The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-02-22
ST. LOUIS LETTER.



ally IN uninterrupted How 10 the sea thus iar
all winter. There has not been what might
DO termed closed river ut any time
and serious leo distractions have
only existed fifteen days TO date
On tho average tho Mississippi
IA completely closed to commerce by con
gealmont about forty days during tho winter
sonson, rs for the past flteon years tho num-
'por has been MS high as lfty-elght days and
~ low as six days, with four winters that
were entirely free from closing But although
tho present winter has furnished fifteen days
of commercial obstruction, there Inns been
loss leo In the river than during any other of
The past fifteen years, md the amount
OF commercial carrying TO the gulf
has been much larger than during my year
IN that period. so far during 1880 there
have been two hundred and llleen steamboat
arrivals here, and two hundred md twelve
departures, This is almost equal 10 the sum
mer season business. The shipping business
Of 1879 aggregated fraction less than 31l-
900 tons, Should tho January rate Of bust
ness continue during 1880 tho tonnage will
reach fully 100000 or nearly double That OF
1870. The shipments Of bulk grain from
here TO Now Orleans for the month Of Janu
AIRY this year amounted TO l,l0B3O3 bushels.
The shipments of bulk corn during thirteen
days of this month amount to 22l,6OO BUSH
ola, making u total since the beginning Of the
year of l,GS1S03 bushels. This is u good
start for 1880 when II is known that the total
shipment of bulk corn TO New Orleans for
1879 was only 8,5S5,6S7 bushels. The re-
markably large business done on the river
this winter affords the most convincing evil
donce of the Importance of water transporta
ton to 81. Louis. 1t is said the movement
Of grain from here to New Orleans would
have been twice rs great If there had been
sufficient tonnage TO carry it. Movements
are now on foot which in less than six
months will supply all the carrying capacity
reoded.
THE IRON INTEREST.
or all branches Of mechanical industry in
this city that has been given IN extraordinary |
impetus by tho revival in business, the loosen
ing Of capital, development of new enter
prises and the betteriDg of times generally, |
the increase in the iron trade is the most
marked and extensive. ST. Louis has nine
teen large establishments where the sons of
Vulcan employ their skill and muscle,
turning out every conceivable device in iron, |
from mammoth bridge to a single nail |
Much of the manufactured metal is, of
course, destined for consumption in the
great railroad- building schemes now getting
under Roadway throughout the country.
The Vulcan Iron works, the largest in the
list, which have been closed during the
season of stagnation, ia preparing to
spread all sail, and by the
carly days Of March, will be working to
the fullest capacity, employing twelve hun.
dred men, and turning out three thousand
finished rails per day. In the nineteen large
shops, foundries, mills and furnaces nearly |
five thousand men are employed, and the
daily. expenditure for labor alone reaches
$4,000. The capacity of production is es-
timated to be seven hundred tons finished
j,on one hundred and sixty tons cast iron,
fight hundred tons of pig iron
and nearly four hundred car wheels. | have
not included in this item any of the scores of
inhnitesimal institutions interested in iron,
which aggregate no insignificant proper
tons.
CONVENTION COMMITTEE.
The following delegates left last night for
Washington, to use their influence with the
national Democratic committee to coll the
presidential convention in St. Louis: John
e.. Priest, member Of the Democratic
national committee; Colonel ID. II. Arm
strong, Colonel j. l.. d. Morrison, Charles
Green, j. II. McEntire, d. II. McAdam, ex-
Mayor Joseph Brown, Q. M. Elieard, Colonel
j. G.. Prather, William Hyde, r. p. Tnsley,
+. X. McCabe, Colonel j. Ii. r. Cundiif, d.
II. Naylor and r. j. Howard. Mr.. r. ID.
Lancaster and Mr. Joseph l.. Gr,swold, of
the Lindell hotel, accompanied the delega-
ton.
1t is considered by leading members
Of the party that the convention
will be held in the West,
and that the chances are about equal between
81. Louis and Cincinnati, but Chicago is max
ing strenuous efforts TO secure 1t, and is feared
by both. The dark horse is considered here
to be Indianapolis, provided that city will do
what some Of her leading men are endeavor
ing to accomplish, erect a building for the
convention to meet in. This is y move of
very recent origin, and its promoters put in
the powerful plea of party preponderance
in the Hoosier State, and the benefit they
would reap from the effect of having the
convention.
THE TOBACCO TOPIC.
The weed statistics in the St Louis district
in 1879 are just being made public. Hon.
Isaac Sturgeon, internal revenue collector,
yesterday enlightened your correspondent
concerning the extent of the business in the
raw material and manufactured article dur
ing the past year The following are the
figures on manufactured tobacco: Plug,
chewing, $3.50. $50 pounds; fine cut chewing,
1876, 745 pounds; smoking, 2,S99,049 pounds |
snuff 39927 pounds; total manufactures,
S,7ll,s10 pounds Sold by manufacturers,
plug, chewing, 5,277,S99 pounds; flne-cut
chewing, 43S,49S pounds; smoking 2,S74,9S0
pounds snuff, 41,OS9 pounds; total sales,
1851, 916 pounds. The tax on tobacco, paid
to the general government by st. Louis
manufacturers foot up Sl.474,04S14; on
cigars and cigarettes, $40, 252.26; making
the revenue for Uncle Sam from the tobacco
trade, aggregate the snug sum of 81 ,6Sl, 300.-
40. Altogether too much wasted wealth for
the vulgar weed, think M.