James J. Hill’s Vision for a Trans-Pacific Flour Trade
The Great Northern president met with local merchants to discuss establishing a permanent steamship line between Seattle and Hong Kong.
There is no reason in the world why Seattle should not be the terminus of an Oriental steamship line, if flour can be shipped from here at a reasonable rate. The Great Northern will establish such a line, provided China will take Washington flour at 75 cents per sack of fifty pounds, and we can bring back rice to put on the market here at 1 1/2 cents per pound. The question of a terminus in an enterprise of this magnitude will be settled by a few cents on the rate per hundred pounds. This remark was made yesterday by James J. Hill, president of the Great Northern, in the office of Thomas Burke. Hill discussed the situation in the Orient for upwards of an hour with Woo Gen, manager of the Wa Chong Company, who returned from China some six months ago. Hill expressed his intention to build a line that would be permanent, using first-class vessels rather than broken-down ships.
“There is no reason in the world why Seattle should not be the terminus of an Oriental steamship line.”
James J. Hill’s ambition to make Seattle the gateway to Asian markets defined the city's economic trajectory for the next century. His focus on the logistics of flour and rice trade mirrors the ongoing debates about Seattle's role as a global logistics hub and its reliance on international trade corridors.
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