The San Francisco call. [volume], October 16, 1904, Image 14

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
THE present outlook for encourag
ing trade and business relations
with Mexico, Central and South
American trade offers a perspec
tive that it has never enjoyed before.
• To illustrate what amount of. busi
ness is done on the west coast from the
pei£ of San Francisco, let us take a
few figures, say from ten years back.
In 1834 there was sent out "by -water' to
different parts of the world, merchan
dise to the value of $26,484,000. Of this
amount -$3,840,700, or, say, 15 per cent,
«as distributed along the coast of Mex
ico and Central America. At that time
the Hamburg line of steamers was but
at the beginning of ita operations,
hence with the exception of the one
steamer belonging to the Pacific Coast
Steamship Company, the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company carried .the whole
freight.
The fare from San' Francisco 'is
about 3 cents a mile (a trifle over) to
Panama — that is to say, approximately
1105. From San Francisco to-.' New
Tork, by way of Panama, the "fare Is
Jl'JO, 316 more for 11.00 miles addi
tional. '
Commercial developments -are tUrn-
ulated by the accessibility afforded to
visit the different places.. No obstacle,
however, is so great as that ; which
has to be overcome by high passenger
rates. With moderate transportation
rates, the immense mineral resources
of the States ol Sonora and Slnaloa
would call for capital and mining ma
chinery to be furnished by California,
The' agricultural resources of the
States of' Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan,
Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas would
furnish the markets of. San Francisco
with tropical fruits, dyes, gums, hard
wcods, coffee, cocoa, vanilla, etc.,
which are indigenous to the soil, but
are uncultivated, as cultivation never
is . undertaken unless there be some
prospect of economical transportation.
Business has increased between
Mexico- and the United States 114 per
cent. in ten years, but" the exports be
tween ' San .Francisco j and the west
coast of • the .' southern . coast have re
mained at a standstill during the same
period. 1633
Mexico exports 3,000,000 pounds of
coffee to the States. Of this amount
812,000 pounds come. to San Fran-
cisco; but to connoisseurs the Colima
8nd Uruapan coffees are unrivaled.
Honduras and Costa Rica are able to
support a line of weekly steamers
from » New • Orleans by shipping
bananas, which we areienabled to buy
on the streets for 20 cents a dozen after
paying a five days' water freight < and
a transcontinental railroad freight.
The same fruit could be shipped from
San Bias and ; Manzanlllo were ¦ there
a steamer line that. would carry them.
Moses Taylor of New York: made his
huge capital out of the forests of Vera
Cruz and Tabasco, while those oh the
Pacific coast are barely touched. It
¦will be stated v that : there are not
enough bananas under cultivation on
the Pacific, coast for exportation. 1 :'• It
is quite true, , but it ¦ is ¦ also, true that
the "Guinea" banana, so highly ' es
teemed for its . ! flavor and < shipping
qualities, does grow on this coast; but
v/ho will invest in plantations •without
calculating first the % possibility of
transportation , facilities? - .
With the completion of the Manzan
lllo and Guadalajara road, -which' now
lacks but a few miles; with' the v har
bor improvements and wharfage facil
ities now about completed at ; Manzan
lllo, San Francisco will ; be '* in .-direct
communication " with * the State of Ja-
hsco, of one million inhabitants, whose
wants are at present supplied by Chi
cago and New York-
Providing that the merchants of San»
Francisco are willing to furnish such
goods as the market demands, and not
insist upon the natives adopting their
own -tastes, and will follow instructions
as to packing, and send down, not the
loud-mouthed story telling, free ' and
easy - drummer, but a sober, broad
minded man,' accurate but unassertive,
a very: large increase of San Francis
co's ¦ export business may soon be ex
pected. . . ,
An important fact to be remarked is
this: In all shipments to the south it
will | be seen that tl|e . amounts to Cen
tral American ports are-, much larger
than those that are" consigned to Mex
ico. This is explained by the fact that
all : the "shipments to and from Central
America are by way of the sea, where
as. Mexico sends eighty, times more by
land than; by, water. .
