Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-05-17
THE WORLDS HUB.

NE "OHIO'S hub.
Iowa is the hub of the greatest live
stock and grain markets of the world.
Chicago on the east, Minneapolis on
the north. Sioux City and Omaha on
the west, Kansas City, st. Joseph
and st. Louis on the south, together
with the markets within her own
borders, afford the greatest opportun-
ity offered to any people of the world
to market the products of the farm.
More than nine thousand miles o.
railroad within the borders of tho
state. mileage that Is exceeded only
by three other states in the union,
connect all Iowa points with these
great markets. Very few farmers in
Iowa live ten miles from a railroad.
At any and all seasons Of the year
Iowa farmers have the advantage of
the highest market prices with short
hauls.
ciliues have rendered the crops in
many parts OF Canada and western
United States almost worthless. In
some of the irrigated sections of our
mountain states, potatoes rot in the
ground for lack Of market; fruit
falls ungathered; alfalfa is uncut and
there is no harvest because there is
no market.
A former Iowa man, after spending
some time in some of the mountain
states, returned to Ida county, Iowa.
In an interview published in the Ida
County Pioneer, he said:
81 could have bought a train load
of potatoes for ten cents q bushel.
/ saw pit after pit of the finest po-
tatoes you ever saw that the owner
said he would not open, but would al
low them to rot down where they
we're so he could resume his farming
operations on top of them.
ut 10 the same with their fruit
They raise an immense crop every
year. Their apples they pick by hand.
carefully sort and resort them, wrap
them in tissue and pack them In
boxes. It is beautiful fruit, all the
same size and color, and some years
they get good price, but more often
they don't. Last fall their fruit rails
ers organized and shipped their fruit
back to the cold storage countries.
Chicago. St. Paul. Omaha, Kansas
city. and some to Des Moines, with
the idea of selling fruit during the
winter when the price was right. The
price was never right, however, for
Iowa and the middle west had all the
home raised apples they needed. and
when the settlement came, the fruit
raisers of the west did not get enough
OF their crop to~pay the freight"
The vast Dominion of Canada
with an area of 66h times that Of
Iowa has no live stock or grain
markets within it's borders to COM
pare with those contiguous to Iowa.
The great bulk Of the, grain from
the western provinces goes to mar
ket by way of the great lakes, reach
ed at Fort Williams and Port Ar
thur, Ontario the Twin Cities at the
head Of Lake Superior. Here the
terminal elevators are inadequate to
the demands and shipping Is very
congested. 49,
The central body of the organized
farmers of Canada, known as the
Dominion Council of Agriculture, In
it's meeting in Regina, Sask., eigh-
teen months ago, passed resolutions
rse it's utmost influence with Cana
dian railways operating In western
Canada to provide more cars and In
creased elevator service and also to
make the best arrangements possible
with the railroads of the United
States for the use Of their cars from
western Canada points to Minneapo
lis and Duluth. From Regina to Min
neapolis by rail is 807 miles; from
Des Moines to Minneapolis, 273 miles.
This Is haul for the Canadian farm
or three times the distance of the
haul for the Iowa farmer loading his
grain at some point in the vicinity
Of Des Moines, and Regina is real
" close to Minneapolis as compared
to many OF the points in northwestern
Canada, Further than this, the Cana
dian shipper must pay duty on his
grain into this country ...
Great markets develop naturally at
those centers of trade nearest the
seat of production. 1t is only to be
expected then that the greatest mar
kets Of the world should be contigu-
ous to Iowa., for Iowa is the center of
AGRICULTURAL production. AS has been
aptly put by q Keen observer ana
critic OF business conditions, Iowa
stands at the very pinnacle of agri-
culturism.
There Is another big advantage to
agriculture in this proximity of the
live stock markets. Iowa farmers
can buy feeders on these markets and
ship them to their farms at compar-
atiyely low transportation expense.
In period from April 1, 1912, to
April 1, 1913, Iowa feeders bought
on the Omaha market 118,325 head
of cattle, 5O4,327 head of hogs and
1865 head Of sheep. They bought
On the Sioux City market, 1852
head Of cattle, 2,707 head Of hogs and
Ia, 704 head of sheep. Large consign-
ments were purchased in Chicago.
Kansas City. ct. Louis and st. Joe,