Quantity Manufacture In spite of the fact that labor in the United States is more expensive than in most European or Asiatic countries, it is the settled judgment of many men who have given thoughtful attention to the matter that the United States is entering upon a new era of its industrial life in which the quantity of goods manufactured will offset to a large measure the price of labor. In other words, when the war is over the ability to manufacture goods in large lots will be greater than ever before, and this very fact will enable the manufacturers to sell at a cheaper rate than formerly, thereby being able to compete with other nations, notwithstanding the fact of the higher prices paid for labor. It is one of the axioms of American business that "we can sell cheaper because we manufacture in such vast quantities." This is a point which should be borne in mind by all those who are sceptical regarding our ability to compete in the great foreign trade markets of the world. Furthermore, unless our large manufacturing establishments give attention now to the market abroad for their ever-increasing production after the war, we may find ourselves possessed of shipping facilities but without the machinery and world contacts to make these facilities usable. For a period of years The National Marine League has advocated the setting aside of 25% of the business of our manufacturing houses to be utilized for foreign trade. In some cases after the war, because of peculiar or abnormal needs, brought about by the war, certain manufacturers may find it necessary to devote much more than 25% of their business to foreign markets. If plans are made in advance for these needs, it will do much to obviate serious conditions relating to labor as well as to shipping. Foreign trade is a far-sighted thing, and although we Americans have not been known particularly for our wide vision in such matters because of the immense prosperity of home business, it is well to remember that we are now reaching a period when vision and statesmanship are factors of indispensable value in our national and industrial progress. In other words, the United States after the war will find itself a world power with a new and greatly widened perspective, and responsibility. No from-hand-to-mouth national policy will suffice. No vague trusting to a favored and "Providential Republic" will keep the industrial wheels moving. The nation, like a great ocean liner, has been pulled out of the harbor of its home business, out of the narrows where the small ships play. The open sea beyond, with its world prospects and world contacts lies before her. The country has passed the tug-boat stage. Her ships have reached the waters of the deep sea. The United States cannot, if she would, turn back. The question of questions presses for answer by every earnest American-"are we getting ready this great American Ship of State for this new world-wide voyaging in this new industrial era?” Port Development History is being made so rapidly these days that some people may not be aware of the industrial progress of certain of our Southern ports. Among these places which have taken on a new industrial life is Savannah, Georgia, at Port Wentworth, where new industrial establishments include the following: Terry Shipbuilding Corporation, which is building 20 ships for the Government, to cost $10,000,000. Savannah Sugar Refinery, with a capacity of 1,000,000 pounds of refined sugar daily, being operated under the supervision of the Food Administration. Port Wentworth Lumber Company, with capacity for 36,000,000 feet per annum. Atlantic Paper and Pulp Corporation, having a capacity of 50 tons sulphate pulp daily. There is also at this center the Globe Barrel Manufacturing Co., and between the City of Savannah and the Terminal are located the Diamond Match Company's new factory and the Cotton Warehouse and Compress Company's new $1,000,000 plant. These enlarged industries have made necessary the construction of a complete town site for the housing of the workers. In fact, the whole section has taken on a new face in view of these prodigious activities brought about by the present conditions and needs. . One of the new industries, furthermore, forecasted for the near future, is the ship plant of the Foundation Company, which holds a contract for thirty ships, together with the United States Government drydock, the projection of which is the result of the Government's decision to make greater use of Southern port facilities. It is sometimes necessary to visit lands other than our own to appreciate the sections of the United States where particular interest is being developed in shipping facilities and foreign trade. During a recent visit to Havana we were interested to hear of visiting delegations back and forth from Havana to cities on the South Atlantic coast of the United States. This interchange of visits among business men has added no small part in arousing the industrial firms of the South to the immense possibilities of trade between our Southern States and Latin America. Although many of the present new industries have arisen