The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-04-21
The axe
go .t 80 s ~ ~ ~. y.
Season.
Opens. 6. j I: IN!
Means ] NJ Mu ch & or
Farm; ont g oa.l

ton season on the Great Lakes has
reopenel. as streaniers OF smoke like.
motoring wells. tell to the world OF
trade and commerce. The strait At
Mackinac at last are open-an even:
OF the greatest importance to business
In the United States.
kilograms April 16 reported the
straits clearing OF Ice: last year they
were officially open" April o. In 19oG
on April and in 1904 not until May
2. In 1902 the opening of the straits
was on March :3d. which was the ear
liest since 1878. when March IA was
the date. The opening this year was
Mt about the usual date.
n the coal shipments by way OF the
Great Lakes In year should sudden
ly be cut off. the pulse of the nations
trade would flutter and threaten to
cease. Soft coal constitutes the prin-
cipal part of the west bound lake traf-
ffc. In 1907 five Lake Erie ports. To-
ledo. Cleveland. Ashtah,lla. Lorain anil
Huron. shipped threefo,irths OF the
total shipments. 15.42s.209 net tons.
The hard coal shipments for the year.
4.0I9.177 net tons. came mainly from
Buffalo.
The opening of lake navigation
means most to the grain trade. anil
consequently to the farmers through
out the grain belts although many OF
them never have boarded grain
barge. Lake navigatton's start In the
spring marks the season OF May de.
lireries OF grain-nnllions and millions
of bushels of it. The ""May' wheat,
May" corn. MAY" oats and the rest
of the commodities dealt In on grain
and provisions exchanges are so call
ed because delivery under the con.
tracts for the actual stuf Is required
by the exchanges during May: These
deliveries then are In token OF the
system OF future delivery contracts
prices throughout the year. II every
graEn-grower In the land should sell
all his crop Immediately upon hasyest-
ing 1t. the result would be that tho
market would become glutted, and the
prise depressed. SO the bulk of it
would be snapped mp by foreign buy
ers at low figure. leaving the farm
er smarting Mt his loss and the con-
sumer at the mercy of big milling in
terests. The sales for future delivery
on boards of trade. which require de-
livery Of the actual grain In May.
July. September and other months.
have grown ont OF the necessities OF
the prodicers-their needs for good
prices and ready cash or credit that
will get them cash.
AS grent quantities OF grain are
shipped by the water route, the open
ing OF navigation marks the date OF
delivery of May grain. The relation
that lake navigation has to grain
transactions, may be understood from
the fact that the forthcoming anual re-
port OF the Chicago Board of Trade
the Eastward grain shipment for 1907
included G3.349.5s5 bushels OF wheat;
44.355.a90 bushels OF corn. 20.6S0.1 0.1Ss
bushels OF oats and 1866, ,074 bushels
OF barley. The main grain-shipping
ports for the season were Duluth. SUI
perior and Chicago. These three cit
les are credited with over % per cent.
OF the total wheat shipments by lake.
About 81 per cent. of the corn ship
ments originated In Chicago: oats
were were sent out mainly from Mani
towoc. Milwaukee and Chicago. while
most OF the barley shipments were
from Superior and Milwaukee.
Because OF the lake carrying trade.
Buffalo receives the greater per cent.
of all the lake shipments. During the
year just passed this port received
81 per cent. OF all the wheat, GA per
cent. OF all the corn. Sc per cent. OF
all the oats and SO per cent. OF all the
barley shipped by the lake liners.
The lake shipments Of flour in 1907.
mainly from Duluth. Superior. Chi
cago and Milwaukee represented a
grand total Of 1.314.ss7 net tons (ot
ten barrels each.) If these flour bar
rels were laid end to end. they woul,l
extend in line over rs miles.
Chicago alone, according to these
records OF receipts and shipments of
grain In the forthcoming annual re-
port OF the Chicago Board of Trade,
shipped by vessel 79.77G.7s4 bushels
of grain and flour Thia constituted !,
little less than one-fourth OF all tho
grain sold and flour. received In Chi.
cago from every available source. in.
cluding lake. canal and railroads. This
tremendous quantity OF grain and
flour represented an increase OF ap-
proximately .o99,6s4 bushels over the
1906 shipments OF grain and flour
from Chicago. The receipts by water
In 1907 son the contrary showed i n de-