The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1872-12-14

L
ebe superior facilities possessed ~ Earopl
q manufacturers for reaching the heart Q
the continent BY. continuous deep.wate
navigssion! The South, too, 10 engaged Il
, . more diversified agriculture than prevaile'
under ito former system Of slave labor, an
. win soon mssufsSsurs i,s staple into fabric
iustcad Of submitting u double freight
across the Atlantic or half . continent.
Can New Eselssd. which predscss sal!
eleven quarts Of wheat 10 each inhsbitsnt
and requires, annually, 90. ooo, 900 worth o.
food from the West. afford 10 submit AM
losSer to the expensive freight system OF
which our domestic commerce has been de
peadcnt Can New York and Peansylva
mia consent to buy food in the West for thu
seven millions of people 10 those two States
and pay land freights. when they can eavs
81. 0o0, 900 annually by having available
water lines to and from the Mississippi Val
Icy, and also have IN additional advantage
over foreign manufacturers, BY direct and
cheap water frcights, betweeen the Empire
and Keystone 6iaiss of TIE Unicn, and III
vast agricultural regions Of the West, whose
rapidly increasing population needs cheaper
sccess to the coal fields. iron mines. and
manufactures of the old Central and Eas.
tern States.
The center of the grain growing region,
which has, within few years, been trans.
fersed from Ohio 70 Indiana, and again to
Illinois, 10 now west of the Mississippi The
center of demand for merchandise In the
West 10 also constantly moving westward
and more remote from former sources Of
supply. Western commerce must he sup.
Piled with cheaper and moro abundant
means of transportation than the rail affords
or the industry of the West must Lc 20 Iii.
versified ~ to enable - population to effect
exchanges Of produce and merchandise
without continuing the exhaustive and in.
iolessble system, Of relying upon foreign
trade, which involves expense Of trsnsi,
equivalent to half the circumference of tue
globe. 4.B f.,. /
Winter railroad freights to the scaboard,
when relieved Of competition by nsvigs.
ton, cost over seventy per cent of the price
of wheat, when sold u 20 per bushsl ~
the West During the autumn Of 1859, when
wheat ranged In price from forty TO fifty
cents per bushcl In Miunesots and Iowa,
and could not be sold for forty cents 1t some
points within hundred miles west of the
Mississippi, wheat wss selling in New York
Ut $l.87 per bushel Sudden and large I'D.
vsnces 10 prices of breadstuffs in European
and Eastern markets have often been sppr0
pristed to the exclusive benctitsnf the carry.
Ing monopolists. and could not rebound to
the advantage OF the Western farmers; -
the freights were 10 adjusted, with reference
to short Or bountifu; supplies. and riccs Of
transportation, that the naonopolists were
masters Of the situation. II Is = very easy
matter for railway companies N delay the
transportation Of tho Western crops until
after the close Of navigation, 50 ~ to secure
steady business for the winter months; for
the short time between harvest and trust
calls into requisitiou larger facilities than
are available Tor transit by rail. ..F..
The aunusl tonnage OF our inland commerce
amounts to over q, 0oo,0 90 tons; Of which
one fifth passes through tine Ens Canal, and
s"ether 6fih passes oves oompe,iug trunk
lines Of railway between the st: Lawrence
and Potomac Rivers. The annual products
0f this country ars estimated at over o..
ooo, 0oO. 900. or sbous $500 for each inbsb
itaul Its safs 10 put one fourth Of this
vsss sum under the head of grass; which
includes, not only the products Of the dairy
asosntiDg y ovrr e5,ooo. 80, but ALEC cas
tie, sheep and horses; for II 10 almost liter
oil true that AL ilesh 10 grass"
Our total imports amount, annually, to
about esoo, on, 600; the greater portion Of
which should be produced In this country,
from nav material that might lie enhanced
II value by the application Of American H.
Dor and skill. Our total expor,sare claimed
TO BE Of equal extent; but We have to export
. million of dollars in gold and silver
every week TO adjust the balance Of trade
against %; while our exports Of breads,uffs
only equal our coin exports. We export In
provisions md tsllov shout ~, 00o, 600; In
tohsecS, ~, 0oo, 900 In oils and oil cake,
~. 0oo, 0oO; In wood, iron, steel, and manu-.
factures thereof, including machinery, $e7,.
0o0, 600; In naval ssoros, 94,00o, Oo0 ami.
mals, d, ooo. 600 cotton manufactures, o..
0oo, go and round up the exports BY send.
iDg cut Of the country, 70 bc manufactured
ID foreign countries, el75, zoo, 900 of raw
cotton. every pound Of which should be in.
creased 6vef.0ldin value through the process
Of manufacture by American mechsuics, In.
stead Of sending It " Europe, 70 be manu-
fac.ured and exported IN valuable fab:ics
to this and other countries.
Authentic statistics, derived from traffic
reports, show The relative avegsyc prices at
which freight can b taken, per ton each
mile, by rail, canal. river. lake, and ocsan |: |
q three cents By rail, It one cent By canal,
including tolls; At three mills by river; at
quarter Of . cent By lake; and 1t one and
squarter mills BY 90, or e3.75 per ton for
5000 miles, which II less than the price paid
for one hundred miles Of ordinary railway
transportation.
% the -, 900 tons Of American pro.
ductions, Or domestic commerce, the total
cat Of transportation. n.-;...
D rail wos.d y pse nile = -1 o7mMo |
The sams By canal per nile S6OMO
ii ~ By river per mile 7AW
- 81 lskepsr nile sSm
By oosaa PER milo 3i,XO |
II the avSraCf(tesace there 1mlFie011
commodsio nks6Sl psrssdiA sstlmilIalj
one>l,alf Of the distance between the Missis. |
s1ppi aid the Atlantic, sqabossdr 49, as,al
amount savsd by cansi io0r A tsdl he
49o0, 900! One appropriation Of this
amount judicioasly expended during Ave
ysass In pesfscsinG our internal waier com.
snanicasions would desAls ihs eonnsrc,sl
0pacity and psOducsive wealth Of ths nation. |
Ths 1iasissippi: Ohio, ord AlaGoesI Rivers
hvan expsadituss of lss tkan III, ooo, 0oo,
@ - nads aYallAs's dsQaG lwo Al,irds os
" yeas. ~ syi( bstoS lwsn Ne1
&. Paul, and P;ttsbars, with
Dt0mOOf two lhounnd tons oanacifv aat