Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1870-09-29

Milwaukee, the greatest wheat mart
in the world, has six large elevators,
able to hold from half a million TO a
million and balf bushels. Yet last
week five hundred cars were stand
ing in tho 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 general way, Fisk's statement be
fore the Committee, that it takes one
bushel of wheat to market another,
is true. The wheat crops Of the new
States are increasing year by year,
but facilities for moving the crops are
not increased in proportion. For in
stance, Iowa is this year giving a crop
of twenty four millions. Last year
these seven all gave over twenty mill
ion bushels-Ill,nois, Wisconsin, In
diana, Ohio, California, Minnesota,
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. l Spring
This year, only 20 per cent. will fall
to No. 2.
Here, then, is the situation in gram:
Two millions Of old wheat yet to be
handled; q great crop of superior
quality going through the threshers;
a corn crop large everywhere, and
the breadth uncqualed; the elevators
on the Lakes all choked with the old
crop; bins of hot grain reported eve
ry day by the Chicago Board of
Trade, aud the freight tariffs on thu
New York roads going up; the Ca
nal likely to be closed with ice be.
fore all the crop Of go is afioat. Two
outlets are possible; one by the Mis-
sissippi River, another overland.
It 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 a
bushel. Once in New Orleans, our
bushel can be taken to Liverpool for
ten cents. The difficulties of this
route are, the arrangements at the Mis-
sissippi River, which favor Chicago
and Milwaukee rather than St. Louis
and New Orleans the vigor and Wig
lance of these places as compared
with the languid zeal Of cities in sun
nier> climates and chiefly the mud
banks at the mouth Of the Mississippi
River, the bugbear and opprobriup'
of New Orleans commerce, by which
q cargo may be left dozlng for weeks
on sluggish tides and under broil-
ing sun. The line of wheat is slowly
drifting to the North west-that is
to say, to distances ever greater from
consuming populations and the sea.
board. Already the farmer $50 miles
west of the river in Iowa and Mime
sofa 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 neutral
ized by the distance of market. The
relief via the Mississippi River and
New Orleans was actively and hope
fully discussed last year. Mr.. Hig
by, an enterprising capitalist, has
erected an elevator in New Orleans