﻿THE 
  GEOGRAPHY 
  OF 
  OUR 
  FOREIGN 
  TRADE 
  

  

  95 
  

  

  home. 
  If 
  it 
  was 
  the 
  'tick' 
  the 
  African 
  

   wanted, 
  he 
  would 
  supply 
  it. 
  So 
  out 
  came 
  

   a 
  kind 
  of 
  clock 
  that 
  sounded 
  like 
  a 
  boy 
  

   with 
  a 
  tack 
  -hammer. 
  Delight 
  ran 
  through 
  

   the 
  leafy 
  woods 
  of 
  Africa, 
  and 
  the 
  Ger- 
  

   man 
  clock 
  went 
  like 
  wildfire 
  !" 
  

  

  HOW 
  OVERSEAS 
  TRADK 
  DLVLLOPLD 
  

  

  A 
  hasty 
  sketch 
  of 
  the 
  high 
  points 
  in 
  the 
  

   history 
  of 
  world 
  trade 
  proves 
  how 
  much 
  

   our 
  map 
  and 
  its 
  peculiarities 
  have 
  influ- 
  

   enced 
  all 
  buying 
  and 
  selling. 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  the 
  geographic 
  pioneering 
  of 
  

   bold 
  Latin 
  sea-rovers 
  in 
  the 
  fifteenth 
  cen- 
  

   tury 
  that 
  gave 
  Europe 
  its 
  first 
  adventure 
  

   in 
  ocean 
  commerce. 
  Up 
  to 
  that 
  time, 
  

   trade 
  between 
  nations 
  had 
  been 
  carried 
  

   on 
  by 
  caravans 
  or 
  mere 
  coast 
  boats. 
  Even 
  

   to 
  this 
  day 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  to 
  trace 
  some 
  of 
  

   the 
  old 
  overland 
  "silk 
  routes" 
  from 
  China 
  

   to 
  Syria, 
  to 
  Poland, 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  Rhine; 
  

   they 
  always 
  began 
  in 
  one 
  great 
  political 
  

   center 
  and 
  ended 
  in 
  another. 
  

  

  In 
  those 
  days, 
  too, 
  sea-traders 
  with 
  

   cargoes 
  from 
  the 
  Levant 
  began 
  to 
  feel 
  

   their 
  way 
  across 
  the 
  Mediterranean, 
  while 
  

   Chinese 
  junks 
  even 
  ventured 
  around 
  to 
  

   India 
  and 
  up 
  the 
  Tigris. 
  Incidentally, 
  it 
  

   was 
  this 
  timid 
  venturing 
  along 
  coast 
  

   routes 
  that 
  maintained 
  the 
  commercial 
  

   supremacy 
  of 
  Italy 
  from 
  Roman 
  times 
  

   till 
  the 
  Renaissance, 
  Italy's 
  bootlike 
  pe- 
  

   ninsula 
  making 
  of 
  her 
  a 
  great 
  mole 
  or 
  

   pier 
  extending 
  down 
  into 
  the 
  Mediter- 
  

   ranean. 
  

  

  Because 
  of 
  the 
  warlike 
  Turks 
  and 
  their 
  

   depredations 
  on 
  the 
  caravans 
  that 
  fol- 
  

   lowed 
  the 
  overland 
  trail 
  of 
  Marco 
  Polo, 
  

   Europe 
  became 
  more 
  and 
  more 
  anxious 
  

   for 
  a 
  sea 
  route 
  to 
  the 
  legendary 
  riches 
  of 
  

   India. 
  And 
  finally, 
  thanks 
  to 
  doughty 
  

   old 
  Vasco 
  da 
  Gama, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  boldest 
  

   geographers 
  of 
  his 
  day, 
  the 
  staunch 
  wind- 
  

   jammers 
  of 
  Lisbon 
  reached 
  the 
  west 
  

   coast 
  of 
  India. 
  Six 
  years 
  previously, 
  the 
  

   greatest 
  of 
  Italian 
  navigators 
  had 
  put 
  to 
  

   sea 
  flying 
  the 
  flag 
  of 
  Spain 
  and 
  found 
  a 
  

   New 
  World. 
  

  

  Thus 
  these 
  daring 
  sailors 
  not 
  only 
  put 
  

   new 
  continents 
  on 
  the 
  map, 
  to 
  the 
  con- 
  

   sternation 
  of 
  the 
  geographers 
  of 
  that 
  day, 
  

   but 
  they 
  brought 
  on 
  the 
  greatest 
  political 
  

   and 
  economic 
  crisis 
  that 
  the 
  world 
  had 
  

   ever 
  known. 
  

