Rapides gazette. (Alexandria, La.) 1869-187?, 1873-11-29
Grain. Not Cotton, is King.

The present panic has brought into the
foreground several very curious and valua-
bic facts. l. That grain is king, and not
| cotton. 2. That the gold of Europe may be
made to flow to America hereafter if we SO
will it. 3. That New Orleans has made a
woefnl mistake in treating The Western pro-
duce trade with 50 much indifference, ana
giving all of her time, attention and CAPT.
tai to the cotton trade.
These three propositions are proven as
follows: New York city has alIeady receiy-
ed from England fi,OO0,0O0 sterling in
gold; f3000,000 more are en- route. Cana
da has sent f7O0,000 to New York, Chicago,
Milwaukee, and other places in this conn
try. How much does this amount to. This
amounts to. Ten millions of dollars All
this money has been sent over to invest in
American grain. England must have bread.
She can wait for cotton. Her people must
eat whether they spin or not. New Orleans
to-day has 10000 bales of cotton on hand
worth sl,0oO,000 in prosperous times Yet
she is short of funds. She is paying eleven
to twelve per cent. premin4n for gold in
currency while New York il selling gold at
eight and one-half She is paying nineteen
to twenty cents premium for sterling ex-
change, while New York is selling it at sew
en- to eight. She is paying eighty cents
per bnshel for corn, while New .Yorks pays
but hfty-nine to sixty-one. She can't sell
her cotton, and she must buy her bread and
meat at high prices, not having the cash
to pay for them. The latest adyices from
there say cotton is lower and dull, and
corn IS scarce and tending upward. Yet
New Orleans sits at the mouth of a river
the navigable waters of which drain n val-
ley producing hundreds of millions of BUSH
els OF grain every year. If New Orleans
would but 60 one-half of her duty, corn
would be selling at forty cents upon her
market to-day, or fOrty-fve cents at most.
Spring wheat wonld be abundant at 81 Is
for No. 2, though it is now bringing Sl36 to
81 4O IN New York. These facts would
nave drawn, the Sl0.000.000 of gold into
New Orleans and activity and thrift would
nave been her experience instead of the i'm
provident, wasteful and demoralizing idle
ness which is now upon her. True. she
has cotton, but when can she sell itf When
New York and Boston merchants shall be-
GIN to send extravagant orders to England
TOR goods of all kinds; when the railway
binders OF America shall again demand
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 lifeless
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 |
them ourselves in the future |
II we will. But our wheat, corn, pork, |
iard, butter, etc. England must have. |
anu as we won't take her goods, she must |
ne I'm SrftlA Iu
our panic will tie transferred to England
if this thing goes ont for It in
wolves the shutting mp of the workshops,
the closing of mines, stoppage of factories,
advance in breadstuffs and steadily in
creasing rate Of discount by the Bank of
England.
But, IN the meantime, grain is king
Srain draws steady stream of gold from
English Golfers. 1t flows through the
Chicago banks and enables them to MAIN
tain their integrity. and keep busy while
banks in other cities, that do not export
grain, are abashed and idle. As an evil
isnce that the Strength Of the Chicago
banks OF this foreign and special nature
we point to the utter prostitution of her
great lumber interests. Chicago has two
FAST interests. One is lumber (by far the
most profitable Of the two), the other is
grain English capital does not want
Shlcago's lumber, so the lumber Interest
lies. English capital does want Chicago's
grain, so the grain interest lives. 1t not
'nly lives, but such Doasting is done by
he chicago press over the fact that it
Toes live, at novice would suppose
very interest in the city were equally
'lert. However, grain is king, and Chi
ago Is that kings capital. Not that Chi
ago Is the best capital the king could Sc
ecf, by any means, any more than Wash
ngton is the best capital the nation can
ave; but it is there, and st. Louis fully
eaiizes that to move either one of them
will be a big job. Bnt the former will be
accomplished in time as sure as the world
lands. The great water route is as ever
asting as the hills, and in time the i'm
movements which Congress VII be CON-
'eiied to provide for, and the facilities ,
which the necessities of commerce will
All INTO being, will win the day for it, and ,
't. Louis will become the great grain dis ,
OF the continent.-[S. Louis DEM
crGt, October Ii