New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-08-29
MonING TILE GRAIN OROPS.

Milwaukee, the greaCeSt "hea1 ihaio vi 'ho
world, has six large elevators, able to hold
from half million to q million and half
bushels. Yet last week five hundred cars
were standing in the freight-yards and on the
tracks of that city, unable to discharge their
wheat. This immense glut is from old wheat
and the merchants estimate that there are
million more bushels of the crop of go to come
in. In a general way, Fisks statement before
the Committee, that it takes one bushel OF
wheat to market another, is true. The wheat
crops of the new States are increasing year Oy
year, but facilities for moving tho crops
are not increased in proportion. For instance,
Iowa is this year giving crop OF twenty-four
millions. Last year these seven all gave over
twenty million bushels--IllinOis, Wisconsin,
Minnesota California, Indiana, Ono, Iowa.
The best judges in Chicago and milwaukee,
think the crop of this year may fall short OF
last years ten per cent; yet the quality Will
be far better. Last year, about third OF the
wheat inspected at Milwaukee rose to the
grade of No. Spring This year, only 20 per
cent will fall to No. 2.
Here, then, is the situation in grain Two
millions of old wheat yet to be handled; a
great crop of superior quality going through
the threshers; corn crop large everywhere,
and the breadth mequaled; the elevators on
the Lakes all choked with the old crop; BINS
of hot grain reported every day by the chicago
Board of Trade, and the freight tariffs on the
New York roads going up; the Canal likely TO
he closed with ice before all the crop OF b9 IL
afioat. Two outlets are possible: one by the
Mississippi River; another overland.
Ii costs surprisingly little to move bushel
of wheat from st. Paul to New-Orleans.
When wheat train comes in from the region
west of the river all the way from Hannibal
to above Red Wing, if a track near the river
were laid so that car could stand above the
hold of a barge, and empty its contents, as at
an elevator, in five minutes, such barge could
float its load to tidewater at eight cents
bushel Once in New-0rleans, our bushel can
be taken to Liverpool for ten cents. The diifi-
culties of this route are the arrangements at
the Mississippi River, which favor Chicago and
Milwaukee rather than st. Louis and New
Orleans: the yigOr and vigilance OF these
places az compared with the languid zeal of
cities in SUMMER climates; and chiefly the mud
banks at the mouth of the Mississippi River,
the bugbear and opprobrium of New-Orleans
commerce, by which % cargo may be Left
DOING for weeks on sluggish tides and under
n broiling sun. The line of wheat is slowly
drifting to the North West-that is to say, to
distances ever greater from consuming pOpu-
ulations and the seaboard. Already the farmer
| $50 miles west of the river in Iowa and Min
nesota is discussing whether he shall not feed
his wheat to the horses that broke the sod
upon which it grew. Grain tillage at this line
| is practically suspended and its profits all
neutralized by the distance of a market. The
relief via the Mississippi River and New
Orleans was actively and hopefully discussed
last year. Mr.. Highly, an enterprising capital
| ist has erected an elevator in New-Orleans of
| the capacity of $50 900 bushels.
| Meantime the gut at the great grain marts
at the West continues and is increasing. There
is delay and danger in shipments via the Lakes
and Welland Canal, though vast quantity of
grain seeks that outlet in preference to the
| that the grain crops of the West will mate
rally fall off; and what the farmers of that
immense region mainly need is direct, rapid,
| and cheap transit from the prairies to the sea-
board. At present the business is settling into
certain ruts, from which it will be more and
more difficult to move it. The hour for enter
| prise is now. The country requires system
of transit by which one bushel of wheat will
market two other bushels, and the capitalist
| or the corporation that sees this the clearest
| and acts upon the knowledge with the most
prOmptness will do for this generation what
De Witt Clinton did for the last generation,
and for this, the metropolitan city of the con-
tinent.