The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1881-02-18

days OF ceaseless toll and nights of
ceaseless care? It should pay him a
reasonable return for his labor, 9TH
terwise the prosperity of the State is
blasted. We answer, that farmers
have it in their power to make this
united effort felt, aud thst at once by
holding their grain until fair price
is offered. Those who are in imme-
diate want of money can obtain reas-
onahle advances, and holding their
wheat for fair price, compel ship
grabbers to pay heavy demurrage
on their empty vessels for few
months, bringing them to terms.
Their success this year means, and
promises you repetition Of the same
thing again and again, until they are
taught to realize that combination
of charters carries with it also COM
binatlon of farmers. Let the adven-
turcrs and spectators, who attempt
to corner the farmers beware, lest
they do not find themselves cornered
as in the late instance in Chicago,
which resulted SO disastrously to the
buccaneers.
While Oregon is the remOtest place
on the face of the earth furnishing
thread to European markets, never
theless enterprise and superior natur-
al advantages have enabled you for
years TO contend against distance
and overcome obstacles innumerable
until You have for the State, won as
wide reputation for bread and 9TH
er products of agriculture as Califor-
MIA secured for her gold. But there
is limit beyond. which burdens can
not be borne, limit beyond which
wrongs must not be imposed even on
Oregon farmers, and that limit has
been reached. As long as freight
and other charges left you even a
small margin, you said nothing. You
could pay fair rates for any needfnl
outlay and still have margin, though
small, on which to base hopes for the
future. Yon could then afford to a
wait the growth of home ind ustrics
and increase in the value of your
farms, and the influx of population,
knowing as you did, that the State
possessed undeyeloped elements of a
glorious future. But when specula-
tors and class of reckless adventu-
rers organize against you and demor-
alize every legitimate business, en-
hance every risk and increase every
expense-in other words, when freight
rings, grain rings, and all kinds of or
ganizations combine against You,
regulate their own charters, dictate
the price of your produce and practi
cally block up every avenue between
you and your market, can you re-
main insensible or silently apathetic?
Do we not owe it to ourselves and
those who come after US, TO devise
reasonable safeguards for the agricul-
tnral interests of the State, and say
with the united voices OF 10000 far
mers and 10000 more whose inter.
ests are inseparable from the farmers
interests, that we shall never be made
"hewers of wood and drawers of wa.
ter" at the beck and nod of capital ?
that we shall net be enslaved by
our own consent?
Your committee herewith have em:
bodied in this address a list of YES
sells now on their way and in port, as
by them deemed necessary to show
/ that instead of great scarcity OF
tonnage, the immediate prospects are
much better than could have been
hoped for earlier IN the season:
1--WE have not room for this in full,
80 only give the total footing of toh-
nage.)
Registered tonnage, 4l,216. Ac-
tnal tonnage. $4,000.
We have now FIVE new vessels to
add to our list of vessels now on the
way to this port, now due this month.
Three of them have a capacity of l.
800 tons each and the others about
1000.
VESSELS IN PORT.
Star of the North, br., 662; Cam
pana,. br., s14 Rothera Bay. br., 175;
Earl Derby, br., 500; Aglala, br.,
s2l; Otter, br., 499. Total tonnage
:, 5,089. Merchants Exchange.
Still further, and in addition that
there is scarcity of tonnage, there
was, January 27th, reported on the
way to San Francisco, 256, 900 ton
mage against 194, 900 this time last
year, and 10000 in 1876 to the
port OF Portland ,6e 900 tonnage due
between January 9th and May lst,
besides a number of other vessels, the
names of which are not reported.
This in addition to the above
list, swells the amount of tonnage to
enormous proportions, and should
with fair dealing and prudent man
agement on the part of wheat-holflers
secure reasonable and just charter
rates. In addition, we have it from
the best authority, that stocks were
much Ii hter at the beginning of the
present year in the great European
markets than at corresponding date
last year. For instance, at Liverpool
stocks stood, December 81, 1880,
922, 1898 bushels, against 4,0O2, ,224
bushels December 81, 1879. OF -four
there was in 1879, lis, ,999 sacks and
20,2s7 barrels against 79,25l sacks
and 1O,95I barrels December 81, ls-
80. In London wheat stocks, De-
cember 81, 1870, were 10000 quar-