The Democratic advocate., 1879-06-07

'nough TO write the figures, but hard ,
natter for the mind to grasp the idea Of !
70 enormous quantity. II is enough to
i'll to oyerfowing a granary q mile long,
thousand feet wide and one hundred feet
high. To transport it across the Atlantic
would require 5000 Of the largest ships
that sail on the seas; or, loaded into freight
ears, 1t would gil ,250, 900 Of them, which
would make a train long enough to reach
from New York to San Francisco and
back again. What becomes Of this enor-
nous crop2 Well, general answer to
this question is not difficult We retain
about 23O, ,000,0 bushels for our own
use, to be ground into -four aud used for
seed, and the balance OF 170,000,00
bushels is sent abroad, chiefly to feed the
oyererowded population OF Great Britain.
II is this exported balance that is chiefly
interesting to the American farmer. If
it brings good price-if the wheat crops
Of Europe are scanty, SO that the people |
must supply themselves from the United |
States or go wishout-then the American |
farmer gets we'll paid for his whole crop,
both for what is used here and what goes
abroad. But il, on the other hand, the
European crops are plentiful, SO that
very small extra supply is needed, then
the American farmer finds prices low and
his crop that year Improbable. In theo-
ry this is absolutely true, but in practice
the statement needs some modification.
The farmer has to bear the full burden Of
low prices, but most Of the advantage ofa
rise in value is often reaped by merchants,
spectators and other middlemen, who
stand between the farmer and the foreign
consumer, and who, foreseeing the advance
in price, buy cheap from the former and
sell dear 10 the latter.
To a certain extent, this condition Of
affairs is unavoidable; and, indeed, the
farmer should be the last man to wish it
utterly abolished. The machinery by
which the distribution Of the bulky pro-
ducts Of the earth is accomplished, is not
only one Of the wonders Of modern civili-
zation, but it is civilization itself. The
railways that span the continent, that
bridge the vast rivers, and bore their
way through impossible mountains; the
canals that bear hundreds Of thousands
of tons Of freight slowly moving from
the midland country to the sea; the giant
elevators that do The work Of transhipment
so safely and so speedily; the ships that
cross the ocean; the telegraph lines and
cables that fash intelligence from events
and tell the people of one place what il
wanted by those Of another; the merchants
who meet on Change to buy and sell
the postofice, the insurance companies
that guarantee the merchant against the
loss Of his cargo; all those are necessary
agents in the work Of distribution, and are
entitled to compensation for their labor
Every one Of them is paid, and justly paid
out of the labors Of producers, Of farmers
miners and manufacturers. The troubl,
is, that they often get more pay than the!
f are entitled to, and, growing wealthy b.
degrees, become the masters Of the pro
ducers, instead of their faithful and eff
cient servants.
To appreciate these truths, it is onl,
t necessary for the farmer TO suppose him
self deprived Of the services Of any Of thes
distributing agents, aud see 10 what Grip
! pied condition he would be reduced
. Without our canals aud railways, the grail
crops Of the West might rot upon the lan'
I or be consumed as fuel; without elevator
t the annual labor Of transferring grain iron
/ one CONVEYANCE to another would be largel
0 increased; without the telegraph and tn
J postoffice to carry intelligence, and news
! papers to make it cheaply available 70
! everybody, no merchant could foresee wha
he was likely to realize on his shipments
nor what price he could afford to pay tn
, producer; without merchants, the farmc
, would be compelled to accompany his pro
duce to the very door of the consumer. I
carry with him sufficient money to defra
all the expenses of Transportation an
transhipment, and to spend the month
Y that should be occupied in the productio
0 of n second crop in endeayoriup to dispos
of the first.
Let ms suppose that we have. in Chica
I 90. n lot Of wheat. graded as No. 9 Chica
/ 90 Spripg, which Is sold at the ruling pric
: of the day, eighty.six cents per bushel
: Now. what determines the price Of thi
' wheat?
a Before the days Of ocean telegraph,
prices depended largely upon guess worI
! A merchant who bought grain in Marc
/ to send to England. might not know unit
c midsummer whether he had realized
. profit or loss, He made the best calcul,
r tion he could about the nriee grain woul
!, be Iikoly 10 hear in tho Encl;s6 market ,
5 the time his shipment shopld arrive tber,
I and raised or lowered h;s nr;ces accor,
iuoly epdeayorino always 10 leave h;msc
/ a fair marpin Of nroft Rut nevada,
. the Atlantic cable has cbsncad IN ,ba
/; A merchant in london f;nds that be !,
+ make contract 10 delivera a certain ana,
0 tity Of grain. Ii london s;x weeLs bene,
5 At 4 certain priee. He telegranbs 10
. broker ia Chicago offering 10 nav ~ muc
n bushel for No . Cbicaeo Shrine wbeo
+. delivered IN London on certa;, ds,
/, The Cbicaoo broler a, once osoar,a;ns !,
: lowest rate NJ which h. cam con.rac, VIII h
Q the railway and steamsh;n comn.n;es e
tronsnort;1g sncb onan,;,, oc H., g. !
the elevator IN Chicaco ~ ,bs JorLs
!. I,on5on Nav, h. .oss mon ,rhsna.
. 90 ~fS Sn@"So