The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1879-07-09
THE GRAND ECORE TRADE.

y
| This favorite trade Of ours, it.
ways and means, have often bee,
canvassed for the past six years, bu
notably in the last six months, tb,
important subject has waxed hot ant
very properly, and in these columns
has the matter been argued and han
died ably, lucidIy and candidly b,
several contributors to the DEMO
Graf. We are now pleased that, a
last, it has come to the point Of mu
tual concession and protection, ant
without doubt will soon be arranged
amicably and fixed on solid founda
ton.
The following letter on this sub
|ject, which we have been requested
Ito publish, throws still more ligb,
on it, and from another below, re
ceived for publication by the Editor
Of this Journal, We feel guaranteed
to state that these good results will
at once ripen into mutual fruition;
VILLAGE,
June ~, '79.]
Col. WIN. Polk
Dear Sir: I yesterday received
with pleasure your complimentary
letter Of the 18th inst, in reference
to my communication in the LouIsI-
ANA DEMOCRAT Of the 18th inst, up
on the subject Of our transportation
charges. A new generation are now
the business men of the country;
We want them to know and realize
what was formerly paid, and what
these charges can be made to be
again, by a united effort on our part,
and still leave q very large margin
for profit to the carrier. The facts
are simply thus-whilst modern i'm !,
provements and appliances have, in
the past few years cheapened trans
portation charges all over the world,
ours have been doubled and trebled,
consequently, as an agricultural and
manufacturing people, we are left far
behind in the race for prosperity.
No sane capitalist would ever invest
his money in q sugar refinery, cot
ton factory, or any other enterprise
in our section Of the country; and If
you should tell the business men Of
any live city like Chicago, St. Louis
or Pittsburg, that steamboats, were
getting $40 per ton to carry freights
in one OF the best navigable rivers of
the United States, they would GER
tainly cali US Munchaseu. I have
said very little in comparison to
what can be said Of this Transpor-
tation Company and the freight tar
i'll of 1873. When we take into con-
sideration the prices, the meander.
ing or zig gag way they are made,
the great discrepancy in charges as
10 size aud weight of articles-for
instance, we are charged more for .
sack containing y bushel of peas than
We are for barrel of -four; We are
charged Jefferson rate, my neigh
bor opposite Grand Ecore rate, the
one just above. a Shreveport rate,
and SO on, by boats that do not in
tend ever going to either Jefferson
or Shreveport. We may consider
ourselves lucky that the rates to the
North Pole are not charged in occa
sionally. The mildest construction
that we can put upon the tariff
of 1873, when looked at in a business
way, would be that some wag had
drawn it up, aud the signers made
to "go it blind" am not one that
cries out monopoly, for believe that
a properly constituted and directed
monopoly can do the business Of the
river on better terms than divided
individual efforts, and as you remark,
believe in the maxim Of olive aud let
live" The printer made some er-
rors with my figures-he makes me
say that the present charge on Su-
gar Mill and engine that formerly
was from $50 to $240 would be
$1,000. It should have been from
$1,000 to $1,000, the mills varying
from 80 TO 40 tons each., When We
go back few years In history, to
the days of the old single engine side
wheel steamboat, the largest carry
ing from 800 to 1900 bales, four or.
binary stern.wheelers now carry from
1000 to 1000 bales we and that
from about 1s42 or 1S4s up to 1s47