The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-07-15
CHICAGO PREPARING
TO FIGHT FOR GRAIN
MINNEAPOLIS SUPREMACY wOR-
RIES WINDY CITY MEN.
Movement of New Crop Is Signal for
Chicago Dealers to Put Up Battle
Royal to Regain Prestige-Every
Influence to Be Employed to Down
This Market.

her grain trade prestige and strike
! down her rival, Minneapolis. The
opening attack may be expected when
the crops of the central west begin
to move to market.
Chicago has seen her grain trade
decline. Once the country's greatest
market, she is now secondary. Legiti-
against her. The development of At
lantic seaboard ports south of New
! York, the rise of Galveston and New
Orleans in the grain export trade and
the competition of the interior mar
kets Of Kansas City and Omaha have
cut her out. She has seen millions of
bushels of grain formerly passing thru,
south, west and north have been work
ing against her, and greatest of all
offenders, has been aggressive Min
peapolis. Against the competition of
Minneapolis the Chicago grain men
have fought tooth and nail for two
years. Last winter when the Illinois
Central Omaha combination made
rate that took oats from Minneapolis
to New Orleans for export, cutting
out Chicago entirely, it made the last
STRAW.
Prepare for Battle.
When the crops now growing are
harvested Chicago will be out after
them and Minneapolis will have to be
awake if she is to hold her own.
the Missouri river between Omaha and
Sioux City, territory about equi, dis
$ant,. will be the storm center. The
Hill lines have recently been making
connections that will draw east bound
grain largely to Minneapolis. Chicago
will be found fighting for this bust
ness.
E. E. Boyd, transportation manager
Of the Chicago board of trade, has
been laboring with the railroads.
Changes in rates, he believes, followed
up by aggressiveness on the part Of
Chicago grain firms will regain the
Immense tonnage now lost to Chicago.
So important is this matter considered
that when the first intimation of the
Chicago move was heard a representa-
ing to keep in touch with what, prom
ises to be warm situation later on,
came quietly to Minneapolis. to in
vestigate. ,,r.,,-
Some Big Figures. -
:. He estimated that in this COMPETE
tive territory there will be 100000
bushels Of grain, principally oats, or
about 10000 carloads, to move east,
either thru Chicago or. thru the Min
neapolis gateway. Present tariffs to
Chicago from Minneapolis competing
points are made by adding differentials
amounting to SIZE to &c to the local
xate to Chicago, to which the Chicago
Eastern rate is added to final destina-
tion. The eastern rates from Minneap-
oils found by adding the local rate
TO minneapolis to the rate from Min
neapolis to Gladstone, and the. Glad
stone Eastern rate. In nearly every in
stance tariffs favor Minneapolis by 1ac,
which small difference mis- ht turn the
movement Of millions Of grain.
1t is a question Of the Encouragement
Of western tariffs, but one upsets an
other and they are hard to change.
Chicago is looking to the eastern trunk
lines to come in and make reductions
to offset, but the eastern lines cannot
see why they should interfere with a
western situation. Chicago hopes to
stir them up by. the powerful argument
of loss of business to them. The 500
road is under condemnation from Chi
cago firms for making rates from Min
neapolis to Gladstone said to be too
low to enable Chicago to compete, and
therefore discriminatory.