The sun., 1903-08-16
MONTREAL'S GRAIN TRADE.
A ROUTE TO ESCAPE BUFFAL0
ELEVATOR TOLLS.

Vessels travelling That Path Carry 10000
Bushels--l ,OOO-Ton Barge Will Holt
but 33.OOO-Each Ton Tax or ~
Cents--where'sC CompetitiOn ntOC Come I'm
President Alexander McFee of the Mon
treal Board OF Trade. In an interview II
the Toronto Globe few days ago, told o.
the increasing Commerce OF the port o.
Montreal What he said was taken uF
hy the advocates of q 10Oo-ton barge
canal as an argument for the building o.
q waterway Of that size, even at cos'
OF slOl ,OOO.OOO The whole point OF tht
interview was that export grain was finding
its way 10 the seaboard by the 81 Lawrence
route because it was cheaper
an addition to the abolition Of the cana
tolls said Mr. McFee. there is another
important factor which is highly material
u the development of the St. Lawrence
route, and that ia the increasing capacity
e. the vessels employed in tho transporta'
ton Of grain from the Great Lakes through
TIVE canal system. Vessels are being M
trodnced on this route which can carry
between 70 900 and $4,000 bushels Of gram
J ne steamer Melville, now in port, brought
Gswn cargo Of 1000 bushels
This was reprinted by the Erening Post
sp a reason why New York should vote
S,Ol .OOO, 600 for "a l,OOO-ton barge cana'.
Members of the Canal Association OF
Greater New York wrote letters to lHE
SUN declaring that the situation demanded
n OOO-ton barge canal To compete with the
Canadian route.
thA
route travels the same course down from
the upper Lakes into Lake Erie. Then, py
way of the Welland Canal, it Is carried INTO
Lake Ontario, getting around the rams o
Niagara. and from Lake Ontario passes
through the st. Lawrence to Montreal
There is no trans-shipment OF cargo betweeh
the shipping port, Duluth or Chicago ana
Montreal.
The vessels which carry this grain can
hold 10000 to $4,000 bushels of grain, tc-
cording to Mr. Mctee. They pay no toll
to an elevator pool at Buffalo and so escape
the levy of 70 cents a ton made by the
transfer corporations Oh all gram which ls
Lrought To New York over the Erie Canal.
Will the l,OOO-ton barge canal change
this situationI Not at all. Bulk must oe
broken at Buffalo and again ut Sew YORK.
The traffic oil the canal cannot escape Ihese
pirates of the termini.'
What MIR. McFee said might we'll oe quoted
ns an argument for q ship canal acre 81
New YORK State to carry vessels Of larse
tonnage. The l,000-ton barge (Which, by
the way, now figures to carry less thaH
800 tons cargo) will carry, at the most,
81 900 bushels OF wheat. Can IL pay toIi
OF IS cents ton to the elevator pool anu
compete with Canadian route which aC-
4Ia Iafa "a .
81, 900 bushels? If the ST. Lawrence route
can attract the export grain now, now
can the barge canal, completed ten years
hence for vessels less than half the capacity
of those on the st. Lawrence route, hope to
recover that trade?
Meanwhile private capital 10 projecting
q Cana lian waterway which can be con-
structed for $40 OO00, 900 and which will be
o twenty-two-foot waterway. This il the
Montreal, Ottawa and Georgian Bay Canal.
Ii provides the shortest route and An all
water route from the farthest shores OF
the Great Lakes, to whose borders the
products OF the grain-proiucing States
nre brought to the Atlantic seaboard.
The route Is through the French River and
lake Nipissing to the Ottawa River and
down that stream to tidewater at Montreal.
By this route the distance from Chicago
or Duluth TO Montreal will be no greater
than the sailing distance through the Lakes
from the same ports to Buffalo There
are only short stretches of eXcaVated
channel-thirty-two miles IN All The rest
Is open lake and river navigation. Bv
that route grain can be carried from Duluth
to Montreal at about the same cost as fro'n
Duluth to Buffalo, making difference in
cost between the two routes of tie carrying
cost from alongside elevator IN Buffalo to
New York
or this plar tho report of the Unite !
States Deep Waterways Commission said
at il the shortest through route between
terminals
The Canadian caral can carry ships of
5000 tons cargo. How will the l,0O0-ton
BARGE compete with that?
All this argument on the side OF the canal
aims at larger part of the export grain
trade Another newspaper advocate Of
the barge canal SAYS that what is saved by
the establishment Of lower rate goes into
tho pockets Of the farmers who raise the
stuff That means profit for the Western
farmer.
II a barge canal we're able to divert the
whole OF MontrealS export grain trade
to New York would the achievement be
worth the price,
Up to to-day the estimated exports of
grain bv the Canadian routes this season,
according to the chairman OF the caral
campaign, are 37s7s7 tons. Suppose on
the whole season they amount TO 100000
TONS wouldn't $s ton be high subsidy
TO payp
Can Won see where YOU would get ary
benefit from this new commerce? Is there
anv material benefit for any one outside
of the special interests concerned in the
handling and expectation Of grain?
The Nep York Journal disposes Of IN
obstinate argument against the barge car"l
the necessity FOR transshipment at BuiTalo
by saying Human ingenuity will easily
take care of that
Meanwhile the Odell machine will take
care OF the SOL 900 900.
THRONG LISTENS FOLK.