directly in answer to war needs, it must be realized that the bringing into being of such plants will have direct and far-reaching bearing upon foreign trade after the war. The enlarged Port Wentworth is certain to become one of the important gateways through which the greatly increased production of the United States will pass out upon our new shipping enterprises to South America, South Africa and Australia. Ideals of Great Americans Americans are idealists engaged in a practical task, and wealth is one of the rungs in the ladder by which they mount. At times, looking at things superficially, it would seem that Americans, like Emerson's sea shells washed clear of the sea, Had left their beauty on the shore It may seem a sordid estimation of a nation's advance or idealism, and it may bring a pat ronizing smile to the lips of cultured Europeans even to speak of it; but that the money ideal gives a fresh brace to the American spirit and an additional spur to his feet for the road ahead, filled for him with ever new and widening vistas of accomplishment, personal and national, is simply another way of saying that the spirit of man has always sought means by which he may subdue by his activity and wealth all intractable things. This is to suggest that beyond the sway of the dollar, and only associated with it indirectly, as the painter's brush is connected with the ideal of the picture in the mind of the artist, lies the American's desire for success. This success desire is not measurable in his own mind, if it is in the minds of others who know him only transiently, with a mere sordid accumulation of wealth. Some of the most revered Americans were poor men, and among them have been the nation's most beloved heroes, presidents, generals, educators, physicians, and men at the bar. Shortly before his death we met Jacob Riis in the Middle West, engaged in a laborious lecture tour when his physicians had ordered him to his bed. He was working because his lifelong efforts of building up a sentiment for social betterment of his country's "other half," the less privileged half in this world's goods, had left him little chance or thought for making or saving money. John Muir, who has left a rich legacy to his countrymen, like so many thousands of writers and American idealists, was poor. He was a close friend of Mr. E. H. Harriman, the multi-millionaire railroad king. One day Mr. Muir surprised his wealthy friend by saying, “Harriman, do you know I am a richer man than you are?" "Yes?" said Harriman, with a question in his tone. "Because," continued Muir, "I have all the money I want, and you haven't.” This was the same Harriman, however, who, when he was under fire for certain business methods which ceased to be regarded exactly legitimate some years since in the United States, was asked to give explanation to his detractors. He turned in his office chair and swept with his hand the railroad maps that covered the walls, the maps of the Harriman system, piercing the Rockies and opening the East on a straight track to the Golden Gate. "These," said he, “are my explanation!" We are all familiar with the spirit of honor which made Mr. Samuel Clemens (the man whom the nation admires as one of its literary pioneers, and with whom no one connects money ideals) buckle down to his arduous lectures and writing at an age when he might have retired gracefully. It was not because he wanted money for himself; it was because he had assumed the financial liabilities of a partner, and without money he could not secure that which was dearer to him than gold-the reward of his conscience and the respect of his countrymen. If we could look behind the hard working days of the majority of American men, who spare themselves not at all, beating their way through many a drudging day and working night, we would find at the bottom of the cup of sacrificing toil the lees of successful ambition in their particular vocation. Money! Yes, enough to get on with toward their goal of "making good," but the goal is to do something worth while doing, worth while looking at and talking about. Success is their king of incentive. It is this success ideal that is taking shape gradually in our great national ship building program. It is all so new and the tasks are so huge that it is no wonder we hear of mistakes in both zeal and knowledge. But the national consciousness is beginning to be aroused toward the ambition to succeed upon the sea. The spirit of national marine accomplishment is being stirred as never before. Those who know best the combination of utilitarianism and idealism which go to make up the American, are inclined to believe that here, as in other departments of our national achievement, the Yankee will live up to his traditions. Brazil and Ships "You can sell anything under the light of the stars down here, providing you can deliver it." These words were spoken by a prominent Mr. James A. Farrell, President of the United States Steel Corporation, has stated that as a rule it is not so difficult to sell goods to foreign countries as it is to transport them. During the last year in my travels in South