The Ottawa free trader., 1873-05-24
The St., Louis Congressional Conference

| That Forneys two papers, both daily
and other Eastern papers, should be seriously
Il sturbed by the recent meeting of over 100
Western congressman at St Louis to talk
over Western interests, is natural enough, but
can hardly justify the malignity with which
the meeting is attacked by the Chicago press.
The former may well look upon such Il mus
ter of Western power in favor of Western in
terests as of ominous import; but TIE latter
can be actuated by no other feeling than the
smallest and most contemplate kind of local
jealousy Had this Conference of Western
Congressman been held in Chicago, and con-
fined Its deliberations to schemes to improve
lake navigation and open outlets from Chi
cago to the sea, there would have been no end
to the honors the Chicago press would have
heaped upon the blushing congressman; but
as they met at st. Louis, and included schemes
for the improvement of the navigation of the
Mississippi river in their deliberations, Chi
cago, like a slighted old maid, makes herself
ridiculous and contemplate by the exhibition
of petty jealousy.
~.
row, sectional spirit Its declarations favor
rs largely the improvement of means for
cheap transportation from the great North
west, by way of the lakes and the St Law
renee to the sea, as they favor the improve
ment of the navigation Of the Lower Missis-
sippi and other Southern rivers. The fact
was shown, that while the producers of the
Northwest are becoming impoverished for
the want of cheap transportation for SlOO, ,0O0,-
900 worth of corn to Eastern markets,
800, ,0OO, 600 worth more Of corn is excluded
from a Southern market on account of the
nonexpenditure of less than S10OOO,00O toI
improve the navigation of the Mississippi
river, its tributaries and bayous. Corn to-day,
anywhere through Alabama, Georgia, Florida
and the Carolinas, is worth more than it is in
Liverpool, and with a tenth of the expendi-
ture that is wasted on the improvement off
half deserted harbors on the Atlantic coast
could be carried there from the Northwest at
half the cost of carriage to Liverpool, Furth-
crmore, the fact was brought out, that $780,
100000 worth of cotton, that now nearly eats
itself up in finding a precarous transporta-
tion by railroad to the sea coast, would find
a cheap, quick and prompt passage to Eu-
ropean or Eastern market through hemouth
of the Mississippi river, were two or three
millions expended in dredging out the bars
at the main outlet of that stream.
The St Louis Conference revealed these
facts, and the members of congress in attend
ance there have laid them up to be pondered
and acted upon. If dredging out harbors and
building light houses at an expense OF mil
lions along bleak Massachusetts coast are
national objects, then dredging out our great
inland rivers that traverse half dozen OF
states and improving their navigation are ma
tonal objects. While the West has always
voted money literally to the East for such
objects, the time has come when she proposes
to ask like appropriations for the benefit of
Western commerce, If the East vote down
such appropriations for the West, we can vote
them down for the East This we take to be
the simple purport and significance of the
st. Louis Conference, and in that light its OBJ
jects deserve the commentator of the West
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