New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-05-21
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S:FFICJSL JOURRALOF THE UNITED STATES
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS
AnInnnrnnf Cooner.

An Ignorant ODoEGEs
From the St. Louis Democrat
We have been more amused than in
structed by the recent passage of certain
lengthy epistles between Mr. Edward Atkin-
son, of Boston, and James NJ. Cooper, OF
Pittsburg, concerning iron barges and oulk
grain transportation down the Mississippi
10 Europe and home markets along the
Atlantic coast. Mr.. Atkinson's errors con
sisted in simply magnifying facts, ont the
following last shot from James NJ. cooper
proves his errors to have their origin III
supreme ignorance of his subject. He says;
II believe only one cargo of wheat has
ever been successfully sent to Europe from
ST. Louis There are so many parallels OF
latitude to cross in making the voyage,
such extremes of temperature to encounter,
that the two great destroyers-heat and
moisture-have ample time and opportunity
TO complete the work of destruction. The
idea of exporting wheat by way of the Mis-
sigsiupi gulf and ocean is entirely chimer-
ical. and will continue to be so, until the
many and stubborn obstacles hitherto met
with can be vanquished by applied science.
Some years ago grand scheme of forwards
ing wheat from St. Louis TO New Orleans
BY wooden barges was inaugurated, amid
highly sensational blare of trumpets, but it
proved miserable failure. The barges
had no pecuniary value at the end of the
trip. II would have cost more than to build
new ones to tow them back against the cur
rent, because the Mississippi did not run
both ways at once, and the unlucky barges
had to be turned over to the tender mercies
of the woOd-chOpper for frwOOd"
That any man having access to the news
papers of the country could pen such un-
mitigated nonsense as the above is sufi-
GENTLY astonishing, but that that mans
name should be James NJ. Cooper is still
more astounding. Mr.. Cooper is hereby
officially informed that more than a quarter
of a million bushels of spring wheat was
shipped from this city to Liverpool during
the year 1869, by way of New Orleans, and
not one bushel Of it was damaged by eli
matte influence CargOes by steam and by
sail, in iron hulls and in wooden ones, dur
ing each month Of the year, were shipped
from New Orleans, and every cargo arrived
at its destination perfectly sweet, Outselling
arrivals of same grade of Chicago wheat
via New York, by seven to nine cents per
bushel! Many of these cargoes were put
on board in July and August, with the
mercury at ll0o in the shade-on sailing
vessels, too, one of which was becalmed in
the tropics, and did not arrive in Liverpool
until the expiration Of ninety days Every
one of these cargOes has been made the
theme of newspaper paragraphs, and we
have noted their appearance in the Pitts
burg Epapers, so there is but little excuse
for Mr.. COopers lamentable ignorance in
this matter.
We desire further to inform Mr.. Cooper
that not only has the grand scheme TO for
ward grain in bulk from st. Louis to New
Orleans by wooden barges not failed, but
it is a grand success to-day. Since the first
of January, 1872, the st. Louis barge line
has carried half million bushels of corn
in bulk to New Orleans, nearly all of which
has been placed in iron steamers and trans
ported to Liverpool, and not bushel of it
has been reported spoiled. The iron steam
ers can take forty TO seventy thousand
bushels at a load, and all of this formidable
pile of corn is placed in one mass IN the
ships hold, just as is done by steamers and
ships taking grain from New York.
We further desire to inform Mr.. Cooper
that st. Louis barges are not only always
tOwed back to st. Louis, but they bring
heavy loads of up stream freights, such as
sugar, cotton, railroad iron, granite, mar
bic, drugs and chemicals, plate glass, Eng
lish hardware, queensware, etc, and the
money they thus earn frequently pays the
expenses of the round trip, leaving the
earnings of the down stream voyage net
profit A st. Louis towbOat is capable of
handling five barges of 1900 tons each.
But day or two ago the tOwbOat Mary
Alice, with four barges, took 10000 bushels
of grain in bulk, 5000 barrels of -four $50
tierces of meat, 1900 barrels of pork, and
large amount OF miscellaneous frelghts,
earning on the downstream passage over
$4,000.
Mr.. Cooper printed the plundering letter
from which we clipped the above in the
New York Tribune. 1t will naturally mis-
lead many people concerning the facilities
st. Louis possesses for exporting grain. We,
therefore, hope he will have as much mag
nanimity as Mr. Atkinson in downing up
the corn" and let frank correction of his
errors pass to the people through the same
channel that conveyed his misstatements
Mr.. Cooper may think we should have
written up his errors little more mildly,
but his attack upon st. Louis facilities as
grain shipping city were so unwarranted by
the subject tariff by himself and Mr.. At
EnsOn, and the phraseOlogy he uses in dis |
cOursiDg upon the alleged failure of our
barge line was SO unnecessarily and often |
sively vicious that we think he has more |
than discounted all claims to courtesy from |
Western writers.