The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-08-28


 going one way could secure fairly remun- | erating freight they could never rely upon
 return cargo. It was with good under | standing of this condition that the late William R. Grace formerly mayor of New York city, gradually. cautiously and ul- | timately very successfully built up a steamship line which operated between
 the west coast of South America and New
 York by way of the Straits of Magellan. It is now one of the largest of commerce. bearing lines operating between New York and any foreign country. MT. Grace be- gan with two or three steamers and knew when he did begin where he could get sufficient cargoes to make 1t possible profitably to operate them.
 Now MT. Grace's successors are contem-
 plating the operation of six or seven new ! steamships between New York and the
 west coast of South America by way of the Panama canal. They are sure of good cargoes each way.
 Boston is the only considerable port | upon the Atlantic seaboard which is able to secure return cargoes that may be compared with those which are dis charged at the port of New York. There are economic reasons, as well as phys ical ones, which explain why much the | greater part of the imports from foreign countries into the United States are dis charged at the port of New York. And as long as New York remains the chief importing city of the United States. So long it must remain the chief exporting port of the country There are other
 ports from which heavy exports are sent across the sea. Galveston is one. New l port News is another. But neither of these ports command a very large inl- port trade.
 James J. Hills Purpose
 It was the fact that city cannot be- come, in the best meaning of the term, a port for foreign commerce unless 1t is able to receive imports that may be com pared with it's exports that James J. Hill had in mind when he caused to be con- structed two of the largest ocean freight | carriers ever built in the United States. MT. Hill would not have built these steam CTS if he had not thoroughly worked out a plan for reciprocal Pacific commerce. He l knew that he could profitably for his steamers export from Seattle lumber anc other commodities which represent the resources of the northwest to China and Japan. But the first question he had to answer when considering this plan Was where and how he could get his return cargoes Careful investigation pointed out to him a kind of trade with China and Japan which would secure for him the profitable return cargoes. Some of this I was silks some of it fibre. all of it dis tinctive and exclusive products of China and Japan which would find ready mar ket in the United States
 In the wisdom of the interstate conl- merce commission at Washington 1t was decided that Mir. Hill could not lawfully make such rates for the transportation rf l freight by his railroad from the interior 10 Seattle as would make it possible to deliver commodities in China and Japan l in successful competition with Great Britain or Germany or both. For that
 reason, the beginning of what promised to become a very great commerce repre- sented by profitable cargoes each way across the Pacific was no more than beginning. Some day Congress may per
 init, in view of the expediency of gain 1 ing and keeping a great foreign trade. l rates of the kind established by MT. Hll' 1 to be maintained, although exclusively upon commodities desgned for export. In the fiscal year winch ended on June ] 90 last, the port of New York was repre- l sented by exports of the aggregate money value of $1, ,194, 000, GOO. In the previous fis- cal year, the money value of the exports was $S65,0O0. All the other ports of the | was $S65, ,000.O00 All the other ports of tie money value of $1 ,575, ,000.0 900, but this was only $75,O00,0 600 more than the exports from these other ports in the preceding fiscal year.
 | Down the harbor of New York sailed vessels in the fiscal year which ended on June 30 which carried commodities or