Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1900-03-20
GRAIN TRADES GAIN.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT ISSUES
HISTORY OF VAST TRAFFIC.
New Routes for Shipments Wheat and
Flour Diverted from Lake Michigan
toLake Superior Ports and from East
ern to Southern Seaboard.

THE Grain Trade of the United
States" is the title of monograph just
published by the treasury bureau Of sta
tistics as the first of a series of studies
upon the production and transportation of
the great staples and upon the internal
commerce of the country. The article
points out the immense increase in the
agricultural production of the country,
the rapid and continuous westward shift
ing Of the area of population and the
changes in the routes by which western
grain reaches the eastern consumers and
the European markets. The develop
ment of the grain production and trade
is traced from colonial times to the open
ing up of the Mississippi route by the pur-
chase of Louisiana, when the shallow
barges and later the steamboats, descend
ed the Mississippi and New Orleans ship
ped grain to New York and Boston.
After the completion of the Erie canal
in 1925 and the settling of the Lake
Michigan territory. the great bulk of the
western grain traffic moved eastward
over the lakes and the canal, and New
York became the great grain-shipping
port Of the country The discussion shows
INV l4Oli N.HlNd-O Il AtalNhlN VI AsA4lN ~ >
radiated TO all points and acted as tribu-
taries 10 the lakes. and later how TIE uni
fed and amalgamated railways competed
with the lakes Tor the east-bound freight
The traffic in corn and flour was diverted
from the lakes to the railroads, and,
whiie the lakes regained part of this lost
traffic later, the Erie canal was unable
to compete with the railroads from Buff
falo. and grain which formerly reached
tidewater at New York is now largely di-
verified to Philadelphia, Baltimore and
more southerly ports.
Two New Grain Routes.
The monograph also presents what APP
pear as the two most recent developments
of the grain trade Of the United States:
Firstly, the partial diversion of the wheat
and -four trade from Lake Michigan to
Lake Superior ports and the rise of a
great milling industry at Minneapolis and
Duluth-Supcrior; secondly, the increased
movement of grain and notably of corn.
to the gulf ports. partly by river to
greater extent by rail, from st. Louis
and nearby points, and to an ever-grow-
ing extent by direct rail routes from
cities in the southwestern corn belt.
The statistics contained in this report
throw light upon the present grain tand
more especially wheaD situation of the
United States. They show that the ex-
portation of grain is increasing with
great rapidity, that both the. production
and expectation of corn are assuming Il
greater volume and that& constantly
growing portion of our wheat is exported
in the form Of flour. During the last
thrty-two years the amount of corn pro-
duced has increased from S6S,000,0 600 to-
l ,924, 00000 bushels. an increase of I'D
per cent, while the exports of this cereal
increased from 1G,000,0oo to III 900, 600
bushels. or over 600 per cent During
the same period our production Of wheat
increased from 152,000,000 to 675,000.-
600 bushels, a gain of 344 per cent, while
our exports increased from 1916 to 222.G
millions of bushels, or almost eighteen
fold, and our net exports Of this grain
increased ut a still more rapid rate.
The United States Lead.
The year 1898 shows the United States
to be easily the first wheat-producing
country Of the world, our production
amounting to $4,000 900 bushels, or
nearly ene-fourth (23.4 per cent? of that
Of the whole world. Russia tboth Euro
pean and Asiatic) is second with 1913 per
cent; then France with 1928 per cent;
British India with 81 per cent, and Aus
Hungary with 90 per cent. Our
precedence in wheat production is largely
due to our immense tracts of available
fertile land. our admirable transportation
facilities, the remarkable system of hand
ling the grain, both physically and com
mcrcially, and the exceedingly low freight
rates which obtain on our railroads and
lakes.