The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-08-14

NEW YORK
The Uommsres OF New Yorh-Grain
Trade-How to Maintain Commercial
Supremacy.
With all the surprising changes effected by
railroads and other modern improvements in
commerce and its currents New York has
maintained its position as the great CONNER
cial centre and metropolis of tho country. It
lives chiefly by commerce We need not make
an elaborate statement of the causes of this
commercial greatness II is we'll known what
influence the unequalled location of this oity
geographically, the large and liberal enterprise
of our business men, and the vast capital con-
centrated here have had in producing this re-
suit. Among the many elements of the growth
and prosperity of the metropolis the grain
trade has contributed largely, and it
is to this we shall now specially refer. Our
first decided step in greatness beyond Bos-
ton, Philadelphia, Baltimore and other cities
of the Eastern coast, dates from the opening of
De Witt Clinton's derided '.ditch,' connecting
the tide waters of the Hudson with the vast
chain Of lakes which open natural water high
ways to the centre of the Continent. New
York merchants of that day readily adopted
the theory of the sagacious Governor, and
their enterprise and energy enabled him to
secure the construction of the oanal-in it's
day an undertaking of surprising magnitude.
At once these three hundred and fifty miles Of
artificial navigation made this city
the depositary of the grain by
whose production almost solely the West
ern farmer could procure money From
that day New York became intimately and in
dissolubly connected with the West, which
was then located in Ohio and the eastern por-
ton of Michigan. Since then that wonderful
development which has formed populous and
productive States and busy teeming cities
where the wild beast and more dreaded red
man roamed, has had its exact counterpart in
the unexampled progress of this metropolis in
wealth, population and commercial greatness.
Every section Of new land brought under the
plough has sent its surplus of production here.
The first efforts of the new settler are to till
and SOW as much land as possible. This he
does even before he puts a substantial roof over
the heads Of his family. On his first harvest
he relies for the money which is to procure all
he needs to become an independent man; and
on New York he has relied for these needed
dollars. While our money pays for his wheat
and corn, those grains feed the artisans who
build our city and fabricate Its countless pro-
ducts, its surplus sent across the ocean paying
for our silks and velvets, our brandies and
wines, our hardware and railroad iron. No
computation can fully show the service which
the grain trade has done in the rapid building
up of our city
To-day the theatre of our grain production
has shifted from the shores Of Lake Erie, till
its centre is little this side of the Mississippi
In 1870 Illinois produced Of wheat 10000, 900
bushels; of corn, 100, 100000. Indiana
Wheat, $4,000, 900; corn, 100000. Iowa
Wheat, $4,000. 900; corn, $4,000, 900. Michi-
gan-wheat, 16,0OO,OOO; corn, 100000.
Minnesota-wheat, 100000. Missouri
Wheat, $4,000, 900; corn, 66O00,0OO. New
York-wheat 100000; corn, 10000, 900;
oats, 5000, 900, Ohio-Wheat, $4,000, 900;
corn, 100000; oats, 25,OOO,OO0. Penn
sylvania-Wheat, 20, DOC, 600; corn, "a, OOO 900;
oats, sc, 1000, 900. Tennessee Wheat, 5000, 600;
corn, 100000. Texas-Wheat $780, 900;
corn, 20, 600, 900. virginia-Wheat 1000, 900;
corn, 100000; oats, 100000 Wiscon-
sin-Wheat 25,000,000; corn, 15,00O,0OO;
oats, 20, 100000 These figures are from the
census. They show the great grain produc-
ton to be in the vast rolling prairie lands
which are drained by the Mississippi and the
lakes. Since the collection of these statistics
new railroads have opened wide districts in
Minnesota and the valley of the Red River of
the North to settlers, whose industry will
largely swell the bulk of grain product, which
will seek an Eastern market by way Of the
lakes. This product furnishes large share of
the carrying business of the various canal and
railroad routes, which, centring here, have
their feeders and branches through all the
wide West. To provide for the accommoda-
ton of this freight so as to bring it here as
quickly and cheaply as is possible, should be
the earnest care of New York's merchants and
capitalists For this we should stretch out
on every hand. We offer to it the Erie Canal,
and our State is paying literally for expert
ments to adapt steam power to its navigation
in order to increase its carrying capacity and
reduce the time We also tap Lake Ontario
at Oswego by branch Of the Erie Canal,
which shortens the distance between tide
and the lake chain by one hundred and
les Our Central and Erie roads
aJ of this great business and
to will enter into the compe-
ter line both to Lake On
.t0 The Delaware and Lacka-
wanna, m its connections, courts this
stream Of g,si.., which is to those who carry