The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1895-06-29
WHAT IT MEANS.
The Freight Rates on
Wheat.
The Five Cents a sack Rate on the
steamboats, VIII Deprive this
City of Thousands of Bush
els of Wheat


els of Wheat.
The steamboats, are cutting prices
on all kinds of freight. Their freight
rates have been low for some time.
but they continue to go lower. There
are two regular semi-weekly packets
running between Commerce and St.
Louis. They are at war with each
other. They are fighting for the trade.
They have cut rates all to peices and
they continue to cut. They have ad-
vertised to take wheat to ST. Louis for
five cents 4 sack and all other freight
proportionately low. They do not
contine themselves to the river banks
They send agents out through the
country. These agents go to the
farmers and tell them all kinds of
stories to induce them to ship their
produce to St. Louis. They do not
consider the fact that they are running
away from home and home merchants
the trade that legitimately belongs to
them. The farmer is lead to believe
that by going to ST. Louis with his
produce he can get better prices for it
and then purchase his supplies at
lower figures than he can purchase
the same supplies from his home
merchant.
The farmer should hesitate before
he goes to a foreign market to sell his
produce and spend his money. He is
interested in home-in his homemarket.
He wants to see his home town or city
grow and prosper. Big stores at
home will indirectly. if not directly.
benefit MIN, but if he spends his money
in st. Louis the big home stores can
not remain big. The merchants of
of small cities and towns depend upon
the farmer for their trade. and we be-
lieve we can safely say that they sell
the farmer his goods as cheap as he
can get them at the retail stores in ST.
Louis or any other large city.
Why. then, will our farmers rush
OFF to st. Louis to do their trading?
Every dollar they spend in st. Louis is
gone from them and from home for !
ever, while on the other hand. if the |
money is spent at home it remains at
home and passes from hand to hand
makes itself useful. makes us feel good !
and helps build up and make our COM |
munity prosperous.
We know that the low freight rates !
on the steamboats, are doing the little !
towns along the river no good |
We know that Cape GirardeOu
alone is losing thousands of dollars
every month while this steamboat
war is going on and we know, too, that
the farmers are not reaping the bene-
fit from these low freight rates that
they are persuaded to believe they are
getting.
We do not object to the farmer
Shipping his produce to the big city
market. If he can realize better prof
its in the st. Louis market no one
will dispute his right to ship there,
but does he always realize more clear
money when he ships to the big city?
We leave this question for the farmer
20 answer.
1t is true, wheat always sells in st.
Louis for little more money than
our home millers pay, but when the
farmer figures up his expense bill
freight, rent of sacks, hauling to
he steamboat landings, commissions
% the commission merchants, ETC., he
will find when he gets his returns that
,e could have got as much at home
or his wheat.