New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-05-09
The Grain Trade and the Mississippi.


The already vast and ever increasing i'm
! pOrtance of the grain trade of the West
can not be overlooked by those who would
! forecast the future mercantile relations of
the various States of the Union, and of the
/ Union itself IN its relation TO foreign cOun-
/ tries. This trade is now but in It's incep-
| tiOn-an infancy, vigorous and full of bright
promises for the future. Ten years ago
even the grain trade Of the Northwest-was
Insignificant. BuffAlO, far toward the east
ern extremity of the lake system was then
the leading grain emporium of America.
But the centre Of this trade has been NOV
ing toward the West with rapid strides.
Cleveland, Toledo and Chicago have each
IN turn shared in this rich commerce. For
time 1t was supposed that the grain
trade would find a permanent centre
at Chicago. But indications now point
Enthusiastically to st. Louis as the fu-
ture emporium of this vast trade, in the
not distant future. If other evidences of
the tendency to concentrate a large part of
this trade at this point were wanting, the
fact of the persistent call of the leading
journals of Chicago and Toledo for the en-
largement of the Canadian canals is suffi-
cient proof that the shrewd men of those
cities have perceived the tendencies of this
trade, and that they are alarmed at the
rapidly increasing diversion of products.
let in no other way than through their
gates. Their eyes have been opened. They
now see clearly. Do the merchants of st.
Louis see with equal acuteness of vision
Much depends upon the tact and determine
ton of our business men. They have an
advantage to begin with, which ought not
to be lightly regarded or carelessly thrown
away. The situation of st. Louis is an adj
mirable one to command this trade, when
nnn han 1Tv1nc of fHar1 cra0 a%d&T ION ora. I'd
justed to the necessities of her trade.
This, of course, it will take some
time to cOnsummate. The old methods of
doing business are becoming obsolete. New
appliances must be introduced. 1t is hard
for the fathers to give up the habits of their
youth. For these reasons, it will take time
Tor the character of our river tonnage to
undergo a complete revolution. That these
changes will take place sometime, no SEN
slblc man can for a moment doubt. The
voice OF reason thUnders into the ears of
the shrewd business men of st. Louis these
words OF progress: press the CHANCE
force the revolution" They viii NOT do
well to disregard the mandate. What Hi
nos is to-day as vast grain field, Nebras- |
ka soon Will be. What Iowa contributes to
the production of grain now. will soon he |
equaled by the grain fields Of Dakota in the |
valley OF the far upper Missouri. This |
grain must meet the transport fleets ~ |
the old world at the seaboard bT |
floating on the bosom of our UreaT |
rivers down to the sea- Nature has nre. |
pared for this, and skill can not defeat the |
ends of nature. But enough on the general |
aspects of the question. Practically. we |
see vast annual increases in the grain trade |
of St. Louis, the last years receipts far ex- |
ceeding the receipts of year previous, and |
the receipts Of the present year exceeding |
those of any year before by many thousand |
bushels. But there exist drawbacks still |
What we need IN order to control abso- |
lutely the grain trade of the Northwest is |
'cheap transportation" No difficulty at New !
Orleans. European operators have placed |
there an abundance Of tonnage to meet |
any reasonable demand. What is wanted |
IS cheap transportation to accommodate the !
grain operators Of this city. We hear |
a great cry for barges Hundreds of |
thousands of bushels Of bulk corn here, /
but no tonnage Obtainable for that /
kind of freight. Now it seems /
that with river such as the Mississippi /
flowing by our door, we ought not to be
thus placed at a disadvantage Certainly
freight ought to be carried cheaper on a
channel formed by nature than an artificial
channel constructed at a vast expenditure
Of money. 1t can be done, and it will vet
be done. 1t is a fact that the actual ex-
pense Of handling freight by water lines of
is four times less than bv
rail The time viii come when grain can
be transported on our rivers az ebeaply as