America, the common refrain "we must have ships, ships, ships," was heard everywhere. In certain American firms having business houses on the West Coast, I found the managers and commercial agents sitting in their offices with virtually nothing to do. One man told me that he had taken orders for more than a year in advance and did not dare to take more orders since it would be at least twelve months before certain of his sales could be delivered. The necessity of shipping is no longer a theory between the two Americas. It is one of the most outstanding facts in connection with the life and prosperity of the two sections of the hemisphere. TRADE COMPETITION AND DISTANCE The United States possesses a particularly favorable advantage for Brazilian commerce. The distance between New York and Rio de Janeiro is 4,470 miles, shorter than that between the capital of Brazil and any one of the following European ports to which Brazilian exports have been sent in large quantities and European manufacturers returned. For example: Hamburg is 5,500 miles distant from Rio de Janeiro; Liverpool, 4,265 miles; Barcelona, 4,808 miles; Genoa, the same as Barcelona; and Southampton is 4,985 miles from the principal port of Brazil. Having this geographical advantage and given a frequency of steamings and a class of ships adequately fitted for freight and passenger accommodations equal to those plying between Brazil and Europe, there would seem to be no reason for despair concerning American trade with Brazil. The advantage of frequent sailings on the part of the nation competing with a nation of infrequent service is apparent; the interest charges are lessened, a smaller investment is required for a large "turnover" of commodities and the risk of losses is reduced to a minimum. FOREIGN TRADE MEANS TRADE BOTH WAYS All trade with South America, however, to be successful must be what the word signifies -trade; buying as well as selling. It implies reciprocity of products. It involves getting markets for our goods and also affording a market for Brazilian goods. It is good business as well as good psychology to keep in mind "the other fellow." It is extremely important just now to render service as well as to sell goods to South America. That signifies selling; it also means buying. Steamship lines need cargo both ways and the fact that they have holds full on the return voyage is a large foreign trade asset as well as necessary steamship statesmanship. MR. WILLIAM LOWRY ON TRANSPORTATION The following answer of Mr. Wm. Lowry, manager of United States and Brazilian Steamship Lines in Rio de Janeiro, is a significant answer to the question as to why this pioneering steamship service succeeded. "The United States and Brazil Steamship Line has carried from Brazil to the United States 260,300 tons of manganese iron between the dates of January 1st, 1916, and August 31st, 1916. This is one of the reasons for the success of the line, since a steamship service between New York and Brazil must have return cargo or die. There is not enough coffee cargo for all. The steel companies need manganese ore for the manufacture of ferromanganese, an essential alloy in the manufacture of steel. There is an adequate tonnage of manganese from Brazil to supply return cargoes for monthly steamers. Hence, the purchase of manganese under contract and the manufacture of ferro-manganese by the United States Steel Corporation on an increased scale. The return voyage in ballast, -that economic waste which has sapped the vitality from every effort of establishing an American controlled lines from 1893 to 1913— was eliminated." This statement contains multum in parvo and is rich in meaning as regards establishment of steam communications directly owned and administered by the country trying to promote foreign trade. STEAMSHIPS AND PATRIOTISM In these days when the United States is perforce enlarging its international vision, this matter of ship communication may be taken up on a large scale more easily than at any other period during the past century. The investment in, and the promotion of, direct steamship service for both passenger and freight between the United States and countries like Brazil partakes of a large spirited national and international service. Like the railroad engineers and the promoting managers of the new lines of interior communication who have done so much to open the inaccessible sections of the South American republics to civilization and industrial progress, the steamship men are the pioneers of world advance in a peculiar way. With them as with all enterprises the small and selfish microscopic policy is doomed to fail. The steamship manager and "those who go down to the sea in ships" must necessarily look beyond the immediate present. There are some things which do not seem to pay from the point of view of the narrow utilitarian, but which in the larger vision of statesman-like policy, embracing the future, yield for the nation and the individual an abundant multiplication of investment. It is this farsightedness of steamship construction and administration, the happy mixture of utilitarianism