The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-12-26
TRANSPORTATION OF GRAIN.

A very large portion of the west
ern grain goes through to the At
lantic ports by railroad cars, but
the largest portion of it passes by
way of the lakes through Buffalo
and the Erie canal, although, this
avenue is closed for several months
in the year. The cost of shipment
from Chicago to Buffalo is this year
ID cents a bushcl for wheat or corn,
and the charges at Chicago incident
to the passage of the grain through
the elevators is 81 cents. Arrived
at Buffalo, the grain is. transferred
from the vessels to the elevator or
directly to the canal boats at a cost
of Ia cents more. When on board
the canal boats it is started on its
winding way slowly towards New
York at a costof 12% cents per
bushel. In this passage through the
elevators, it is passed through
screens and blowers by which
much dirt is removed from it. The
total cost between Chicago fand
| New York is thus seen to be 32tS
cents, although large shipmen tg- age
often contracted for ut less rates
| for instance, only very recently
transpOrtations of 1t lot of 10000
bushels was contracted at % cents
a bushel, and p was paid for an
other large lot. But one serious
feature of this business Of trans
| portation consists III the delays
necessary. Recently l,600.00O bush
els of. grain were awaiting trans
portations at Chicago, anil the yOy-
age on the Erie canal usually occu-
pies three weeks. However, the
delays upon the canal and the slow
progress made are very often, less
than upon railroads at this season,
when business is crowded. Besides,
the boat carrying 5000 bushels is a
much more convenient method OF
carriage than railroad car carry
ing 400 bushels. One boat is equal
to train of twenty cars, and the
train generally becomes separated
on the way, rarely coming through
whole, and in This way the more
rapid railroad transit is often the
slower of the two in the end. In
fact, the value of the Erie canal TO
the western farmers is very much
undereslimated. On il their exis-
teuce mainly depends. Without ii
| their vast crops would lie rotting
| on their fields. IL the present rail
roads were more than doubled
they could not take the whole
grain shipped eastward Since its
Opening. twenty-three years ago.
the Erie canal has carried nearly
120 millions of tons of freight,
which is nearly double the amount
of the whole tonnage of all the YES
sells from foreign countries which
have entered New York in the
same period, aud is nearly three
.fourths of all the foreign tonnage
entering all United States ports in
that time. The canals of New
York are on the whole 900 miles in
length, aud the railroads are four
times as long yet in 1872 the cah-
ais in seven and one half months of
navigation carried forty-eight per
cent. of the whole freight passing
through the state, while the rail-
road in twelve months carried fifty
two. per cent. What the west
would do, then without the canals
| of the state of New YORK is very
difficult TO imagin, and these facts
open up q matter for consideration
which is of che greatest importance
at this time, when this vast ques-
ton of transportation is Under
Observation-Disclosures Agricul-