The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-08-16
NOW FOR A FARMERS YEAR
The Short Crop Abroad Points to an
Influx of Gold That is Likely to
Aggregate S16O,OOO,O0O.


New York. Aug. 16.-There seems to
be no doubt that this is going to be the
farmers year in this country. The
worlds eye is now upon the United
States looking for its wheat supply, and
there is every indication that we will
have wheat enough 10 sell to make US
all feel rich and happy. Besides the
great ships of the regular nsatlantic
lines. which in the aggregate carry
more wheat from this harbor than the
entire output of some of the other
nearly dozen steamers under charter
and loading here last week These
were the Flowergate, Fernf1eld, Forest
Brook, Goodwin, Kairos, Lyderhorn.
man and Wordsworth. Their total ca
pacity was 21,162 tons estimated bur-
den, and, as every vessel can carry
from two to two and One-haf times
this much in grain, their cargoes
amounted probably to about 1,S5O,OO0
bushels.
This, however, is only the beginning
of the business of wheat moving at this
port. Late in August and in Septem-
Der the heavy movement begins, and
thereafter the grain goes from here to
europe IN constant stream: az AMOUNT ooo mt
ing in ordinary years to about s., 600, 600
bushels, and it has run up to 1S2, S59, 1856
bushels during this period.
1t has been said frequently that New
York was losing her hold upon the
grain business, which was going to
other ports. This is true only in
measure. Formerly, when nearly all
the grain came to the Seaboard by
canal, New York did practically the en-
tire shipping of it. Now that all the
great railroads have taken to handling
grain in competition with the water
ways, New York ships little more than
one-haf the +0tal export, but this half
is vastly greater than the total was in
the old days. The canals brought to
US in 1895 only Ia, $50, 900 bushels, while
the railroads brought ~, rs, 335 bushels,
and coaStwise vessels brought enough
more to bring the total up to 1881, 948
bushels for the year.
In the phenomenal year of 1892 our
shipments amounted to 1872, S59, 1856 out of
total export for the country of 226,-
100000 bushels, and in 1898 New York
handled LOG, S30, 450 out of a total of 1922
100000. 1t would not surprise any of
our wheat operators if the United States
were called upon this year to supply to
the world something like 2000OO,00
bushels of wheat. Al so cents buShel
this would bring into the country $780,,
100000 in gold or its equivalent. Such
enormous sums, however, are not earn
ed without an enormous amount of
labor. Part of this is that of the
farmer, but another part, and one that
forms a large share of the total cost to
the consumer, is that of transportation.
Ancient Rome was for long time de-
pendent upon the wheat fields of Africa
for her supply, but that is perhaps the
only important example until very mod
ern times when any large section of
the world was dependent for food sup
plies upon foreign countries and upon
commerce. Today the wheat fields of
Europe fall so short of feeding the peo-
pie about them that hundreds of mill
lions of bushels are drawn from sources
thousands of miles distant. The three
great wheat fields for the supply are
our own, those of southern Russia and
the newly developed ones of the Argen-
tine republic. The total exports from
these three countries last year were
270, 600 900 bushels. This was %, 000, 900
h1I-1 laIS nar f11a for he
last six years. In our great export
years of 1892 and 1898 we had crops to
draw upon of 6S5, 900 600 bushels grown
1892. Last year our crop was 10000, 900
bushels and this year it is believed to
amount to SIS, 900, 900 bushels.