with national patriotism, that has brought England and Germany so far forward into the heart of South American commerce during the last twenty-five years. Again quoting from the experience and knowledge of Mr. Lowry, who speaks of the European steamers as the advance harbingers of trade: "The superior passenger accommodation of these European steamers as well as their more rapid voyages, induced the heads of European firms to offer to their passengers, as relaxation from a luxurious sea voyage, an investigation of the commercial possibilities of the countries with which they had business relations. Such commercial possibilities began to be exhaustively developed as a result of personal investigation-the homely adage that 'seeing is believing' was verified. Mutual needs and the national idiosyncrasies of the foreigner became better understood by the man who really counted, and as a result of this understanding a degree of commercial confidence was reached. which it will be impossible to develop between the merchants of the United States and those of Brazil until like shipping conditions make parallel results possible." With this notable exception the ships of Uncle Sam, comparable in any way with the strong European lines plying between England, Italy, Germany, France, Scandinavia and many other foreign ports and Brazil, are conspicuously absent. It is a bit shattering to American pride to find the Stars and Stripes confided entirely, in South American ports, to an occasional tramp steamer or to an ancientlooking sailing vessel carrying oil or lumber; but it also makes one wonder that the United States of all the great nations of the world has failed to recognize the tremendous future importance, as well as the present open door, for a strong merchant marine service with these growing countries. BRAZILIAN COASTWISE SHIPPING The coastwise shipping in Brazil is carried on by a dozen or more lines of Brazilian boats, the largest being the Lloyd Brazileiro with seventy-two ships. This line is said to receive a government subsidy of 187,000 pounds per annum, and it connects Rio de Janeiro with all parts of the coast, north and south, by both express and slow service. A tri-monthly freight and passenger service is also carried on with New York by the Brazilian Lloyd boats, and this fact has meant much to the line as also to Brazilian shippers during the war, when these steamers have been a main resource among neutral carriers. It is said that this excellent fleet of seventy or more ships has not been a paying concern in the past, but with such unique opportunities as have been offered it of late, and with reorganized management, the government should realize large revenues from the "New Brazilian Lloyd." According to Brazilian law, coastal navigation for the transport of merchandise is only possible in duly registered Brazilian vessels. Except under exceptional circumstances, foreign ships are prohibited to engage in coastal trade, though utter freedom is given such vessels for the transport of passengers "of all classes and origins" from one port of the Republic to another. River and internal navigation is permitted to all nations, conformably to the laws of the Commonwealth, and ships intended for navigation in the Amazon Valley are exempt from import duties. In addition to the steamship coastal service of the country, there are fleets of fishing boats and numerous smaller craft engaged in regular or occasional trade. The main passenger and freight service between Brazil and Europe and North America has been administered by four English companies (The Royal Mail and the Lamport Holt being the largest lines); three French companies serving all the chief Brazilian ports; two German lines, the North German Lloyd and the Hamburg-American and the HamburgSouth American lines combined; eight Italian companies between Genoa and Brazil, together with other national steamings from Austrian, Dutch, Scandinavian, Spanish and Portuguese ports. There are few countries where water transportation is more intimately and vitally connected with the growth of trade. The thousands of miles of shore line pierced by extraordinary harbor facilities with new port works being constructed at great cost along modern lines; the exceptional opportunities for commerce along the numerous rivers-the Amazon River and its tributaries alone furnishing a network of waterways forty thousand miles in extent all call for ships. The spirit of the old Portuguese navigators is still in the veins of their Brazilian descendants, who have been in the forefront of national commercial navigation. Their ports were made wherever possible, as the only means of communication for many, many years in Colonial days, between the widely scattered settlements, was by sea. In short, the ports were the centres of colonies and have since become the capitals of states. In front the sea, immediately behind usually forest-covered mountain ranges, and inland vast plateaus and the fertile matta or the sweeping wastes of the sertão. The rivers were the railroads, and they seemed to run nearly everywhere. The area of the Amazon |