Tacoma's 1894: Falling Lumber, Rising Flour, and a New Rolling Mill

The review of the business of Tacoma for 1894, published in Sunday's Ledger, is very encouraging, all things considered. The continued low prices for products of the state have had a depressing effect upon trade and transportation, and lessened the demand for the products of our manufacturing establishments. But the strength of Tacoma is shown in this dull year by that which gives the city its leading position on Puget Sound. We refer, of course, to the shipping business. While Tacoma has sent a large percentage of the lumber east by rail from this state, its prominence is shown in its foreign shipments, particularly of wheat and flour. Tacoma has shipped 88 per cent of the wheat and 93 per cent of the flour from Puget Sound—practically all of these leading exports of the state. The total of these exports for 1894, notwithstanding the extremely low prices of wheat and flour, was half a million dollars more than the preceding year. The combined exports for the year from Tacoma exceed in value $6,000,000. There has been an average of one vessel a day dispatched from our wharves. An average of 1,000 tons of coal per day have been shipped. An aggregate of 146,890 barrels of flour have been sent to Hongkong. A market for our products has been opened in the South African gold mines during the year. Among other articles of lumber, 500 cedar doors have been shipped to Johannesburg, and there is a promise of a large trade between Tacoma and that country. The smelter has continued the production of bullion from ores gathered from widely scattered mining camps. It turned out a value of $581,583 during the year. It has been one of the most prosperous smelting plants in the United States ever since it was started, showing that this is a favorable point for the business. The Pacific Meat Company, with headquarters in this city, has done a large business. Its packing house in the city has turned out a product valued at $1,000,000 during the year. While, as we have intimated, the lumber trade continues depressed, Tacoma has sent more lumber east by rail than it did in 1893. The railroad traffic of the city has on the whole been very satisfactory. A new section of country has been opened to our lumber trade by the new connection of the Burlington road with the Northern Pacific at Billings, Mont., and shipments by that route have been large. The fishing industry has received considerable attention, and although its possibilities of development are not yet realized by our people, it is larger than most of them have supposed. Nearly 100 different varieties of fish are taken from the Sound and our adjacent coast, and the industry, when developed, as it may be by capital and management, is scarcely second to any on the Sound. It will be noticed that while the shipments of lumber and coal show a slight decrease, the falling off in these lines was coincident with the operation of the new tariff, which placed lumber on the free list and reduced the duty on coal. Up to the first of August the receipts exceeded those of the preceding year; the entire loss is to be attributed largely, if not wholly, to increased exports from British Columbia to foreign markets, which should be met by our products. While the local trade of the city was affected by the condition of the country, there has been a steady increase during the fall months and through the holidays. The general situation is much better than was the case a year ago. Mills and railroads and the growing business at the wharves furnish employment for a large number, and the new rolling mill plant erected in Lake View, just south of the city, during the year, will increase the opportunities for employment.