The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 10, 1905, Page 4

THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. DY urposes care for says Dr. Ca- sident of the Deposit iently iden- ertakings e advantages t takes care of son and out seeks to develop we come business. portation and on tran eight Seattle es- like the peace, I men- t I sald does not o prove wh Francisco trade. t because San Francisco is satisfied h markets al- h Certain! is not be- of with the han this city's Francisco are greater s men can master. jone, and It still is doing, wonders r commercial way, and business of Alaska is trying of accomplish- f this city really goes after it. merchants—exporters and com- n men—do not have to have some ome from the outside and gell how to handle any branch of their . When they determine that the ilitles in Alaska are worth atten- ey will do the rest. Of course, n is that these same possibili- n herdly be overestimated. I have in Nome for five years and have the town grow from an irregular ing camp, a provisioning station, city oftering all the conveniences ivilization has eccustomed us. the Territory development Is 1 and thorough. Outside capital is itself there more and more exploiting new evenues of e of us who know ka 1 re Pacific slope ha re future of what is virtually a separate the unfoldment of that interest here has & no conception of to every ngs are plans g of gold are i's attention miles of railroad to h copper coun- ldez and the t that enormous out- 1 shift the ka worl great smel make possible a t cop- exper he Alaskan s its problems from our point a word of en- has n as g . vet we are making r showing with fiat- »ok for the future. nd s mood 1 seek out Capt epe iwin, successful manager of be Alas nterests of the Pacific Hardware and Steel Company MADEL AL — San Francisco in without commencing Captein Baldwin. came in on that busi- first, but that it is up to us to learn a lesson from the method by which the Puget Sound deafers have ned an eminence that should have been held by ourselyes. The ac ng campaign by which the who was assisted to be- lieve that it was possible for Alaskan gold-seekers to-equip themselves only at Seattle has become a part of his- tory, and effectively was the plan carried out that most of the prospectors did outfit at that port, and natu placed their subsequent orders for sup- plies and provisions at that place. 1t has made Seattle, and as the same enthusiasm has characterized their handling of the regular business, it Is only fair to say they have earned thir the “San Francisco lost control of Alaskan business through an indiffer- ence that has led us to ignore the pecu- liar_inethods nec ary to serve the far- northerners properly. Because the open season in Alaska is so very short, the business of pro- vidir : thousahds of people who remain Territory through the w months, as well as the extr housands who enter for the sum- nust be transactgd in about onths. t means that every- things while there is a the le twelve body must rush e “Time comes near to being the all- important consideration, but it is not true, as some of our dealers say, that distance from Alaska puts us un- der a fatal handicap, in competition with Seattle, for we are only twenty-four hours farther from Nome than the Pu- get Sound cit d that is not prohibi- tive. “Granting that arness Seattle can handle the regu- on account of n lar business that comes from Skagway better than we, it must still be ad- mitted that if San Francisco firms were rightly known among the dealers in the tributing centers of Southeastern Alaska we could secure enormous or- ders for delivery at the opening of the scason, letting the subsequent rush orders be filled from the nearer supply source. N TIANCISCOS BEESON OB TN Smoro “Most of the imports, however, g0 through Nome and St. Michael for the important Yukon Territory, and we have every advantage there that we ought to ask. “Roughly speaking, It takes about three weeks for a steamer to make the round trip from Nome to San Francisco, allowing three days for dis- charge and loading of cargoes. Say that the same round trip can be made to Seattle from Nome in nineteen days, does any one believe seriously that for the two days saved the Alaskan buyers would give up the benefits of buying from the larger stocks this city offers and of not putting all their eggs into one ‘basket? “I have spent several seasons in the gold country and I know of the dissat- isfaction felt over the treatment re- ceived from Puget Sound firms. Stocks beora ZUT7EE0, 17 HOE sl LTI ’ gHOIWIG ZZREVC, ICE' there are so limited that orders have to be placed subject to substitution in case the epecified supplies are not immedi- ately available, and an absence of prop- er competition has kept prices high. “Settlers In new gold countries are accustomed to pay well for everything they get, and conditions have to be very arbitrary indeed to provoke a protest. But protests are becoming the rule among Nome dealers, and this is our opportunity. “Seattle merchants replenish their stocks from our wholesalers. Why shouldn’t our wholesalers go after the Alaskan business themselves and save to the buyer the cost of freight to Seattle, two wharfage charges on the Sound and the jobbers' profit? There is absolutely no business reason why we shouldn't. “Tllustrating the enthusiasm with which Seattle improves her opportuni- ties, I have seen a messenger meet the incoming Nome steamer, get the order for his firm, and dash up to the store with it as if