Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-06-13
SOUTHERN RAILROAD SYSTEMS.
Chicago and st. Louis National AL
lies Of Eastern Lines

Chicago and ST. Louis National AL
lies of Eastern Lines.
In the tight between the Southern
and the Eastern roads and ports the
latter have Invaluable allies in the
cities of Chicago and st. Louis, says
the Review Of Reviews. Those cities
are the great primary markets at
which Western products are concen-
trated for shipment to the East, but if
the traffic is to be diverted to the
South they must give way to other
cltles-chlehy Kansas City and Oma-
ha-Which enjoy more favorable To-
cation relative to the Southern roads.
Through preference in elevator charges
and other more or less legitimate
means, the Kansas City Southern, the
Frisco, the Missouri, Kansas and Tex
as, and other lines leading out Of these
points have already brought it about
that practically all Of the vast ship
ments OF grain which now pass through
the Gulf go directly southwark from
Kansas City and Omaha without ever
reaching Chicago or st. Louis at all.
The same transformation in shipping
routes. therefore, which threatens to
undermine the commercial prosperity
OF all the greater Atlantic ports is
striking q scarcely less staggering blow
at the supremacy of the two largest
cities of the Middle West. The fight
will be the more intense for this rea-
son. 1t will be fercer also, because
after all 1t will not be waged on very
unequal terms. The advantages which
the Southern roads and ports enjoy are
not SO decided as appears on the sur
face. In the first place, most Of the
western grain for export originates in
territory which is pierced by lines-the
Atchison, Burlington, Rock Island,
Wabash and others-that have direct
rail connections with Chicago, but not
with the Gulf. This in itself is enough
to throw large quantities Of grain into
the Western metropolis, whence it can
still be shipped most cheaply to the
East.
Then, in point Of distance the South
ern roads have no great advantage The
short-line distance from Omaha to New
Orleans is 1909 miles; from Omaha to
Baltimore, 1878. This difference of
only about 200 miles, upon such COM
modify as grain, is not enough to re-
quire any marked disparity in rates.
In the third place, the ocean distance
to the European market from the Gulf
ports is from $500 to 1900 miles
greater than from Baltimore, and de
spite all the uncertainty characteris-
tic of ocean rates such a doubling Of
the distance cannot but operate In the
long run to raise the average quite ma
terially.
Finally must be mentioned the supe-
rior dockage and lighterage facilities Of
the Eastern ports as compared with
the Southern, and the greater density
Of traffic in the Eastern territory,
which largely eliminates the expense
of moving empty cars. Taking all Of
these considerations together, it is
quite apparent that in the contest for
the control Of the Western export trade
Tic AoeoCo1H AoduS anu pOfCS, Wnlle Serl-
ously menaced are by no means hope
lessly outclassed. By the exercise of
the keenest ingenuity, the most relent-
less energy, and the boldest enterprise
they may contrive to retain a very fair
share Of this trade, though already
their former monopoly is gone forever,
and when the Panama Canal is COM
pleted new and perhaps an irresist-
ible force will be thrown into the scale
against them.