If Germany can "afford , to send cotton
prints, hardware, musical instruments,
and .so -forth,, around- by way of the
Horn, over 15,000 miles to the Pacific
ports of Mexico, will it not benefit her
t>use the 1 Panama canal to the detri
ment of this State, arid will she not
avail herself of the opportunity, which
is-so freely offered to her by prohi
bitive freight' and passenger rates?
THE importance of looking well
after the trade of San Francisco
with the Orient is emphasized by
a consideration of the conditions
in the State. California is a pro
ducer and a' large one and must of
necessity look to foreign markets for
ther distribution of many of her. prod
ucts. A few years ago this matter was
not as important . as now, because a
great portion of the export trade from
here was made up of wheat which
went to the English markets. Under
the decline In wheat growing and the
larger' production of flour than in for
mer years, new markets must be se
cured. Under the stimulus of necessity
for manufactures, manufactured prod
ucts have become more general in this
SJate and these must find markets out
side of our own State. Notwithstanding
the fact that we are already producers
to a very considerable extent in, excess
of local demand, the effort* is continu
ally put forth on all hands' to. increase
the population of the State from the
class that become producers. It there
fore must be clear to any, one who con-
elders matters at all in a thoughtful
way that it • stands the merchants of
San Francisco as well as the pro
ducers to use every possible effort
to encourage and foster and en
large the trade with foreign countries.
What California can produce few even
of those who have made the most care
ful study of ; it have any conception.
It is not alone the agricultural and
horticultural products that we need.'
but it is the growth of manufactures
of various kinds, and who knows what
these may develop? With the climatic
conditions, with cheap fuel and with
abundant* labor and with every con
dition favorable to manufacturing, why
should not this State become a large
producer of the goods which Eastern
countries demand?
One of th« advantages that the great
expositions of the world develop is
trade competition with different parts
of the world.. Through the exposition
which is now in progress in St. Louis.
California is being brought to the.at
tention of various countries, and in
whatever we excel, whether it.be tn
raw products or manufactured goods,
other countries will endeavor to com
pete with us. It therefore stands Cali
fornia in hand to do everything that
can be done not only to maintain its
present -. commercial position, but to
compete with the world's products la
whatever market they are consumed.
It must be clear to all thinking persons
that articles of merit, whatever they
may be, can be placed In almost any
market, and even though the people
to which her products are offered at
first use them in moderate quantities,
once the merit and prices are established
those markets will continue to grow
and are likely to develop Into large pro
portions.
San Francisco la to-day the recog
nized metropolis of the Pacific Coast,
but any lack of energy, enterprise or
determination on the part of the mer
chants of this city will be taken ad
vantage of by other cities on the coast,
and once thi3 business Is established
in these other competing cities. San
Francisco will find it difficult to ac
quire It. The principal towns at the
north and south of us are constantly
putting forward efforts for the exten
sion of trade, and there 13 no reason
to think -that any Indifference or lack
of energy on our part will not be taken
advantage of, by them. It must there
fore be. apparent to all that the ques
tion of how best to enlarge the for
eign trade from this port and to main
tain that whtch we now have Is one
which should be constantly kept In
mlnd.aBSE
By Arilrar R. Briggs, Manager State Board of Trade
CALIFORNIA'S TRADE. OUTLOOK
CALIFORNIA'S OPENING to the SOU^ii
By E. H. Coffey
Eastern manufacturers that all China
needed was development and that
any one who would devote a little
time to the interests of this new buyer
could build up a colossal trade in little
or no time. They knew of what they
were speaking, for they had been over
the ground carefully and systemat
ically.
Some firms, more venturesome than'
the rest, went back to first principles
— nothing ventured, nothing gained —
and sent out samples of everything
they carried in stock. But on the
other hand, some were afraid of the
proposition, and were satisfied to
dillydally In safer, tried-out fields.
That failed to ruffle the calm of the
advance agents, aivd when they sailed
again they carried with them sixty
odd trunks, and had others meet them
in China, so that by the time they
were -eady to invade India they car
ried one hundred and four pieces of
luggage and never failed to create the
impression that they were anything
short of a traveling circus.
"Business," said Rosencrantz, "is
jusf what one is a mind to make it.
