, 1877-10-27
RAILROAD EXTORTIONS.


The railroad managers 1T: killing the hen
that laid the golden egg. Their one chance Of
temporary recovery from the extreme distrust
which their mismanhgement and conccalment
Of facts had caused. and which. In turn, hat
brought them to the very verge Of bankruptcy,
was In the increased earnings promfscd by a
large crop Of Eralu. But, With rare fatuity, they
arc shutting and barring against themselves
that last door Of escape, by successive advances
Of rates far beyond the figures which, they have
claimed, yield them 4 handsome profit,
and at which grain is now moved in
great quantities BY lake aud canal. The
consequences ara wcll worth the attention
OF stockholders. Since the lst OF August, tho
shipments nj grain from the eight chief West
per week BY rail-10,8t2,23l bushels in ten
weeks. Moreover, although enormous guantt-
ties Of Crail. are now pressing forward, the Eail-
roads aro obtaining, more than they did In Au
gust, and absolutely less than they. moved in
May, hctafo thc price Of stocks Ind fallen tu
tic lowrst poiut.. During the two weeks end
ing May u, tho shipments i'y rail- were 80 200
bushels, and W lake 4,4oo00 bushels. lsut
officially rcportel,-tho shipments itont the
san,u p0lnta'wcre only l.955, ,3l4 bushels by rnll
and ,0Gt bushels BY water. No wotIdcr,
that men hegln to see that The large crop will
not drag out Of bankruptcy roa,1s which are 30
managed As to transport. In the height Of tho
movement, less than they SECURED in May, from
tho Tag snd ot small crop: Tho managers
talk continually Of the "fark Of cars" let
the very same roads moved. from the very samo
WeatcEn markets., an &gcragc ot more than
.000 bushels per week. {oyer 1Y,O00.W0
b,lshals} for niue weeks tn succession last year.
Having trained themselves long to the conccal-
nlent Of truth. the ,nanAgers apparently arc
pfacttclng upon tho ereluity OF tie public NTH
stories TINT arc palpably not true.
Tie onc thing certain Is That the railroads
have contravc1 to more less graln thfs year
from very large crop ,han they moved last
during the eloyen weeks cnding Oct. II, the
railroads moved from Western ports l7,8Git-
$40 bushels; this year, during tho eleven wccka
6;s,is7 b.!si,e!.: ali tbs ' enormous inercasc,
aul over 7,0D,0o bushels more, tic railways
lost, aud yet they lAtorcd to tnakc people buy
stocks In the faith that a great crop would pull
public, 1t resoIutcly declinctl 10 be gullcd
Meanwhile, tho enormous movement, from
other countries as well AZ from The Uuited
States, begins to have It's effect. In 0rcat Brit
ain, to latest mall dates, tho surpus OF deliver.
to &. 7 600 bushels, against l78, 600 bushels 10
tue same t!a'o last year: tlo supply was nccun,t-
!uting At The rate of SOC. .oo0 BUSHELS per week
cline Iu price. The shipments from British In
din this year have becu, To lateat dates, over
5.O0,0 bushels lnrgcr than those Of Inst
year, anA the shipmsn.A from Egyrtt
avsllah1o for expectation oi 100000 to l0.6oo,-
00O bushels. Tbs shLpn'ents Ut wheat from this
sonts d"5nE sEht sssss ,hs sMinE Gst -
corresponding weeks last year, but by no means
as laree a. they might have been. The lake
fleet ainl canal hoats were crowded. but the tntl-
roads moved only about i, s,000, COO bushels, when
they bad on hand abundant rolling stock u
mnvR III mann fjuHl1elk In That time. nj tl1cy