The Bozeman courier., 1926-12-31
Shall We Move the Atlantic?

flow back to the farmer or to the |
manufacturer as the case may be. In
the case of wheat, which has been |
used as an example, the average cost
Of transportation from the middle |
west to Europe is over rather than
short of 35 cents per bushel. This |
transportation charge is made up of |
items of rail haul to the Great Lakes,
shipment down the Great Lakes to |
Buffalo, transfer at Buffalo, over
land haul to New York, transfer at |
New York and deep water haul from
New York to Europe. This route is
the great trunk highway from the
mid-continent to foreign lands.
Over it travelled, during the years
1928, an average Of 258,0OO,OO0
bushels of export grain, the stream
flowing down the Great Lakes being
divided at lower Great Lakes ports
into two main outlets-1O3,0OO,O 900
bushels going via New York and 9th
er North Atlantic ports, and 1885,
100000 million via Montreal and 9TH
er Canadian ports-this out of a to-
tai combined Atlantic and Gulf move
ment amounting to 338,00O,O 900 bush
els during the period mentioned. In
other words, three out of every four
bushels of export grain moved via
the Great Lakes route to its foreign
destination.
The cost Of movement over this
great trunk highway is the transpor-
tation cost item considered in making
the price on grain in every leading
American grain market. From the
European price, the Duluth-Superior
or Chicago, or st. Louis, or Kansas
City dealer reckons on the cost by
this route and determines how much
he can afford to pay the farmer at
the country elevator.
Whether his grain actually moves
TO Europe does not matter to the in
dividual farmer at all. The price
paid for the surplus grain of the
United States sets the price on all
the grain. So if we can reduce the
cost of transportation from the farm
to the worlds markets, we put into
the pockets of all the farmers the
benefit which comes from such reduc-
tiOn of transportation cost in the form
of a higher price level for all their
grain-not merely for the grain ex-
ported and sold abroad, but as well
for the grain remaining and sold at
home.
The same logic applies to all other
products moving into world trade.
1t applies not only to the farmer, but
1t applies also to the manufacturer,
and the same benefits accrue to the
importer and to tho interior mer-
chant dealing in imported goods when
long sea haul and a short land haul
enable him to place on his shelves an
imported article bought on the fore
ign market for delivery at seaboard-
the usual manner of buying. The
closer he is located to the ocean the
less is his freight bill. Bring the
ocean to the mid-continent and every
user Of imported goods is a benefi-
ciary.
Alfred H. Ritter, in his notable
study of the marOoned area of the
United States, entitled Transports
tiOn Economies of the Great Lakes
st. Lawrence Ship Channel" after
going through all the figures for in
ternatiOnal trade, outbound and in
bound, estimates that of the 9O,O0O,-
600 tons of foreign commerce. of
which 5O,O0O,0O0 tons is outbound and
4O,OO0,O00 tons inbound, the maroon
ed interior supplies one-third or 3O,-
| 100000 tons, 100000 tons of which
moves out and 100000 comes in.
This 20,000,00O tons outbound COM
merce is the production of the farms,
the mines, and factories of the
marooned interior. The 10000, 900
tons that is imported supplies these
farms and factories and the people
that work them with the necessities
of life. On this 3O,0OO,OOO tons NOV
ing out and in they are today paying
an overcharge, according to Mr.. Rit-
ter, amounting to $500 a ton. an ex-
cessive and needless transportation
charge of $12O,OOO,OOO per year.
Does any reasonable man believe
that region so handicapped by
transportation rates can continue to
prosper in this manner? Is it any
wonder that the farmers of the Mid
. die West are complaining? Is it any