The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-10-01
THREATENS I
Cody Wool Market and It's Effect o,

Cody Wool Market and Its Effect on
Billings.
Some days ago an article appeared
in one of the st. Paul papers in which
it was stated that because Of the re-
fusal of the city council of Billings to
grant certain concessions to the Bur-
lington Railroad company the latter
had concluded to adopt a retaliatory
policy and was seeking to destroy
the prestage the city has been enjoy
ing as a wool market. To accomplish
this, the article in question continued,
the railroad had decided upon the
erection of a large wool warehouse
at Cody and would force the wool
market of Montana to move into Wyo-
ming.
The same story has been published
in other papers and long before the
st. Paul sheet gave it publicity. 1t
had its origin in a special sent from
this city during the summer to the
Great Falls Tribune and was widely
republished in the state newspapers,
in some instances without comment
and in others with comments more or
less elaborate. While it is probably
true that the Burlington will build a
warehouse at Cody and make an ef-
fort to establish a wool market there,
II ic class fr,10 fhof c,,oh n
movement will have but little effect
on the market which has been estab-
lished in this city for the staple and
which has grown to be the greatest
initial wool market in the world. BY
consulting the statistics Of the sea-
son lately closed it will be seen that
while the total amount of the wool
handled in that portion of Wyoming
which is conceded to be tributary to
Cody was only about a million
pounds, taking the estimate at it's
largest, over A. 900 pounds were
shipped from Billings. From these
figures it may be easily see e how lit
tie the local market is threatened by
any competition that may arise from
the one which the ST. Paul paper says
will so seriously affect it.
Not only does the paper alluded
to show Grass ignorance so far as
geography is concerned, but it also
overlooks a very important factor
which enters into the situation. At
the most Cody will be only such a
market as exists at almost every
town and station in what may be call
ed the wool growing belt of Wyoming
and Montana. A market where the
element of competition is absolutely
lacking, the buying being confined to
n or at the most two houses. I'm
der such circumstances the grower
is at a disadvantage, a fact of which
he is not ignorant, as is attested by
the shipments made to this city last
summer by men from points far away
and who after selling their wool here
saw it go by their homes and ranches
on it's way east. Had they not felt
satisfied that they could procure bet
ter prices at this point, end make in
creased profits, even after paying the
amount of the freight charges on
their shipments from the points of
origin, they would have contented
themselves by accepting the offers
received at home and saved the labor
and expense entailed in forwarding
their clips from the places where
they were produced to one many
miles away to be marketed.
Far from removing the market of
Montana to that place, the construc-
ton of a warehouse at Cody will not
perceptibly affect the market of this
city alone. Much of the Wyoming
wool will continue to come here as
it has in the past because of the bet
ter inducements offered and the GER
tainty Of higher prices to be obtained
here. The shipments from Cody will
be confined to consignments and the
sale of small lots which it would not
pay to forward here because of the
extra freight that would have to be
paid on them.
IN THE MARTs OF TRADE,