The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-09-21

| Yes. they are eighteen feet wide and over
"What seems to be the staple article Of
the canal carrying trader"
"There are several. Corn. wheat and
oats form the great bulk Of the freight car
ried into Chicago, and lamber is the freight
carried toward Peoria. The great bulk Of
the grain trade is picked up between Peoria
and Joliet, Q very small proportion coming
up from Egypt. The stone trade is quite con-
siderable, also"
How about coal?'
"Very little coal is shipped by boat, but
last week fellow from Kingston, . big
mining town down below Peoria, came up
with Q big boat load Of coal. No one was
particularly anxious to purchase 1t, but
when he threatened to sell 1t out at retail at
wholesale rates, q local firm bought II at .
low figure. The load figured upa hundred
and twenty Ave tons. He will probably
make Ottawa one of his regular markets.
Local dealers are divided rs to the merits
Of Peoria coal. some praising and others
condemning 1t.
Hon. Henry Mayo returned this week
from long trip on the Pacific Coast, which
extended from Washington Ty. to Santa
Cruz. about 100 miles south Of San Fran
cisco. MIR. Mayo is not an enthusiastic ad-
mirer of the Coast from q business Point OF
view, outstanding his travels covered
most Of the booming" country OF the
north coast, where the air is as thick with
- boom " as il was with ozone. He thinks,
and quite justly, too, that however great In
resources that country may be, 1t can never
be good country for the farmer 80 long as
that giant octopus-the Central Pacific devil
6sh-has absolute control, as 1t has now, OF
the trsusportion lines Of the coast, The
Central Pacific r. r Co., having grown
amazingly rich out Of the Central Pacific
road, which the government built land then
handsomely paid in land grants that com
pany for owning), like the devil hsh OF Hugo
has extended its tentacles in every direction
up and down the coast, so that 1t owns every
railroad, every coastwise steamship line
every ferry boat every cable street car line
and practically every stage and express line
west of the mountains Think Of their ex
tortions, Of which this is but sample rate
wheat hauled 200 miles to Portland pays a
rate of 400. per 100 lbs. This is 24c. {
bushel Of 60 lbs ., and the wheat in Portland
brings 5Oc-26c net (after paying freight)
ont of which must come cost of cultivation
and profits, as we'll as cost Of handling All
other freight rates are in proportion.-The
town lot craze Is the most prominent feature
of the business activity Of the coast, ant
everybody seems to have gone crazy ovel
this sort Of speculation. Every cross roac
town of from 100 people up, has its boom
Resources are never considered. A New
York er, said Mr.. Mayo, on striking one o
these boom towns, enquired of a native:-
"Well, what are your resources here =
Z" Yes.'' said the native, "thsts just like 6
blankety blank New Yorker; always howl
ing about resources just as if towI
couldn't be built without resources " Ii
truth, resources are not necessary-to star
boom town.-0ur former townsman Ii. ii
Matlock is now in San Francisco-a rea
estate auctioneer and all town lots, every
where in that country are sold at auction
In the course of business, Mr.. Matlock sold
in one days sale, the lots of a town site il
, California, on which there was not then
single building, for 100000 and over
Among the buyers was German who tool
over sc, 600 worth. Some time later he me
Matlock in Frisco, and stopping him, said
81 know you" Matlock said that was pos
. sible, but he did not know him; but tn
= German replied, ooh, yes, you do; your
dhe man vat solt me dhose con DENIED lot
dhe other tay, tam i'd F" And the Teutol
stormed in good form; but he probabl
still has the lots, unless he has been able t.
give them away.-Salt Lake City, Mr.. May
i, thinks, is going to be q great city. mag
, ni6cept city, situated In fertile valley
rich in agricultural and mineral resources
in building materials of the finest quality o
all kinds, with coal, iron, the baser metals
and silver and gold in the hills arounC
, about her, midway between Denver an
Frisco, filled with an energetic population
and polygsmy being rapidly stamped Out
it must eventually tecome great city, tn
business and social centre of great popu
lation, which must soon occupy the rio
lands and mountains of the great valley Q
which it is the centre, north and south, a
we'll as east and west. Of all the boor
towns of the west, Salt Lake impressed hin
most favorably, perhaps