The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-07-08
Bic MONEY IN HAY.
An Active Demand for it all over
the Southern States
AND THIS SECTION HAS PLENTY.
Achanee for tho Farmers of the Sur
rounding Country to make Good
Thing-.--Tairer Freight Rates all
that is Required.

NAASA AiARAtatAN -
that is Required.
An ISrErMeRNcRR reporter had a talk
yesterday with Mr.. Philo L. Kimberly,
manager Of the flour and feed firm of
Kimberly & Davis. During the meeting
OF the Farmers Institute in this city, Mr..
Kimberly appeared before that body,
and called It's attention to the fact that
there was IN enormous quantity OF hay
raised in the vicinity OF Wheeling, and
that there was market for it in the
South, if proper rates of transportation
could be obtained from the railroad COM
panies Mr.. Kimberly had prepared a
paper embodying these facts, and It was
signed by the officers OF the institute.
The reporter asked him ii more advan-
tageous rates had been obt4ined.
1.-THE rates on hay have not been re-
duced," Mr.. Kimberly replied. "The
paper left my hands and was to be
turned over to the railroad authorities.
What action, il any, was taken, don't
know"
"What section Of the country would
take hay in large quantities?"
"There is q splendid market for al
most unlimited quantities OF hay in the
South. We have had inquiries from
Richmond, Petersburg and way down
in Georgia. The trouble is, however,
that at the present freight rates we can
not compete with the West. Enormous
quantities of western prairie hay find
their way to the South, and the farmers
of this neighborhood, with their high
priced landsand high-priced labor, must
have lower freight rates to enable them
to compete with the West. If a farmer
were to deliver hay on board the cars
at IS a ton, he still could not get it into
Richmond and compete with hay ship
ped 600 miles further, from the West.
During the season several hundred
car loads OF baled hay might be shipped
from within a radius of ten miles around
Wheeling, where there are twenty-five
or thirty presses, and where three years
ago there were almost no presses to
speak of. The railroad companies have
diiEerential rates for coal, taking into
consideration that some coal is mined
easier and is nearer points OF transporta-
ton, than other coal. l think it is no
more than just to have similar
rates for hay, considering that our far
mers cannot produce it as cheaply as
the prairie farmers OF the West, have
talked with the railroad men, and have
been led to believe that they would
take the question OF giving our farmers
better rates to the South into serious
consideration"
GLOW would you suggest going about
it, to induce the railroad companies to
act"
"NIy idea would be for the hay-grow-
ers Of the vicinity to get together in
some way, find out the approximate
quantity OF hay that could be shipped
during the season and the most avail
able points on the railroad where it
could be collected, and show that there
is good market for the stuff. Let
them 20 before the railroad officials
with this information. / feel pretty
confident that if the growers can assure
them that two, three or four hundred
carloads Of hay will be sent over their
lines that the companies interested
will give them very favorable rates. II
we can send our hay to the south, un-
der these improved circumstances, it
would doubtless have the call over
western hay, the latter, according, ut
least, to my experience, being ranker
and coarser than the product from here
abouts."
Mr.. Kimberly has had years of expe-
rience in the hay, grain and feed trade,
and evidently knows what he is talking
about. He said that there was a good
deaf OF last years crop still unsold, there
being no outlet forit and that from pre-
sent Indications there would be large
crop the'present season, and he thought
that no time should be lost, in making
arrangements for promptly and easily
disposing OF the great quantity that
would be on hand when the new crop
comes in. Owing to the wide distances
separating farms, itwould be impossible
for all farmers to come together
personally but since the organ
iZation OF the Institute and
the formation offarmers' clubs through
out the neighborhood, it would seem an
easy matter to arrange, by correspond.
ence, for following out Mr.. Kimberly's
suggestions. Three bundled car loads
of hay is equal to three thousand
tons. At the low price OF IS
per ton on board the cars this would
make $4,000, to be distributed among
the hay growers around Wheeling. AS
matters stand Mt present this money
will remain in the South, unless the
farmers so to work and adopt some
means of diverting it to this vicinity.