New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-10-19

! ~Fuhu, G~Oe OOtIOn, Is AIU8s
The present panic has brought into the
foreground several very curious and vaiua.
| bic facts: l. That grain is king, and not
| cotton. z. That the gold of Europe may be
] made to flow to America hereafter If we 50
/ will it. 3. That New Orleans has made a
! woeful mistake in treating the Western pro
! duce trade with so much Indifference. and
giving all Of her time, attention and capital
to the cotton trade.
| These three propositions are proven as
follows: New York CITY has already received
from England FL .000,000 sterling in gold;
t3OO.OOO more are en- route. Canada has
sent t7OO, 900 to New York, Chicago, Mil
waukee, and other places in this country.
How much does this amount to. Ten mil.
lions OF dollars. All this money has been
sent over to invest in American grain.
England must have bread. She can wait
tor cotton. Her people must eat whether
they spin or not. New Orleans to-day has
$4,000 bales OF cotton on hand, worth
200 in prosperous times. Yet she
Is short OF funds. She Is paying eleven to
to twelve per cent. premium for gold in
currency, while New York is selling gold at
eight and One-halt. She is paying
nineteen to twenty cents premium
tor sterling exchange, while New York
is selling it at seven to eight. She is paying
eighty cents per bushel tor corn, while New
can't sell her cotton, and she must buy her
bread and meat at high prices. not having
the cash to pay tor them. The latest ad-
vices from there say cotton 10 lower and
dali. and corn is scarce and tending up
ward. Yet New Orleans sits at the mouth
of a river the navigable waters of which
drain valley producing hundreds of mil
lions OF bushels Of grain every year. 1t
New Orleans would but do one-half Of her
duty. corn would be selling at forty cents
upon her market to- day. or forty-fvs cents
at most. Spring wheat would be abundant
at 81 % for No. 2, though it ia now bring
ing 81 80 to 81 40 in New York. These
facts would have drawn the $40, ZOO, 900 of
gold into New Orleans to-day instead Of to
New York, and activity and thrift would
have been her experience instead Of the inn
provident, wasteful and demOraiizing idle
ness which ls now upon her. True. she has
cotton, but when can she sell it! When
New York and Boston merchants shall
begin to send extravagant orders to Eng
land for goods of all kinds; when the rail
way builders of America shall again de-
mand Of England all the iron she can make.
Not much sooner than this surely. At least
there will be no activity IN the trade for
some time to come, because the merchan-
dising trade of England will be iiieless for
comparatively long time. America is
England's largest customer, and America
has well nigh stopped buying. The things
that England has to sell we can get along
without for months to come; in fact, we
can manufacture them ourselves in the fu-
ture if we will. Bnt our wheat, corn, pork,
lard, butter, etc., England must have, and,
as we won't take her goods, she must pay
Us in gold. Is it not easy to see that our
panic will be transferred to England pres
emily if this thing goes on9 for it involves
the shutting up OF the workshops, the clos
ing of mines, stoppage of factories, ad-
vance in breadstuffs and a steadily increas-
ing rate Of discount by the Bank OF Eng
land.
Bus, in the meantime. grain i. king.
Grain draws steady stream of gold from
cagO banks and enables them to maintain
their integrity, and keep busy while banks
in other cities, that do not export grain, are
abashed and idle As an evidence that the
strength of the Chicago banks is of this
foreign and special nature we point to the
utter prostration OF her great lumber in.
terests. Chicago has two vast interests.
One is lumber 10y far the most profit.
able Of the twoI, the other is grain. Eng
il.h capital does not want Chicago's luu-
Der. SO the lumber interest dies. English
capital does wart Chicago's grain, so
the grain interest live. it not only
lives. but such boasting is done by
the Chicago press oves the fact that It
does live, that novice would suppose
every interest in the city were equally
alert. However, grain is king, and Chicago
is that kings capital. Not that Chicago is
the best capital the king could select, by
any means, any more than Washington is
the best capital the nation can have; bat
1t is there, and ST. Louis fully realizes that
to move either one of them will be big
job. But the former will be accomplished |
in. time, as sure as the world stands. The !
great water route is as everlasting as the |
hills, and IN time the Improvements which
Congress will be compelled to provide for, |
and the facilities which the necessities of
commerce will call intO being, will win the |!
day for it, and ST. Louis will become the
great grain distributor of The Continent