The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-20


heard Of in the Northwest, where he
bought up big blocks Of wheat.
All this time the clique was hugglne
itself and counting, in it's minds eye,
the millions Of the "Old Man" that 1t
expected to absorb. The newspapers
fell into the habit Of specializing upon
the number Of millions Of bushels that
the Armour house was short, and how
much the house stood to lose. And
some mighty good people fell to COM
miSerating the great packer and recall
ing his big benefaction in the shape of
Armour Institute and Mission. And
they sermonized over the iniquity OF
speculation.
But the "Old Man of the Wheat Pit"
never said g. word. He just sat IN that
little inner Office and fired kilograms
all over the West and gobbled up grain
enough to feed all Chicago for five
years, and he paid his good, hard cash
for 1t. He likewise sent his young
men to interview the steamship agen-
cies, and learned just where the fleets
were scattered. He computed tonnage
and chartered vessel upon vessel, with
what appeared to be reckless eXtrava-
gance. A score Of the biggest vessels
upon the lakes, boats that carry from
100000 to 100000 bushels of grain, were
turned back westward and ordered to
sail for Duluth for cargoes. Some Of
these boats were speeding homeward
to go into winter berths. The winter
wa.s upon the lakes and the close Of
navigation had been declared.
Some of the vessel owners demurred.
They feared that they might be caught
out in the ice. Big iron steamers had
been caught in the Ice before this,
crushed like egg shells, and sent to the
bottom. But Armour said that hs
would pay the freight, and the owners
and captains knew what that meant.
The great warehouseman played all
Of his cards. He even refused to per-
nit old winter to dictate to him. He
made a contract with Barry's towing
line to pay $50 day each for five tow
boats to plow the forming ice IN Du-
luth harbor and keep open water for
his big ships to get through. Barry sent
the Industry, the Tomlinson, the Prog
ress, the Raber and the Barry, all big,
staunch tugboats, into the harbor.
which was nine inches thick at times,
and the harbor remained open.
LETTER CLIQUE DOES NOT SUS-
PECT.
But the boomers did not know this.
They believed that all of that good
wheat would be unable to get away
ly frozen in.
The "Old Man" never said q word.
He just chartered q couple Of tugs
from another company to keep the 500
canal open and three more to cut up
the ice in Thunder bay, where the ships
had gone for the grain stored in the
elevators at Fort William. And every
one of these snorting, aggressive tugs
was bunting into the ice fields and
churning up the CONCEALED surface Of
the lake for the glory and profit Of the
house of Armour.
The big ships loaded down to the
guards with wheat and set sail for
Chicago, each with two little tugs
snorting and chopping Ice little way
in front, opening up channel out to
clear water.
Thus the Onoka, with 10000 bushels;
the S. 8. Curry, with 100000 bushelsj
the City Of Paris, with $4,000 bushels,
and the Selwyn Eddy, with 100000
the board got wind of the unprecedent-
ed movement Of wheat for this port,
still other huge steamers were out Of
the ice on their way thither.
The La Sale, with $4,000; the Wright,
with $4,000; the City OF Genoa. with
105, 900; the Gilchrist, with $4,000; the
City of Venice, with 100000: and the
Hartsell, with 10000 bushels. got safe
ly away, and the City of Genoa and
the Wright even hurried back for Sec
ond cargoes.
The Wilson and her tow, with 100000
bushels, crunched through the ice, and
the W. B. Grover came through with
5000 bushels. The Thompson and
whaleback No. lis started with $4,000
and $4,000 bushels, respectively.
Other vessels loaded to a dangerous
level and essayed the venturesome Voy-
age in winter to Chicago. Last Of all
came the City of Bangor. laden with
100, 900 bushels of grain. She nosed her
way through the ice fields, piloted by
the snorting tugs. 1t was a hard ana
dangerous passage, but at length tho
ice was left behind and the open water
of Lake Superior entered. But the
Bangor was not yet out of trouble, for
she got squeezed in the ice in the canal
and was run upon bowlder A big
hole was punched into her false bot
tom, but she got off, and after hasty
repairs finished her voyage.
And more, two vessels on their way
to Buffalo were actually turned back
after entering Lake Erie and ordered
to carry back to this city the grain
that they had taken aboard but
week before.
But the house Of Armour had other
agencies bringing in the wheat that
now fills the elevators. Wheat came
in by canal boat, and hundreds Of car
loads arrived over the various roads
from the grain belt. Never has SO
much wheat arrived thus early by
train. The big elevators are surround
ed by hundreds of cars waiting to be
unloaded. And all that wheat came
down and is still coming. hundreds
of cars a. day, from Minneapolis and
the Northwest.
On Dec. IA no less than 1863 cars
loaded with No. 1 northern and TWEEN
ty-three loaded with No. red stood
on the tracks about the Armour ware
houses, arriving upon that day. On
the 18th ninety-eight cars Of No.
northern and twenty-one cars of No.
2 red came in.
By Saturday, Dec. II, Armour Ele-
vators A, B, and Annex, on Goose
island, had stored within their walls
2. 921, 4S4 bushels Of choice No. l north
ern. And the other Armour ware
houses were rapidly filling. On Mon
day, Tuesday and Wednesday, Armour
stored more than $4,000 bushels Of
wheat in his elevators, and of $4,000
bushels of wheat arriving from Duluth
Armour got 100000.
Does anybody realize what 1t means
to move 100000 or 100000 bushels
of wheat by boat and rail to Chicago?
To move 100000 of wheat from Du-
luth to Chicago would have required
from fifty to sixty Of the largest steam
ers, and the freight alone would
amount to $3.50, 900. The 100000, about,
that Mr.. Armour got by water cost him
in freights 100000.
You can only load from 600 to 1000
bushels Of wheat upon car. Thus
1t takes 1000 cars to move 1000, 900
bushels To bring down the final 3000,-
900 bushels Of wheat said to have been
hnnnht hu Mr. Armour in Min