Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1895-11-21
As VALUABLE AS POTATOES.
Such is the Prediction Re-
garding the Price OF
Wheat.
A Most Likely Bear Argument
Made to Force
Selling.

Selling.
The Minneapolis Times has q we'll
written article on what it terms Q pros
pective wheat blockade with the closing
Ct navigation and the fall in price on
account Ut all rail rates to the east be-
ing charged for transportation. This, it
says, IL likely to make wheat worth no
more than potatoes. The following are
the reasons advanced, but there are few
farmers in the northwest who have
already determined, to hold wheat who
win get scared and dump their grain on
to market from reading the same.
There is over half the crop cold. It 10
IN the hands OF elevators aud capitalists. i.
The owners Of it are not going to let it
drop in value on the market to get the
remainder unsold at q less figure The
risk would be too great. The Times
Gays:
Regardless OF whether the truth might
be construed into bull or bear news, the
grain situation in the northwest presents
come strange features. Wora comes
from Buffalo that the harbor at that port
is filled with boats that cannot discharge
their cargoes of wheat. Private lntorma-
tion from Chicago Giscloses the startling
facts that the elevators there are filled to
the roof with gralu, and that dealers are
anxiously attempting 10 determine just
how much of the crop has been moved
up to the present. At all terminal and
storage points the anxiety is increasing
daily, and in the opinion of men OF good
judgment blockade is pn inevitable
consequence. The climax will be reached
the moment the straits are frozen, SO that
vessels cannot make voyages with the
wheat that is loaded at Duluth. What
effect the blockade will have on the price
OF wheat remains to be seen. 1t Is a
physical impossibility to transport the
volume OF wheat all rail to the eastern
markets. Even pow there has been a
eight decrease in the volume OF wheat
that IS moving out of the railroad gate
ways OF Minnesota. The decrease ie due
to the fact that the Chicago lines raunot
get their cars back soon enough. This 10
conclusive proof that all the available
rolling stock is in use, and the cars can
not be unlCaded and returned With suffi-
cient dispatch to carry away the wheat
THAT is brought to shipping points 10 the
interior OF Minnesota aud the two Da-
kotas.
No complaints have been heard from
along the line OF the Northern Pacific.
and considering the volume Of grain the
Great Northern hes had to move, that
road he's done exceptionally we'll in the
opinion OF conservative shippers.
It 10 OF interest ct this time to know.
with some degree Of certainty. just what
percentage OF the immense crop has beeh
moved. Before threshing began and
after harvest was over, the agents OF the
United States government made reports
10 the agricultural department showing
that there was an estimated yield OF loO,-
100000 bushels Of wheat in Minnesota
and the two Dakotas. Local grain men.
WHO had had vide experience, placed the
estimate at 175uOOOOO bushels or even
more. From Aug. Of this year to Nov.
IL, there had been received at MiInesp.
J. oils 32,777,lOO bushels Of wheat. against
24,343,67O for the same period last year.
NOV. IL we're "a ,4A ,9l6 bushels, against
l6.25s. .lO6 Tor the same period last year.
The totsl receipts OF wheat for this
period are therefore 57,2O2,Ol6. There
are, in round numbers, 5000 elevators In
the interior OF the three states. These
elevators have an estimated storage ca
pacity Of 3O,O0O,OOO bushels Of wheat.
The most careful judgment leads to the
statement that the interior elevators are
two-thirds full of wheat at the present
time. Some OF them are filled to their
utmost capacity, while others are COM
psratively empty. 60 that the estimate OF
2O,OOO,OOO bushels now in the elevators
would be measurably correct. These
figures and estimates are obtained from
the most reliable sourcee. Allowing that
57.OOO,OOO bushels in round numbers rep
resents the volume OF wheat that has
passed inspection at Mlnneapo!is and
Duluth, and 20OOOOOO the volume now
IN the interior elevators, the total num-
ber OF bushels of this seasons crop that
have left first hands is n, ,O0O, 600 bushels.
Accepting the estimate OF l75,OOO,OW
as the seasons product, there are still
nearly lOO,OOO.O0O bushels to be marketed
and reserved for next years aeed. From
all the figures that can be obtained, the
statement night safely be made that not
quite oDe-half OF the wheat raised in the
three states has passed out OF first
hands.
WILL MOVE BY JAN. ].
II the present movement of gram is
not retarded by serious blockade, Incl
dent to the closing OF navigation, fully
10 per cent. OF the wheat will have left
first hands by the beginning Of the new
year, leaving 80 per cent. to be disposed
OF during the remaining eight months of
the market year. The harvest was later
than had been expected 80 that not
much new wheat was moved during the
month OF August. During the month
Of September the movement began to
assume proportions, and by October lst
was under full headway. It has kept
np with unvarylng regularity ever since.
Ia other words, the receipts have rerre.
sented the full carrying capacity OF all
the railroads reaching The wheat belt.
There has been slight let up for the
past few days, owing to the fact That
the Chicago lines cannot get their cars