It's easy to sell and it's easy td* buy,
but one must conform with the rules
of that country. For instance, the
Chinese are queer about their ship
ments. They want everything packed
in twos— two watches, two umbrellas,
two chairs — and unless they come that
way they are not pleased, and some
times refuse to receive the goods. In
Singapore and about that district they
want goods in pairs — say, two, four, six
or ten. Now it really ought not to
make any difference to the man who
supplies these materials, so long as his
Honolulu was their first victim, and
ko well did they convince the mer
chants that they wanted precisely
what those sample trunks contained
that a week saw them bag and bag
gage on their way to China with a
contented smile and a cheerful click
of silver and gold. For nine months
they wrestled with 'the wily Chinese
as the advance agents of civilization
.and prosperity, and then came home
to open up larger deals with mer
chants, so" that they would be enabled
to supply the trade with anything
from an elephant's nursing bottle to
a dozen locomotives' for the Trans-
Siberian Railway. #
Round the United States they went,
trying to persuade the conservative
Two years ago H. J, Hosen
crantz and J. J. Keegan, . per
haps better known as '.'The Irishman
and the Jew," sailed away to capture
the East all hands down. They figured
to do it principally by means of ready
Irish wit, shrewd Jewish calculation
and jolly American companionship — a
combination difficult to beat. It is
true there were eight trunks packed
Bnugly with samples in the hold of the
ship, but there was precious little
money to jingle in their pockets, and
samples are not filling when the
stomach is empty and crying lustily
for satisfaction.
• -when it comes to trading with the
Orient, she makes her bo*, takes a
back 6eat and permits even the baby
nations of the world to take the enor
mous trade which by right ehould.be
hers.
It t»ems strange when one stops to
think of it that the United States fig
ures eo insignificantly in this particular
line of business. Every year of the
tvorld the Orient buys produce that
amounts to fully $2,000,000,000. but by
far the greatest portion of this sum
goes to England. Germany and France.
In fact, anywhere but where it should
jro and the fault Hos entirely with the
American manufacturer and his acrents.
Instead of waking up and isvestizatins:
the cause of lack of commerce, he caJm
ly and serenely «oes on his way sell
ing to other markets whose entire trade
would not be a patching to that of Ja
pan, China, India and Slam once it
Teas opened up and got into first
class running order.
Perhaps America does not realize
¦what a monopoly of Eastern commerce
*ould mean. Evidently she has not
figured on the millions of dollars that,
would pass from the Orient to the Oc-
IT is just about time that America
was sitting up and taking notice.
Ordinarily no one could accuse her
of being far behind the times, but
"Why Americans, imagine they can
send out twenty-seven-inch goods
when thirty-six has been explicitly or
dered Is beyond me, yet they do it right
along and expect to build up a trade
in that way. That maftrial is not only
useless to the consignee. .^ut It makes
him very skeptical as to American busi
ness ability and honasty.
"The few firms that have sent men
to the Orient have made a mistake in
trusting to the honesty of the . inter
preter. The only way to do business
with any foreigner is to do it direct.
"The Germans and the English do
not consider any order loo much trou
ble. They are in business to sell, and if
a customer wants an order shipped in
boxes that entails a few cents' more
expense they charge it up to profit and
loss and trust to luck to get a bigger
order next time. And, rest assured,
they get it, for when a firm orders a
thing and is willing to pay a good
price for it It intends having it, and if
it cannot get it one place it will go
elsewhere. ~
customer is pleased and sendg # in large
orders, but somehow or other he is
loth to depart front his own methods
of shipping and packing, and so loses
trade that would in all probability
amount to hundreds of thousands of
dollars to him.
That the Easterners are willing and
ready to do business with us has been
recently demonstrated In a very
forcible and convincing manner.
cident; or on the position that she
would gain as the chief commercial na
tion of the world. Evidently not. or
she would be over there, in a flash
prying about and making it her chief
business in life to Investigate the pos
sibilities and to negotiate right then
and there to supply a certain amount
of goods — and goods, by the way, that
she never even bo much as dreamed
were used in that part of the globe.
