The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-03-09
A TRADE REVOLUTION.

A "trade revolution has been begun il
the West and Northwest during the past few
months that promises to turn to the great ad
vantage of New Orleans without any efforts
on the part of our city. This revolution
| is the result of q contest that has been
going on for nearly year between the
rival cities of st. Louis and Chicago
for the grain trade Of Iowa and the
Missouri and upper Mississippi valleys In
| this fight the merchants of st. Louis have
showed wonderful energy and enterprise
mere talking enterprise but decided action
They have made arrangements for barge
| line to Kansas City, and have begun to de
veope more thoroughly their railroad con-
nections with Iowa and Minnesota. The
result of their efforts has been de-
| cided increase In the receipts of grain at st.
| Louis and q similar increase at Ntev Orleans,
where the grain trade is already three times
| as large as last yeal0@
| Such changes as tlSse have necessarily
given rise to much newspaper comment and
discussion The st. Louis Repubiicn, Of d
few days ago. reviewed the subject Gin some
fifteen columns, showing the advantages Of
the Southern route via New Orleans fsr grain
advantages that have been clearly proved by
the fact that tho Western grain is already
finding othis tho cheapest way to Europe
The Chicago Times replied at about equal
length in defense of the Chicago-Bu
New York ooute. OF these two articles. the
Times was probably the more complete dem
onstration of the advantages of New Or
leans. In comparing the cost of sending
grain to Europe by these two routes, the
Times found it necessary t. morte Chan double
the freight from st. LGnis to New Orleans in
order to make it equal to the freight
by the Erie Canal. Notwithstanding it's
noble efforts d this line it is compelled to
admit the Southern route a cheaper one. and
to seek refuge in the old and ridiculous story
about climate, etc, affecting grain.
After this disingenuous argument it winds
up by admitting the whole case st.
Louis has, it frankly confesses. secured
within the past few months large grain
trade that Chicago has Ohitherto enjoyed, but
this trade, the Times goes on to say, rightfully
belonged to st. Louis, and it was only a lack
of enterprise and energy on the part of it's
merchants that enabled 0Ghicago to enjCa,
it, as Chicago has done for years EAST
This grain trade, it continues land here
Esop might be very apty quoted st. Louis
and New Orleans can have; Chicago will
scarcely contend for it; it is trade that
brings little money to a city; Chicago is
anxious only to retain it's cork business,
which annually leaves in the city ten times
as much as grain does.
There is one chance, tho Times fores9hs, of
Chicago preserving its present grain trade;
how unpromisng and delusive that hope is.
slight glance at the New York papers will
soon show. The great dependence of the
Chicago-Ncw York grain trade is the Erie
canal @ 1t is a check on the railroads and
cheap water route to the sea. During Gov
Tildens administration the tolls on the canal
were greatly reduced: SO much reduced, in
fact, that the income derived from the canal
is far less than the cost of keeping it in re-
pair, and it is consequently a heavy burden
on the State. The plan of the Chicago Times
and of most Of the New York city papers is
to make the canal wholly free, SO that it can
really compete with the free Mississippi.
This scheme might succeed were it not for
rural New York, which has lately taken to
studying political economy, and has discov-
cred how badly swindled it is in this whole
canai SCHEME. ne ctiiai. as now managed,
Is burden to the State Of New York: it costs
the State annually large sum of money and
Is consequently tax on all the property of
the State, on every bushel of grain raised in
New York. If it be made wholly free, as is
proposed, this tax will be heavier than it is
now. Whom will it benefit? Not the farmer
OF New York, since all the grain car
ried over the canal is Western grain,
but the farmers of Illinois and Michigan
Every farmer of New York, every bushel of
grain raised in that State, is taxed, and heavi-