The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-06-17
fst,r6ial cnrtcspordenee Of The Times

iEretial Correspondence OIL Nv iis &
Dispatch.)
4,frtJ,TIT. MINI. June 16.-Mr.
James j. Iafil recently made the start
ii,1s statement that, In his opinion, pS
ssfd. only four years from now, the
g t,oitiIatoh of the United States Will be
~ ssGsysi 0n tand that when that time
comes this country will consume an
q The wheat raised within Its borders.
II Tlic man who makes this prediction pc
y longs To the modern race{of discoveries;
Il the railroad builders. Once ~ was tho
Il Northeast passage to Cathay "nls,i
I t;rei thn ambition of the explorer, Nov
1t is the avenue TO new feids o. , prouti
tom The twentieth century ihdust t ilta
Y Sax4abrer as he iaan who seeks sources
so 4 SIMPLY for b.eadstuffs. ores, timber
ANA other material OF varied character
urisayyfich depends the complex iiie 5 oi - @
s. ufftibn Of many millions OF people.
tIsiISs railroad tnaGnatc who spends ms
n ,,,r.,,rk fns DAYS In an office hidden away
Il II, a mammoth skyscraper seems lar
& unoyed from the race of hardy DISCO i"..,'
ers who five centuries ago maze t>i'e. ~" =
\ l,notyn Ia tho old world. But, except.
Nc Terhaps. Ponce de Leon, who sought
+ here the spring OF eternal your, ~.
y rionee,s among the discoveries OF tne
4 Western Hemisphere were seeking new
i! routes for trade Just as are tnelr sue
a ncssors who are to-day extending stee,
e t,tehWays into regions which only q rev
shurt years ago were inhabited by wiz viz
" nninlais and Indians. 1t is the unde-
reloped areas of fertile land when no"
attract the pioneer in a railway ehn' 'ei
prise as we'll as the actual setter
& ~ Whether this country Will soon consume
all the whea raised Within It's borders or
mot. tho markets of the world are claln-.
5nring for supplies and In response 10 the
e v,4ps,,,nnnti. the eyes of the Industrial dis
\ corerers are turned toward the y Northwest
5 t,neiiwellers in the Southern and Eastern
states, the term Northwest stlll means
d Minnesota the Dako,as. Montana ana
s5Wyoming. Washington and oregon. sput
IN these States. the Northwest mas
wider meaning. It includes not only !!
reat extent Of territory tls sl s J. -
{ sfla line but also vast expanse Of fer
Mia lands in Canada, which are now be-
Ing turned into productive farms and
B which in "a few years will be among the
greatest grain producing regions OF the
Shvorld. 4t .
when il comes to getting the product
M these Canadian wheat fields to east
5nrn markets. BitFis significant that: IN
The opinion of the railroad bulluers,
The best route is that which Is nt l',
4 by the Great Lakes This means }5 y MAJ l..
these inland waterways are 70 see , stli.
II eurther increases in the amount of their
commerce. The lakes have for two
q centuries PLAYED an Important part in
q the ,lphuilding of the, Northwest. IN
4 recent years the traffic on Lake superior
Z alone has grown so rapidly, that the
H 4 commerce sof the 500 many times
II exceeds TINT of the Suez Canal. ~ re- 3
Il cent GOV ernments bulletin shows that
d Through the canhls of the 500 G, t'1,
Il 4ng S5 April q this year there H pas SEQ
,513 PSI tons Of freight. MS against L.
4 800 1e6 in April. 1905. Last year mere
q passed beneath the aerial ferry Mt the,
Il trance 10 the Duluth Superior har--.
u Dor q total OF 1850 vessels with4n regis
s tered tonnage of 926 21G,154 IN the same
Sskine. there passed the Statue OF Liberty
n an New York harbor bound to and from
VI Foreign ports about G,0O0 vessels. New
3;York's great constwise trade gave her
;shrst place, Duluth ranking second among
ports. That many Of the mod
IL ernf lake carriers rank in size with ocean
V going steamships IS shown by the fact
| that the average net tonnage Of the yes
u sells which entered and cleared ut Du-
Ruth IN 1905 wns 2,1GG. With the deepn-
s1ng If the Erie Canal on the east the
n products OF the Northwest can be carried
\ sSbyS water for three-qunrters of the dis
sst an es to the Atlantic Coast. and this
sSSact has evidently not been overlooked
III the men behind Canadian railway
a projects.
The fact that American waterways will
thus be utilized by the men who re
u back of the projects to tap the Cana
ESsssid ian Northwest adds to the interest In
,hsSthe subject on this side Of tho boundary.
stsl Inc. a rcady existing lines of road make
~ q In etwork over the wheat fields of
s. manitoba and the Canadian brakeman
H shouts yVlnnipegoss on the shores Of
II he lake 8of that name. Farther west
III the d iron highways cross Saskatchewan
u and sAssiniboia, provinces whose names
have only recently been made familiar