  

  For 
  two 
  centuries 
  Europe 
  was 
  shaken 
  

   as 
  a 
  result 
  of 
  these 
  voyages, 
  and 
  the 
  cen- 
  

   ters 
  of 
  power 
  shifted 
  from 
  the 
  Mediter- 
  

  

  ranean 
  to 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  — 
  that 
  is, 
  

   from 
  Venice 
  and 
  Genoa 
  to 
  Spain 
  and 
  

   Portugal 
  ; 
  then 
  to 
  France, 
  to 
  Holland, 
  and 
  

   finally 
  to 
  England. 
  

  

  When 
  bigger 
  ships 
  came 
  into 
  use, 
  and 
  

   when 
  the 
  importation 
  of 
  gold, 
  diamonds, 
  

   slaves, 
  silks, 
  and 
  spices 
  was 
  followed 
  by 
  

   the 
  import 
  of 
  more 
  bulky 
  raw 
  materials, 
  

   which 
  were 
  in 
  turn 
  exported 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  

   of 
  manufactured 
  goods, 
  England 
  crowded 
  

   ahead. 
  Her 
  splendid 
  geographical 
  posi- 
  

   tion, 
  her 
  harbors, 
  her 
  coal 
  and 
  iron 
  mines, 
  

   enabled 
  her 
  to 
  gain 
  the 
  mastery 
  of 
  the 
  

   seas. 
  

  

  WHEN 
  AMERICA 
  TOOK 
  ITS 
  PLACE 
  AMONG 
  

   SLA 
  POWLRS 
  

  

  Tracing 
  the 
  mastery 
  of 
  the 
  seas 
  down 
  

   through 
  the 
  centuries, 
  from 
  the 
  days 
  of 
  

   the 
  supremacy 
  of 
  Tyre, 
  nation 
  by 
  nation, 
  

   until 
  England 
  assumed 
  the 
  leadership, 
  

   William 
  Brown 
  Meloney, 
  in 
  "The 
  Her- 
  

   itage 
  of 
  Tyre," 
  says 
  : 
  

  

  "In 
  England's 
  hands 
  the 
  Phoenician 
  

   trident 
  became 
  a 
  magic 
  wand. 
  A 
  hand- 
  

   ful 
  of 
  islands 
  burgeoned 
  into 
  such 
  an 
  

   empire 
  as 
  Rome 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  had 
  she 
  

   worn 
  her 
  sword 
  more 
  in 
  its 
  sheath. 
  Brit- 
  

   ain 
  became 
  Great 
  Britain, 
  London 
  a 
  sec- 
  

   ond 
  Tyre, 
  and 
  Bristol 
  another 
  Venice. 
  

   Yet 
  in 
  a 
  moment 
  when 
  Britain 
  was 
  never 
  

   so 
  powerful, 
  never 
  so 
  great, 
  a 
  new 
  peo- 
  

   ple 
  — 
  a 
  people 
  whom 
  the 
  family 
  of 
  nations 
  

   barely 
  deigned 
  to 
  notice 
  — 
  claimed 
  coheir- 
  

   ship. 
  In 
  the 
  eyes 
  of 
  an 
  astounded 
  world 
  

   the 
  United 
  States 
  established 
  her 
  birth- 
  

   right 
  in 
  the 
  freedom 
  of 
  the 
  seas 
  as 
  no 
  

   other 
  heir 
  of 
  Tyre 
  had 
  ever 
  done." 
  

  

  What 
  heart 
  does 
  not 
  thrill 
  at 
  the 
  mem- 
  

   ory 
  of 
  those 
  proud 
  days 
  of 
  the 
  Flying 
  

   Cloud, 
  the 
  Belle 
  of 
  the 
  Sea, 
  or 
  the 
  Red 
  

   Rover, 
  when 
  America 
  carried 
  92 
  per 
  cent 
  

   of 
  all 
  her 
  overseas 
  trade 
  in 
  her 
  own 
  bot- 
  

   toms 
  ! 
  When 
  our 
  "cod-headed, 
  mackerel- 
  

   tailed" 
  clippers 
  could 
  make 
  the 
  Calcutta 
  

   run 
  in 
  95 
  days; 
  when 
  the 
  famous 
  James 
  

   Bainc 
  logged 
  21 
  knots 
  with 
  mainskysail 
  

   set 
  and 
  made 
  a 
  world 
  record 
  ! 
  

  

  The 
  story 
  of 
  the 
  misfortunes 
  of 
  the 
  

   sixties 
  and 
  the 
  decline 
  of 
  our 
  merchant 
  

   marine 
  is 
  familiar. 
  Even 
  when 
  Roose- 
  

   velt 
  sent 
  The 
  Fleet 
  around 
  the 
  world, 
  we 
  

   had 
  to 
  depend 
  on 
  foreign 
  colliers. 
  

  

  OUR 
  MERCHANT 
  MARINE 
  RETURNS 
  

  

  But 
  today, 
  from 
  Memel 
  to 
  Melbourne, 
  

  

  our 
  merchant 
  ships 
  — 
  stupendous 
  heritage 
  

  

  