the thing were a matter of minutés—as if the boat intended starting on its return in'the course of ISED For TCEIGHY LE] g}yf/” L]GHTEES. an hour or so and the order must be filled and loaded at once. The same ex- pedition characterizes Its handling all along the line. No time is wasted. The Alaskan trade is the goose that lays the golden eggs for Seattle, and every proof is given that the city appreciates its good fortune. “We ought to profit by the lesson. Every merchant in the territory ought to know this city and its wholesalers as a practical, business proposition. Trade isn’t a matter of sentiment. It is a matter of quality, price and prompt- nes: “In all provisions we can meet the prices of the north, In most things we can better them, and we have, more- over, genuine whalesale stocks of gen- eral merchandise from which to fill our orders—the largest and best west of Chicago. A little push, a little stimu- lating enthusiasm, and we shall secure our own. As to whether or not it is worth: while—well, we need only refer to the reports of the Department of Commerce and Labor to determine. “For the first eight months of this vear Alaska's trade amounted to prac- tically §10,000,000, of which ’ell than % ANY IAFLHOUSZES AP ;f///c/ufz/s one-fifth—Tess than $2,000,000 was han- dled by this port. All the rest went through the Puget Sound cities. That tells the whole story as to how we have been overlooking a market we should have held. “And it is becoming more and more worth while with every year that passes. More people are going in, more people are locating permanently. What were once temporary mining camps have become populous citles, well bullt and substantial, with an ever-increasing de- mand for 1ife's comforts and luxuries, “Nome now has 4000 inhabitants dur- ing the winter months, a number that is doubled during the summer season. “Dawson, the center of the Klondike field, has a population of 9000, and Fairbanks, center of the latest sensa- tional strikes, is now the home of 6009 people. “Other centers are growing similarly, and the number of small camps is be- yond count. This means business—now and to come—business we 'ought to be go- ing after. “Do you wonder why T should be con- cerned with the general trade with Alaska, so long as our own business is so prosperous? It is because a general in- crease would affect us in making pos- sible a better transportation service di- rest to Nome, and because 1 have a very genuine interest in the growth of this city along every line. “Every local shipper to Alazkan ports will feel the uplift of bustness when that field is exploited by an increasing number of our firms. Meanwhile we are missing large profits that we need, and we will teel the need keenly enough later on.” San Francisco hes achieved high place in so many and so varied lines of effort that we, her citizens, have felt abundant warrant for just pride. It is hard indeed to face a clear statement of opportunities overlooked. We know, however, that he is not our friend who encourages us in an unwarranted satisfaction with our accomplishments, and if San Francisco is missing an Increase of wealth, and ex- ended prestige, it needs be pointed out with definiteness. Though we feel that to provide Alaska with only one-fifth of her imports is in itself a reflection upon this port, it ap- pears that the proportion would have been much less but for the volume of trade handled by a single firm—the Northern Commercial Company. A combination of three supply and transportation firms is doing business in Alaska and Yukon Territory. This com- pany has apparently wrested a conspicu- ous success from the land of ice and gold. Before the United States acquired the Russian province its pioneers had numer- ous fur trading posts established along the waterways, and when the discoveries of gold were made these posts became the logical distributive centers for provisions and equipment. Compared with the chain of stores and warehouses now malntamned from St. Michcal to Dawson, these early camps were primitive to a’' degree, but they served thelr purpose and without them to-day’s larger posts would not have been possible. { The cargoes by which the stocks ar kept up are sent from San Francisco an Seattle, and it I8 concerning these that I ask Inrormation of A. F. Zipp, agent for the company at St. Michael, who Is now In this city. ¥ “We have a number of our own boats,” said Mr. Zipp; “boats that we own or charter, and these are kept busy during the entire open season. They comprise a full complement of river steamers for carrying general freight and passengers, as well as ocean steamers. “This year we sent out five full car- goes from the port of San Francisco, and would have forwarded even more if we could have secured transportation. We do not depend upon our own vessels ex- clustvely, use space in general freighters whenever we can. So, though we had only six or sev full cargoes out of Seattle in our own bottoms, we sfent a great deal more freight from that port than from here by using steamers of other lines. “I think it is safe to say that of the ,000 tons of freight that went into Alas- ka through the port of Nome this season at least one-third originated in San Fran- cisco. That is to say, at least one-third of the provisions, clothing, hardware and general supplies came from California in the first place, though it was not shipped direct. Why wasn't it? ““Well, thare are no regular boats mak- ing tbe trirs, and neither buyers nor shippers can say definitely when