The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-08-05

l
the shortest rail haul 10 deep water.
| and thousands believe with me that this
is the last great kick before trade Will
turn into its natural channel
The Kansas people do not want to do
business with Kansas City, Chicago or
ST. Louis They desire the benefit of
| ultimate markets. They tell you with
great emphasis that the jetties are the
| property OF the west and do not belong
| to Galveston I have not met q farmer
| who did not know that the Galveston
| charge for handling grain from the car
| 10 the ship is but / cent per bushel
They know that new lines OF regular
| steamers are coming to the port since
| deep water has been secured and hav-
| ing once tasted of the benefits Of this
| deep water in an increased price on
grain. they are not 10 be deceived by
! this ridiculous slaughter in freight
rates
| A retail merchant who was selling
standard prints at 8 cents. while the
| goods are worth 4G41z cents in New
| York, looked at me and winked as a
| customer walked out with thirty yards
OF calico and nothing else, and then
whispered as he passed by: Il am the
biggest fool, outside the railroad freight
| The Missouri Pacific is bent upon tax
| ing the products Of the west through
| gulf ports, but in the Gould dictionary
gulf ports" is defined as New Orleans
| in great big capital letters. while in the
| Kansas spelling book there is no other
| word 50 pleasing as Galveston.
| The Kansan tells you the short haul
brings him TO the great Texas port. and
| in line with the best thought upon the
subject he Is believer in the doctrine
that trade seeks the trend OF least re-
sistence. AS / said in a former letter
the Kansas farmer has good common
horse sense. He has learned much
from both sweet and bitter experience.
He knows that by being forced to New
Orleans he must meet Illinois. Missouri
and Iowa corn brought TO that port up
on river rates, and also loses the COM
peton which would result from Calves
ton being made a first-clsss grain mar
ket
The people Of Kansas and Oklahoma
are Galveston partisanS and the Wharf
company has given emphasis to this
friendship by building an elevator in
advance ot requirements and making
the charges such as invite compliment
tary comparison between the Atlantic
sea port cities and the new but enter
prising up 10 date port upon the Texas
coast. The shippers, Millers and farm
ers Of Oklahoma and Kansas fully re-
aliZe that the unreasonable rate war
now in progress means an attempt to
restore rates which will mean stagna-
ton, rates which will be as unrea SON
ably high a : present rates are too low.
rates which will say to the farmer,
Keep your stuff at home as you did in
1895"
Now, there never was a question
which did not have two sides. I gave
first the dark side Of the picture, but as
usual there Is another. The cribs and
granaries were filed with corn and
wheat from last year, and every grain
Of this, or at least majority of It. has
gone to market. I have seen a number
OF complete trains loaded with corn pull
out for Galveston, and these empty
cribs and granaries Will be filed again.
The buyers who were loaded up TO the
limit have both money TO buy and room
in which to store their purchases In
the rush l had several experiences OF a
personal character which Were pleas
ant indeed / got a good many old
friends and acquaintances to sell be-
fore the price broke, and 1 know the
grain went to Galveston. One old
friend who stood by me when ! ran a
Democratic paper in Kansas, by the |
name of Jacob Allen, a man whom ev- |
erybody in his county calls Jake" sold |
out just in the nick Of time. This man !
in former years subscribed for the !
Democrat about four times each year. /
always paying a year in advance. and |
I have always felt in his debt Now /
feel that We are even.
Touching imports, I have talked to |
wholesale and retailers and have gained /
the opinions of that brightest of all /
American commercial men. the travel |
er, and all agree that staple imports I
must OF necessity come through CAL /
weston with regular liners coming to 1
that port. 1 have written TO Galveston !
brokers and tobbers and will be pleased 1
10 answer such questions as 1 can. Both 4
Oklahoma and Kansas are taking con-
siderable interest in the expected Ger
man immigration TO come through Gal /
weston by the Hamburg-American
Packet company and North German
Lloyd steamship line.
TOM RENHARDS0N