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March, 1919 of which record can be found, was , built’ for New. Orleans; owners; geographical. Orleanians are not re- sponsible for the -putting of Florida and the Carribbean isles between their “port and the Atlantic, but they can- not remove this condition by empha- sis on the lack of ships. In other words, if the exporters of New Or- leans had banded themselves together into ship owning companies—as did the exporters of some other ports— instead* of waiting for others to ‘build their ships for them, there would now be ships to be returned to New Orleans. Instead of this, New Or- leans exporters are now dependent on such ships as may not be needed for service in other ports. This, of course, does not apply to the United Fruit Co. (not a New Orleans . corporation); the Bluefields Steamship Co., or others, who just now are trying to get back their ships from the government. Yet the ships belonging to these companies merely will return to the same service they were performing before the war began; they will be of little aid in that great new commerce with Latin- America, which New Orleans must go after with ships now, if she ex- pects to have it and to hold it against the trade-seekers of Europe. In striving to incite the exporters and importers of New Orleans to greater efforts, the foreign trade bu- reau of the Association of Commerce of New Orleans, has compiled fig- ures comparing imports and exports of 1914, when the war began, with those of 1917—-the last complete annual figures available. These show that ex- ports through New Or- leans 1m * 1914 ° were worth $193,796,559 and rose to a value of $303,- 435,809 in 1917. Im- ight. ee triangle. ports in 1914 were worth $79,876,075 Vv 2 “and.in 1917 had: risen’ to} $116,122,000. The «first. condition, -of. course, is: Be: Some idea “of-~the leading ‘articles imported may be~ gained from the following list of afew of the. prin-, cipal cargoes and their value: Commodity 1914 1917 Nitrate: of soda «. 4. tutins ¢ $362,922 $5,512,800 WOME eo ot iter eae 33,499,294 26,034,323 NORE Pea easy gage ak Yee 10,796,870. . 21,580,447 BANOURS icc sig ce where cea 4,896,739 5,899,801 DUBAI cea penivetis ames 16,232,623 39,396,000 Leading exports and their valua- tion according to the Association of Commerce report were: 1914 1917 COM Ae eee wite nents 1,336,800 5,510,124 WRGAU can Ura hicre a uese es 12,140,955 48,893,233 Wheat: floutien ci ein cates. 5,586,254 16,638,111 COCtON “FAW toscu sb out 105,957,675 97,304,146 Covton: SNaterstiy. eink aie Ca hee eee 6,746,166 PAG: CAPO sara nal oe Meera rede! « 322,262 2,168,372 Steel: billetsins os coi eens 26,404 11,470,807 Mfgrs. of iron and steel.. 1,512,188 12,165,628 Dard; SWUNG aiiseeess ee oreees 4,178,160 5,981,886 Lard, compound .......; 841,643 2,136,082 Illuminating oil ........ 6,395,996 . 4,774,427 Gasoline? coe ewes 708,987 8,143,132 INADHENG Fe siclarescéece Carols 6 cee 414,264 6,319,857 Sugar refined ........... 102,422 7,013,637 Peat. tobaceo: 2 eee ss 1,947,955 6,657,377 All the imports increased with the exception of coffee, which fell off because of lack of bottoms in_ the Latin-American trade. Coffee has been coming through the port of New Orleans for half a century, or more, yet New Orleans has to look to a Japanese steamer line to re- store the coffee trade to her. It is interesting to note that in the ex- ports, raw cotton and _ illuminating oils. were the only ones which de- creased. Important information is concealed in the figures on the importation of nitrates, which was 16 times as. much OWING TO LACK OF FREIGHT TONNAGE NEW ORLEANS’ RANK AMONG AMERICAN PORTS DROPS AS TRADE EXPANDS Increase in foreign trade of the gulf port has. fallen below record of other cities. No congestion occurred here during the war. Rete Me Ae ant Fee Da / cargo: of, general THE MARINE REVIEW 159 in value in. 1917 as in 1914, The record’ shows that trade with Chile ‘is -developing,’ for every ship which brought in nitrates, carried back a full merchandise, ma- chinery and coal. Machinery alone is going to :Chile from New Orleans at the rate of about one million dol- lars’ worth a year. Approximately 100 per ce1it increase is shown in the imports of sisal in 1917 over those of 1914, and 1918 will show an even greater gain, ac- cording to A. E. Pradillo, manager of the foreign trade bureau of the Association of | Commerce. This growth in the sisal trade means regu- lar steamship service to and from Mexico and, consequently, an increase in the exports from New Orleans to that country. About one million dollars’ worth of merchandise goes to Mexico monthly from New Orleans at present. This consists of elec- trical apparatus, shoes, dry-goods, machinery, soap, rice and_ general provisions. It could be enormously increased, if New Orleans interests had ordered: the gulf coast ship- builders to construct even a_ few auxiliaries, for use in the gulf trade. The Webb act, authorizing com- binations for export business, and the revival of ‘traffic on the Missis- sippi river by means of government- owned barge lines, are proving large factors in the development of Latin- 3 American trade, but the great need of New Orleans is: ships, and more ships. These should not be bottoms borrowed from some other port, or loaned by the shipping board, but ships owned in the Louisiana port, operated by Louisiana companies, to carry the exports of the Missis- sippi valley all over the gulf and to both coasts of South America. This offers the solution. , One section of the 14 miles of improved New Orleans harbor front is shown at The vessel above is the Japanese ship Awa Maru which is reviving the coffee trade on the Asiatic The vessel ut the left is being built near Nev Orleans but not for ship owners of that port fe Hae A Tee EO ee ents Pet eer ae