The rivalry between foreign and home
manufacturers has always been of the
keenest, but in this particular case, one
is lying low and making hay while the
sun shines, while the other is steadily
increasing business at home and push
ing; vigorously ahead on the European
continent.
Cosmopolitan San Francisco's water
front is being enlarged and strength
ened every day and the trade that
comes to her P' — * is immense and val
uable, but it is not what one misjht
easily think it. Every Oriental vessel
that docks carries. a human careo of
foreigners all clamoring and eager to
be landed on American soil and to take
up their residence in this city, or Little
CHina, as it has been dubbed by amazed
visitors.
It is better in the long run to take time
and learn the language, for then there
is good faith on both sides and the sale
Is virtually made.
"My list of 'dos* and 'don'ts* Is very
email, v but if the business men would
give up some of their long, tiresome
conferences and pay attention to them
they would have all the business they
could handle. They are Just this:
"1. Don't send out catalogues print
ed in English. The customer can't
read them and nobody else will take
the trouble to.
• "2. Don't send letters to Consuls.
More than half of them don't under
stand the knack of getting trade and
they are too busy to take time to an
swer letters and petitions.
"3. Don't trust to interpreter.
Try yourself, for you can sell almost
anything with samples and personal
solicitations.
"4. Don't fill orders at all unless you
can do it properly.
"5. Don't pack goods in anything but
tin-lined boxes. Remember the ship
ment may be damaged in transit and
that you will be hald responsible.
"6. Do make up your mind to give
people exactly what they want."
That the field for trade is immense
cannot very well be denied, for a
country that contains more than one
half the people of the earth naturally
can salesmen and even takes the trou
ble to tell them that they are eager
and willing to look at the samples.
Japan is so busy just at present
minding her own P's and Q's that.sh*
has no time to devote to buying and
selling, yet her little brown men buy
over the world's counter something
over $150,000,000 worth of produce every
year and think nothing of it. And
America does not think much of It
either or else she would bestir herself
and see If she couldn't by some hook
or crooK manage to secure men thaa
from $20,000,000 to $30,000,000 of It.
And so It goes throughout the entire
Eastern countries, for the spirit of
trading and of buying and selling Is
strong and seems to strengthen as the
years go by. When a traveling sales
man can sell to a single merchant la
Calcutta 10.000 gross of watch chains,
it either does not speak very well for
the resident agent, or else It speaks
mighty well for the persuasive powers
of the newcomer. At any rate, the old
tune that American manufacturers are
so prone to sing that England. Ger
many. France and even Japan have
resident firms always ready to gobble
up trade, should die a natural death,
for there is plenty of room and busi
ness for all, and the shrewdest buyer
and seller may rest assured of the
lion's share. >
On the other hand the Celestial has
much to offer. In the first place,
spices alone amount to a pretty penny
and tea and opium are not far be
hind. Besides these, there are silks,
coffee and dates, and just at present,
owing to the fad for Chinese furnish
ing, any quantity of peculiar nativa
-wares, brasses and oriental articles In
general.
China is by no manner of means the
only portion of the Orient that opens
Its gates to outside manufacture. Slam
offers splendid inducements to Ameri-
That the Chinas* are waking from
their Ions sleep and trying to make up
for lost time it evident by the variety
of stuffs which they are importing:
daily. To illustrate, watches, spec
tacles, gi-amophones. heavy and light
hardware, false teeth, typewriters, au
tomobiles, cameras, telegraph Instru
ments, jewelry, cotton goods, agricul
tural implements, musical instru
ments, ink gunpowder, firearms, flour,
cigars, wines and liquors of all de
scriptions, and in fact almost anythln?
that one can think of save spices.
has fnormou3 needs. Then see th«
possibilities for this coast. Tt certain
ly Is not from lack of excellent har
bors, and it cannot ba for want of
vessels, for every day cr so sees a
craft of some description clearing for
Honolulu, the Philippines. Japan and
that vicinity, yet with these facilities
the fart remains just the same that
the UnKed States has but D per cent of
the Asintic trade, and if she 13 not
careful she will not be able to retain
even that xnuoh.
THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL'.
SELLING AMERICAN GOODS
IN THE ORIENT