goods cculd be forwarded or when they could arrive if they wait for direct service from hcre. This might be changed by concert- €d action on the part of -our dealers and the transportation companies. “If representatives of local firms would meet the Alaskan buyers in Seattle, where they congregate to place their orders, and let them understand what this city can do for them In stock, prices and service, taking care to arrange for quick, regular sailings, encugh advance business could be booked to give both shipper and trans- portation company a working basis. “You ses, there are thousands and thou- sands of people in Alaska and the Kilon- dike who consider San Francisco a small ccast town, hardly important enough to rank as a rival of Seattle. Seattle made a drive for their business in the first place, offering cheap transpertation by rail and boat, and once the tide turned in that direction it was not hard to main- tain it. “Many of Seattle’s citizens honestly be- lieve that their city is larger than ours, and they pass thelr confidence along. That is hard for us to credit. but it is true for all that, and until we give the gold-seekers some live sign of our ability to serve them well we must not blame them for forgetting us. “Certain cargoes can be handled more profitably from Puget Sound. Hay, grain, Tumbcr and, of course, coal are cheaper there than here, ‘but it seems ridiculous for a city like ours to do any- part of its expert business through a rival center, and when we ship fruits, meats, wines, canned goods, hardware and machinery via Seattle we are simply minimising our own importance in the cyes of the buyers and assisting to hold up the hands of our compatitor. “‘Our company is enthusiastic over the future pf the great gold region. Its prog- ress aad increased developmept are ds- sured. The application cf improved min- ing metheds will lead to the extraction of milijons from runs already worked In a erude way, and as the country has hard- ly been prospectid it is impossible to set any limit on what it may develop. ‘Falrbanks, on the Chena River, a branch of the Tanana, 300 miles from the junction of the Tanana with the Yukon, is the newest of the important towns and has the umique distinction of belng the largest log-cabin city in the world. It (s really less than two years old, though the first strikes were made there as long ago as 102, There will be many other such finds, that is certain. From each new center the prospectors go out in widening circles, and not until the coun- try has been thoroughly worked over—a matter of. many years—will Alaska's wealth be known. . “Though they would be compaetitors of ours, we would like to see the local wholesalers go after some of the in- creasing trade, for there Is business enough for us all, and we have equip~ ment for handling and transporting any amount of freight, our own and others, that may be sent in. “It has been five or six years since the dead-in-earnest rush to the gold fields began and I think that aside from the shipments of one or twa firms, San Francisco exports to Alaska have decreased rather than increased I'd be afraid to prophesy what will develop in the next five years. , pid i “As a plain matter of business, the Pacific Coast Steamship Company would welcome an opportunity to run a line of boats direct from San Fran- cisco to Nome.” Mr. F. F. Conner, freight traffle manager of the line, turns in his re- volving . desk chair and looks at me very severely indeed, as If I had sug- gested a lack of appreclation, on the part of his company, of “a plain matter of business.” “We have one or two steamers out ot this port at the opening of the sea- son,” he continues, “with cargoes of heavy machinery, provisions and gen- eral supplies and if there were other freight in quantity we would have regular sailings. “But it costs to send a steamer to Nome and return and as there is no treight to be had for the home rum, we must be assured of a full cargo whe: outbound, or lose money. If there are 200 or 300 or 500 tons of freight ‘in sight,’ as we say, and our solicitors by hurrying around cannot find enough more to complete vessel, there is nothing for the shipper to do but send his goods to Seattle, where they can help fill up one of the regular steamers. “We have tried repeatedly to estab- lish a run from San Fr sco to Nome and San Francisco to Valdez, duplicat- ing the rates scheduled on freight from Seattle to the same ports, but have been unable to find cargoes and so had to give it un. “Constdering the business as a whole, we can say that our cargoes to Alaska are growing in volume, importance and vartety. That country is far richer than any one dreamed of in the be- ginning and the needs of the people are increasingly complex, so that as a market it will more and more attract attention, “Coal for the Nome run here costs us twice as much as it does on the Sound, water is an item of expense, and we have, besides, the wdditional twe days of travel so shipments from the two ports being equal, our margin of profit on business from San Francisco is loss than from Seattle evertheless, I'd like Ther Call to say that if the export Sirms here, the wholesale jobbers and ymmission men, will seeure the business, we will Five ‘hem just as many boats, and as big boats, and a8 fast bouts as thex may require for handling it. We rec onize that what Is good for the loceh dealer is good for us and we will do our share every time. If we try to do Sore than our share, it spells leo-s-3 and that helps nobedy.” )