Evening star., 1924-09-20
RAILROAD AND SHIP
LINES AFTER GRAIN
Hope for Big Profits Handling
Heavy Exports-Rush AL
ready Under Way.
BY J. C. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK. September 20.-Round
and round goes the little ball, and no.
body knows where it Will fall. Every
body is looking for piece of the
profits from the American grain crop
at present and not at all knowing
who is going 10 get them. Railroads
running to New York, Philadelphia
and Baltimore and shipping concerns
operating from those ports hoped to
garner profits when the shipping con-
gestion became so severe at Montreal
that further exports of American
wheat through that gateway was
checked.
Montreal by reason of lake and
river rates, enjoys during the season
from May to December a differential
of about cents a bushel as compared
with the Atlantic ports. But the rail-
roads hopes were shattered to some
extent by orders of the United states
Shipping Board putting more vessels
on the grain carrying routes from
New Orleans. Galveston and Houston
Normally, between $4,000 600 and 3D.
100000 bushels of western American
wheat are shipped via Montreal The
Gulf ports now are getting goodly
share of this trade.
Wheat shipments Heavy.
Farmers are shipping their wheat as
rapidly as possible, in order to take
full advantage of the present hlgh
prices obtaining in world markets.
These markets will put to a decisive
test an economic principle evolved 25O
wears ago At that tire an EnSllSh
economist, Gregory King. declared that
"a defect of one-tenth in the harvest
may raise the price three-tenths. II
that is true, this country, the only one
in "
the crop promises TO be larger thdh
that of last year, stands to beneht
three to one from the defects i'll the
harvest" of other countries.
The crop here promises to be around
28.O0O.000 bushels larger than that OF
1923, while the world wheat crop, ac-
cording to latest estimates, is expected
to be 300,0o0,OO0 to 400,000,0OO bushels
less than last year. Forecasts from Il
countries compiled by the Department
of Agriculture indicate a world harvest
of 2.171 900, 900 bushels, compared with
2,449, 100000 bushels last season.
Canadian Yield Lower.
The greatest loss in yield is re-
ported by Canada, the closest and
most dangerous rival of this country
in the wheat markets of the world.
The latest estimate there is for Il
yield of 100000 bushels, as COM
pared with a crop in 1923 of 414.000,-
600 bushels. Further Improvement is
dependent on the weather in the pral-
RE provinces.
In Europe import needs promise to
be large Russia will have less wheat
than last year, when she exported
25,0OO.00 bushels. The Chinese crop
is only 60 per cent of normal. South
of the equator the crops have not
progressed far enough to determine
their size, although indications point
to an increase in Australia and Ar
gentine acreages.
The amount of wheat the remainder
of the world will need in the next
year is affected very largely by the
yield of other foodStuffs. especially
rye and potatoes. Estimates on the
rye crops of Europe are running
smaller than last year, particularly
in Germany and Poland, which are
big producers and consumers of that
grain.
Russia Big Rye Exporter.
Russia exported 4O,0O0,O0o bushels
of its rye crop last year, but this
season rye has been affected by the
same weather and climatic conditions
which have checked the production
of wheat. In general, the European
potato crop is good, while last year
it was far below normal.
There is small doubt that the
trade and industry of this country is
turning upward at present largely
as a result of the release of huge
sums into commerce from the sale
of wheat and other crops. Pig iron,
steel and automobile production has
gained in the last six months. Car
loadings are only per cent less
than at this time last year and
basic commodity prices have shown
a tendency toward frmness.
The curves representing Industrial
employment have ceased to drop in
nearly every section. This would
seem to indicate that the maximum
effect OF such unemployment as has
existed during the Summer on de-
mand for food and clothing has