The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-01-29
FOOD FREIGHTAGE
The st. Louis Seis.l Memorial to Congress Cd
the Eastward Grain Movement.
IS THE ERIE CANAL USELESS 7
Attempt Of Advocates OF mississippi River
improvements to Make This Appear
A Demand for SIC, 900, 900 from
the National Treasury.

u A long memorial, accompanied with ecptous
statistical tables, has recently been adopted ny
the Board OF Directors Of the sc. Louis Unaon
Merchants' exchange for presentation TO Con
gress. urging prompt and liberal appropriations
from the federal Treasury for the Improvement Of
the Mississippi ana It's nAvgable tributarf6s. Tnis
document gratefully acknowledges that Congress
has already. by series or appropriation, recog.
ntxed the claims OF the vast region drained BY the
Mississippi and its anhuents to national aid In the
improvement offts natural channels Of commerce.
ana that some OF tho most needfui works have
already been completed or commenced. 10 them
states that for years the movement OF the products
OF Western agriculture 70 Eastern consumers has
been embarrassed on account Of It's enormous
quantity. and the small value IN proportion 70 Id
bulk and weight rendering the reightage over
long distances onerous both TO producer ana con.
sumner. In single year $500 900 tons OF vegetable
food has been moved eastwsrdly by only i've
routes. other routes have carried nearly another
million tons, and stin another million tons went
southwark to market. Ten Northwestern States
in year OF full crop raise so40oo.o 900 bushels OF
grain for Shipment of which 2ss 900 bushels 60
eastward. Beside this they send East 260oOoo tons
Of other agricultural products The routes which
carry 100000 tons OF agricultural products alse
carry 2600v000 tons OF forest products, nearly
100000 tons Of petroleum and 100000 tons o.
manufactured iron and other articles In tho same
direction, while 100000 tons OF GOAL move over
the Same routes and mostly toward lido water. 78
Agriculture and tho centres OF Its surplus pre-
ductton are rapidly moving westward. In 1850
Pennsylvania produced more wheat than any
other State. In 1873 Minnesota showed the hrgese
product. More than half the wheat produced In
the Northwestern Ssates for export or consump-
10u In the Eastern Stases Ia now grown west Of
the MississippL The recent dnanCtal and indus
trial disorder Of tho country convinoes the ma.
moriatsts that the only remedy lies In cheaper In
terchange Of commodities, especially food ma
terials, between the widely divided Eastern and
Western consumers and producers. This they
believe can onl be done by way OF the Mssisstppe
grain launched upon the navgaDle waters nearest
60 either Of the chief grain producing districts OF
the West, ana following the natural water cur
rents without interruption or other motive powerA
Will noat within forty days close TO New York hAxS
Dor In the Atlantic. 9-1ff NDnGl wa 1slp a Z
OF greatest fertility and greatest production or
wheat, corn, oats and barley as also OF t0baccov
hemp, cotton. sugar and molasses, and states thas
5000 900 tons or surplus agricultural products
the great central river and Its feeders are the
natural outlet for 6O00 900 tons. It shen proceeds
to . consideration Of the route from the great
grain producing districts toward New York By
way OF the Lakes and the canals OF our STATE, -
toil0ws:-- sA aI- .9j 1854 as go9gD
the rap10 QeveiOpHSut OF our COUNTY, tn0 tOo3So1
Of the surplus agricultural products
the westward that the ran q the :ses
81 &c
:nes M the year II rSioh R the ,a
Vegetable iood moved ~ The New YORK Central
toms n !" ads ton: f IL
tualy move, not only every bqshel of grain ID
S but n'i ls over $1,000 tons Of tn. e..ssS
% sns S.
s h t os S 70 s yssI @ g
% s 8 :
porisfs suffered severely and began other
s me- s s 81
ing tina. the snisrgsmsnt BY INCREASING tns ts e.
sssss ss re-
n ass q ha Boat. and h.. any fs
enlargement would 5. Of ausssonsels bsnsSt
have . bear nearly &c waos cost q he fssera lip
. @ thar hs 1 " Ss
Of products Is such that the average employment q
sa e ss Ssas aSa e a ss
mat the On sa Nay sss
with remarkable regularity when the crops begin z
three tenths cent: IL September thirteen ana nine
in M Ge9R Pie q tn hs.s K
their bearing on the cost OF by that roa
argemen Of New York canals or construction Of oshsn
subject 10 the same conditions will be appreciated
But also appears that the lake well as the canal
than It did in 1852 and that the same causes In Eess
that feet capable Of moving from Chicago i. 500 Mo
bushels in a season, quantity equivalent to full employ
ment for only 1--WE and one-nfth months; that
the eastward freight greatly exceeds the west
thar sed obtained
especially in the tail MONTHS when the greater quantities.
grain are moved the increase of vessels the lakes
has been In degree proporoned to the increase OF
moved eastward, tact which indicates that even
the rates obtained not found especially pr0e
Bile carriers Accordingly, though 40 bushels
grain shipped from Chicago eastward In 1859 By
the shipnens BY lake we're sss Sushss but By rsi
l653O43 bushels In effect Of the total shiDmenA OF
grain our not ncuded) from that point the proportion
shipped by lake has decreased from ninetyeight to
seventy eight cent and the proportion shipped BY
lake to the canals from eghtytour to fOrtytw0 cent
The chief cause of these remarkable changes be-
eve. Is the westward movement OF the centre Of agTs
cultural surplus Transportation by railway gan be-
eected at much lower cost per ton per mile and per-
formed at very much lower rates for long than for sSr
nearly all At such distances that for TRANSPORTS
ton rom them to lake ports about ten bUshoi
charged Two transfers by elevator on the rouse east
average TOR three years past make the entire charge p
hve cents per bushel, besides insurance; while ron