The New York herald., 1873-09-02
Mr.. Franklin Edson's Views.

Mr.. Franklin EdsOn, President Of the Produce
Exchange, was found by the reporter OF the
HERALD at his O0ice, No. 10 Whitehall street, and
expressed himself willing at all times to add his
mite to the information demanded by the public
''The subject for discussion, Mr.. Edson" said the
reporter, ais the grangers' movement and its
effect on commerce and inland transportation.n
"ln my opinion" said Mr.. Edison, 'uhe
MOVEMENT HAS ALREADY DONE GOOD
in that respect, as, for instance, two months ago
the merchants OF the city were notified by card
from the railroad men that on the 1st OF August
the freight tariff would be raised. But we had
meeting at the Astor House, and afterwards at the
Grocers' Board, in reference to this farmers move
ment and soon after we received notes from the
same companies announcing that the freights
would not be raised.'
'You attribute that to the movement ?"
yes l look upon 1t as one result Of the moral
"Were these the great through lines ~
"Yes, the
GREAT COMPETING LINES
to the West. You see they have been able by
joining hands to dictate as they pleased, to raise
rates or lower then, and, Tor that matter, to
bly,, warned them that they nave gone far enough.
and It's future effect, doubt not will be, at least
'WhO will be the sufferers by the movement ~
mo one that can see, unless 1t be the railroad
corporations, and they only by their reduced
'Would Chicago and Bunalo the great Western
grain depots, sunerP"
'No: ! cannot think so. The idea that the
farmers will take the transportation business out
or the hands OF the middlemen at these depots Is,
think, q mistaken one. They are not likely to
organize in such way that they
MAY SELL DIRECTLY
into the hands OF exporters or foreign buyers, for
middlemens profits. Pro rata freights, OF course,
would be OF immense service to farmers along the
lines but that S consideration Is BY no means the
terest them and the buyer alone, and 1t would
probably result only In still lower adjustment Of
prices between the farmer and the merchant"
"Has
THE SUPPLY
Of grain and produce been affected at all by the
II cannot say. know that the present supply
Is greater than usual, but whether the movement
however. The supply must, and doubtless always
Will, be affected by the demand in England and on
precedented. Crops have ali beer short in EUROPE.
But mark the sequel. We have
NOT SHIPS ENOUGH
to supply 1t. We need more bottoms instead OF
more railroads. We cannot begin to ship to Europe
the grain already in store mere for the simple rea-
son that we have ships to convey 1t In. Rates
to Liverpool nave been raised to fourteen pence
bushel, which, with exchange and carriage and
and you can see for yourself there is handsome
profit at half that rate. Free trade in ships, we
have it IN corn is the true solution OF the problem
farmers for the government to build big
double track East and West for the accom-
trade but more fac facilities for inland @ trsnsporsa a @
ton are not needed. We have seen how the
great corporations go hand In hand for their own
aggrandiZement, and We can well understand low
the government railroad would be made disast-
trous machine for sinking public money If the cor
porations chose to exert their powers in that
direction. No, we need mainly free trade In ships.
As the case stands now our warehouses are filled
with grain that we cannot ship, for all the
FREIGHTs ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
are taken, even at the exorbtant rate OF fourteen
pence bnshel until November and December
"Well, Mr.. Edison, what do you think OF the
grangers' movement as
POLITICAL MANoEUvREw
81 have really not studied 1t in its political aspects
! doubt not, however, that 1t will become power
if the farmers remain welded together aud keep
out Of the clutches Of the professional politicians
This meeting that Is called at Cooper Union on the
10th was asked to attend, and subscribed to it
but expressly stated that would not do 80 II II
was intended to nangurate wss1eyen IN war 81
alton, and we will gain nothing even by Ill Will. IL
the meeting iavors such sentiments as that OF the
Illinois man, who wanted the apple trees to bear
human fruit, cannot 20 with 1t nor can go with
the sentiment expressed by Brick Pomeroy at the
the es s earn bv tSe os s m
brow for the bondhoder Ia the East, boodshed
must come OF 1t. or something to that effect.
favor settling any differences that may arise by
"But you think
,,., &, ,r.o s,,,., TIE r., GREAT REMEDY
ayes. AS the law OF Congress stands now we
cannot build ships ourselves and are not permitted
American nag. II any concession was made in the
way OF relieving us OF duty on ship material just
now we might compete with England at once, and,
In TACT, we ought to build ships not only for our
selves, but for every nation In South America and
In great part OF the globe. owing to her troubles
the coal and iron supply England has
already raised her price for ships 30 nign that we
can almost compete with her. and the merest
lief from the duties on shipping material would at
once enable us to do 80. Until 1--WE do that 10 Is
useless to talk OF increased inland facilities, for we
have already more grain than we can send abroad.v
MIR. 8. III. Grants Views.
Mr.. s. II. Grant Is superintendent OF the Prod
uce Exchange, and was found busily engaged at
his desk In the rooms Of the Exchange, on White
han street, yesterday. He found time not only
very,courteously to introduce the HERALD reporter
to the leading merchants OF the Exchange, but also
to advance his own ideas on the subject OF the