New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-01-30

flowing stream of grain. $4,000 cars. extending
along the Jake shore for 2so miles. to point
within thirty miles Of Chicago. only 70 ne SUN
further augmented by 25.20,.1O 100 bushels OF oats
and more than s.00O.0o0 bushels Of rye barley
and malt and the brakeman on the tram AFTER
coupling on this latest addition, would nave 10
walk back 800 miles over the roofs OF t'"V
cars to reach the caboose, and when there "ouio
find himself 100 miles west OF ST LOUIS anu
300 miles from Greater New YORK. 49,,
To move this mass Of produce. upon ~hlcn
Greater New-YOrk and Great Britain alhe ue-
pend for sustenance wouid require t,,'v 49, a..
motives md the employment or -o'oV" lhfn III
the capacity Of conductors. engineers hrehen
and brakemen. and for every day or me year y
would mean the arrival in Greater New YORK
NJ 40 loaded freight cars twelve trains OK
nearly forty cars each. Based upon me aver sn.
price OF breadstuffs prevailing in the year SD.
the value of this trainload OF plenty Wouid Do
in round numbers S63O0oo0O
Thus in a way which II is thought Will appear
forciby TO the general mind, IS prouSnl 10 we"
a more or less adequate notion OF the lflpol-
lance Of the business in breadstuns 10 TINS CITY
OF multiplied Industries and enormous capl,al,
business whose magnitude escapes seneral 'iD-
tice for the reason that the enormous ud!lF
arrivals OF grain and -four are divided among Il
dozen great railway trunk lines beside the i@rse
percentage that comes III by way % tnr Sdi'"'
and Hudson River and by the cOastWlse sted'''-
ers from Southern ports. The constant stredHIS
from all these cOnvergin2 lines flow tosether
into and through the port Of Greater New-fork
as through the throat OF a funnel ana out asam
through scores Of channels OF dlsfipu'lon
sometimes without the stoppage OF an hour;;
going direct into the holds Of steamers pouhu
for the English Channel or the Medlterra mean
or perhaps the Spanish Main or iar away NaPe
Town: but more often pausliig by tne way W
the tall elevators that stand like sentlnels upon
the shores of North River, or in the warehouses
that stretch in unsightly monotony along the
Brooklyn water front. ,oox
Two-thirds of all the -four received IN io'o.
four-ffths of the wheat. three-fourths u the
corn. and per cent of the oats ana othes
grains exported during the ysa dn - 0, 1850
exact ( 800 $50 barrels of -four 2i,2".''" oush,
els of wheat, l9.5S4.II bushels OF corn ana
/ OPS. 167 bushels of oats and other grams.
II is interesting to follow To their ultimate des-
tirations the ontlowing currents OF this mighty
stream of breadstuffs indicating the eXtent
TO which the Old World and the tropical pet
of this hemisphere are dependen; upon tn-
opricuItural industry of the United states Tor
food Two million barrels of hour, li'vp' ;r.
bushels OF wheat and nearly '''""VvV uusmeiS
of corn or almost one-half OF the entre Nolh'ne
, If exports from Greater New-fork. went 10
Great Britain: 100000 barrels of -four nearly
100000 bushels of wheat and more IMAM
| ! 100000 bushels Of corn 20 German Du'ch'
| Belgian and the North Sea ports: -ot"W" par.
rels of flour and almost 1000o0o bushels .,
to the West Indies and south ana Sen'' a,
! America; nearly 3O00O0O bushels OF wheat 10
| Spain and Portugal. and the remainder was
| distributed in varying unmportant quantities
into almost every inhabited land on the glooe
| excepting India and Australia which were
themselves large producers and exporters OF
wheat but where the climatic uncertainty AT
| tending wheat culture II - SirdA bilSt ~
YEAR 1896 they were filling their own crop de-.
fciencies with wheat from the Pacific Coast or
! America. . .ho,
| with the beginning Of the expectation OF Hour
| was laii the foundation Of the commercial SUI
| premacy of Greater NcwYork: and that besin-
| ming was made possible by the creation 81
monopoly by legislative enactment. In loS> ,ne
| imperous and despotc Governor. Edmuh1 Al.
dros. granted to the citizens of New-i ork-'me
name having been changed from New-Ams'eI-
| dam four wears before-the exclusive privilege
| of boiling -four and shipping ii outside the PROV
ince. and forbade all other towns TO S;,,,rs
that business. under penalty OF the toilel'ni
OF their charters; and despite the persistent el-
forts Of the towns Of the interior 10 secure ~
repeal of this act ii was not Only continues nl y,
force for six years. but was supplemented oN
further grant Of the sole right 10 pack nour AM.
make bread for export. The weight ana price =.
bread were also regulated by the same act Inc
impetus which this protected industry gave =.
the commerce OF the port carried the gross
value of it's annual exports from SlV."oo 70 'iul-
than $4,000 increased the number OF snip
from three 10 sixty. and brought about the
building of coo new houses during the SIX yea
of the continuance Of the monopoly. and paShr'
New York to that foremost position IN the ~, -.
thine and commercial world Of America Whi'"
! 1t has maintained to this day. - :,
The gradual growth Of the export business ,ncsS :"
-four and grain from $1,000 year in l'>> =,
$40 coo 600 IN the year l>.r, was necessa'iF
accompanied by like rapid growth IN ne r, Va
cilites for storage and rapid nan'l'"h hnr.
old ia shiOned lOw-storicd warehouses; ~
grain was piled up in sacks and had Ia ne ~ ~
died a sack at a time by hand gave p''.e, r,.
| time and simultaneously with the auNeii' VI -
proved milling machinery to the modern ~,
vator where grain is stored in bulk IN 60
bins and moved from bin 10 pin' 'le,,
weighed and mixed by the power of steam,
Steam shovels for unloading cars, net am.
bucket elevators steel screw convey ors anu ." .
tnmotic scales have suppanted the old. slower
and more cumbersome methods OF manu- anH' ,nc
grain and have done their part IN SOY ,' , in-
great prchlem in the business world OF 'he -
crease OF capacity by the saving ot tne' %, ,,r
Thoreau puts IL. by reducing the ueiia lin =
Elevators have multiplied with tn in'i's,' -
business of the railways, until there are NV Ia
the port of Greater New-fork thHS-Ni s,nr-
va,ors ard warehouses. having conD1n'd ~ ,, =,
ago CAPACITY Of more than .'o"onn'l ousnJ,II, on
grain and a transfer capacity OF nan d 80 ns-
bushels per hour. The greater part oi inc Son .
ferrng Of grain 10 vessels in the harpoi s "a
nv drawing It out from the warenousiSa ~,
ranaIhoats which are then towed aiohssn eoat-
vessels and the grain transferred tnrouss nrhor a
ING elevators Of which there are IN the harirs Z
| Acct Of twenty-five. some or tneu' hnur
transfer capacity Of 10000 bushels PEI "'N''