The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1918-06-28
loving GRAIN TO
The WEST IS AN
ECONOMIC NECESSITY
.ans Matter or Moving Grain to the West was
aken up at Convention of the Society
of Equity at Great Falls June 5th
EQUITY In RESOLUTION
URGE FEDERAL ACTION

Mr.. Seeley, rate expert for tn,
&a Chamber of Commerce for the Pa
loF cific coast, representing those peopl,
deslrous of seeing grain of tn
|, Northwest moved to pacific ports an,
then transported via water, instead O
), moving eastward by rail as it nov
goes, was one of the principal>speak
ers Of The evening. The whole propo
! slt1on, he said, that confronted tn,
nation was to move the products OF
/ the Northwest to market in the Quick
est and cheapest way. The answe,
II to that, said Mr.. Seeley, had been
H. provided by J. J. Hill, who realized
3s the lnaportance of the Pacific slope
elYas gateway to European markets
with the completion of the Panama
lacanal. Mr. Hill and other men of a
4 like calibre had seen that the time
L would come when the grain move
Cament would build westward. They wer
~ also able to see the economic prac-
hatlbility of such a move and there
aFore advocated it. He told of how
HE owners of big steamship lines
Btahp1omised to bring emigrants to the
RPaeidc coast at $35 each, provided
4hey could have materials with which
y 1ill their bottoms when the ships
FED sailed for Europe. Twenty of the
pit lig steamship lines ratified the prom
ice Ises0f few and it was conclusively
e proven That grains could be trans
ftEE9orted so Europe cheaper via water
erdhe Pacific coast ports and the Pan
mtsnaa canal than any other way. The
d alaHs if these big steamship inter-
est siIs, ali told above, were briefly out
ned III Mr.. Seeley, who told them
f how the war and the commander
Itesag Of vessels had put stop to all
|Kathis.
IfM FUTURE HOLDS
Lied GREAT PROMISE
The future, however, he said, held
& the re.at promise, with 100000 men
Guiding ships on the Pacific coast
alere vas promise of a great fleet
! as Airg ixady to handle all the grain
! IdiE ped westward. He urged that |
than edlAte action be ta.sen to secure
rsvoaahle rates for the transportation
Grain Westward. He suggested
Ebaslat connmittees from Washington,
! rSaho, Oregon and Montana enlist
L. de aid of The President and Director
1, dsneral McAdoo to aid them in this
[ce oject as it would serve to allevi-
.;dqe the eongestion that now exists
kfotd the east. The government has
ent several millions of dollars in
deepening and widening of the
), lfb0rs 1T The mouth of the Column
IA river and at Puget Sound. Huge
i .oj jNat0rs were already constructed or
: tIe under construction and within
stfeW months the tonnage would be
AilabIe, therefore there could hard
be any valid reason why the
yement of grain westward would {
only be profitable for the farmer +,
would help get food to famished
Drope iii less time than it takes |
y. Il Mentioning the elevators on I
Pacific slope Mr.. Seeley stated
an eleYator with capacity of I
Bnillion bushels at Portland would
i ready for the reception of grain t
Il Septenaber, while at Astoria there S
h glHi be mother elevator with a ca
Is lty Of million. On the Puget C
II md twp million bushels of wheat p
I'D be ken care of, giving an
E ator capacity for four million
4, aeIs Of heat.
b HE PHYSIOLOGICAL A
l)AfENT HERE .
ke dlseussion that followed it o
suEKea1ed that the ships now II
pal and sent to New York n
War kervices could make the O
" z1p shrough the canal load s.
|sr a<h thus giving the propo- Il
r. AaEIlHenal impetus. Now is v
4. pn4oelcal time to present the g
forcibly, this was con- 81