New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-09-04
.au Orleans 9aijp Grestent.
MORNING, SEPTEMBER 4, 1866,
Memorial,

Sents
That the authorities at St. Louis have behold
with concern the efforts to direct the trade of the
upper Mississippi by the cross routes to the Attain
tic ports. They have seen freights taken from
both sides OF the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, to
New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia and have
deemed it necessary to counterfeit a course of
commerce alike injurious to the cities of st. Louis
and New Orleans To effect this they have recon-
mended three measures; which, it is hoped, will
prove adequate to the object:
l. The modification of transit charges upon
commerce.
2. The adoption of all modern facilities of in
accommodation employed by our competitors
3. The restoration Of the Mississippi river trade
by combining speed, certainty and economy of
transportation.
Perhaps the interest of most importance at pre-
sent, and most endangered by competition, is
THE GRAIN TRADE.
The magnitude of this business may be estimated
from the fact, that Chicago received for the year
ending lst August, 1865, 8,4S2,526 bushels of
wheat, l,532 AL barrels of flour, IL ,5E ,768 of
oats. The transhipment is effected by steam, at
charge of between one and two cents per bushel.
In 1865, Minnesota alone RAISED 100000 of
wheat, of which not more than onefonrth part
wasexported, owing to the want of facilities which
are now under construction.
AS further illustration of the change of trade
adverted to, it may be mentioned hat New Or
leans exported in 1856, " wheat in barrels and
sacks, 500 ,52l." These figures declined annually
until, in 1861, the same exports only 10 l54;
while, during the past commercial year, they were
almost too insignificant to be mentioned.
To counteractthis tendency, ST. Louis has caused
TO be erected,
STEAM ELEVATORS,
One ofThich received, in the first three months of
its operation, 600 900 bushels of wheat: 200 900 of
which Were drawn from Chicago. From the re-
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o atlu may III Inv iaLneF'
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torSyriSo ,i,.a1 Nv a., ra,,t ~ ttii ~ 49, Gu
Of the c6rnmprciai interests If 81 fnniz
9'''' - N " "
THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TRANSFORMATION Com.
PANY.
"This has heen organized for the conveyance
OF grain to New Orleans in barges. Steam tugs Of
tnG CON p@hy. IHey CNL!y ho iIeisAC' 1Aey save
ing only at the large CITIES thrv onl,, stor long
enough TO attach loaded barge. BY This SAVING
of time and eady movement, they will, with ten
barges in tow, equal the speed Of a steamboat
The Mohawk made trip from St. Louis to New
Orleans in six days.
g The management of the barges is precisely
in the absence Of the tug. The t1g arrives leaves
a train of barges takes another and proceeds
The tug itself ia always atwork Its longest stop
page i made for fuel
This new scheme says the same high author
ity, of conveying freight by oarges bids fair to
Tevolutionze the whole carrying trade of our
Western waters. 1t will materially lessen the ex
mcrce Of the Mississippi river in proportion to the
reduction it effects IN the cost Of transportation
This enterprise, which may YET change the chan
nels of cereal transportation, shows what great
results spirit of progressive energy may accom-.
plish"
On the other hand, STEAMBOATS, are obliged to
remain import two or three days for the shipment
OF freight The heavy expense which this delay
and the necessity Of large crew. involve is crave
objection to the old system Of navigation The
services of the steamtug REQUIRE but few men and
the cost of running is relatively light. The com
paratye advantages claimed for the barge system
are these ION a voyage from st. Louis to New
Orleans1
Tugs and Bar ,es Steamboat,
sto.page at way stations. hours. hours,
Dsiay At eralital potts.'. q Ours. Is hours.
Tonnage 5apaey % G5 t t,as 15 t G9G
OO yryps g| dSst of u s7SG9 ss%9
sin addition to ordinary precautions against
FIRE the barEes have the advantage that they can
be cut adrift and the fire thus restricted to mar
row limits The barres are strongly built, and
have water tight compartments for Tie movement
of grain in bulk The transportation of grain
from Minnesota to New Orleans by water costs nc
more than the freight from the same point tc
Chicago. After the erection Of floating elevator
at New Orleans (Which we understand is under
contract and consruction), u boat load Of grair
will not be handled again until it reaches the
Crescent City At that port it will be transferred
by steam to the vessel which will carry it to New
York or Europe.n
Such are the views of this undertaking pub
lished and adopted by St. Louis To this we may
add that the Mississippi Transportation Company
has now four Grstcass tow-boats and about forty
gtaunch barges in the river trade It has more
than realized the expectations Of st. Louis, by
drawing grain from Minnesota and Iowa, and i
has during this summer Brought more than three
thousand tons weekly to New Orleans, beside!
taking back freight up the river.
It IS thus that St Louis has endeavored to brin!
back to its native channel the products of thi
valley, whose area is half million of sQuar
miles, and which comprises twenty thousan
miles of naygable water More than ten thousan
miles Of railroad have been projected west of tn
Mississippi. The registered tonnage of st. Loui
amounts to sixty-iye thousand tons.
During the past year, the arrivals by rive
were:
Barocs and canal boats. Ill
Steamboats, q
Passengers by river and rail
Ninety boats left for Fort Benton, a point MOI
than 5000 miles above st, Louis, and carrie
freights of more than six millions OF. pounds. III