The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-12-21
BURNING CORN.

1.-THE people of Iowa and Nebraska will burn
corn this winter" says an Omaha paper.
Why Because, says the same paper, NE
braska has grain crop of one hundred nail
| lions of bushels of uneqnallcd quality" and
"!hcrc is no demand for corn in this market
indeed it cannot be sold IA, any price" Wcs-
tern corn at the date when the Nebraska paper
made this lamentaton was worth 41m 4Sc. in
New York, and Is a trllc higher to-day. In
Omaha il was worth o. The difference be
tween and 4Sc therefore shows the winter or
railroad cost of ircigh,agc between Omaha
and New York.
In summer time, when the rivers and ca
nails are open, the rates are somewhat different.
Then the railroads carry corn from Omaha to
Chicago and St Louis for about 10 cts. Il bush.
el and from Chicago to New York for about
10 cts more At these rates, allowing few
cents for handling, Nebraska corn ought still
to realize % cts. per bushcl to the producer at
Omaha, and there is good reason to believe it
will do so if the Nebraska farmer can hold
over his crop until next May.
But why should there be this enormous dit
ference of about l0j per cent. between railroad
ireights in winter and in summer? 1t costs
no more to run railroads in cold than in warm
weather. 1t takes no more fuel to make steam
and if anything the wages Of railroad employees
are lower i'm winter than in summer.
The difference is explained by the single
I,~xx tI, dc
have the monopoly of the carrying trade; in
summer they are obliged to compete with the
rivers lakes and canals Insummer time corn
can be shipped from Omaha by the Missouri
and Illinois rivers and the Illinois canal to
Chicago for SCdl0 cts u bushcl; therefore the
railroads carry it at the same rate. From
Chicago TO New York corn last summer was
carried by lake and Erie canal for SmlO cts.
per bushel; therefore the trunk lines carried
corn ut the same rates.
Why? Did the railroads make money by
carrying corn last summer at these rates: If
so, why have they more than doubled their
rates now and thus virtually stopped the bust.
ness and turned western corn into fuel; The
truth is, that on every bushel Of corn carried
to the east by the railroads last summer they
lost money, and their sole motive for making
the sacrifice was to break down the water lines
Of transportation.
The attention of the people of the West Is
invited to the consequences as shown by the
above facts, if the railroad monopolists sue
Al.
show exactly what will be the summer rates if
they succeed. When corn is worth 4S cts. at
New York it will be worth 0 at Omaha and
about 90 cts at Chicago. Last summer it was
worth 81 cts. at Chicago and % at Omaha. The
west ought to be able this year to ship 200.
900 bushels of corn to the east The diff
crcncc between railroad and water carriage is
100000 in favor of water to the producer,
and that sum represents exactly the annual
loss to the western producer on corn alone if
the railroads succeed IN their undertaking to
break down the water lines of transportation.
Our Illinois canal is the Key to the whole
western system Of water transportation. With.
out it not a busheI of gram can reach Chicago
by water from Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska,
Kansas or half of Illinois At least half the
loss of $5O00O,OOO year which the west
would sustain from the destruction of the wat
er lines to the east would result from drying
up the Illinois canal alone. Can the North.
west afford the sacrifice: Can they afford to
lpay $25000O00 year for the privilege of
burning their corn