The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1918-03-20
BUSY MARTs Of TRADE
Same Spirit That Made Old Salem
Rich Now Seen IN Merchant Ne.
rines's oeveIopment-Nsw
Ports springlng Up.

In the prosperous nineteenth century
days Of sailing ships Bath was the
country's leading shipbuilding port. It
declined steadily after the introduce
ton Of steel as a building material.
Now Bath, building both steel and
wood vessels, is so prosperous that the
Of the workmen taking jobs
there is a pressing problem. The same
is true Of several other North Atlantic
ports. while in other sections ports
are s~pringing up where none existed
Close observers Of the present 70
vival in shipping say that before the
United States shipping boards present
construction plan is completed-a plan
by which a vast new merchant fleet is
to be brought into being-the develop
ment Of American ports will parallel
on a larger scale that which took
place In the "good old days Of the
square riggers."
In earlier times, as at present, every
body in a port touched by the pros
perity Of seagoing was keenly inter.
ested in shipping. Present-day secre-
cy about contracts, sailings and divi-
dends, had It's prototype in the secrecy
that enveloped such matters more than
a hundred years ago, in a score Of
American ports, notably In Salem,
Mass.
In those days, we are told, rival
merchants sometimes drove the work
Of preparation for voyages night and
day. Ships which set out for foreign
ports were watched when they slipped
their cables and sailed away by night"
Personal Touch IN Voyages.
In those times there was a more per
sonal touch in voyages than now, a.
every man making a voyage was a.
lowed a certain space in the hold for
goods Of his own. People In the home
port of a ship outward bound intrust-
ed their savings to their s~eafaring
neighbors for ventures in far coun-
tries.
This spirit Of commercial adventure
Is finding expression today on a larger
and less personal scale, say the experts
Of the shipping board; and these stu
dents Of conditions trace the present
enthusiasm Of the nation for s~eafaring
to beginnings in definite periods in
which u old-time ports were at the
height Of their prosperity. In 10 do
ing, they cite Salem as a good exam
pie Of what a venturesome people may
gain upon the sea.
Salem at one time stood at the head
Of the cities Of the United States in
the value Of its imports.
In 1912 1t had 1925 ships in the deep
water trade, and Of these, So were
East Indiamen. These vessels brought
home cargoes Of fabulous richness
silks, indigo, spices, ivory and other
products of the far East.
There are old people living in Salem
who remember when the city's ancient
warehouses were full of "hemp from
Luzon, pepper from Sumatra, coffee
from Arabia, palm oil from the west
coast Of Africa, cotton from Bombay,
duck and iron from the Baltic, tallow
from Madagascar, salt from -Cadiz,
wine from Portugal and the Madeiras,
figs, raisins and almonds from the
Mediterranean; teas and silks from
China; rum, sugar and molasses from
the West Indies; ivory and gum-copa1
from Zanzibar; rubber, hides and wool
from South America, whale oil from the
Arctic and Antarctic, and the sperm
from the South Seas"
. Pioneers In Commerce.
Salem ships pioneers in open
ing new routes Of commerce. Salem
merchants were the flrst to bring pep
per from Sumatra, rubber from Soutf
America and coffee from Mocha. TIL.
Salem ship Recovery, Capt. Johr
Ropes, was the coffee pioneer, and be
tween the landing Of her hrst cargo O.
the fragrant berry in 1903 and 1905
Salem imported not less than $4,000,
600, pounds Of Mocha coffee.
Salem men perhaps no NOR,
active than other American deep.wate
sailors of the period but their record
were better kept. They abound II
stories Of their adventures.
Examining the causes Of Salem
great fame Won upon the sea, a recen
historian Of the merchant marine foun,
that it was mot In her harbor nor Il
her store Of shipbuilding timber.
It was Salem men. . F.. American
Of the Americans who built up the RI
mantle commerce that left no sea ur
visited, no land unexplored.
Their business required iron will an
iron nerve, a noble Imagination, belle
In themselves and in their fellow mar,
The cas Of old Salem, and Of th
newer ports now hourishing under til
impetus of the country's present con
mercial expansion, convinces the mar
time specialists that the quality whic
won in both cases Is a constant on
I'll holn0 nokhinw Lose than AnnnrAIsAn ii