in the world will re-
suit from the building of the Panama
canal. Take New Orleans as a rep
resentative Southern port: Hongkong
is now slightly less than 1880 miles
from New Orleans: this distance will
be reduced by $500 miles when the
canal is built. The distance from
New orleans to Manila will be reduced
from 1900 to 10000 miles, the dis
lance to Melbourne from $4,000 to g.
900; the distance to Valparaiso will
be cut in half; the distance to Yoko-
hama will be cut from 5000 miles to
5000. All these ports are now reached
from New Orleans via the Straits OF
Magellan. From New York to San
Francisco by sea is now $4,000 miles.
The canal will cut this by nearly two
thirds When the battleship Oregon.
during the Spanish war, sailed from
San Francisco to Santiago, it took
sixty-siX days to make the journey. If
the canal had been in operation the
Journey could have been made in tif-
teen days. A saving in the cost of
coal alone would have been S10,5 800.
The various savings that will result
to commerce by the building of the
canal in coal. time, salaries of crews,
subsistence supplies-all running ex-
penses and the incalculable impor-
lance of getting there first with the
goods-involve a meaning deeper than
comparisons can express.
Recent growth of the South in nat
ural course has astonished the world.
The showing of exports from South
err ports is tremendous. For exam
ME. Savannah, with but one-seventy-
fifth of the population of New York
has an export trade of one-twelfth.
Neu. Orleans has but one-fifteenth OF
New York's population, but New YORK
eyoorts are only four and half times
larger than those of New Orleans,
while New orleans eXcels Philadelphia
in eyports by $500O0,000 and Boston
nv sG3. 900 600. New Yorks popula
tion is 112 times as large as that OF
Galveston. but her exports are only
fonr times as large. Galvestons eX'
norts are s52,QO0,000 greater than
philadelphia's and $65,OOO,OOO greater
than Boston's. Take per capita com
parisons: Savannah's export trade is
five and a half times that of New
York. seven times that of Boston, near
10 fourteen times that of Philadelphia
New orleans export trade is two and
= half times that of New York, three
and a half times that of Boston, SIX
times that of Philadelphia. Galveston
TONS them all with a per capita ex
MORT trade twenty-one times as great
40 that of New York, twenty-six times
90 great as that of Boston and fifty
times as great as that of Philadelph.'
To foretell the future growth o.
these Southern ports after the open
ing of the canal is task for the sol
of several generations of prophets.
Will the South rise to meet III
great opportunity? This Southern
commercial Congress movement at
tests its desire and attention-thi
great gathering answers the question
in a loud affirmative. To meet it re
ouires the cultivation of the South
millions of acres now lying in waste
the increase by millions OF dollars Q