New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-09-07
New York and the Produce Trade.
From the st. Louis Democrat

From the st. Louis Democrat
We published few days ago an article
from the New York Herald, complaining
that the produce trade, in which New York
city had so long been supreme, was grad
ually slipping from her grip. Montreal,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and New
! Orleans were all getting share of it. The
chief plant, however, was that through
| acknowledgement and high rates of toll on
the Erie canal large part Of the produce
shipped from Chicago now went abroad via
Montreal and the St. Lawrence river, in
stead of via Buffalo, the Erie canal, the
Hudson and New York city. In reply to
the HeruLd'S article, we stated at the time
that it was not high tolls on the Erie canal,
nor vet maladministration in it's affairs, nor
vet excessive charges at Buffalo that was
! driving the produce shipments of Chicago
| abroad via the st. Lawrence, but because the
produce operators of Chicago are becoming
largely Canadian, and their sympathies are
with the Canadian route.
New York city has spent millions of
! money in Chicago for ilways, fine build
| ings etc, and fully expected that this saucy
| young upstart would always be under her
own commercial control; that Chicago,
strengthened, by the credit Of New York,
would become the great produce collector
and merchandise distributor for the entire
Mississippi valley; that she would buy q
her goods in New York, and sell all Of l9r
produce, provisions and -four to New EoIk'
But now the ungrateful wretch .. only
| partially ignores the Erie canal by hIpplng
"a large portion Of its produce an1niieLIIs 10
| Montreal, but is actually mOyas iot !" u. 4Io
rect through trade with Livepo9I va CAe
st. Lawrence river, proposin ~ ao Us Is omn
exporting and importing. So0i IL u f'
This is clipped from leaG iai llonl
the Chicago Mail of the 'nlFty -nrs6 ultltno:
Its IN +ba 4 ts11tic for September
| os+;r,o tas +ba onnro7 amount of American
nrodn"tiong Which HndergO transportation
| r. r. o o. G0o non +nnl and that the relative
| shipment per nm t5,s .Do 0''104 01V 4'l'U0'
| possible woulI az On"
BY rail per Gne 3 359 999
~ canai' i mile. rs 900
BY er mile. Observation-Disclosures $500
~ ore per mlle'.', $3.50
u also states that winter freights to the
| board when relieved of competition by
| .avigation cost over seventy per cent of
the price of wheat. He estimates that two
fitths of all the freight of the country
passes either through the Erie canal or the
parallel lines of railroad to and from the
seabOard. A large portion of this is moved
from and to points in line with or west of
Chicago. If one-tenth is so moved the diff
ference to our people between the use of
railroads and the lake would be equal to a
bdflHg VI OU,UUU yearly. AN amount
equal to the total value of the wheat crop
of Illinois, Iowa and Missouri in 1870 at ST
per busheI! By the treaty of Washington
the river st. Lawrence is made perpetually
free to the navigation of the United States;
so that all that is necessary to inaugurate
successfully a commerce which shall make
Chicago the port of entry for the foreign
trade of the Northwest is merely the action
of its own capitalists. Nature and diplO
ynaHa thn ponfa praa+ipahIa All
that remains is for some Napoleon among
our business men to issue the mandate,
"Let US set forward, " and the grand march
of traffic between Chicago and Liverpool
will begin
1t would be far better for the interests of
their respective cities if the business men
of Montreal and Chicago would organize
an efficient line of transportation between
these cities than the present occupation of
some of them in getting up wheat and pork
corners in Chicago.
It certainly appears as if the most natural
and obvious transit route from Chicago to
Europe should be via Montreal. We have
for most of the year perfect water Commune
nicatiCn with that city for vessels of five
hundred tons burdeno and by this route
only one reshiDment is necessary 80 any
transatlantic porte The line Of transit
through cool waters and Northern latitudes
is unsurpassed for grain shipment, and She
distance shorter than by way of New York;
It will become evident to the merchants
of New York, upon reading the above, shat
the reasons for the evident decline in the
produce grade of their great city must not
be sought for amid the affairs of the Erie
canal, nor amid the elevator and forward
ing charges at Buffalo, but are TO be traced
directly to laundering ambition which has
suddenly seized upon Chicago to become
@and hap1DJF
Thao there is danger 30 New Y ork in this
ambition none need affect to disbelieve, and,
as we have before remarked New York has
but one effective remedy: That is, cO-0pera-
Zion with st. Louis to take the grain and
meats of the great West via the Mississippi
and New Orleans. A plentiful supply Of
ocean tonnage, competent to carry grain at
low prices from New Orleans 60 New York
is imperatively required. Such vessels
could be constructed to carry cotton, sugar
tobacco and hides amidships, and $4,000 to
10000 bushels of grain i'll the hull.
They should be iron propellers, and have
a minimum rate on grain. -four and meal,
which should rarely be altered. In cOnnec-
ton with such fine of iron prOpellers a
fleet of light iron barges for the upper
rivers and a line of heavier iron barges for
the lower river would be required With |
the up river barge lines, the grain and flour
of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin could be |
largely brought to St. Louis at a price
which would simply defy competition. New
York firms, with ample means, should es-
tablish branch houses here, as they have |
done in Chicago, for the purpose of buying |
grain and meats and moving them to New |
York over the route suggested. We GO not
expect that New York city will do all of |
these things for st. Louis unaided, as she
has already done for Chicago, for we know
enough of the temper of our people to be |
sure that whenever New York city mani |
tests any disposition to cooperate with st.
Louis in passing the productions Of the |
Mississippi valley to market, via the great |
water path to the Gulf, this city will most |
respond. We also know
that two or three hundred merchants in
New Orleans would do everything in their |
power to aid on the great work.
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