The New York Herald Newspaper, September 10, 1873, Page 13

armmnnn nn ec ccccccccccccee ee ec nn eh THE GRANGERS, The Source of the City’s Wealth, Its Diversion and How It May Be Retained. STATISTICS OF THE SUBJECT. Opinions of the Chiefs of Railroad Corporations. VANDERBILT’S VIEWS. He Don’t Care What the Farmers Do—Special Legislation His Bete Noire. MR. BLANCHARD, OF ERIE. No Antagonism Between Rail- roads and Producers. A CHINESE WALL AROUND ILLINOIS, New York owes her existence as a great city, the metropolis of the Western Continent, to her com- merce. But for the superior facilities her situation Offers for the exchange of commodities between the various sections of the American Continent nd each other, and the products of the New World for those of the Old, she would have no reason for becoming a larger town than Portland, Boston or Charleston. But the wise use of a natu- Fally good geographical position, and the sagacious and enterprising creation of great avenues and conveniences for trade, have placed her in the Proud pre-eminence she occuples to-day, a city, ‘with her immediately contiguous suburbs, pumber- ing a population of two million souls, and carrying on a commerce as wide as the globe. The quantity and character of this trade, its sources, the methods by which 1t is brought to our wharves, with the efforts other sea ports are Making to divert it, and the corresponding exer- tions New York should make for its retention and growth, are most forcibly displayed in the annual report of Mr. E, H. Walker, statistician of the New York Produce Exchange, which will soon be published. From these official figures and statements the following compilation ‘will throw an abundance of light upon the subject of transportation, which is now exciting such deep interest among our merchants and moneyed men, 38 well as among the farmers of the Far West:— . SOURCES OF TRADE. Our commerce deals with the surplus products ot this and other lands, that portion which, brought ‘to the test of demand and supply, has its value de- termined in relation to gold, and thus becomes to the producer the measure of vaiue for his labor or the results of his enterprise. Corn consumed by the farmer, either at his table or in luskitchen fire, does not add to his wealth. Only that portion for which his neighbor at home or.in a distant market pays him money helps him to buy his land and place buildings upon it. And further, we learn that the value of our grain is practically fixed by the demand for itin European markets and the cost of delivering it there from the fields in which itis grown, Our mercantile public, then, is most deeply interested in improving, quickening and apening the transit of the staple products of ar country and making New York the centre of a web of trade streams which shall be in all respects most advantageous to large classes of both pro- ducers and consumers. Within the limits of the United States and Terri- tories there are three millions of square miles in three large divisions, The Atlantic and Gulf slope has 000 square miles, the Pacific slope 740,000, ae the Masiolppt and lake valleys 1,354,004, mak- ing the last division over three-fourths the #iz¢ 9f the other two, or forty-five per cent of the whole @rea. This section is nearly five and @ half times as large as Great Britain and France together; one andahalf times as large as Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Prussia, Bel- gium, Holland and Denmark; three-fourths as Asrge as Russia in Europe, and nearly half as large as the sixty empires, kingdoms and states into ‘which Europe is cut up. In the past New York has Deen the chief market for this vast extent of coun- try, nearly all of which is peculiarly adapted to the easy and abundant production of cereal crops, Shall we keep that great and growing trade? That question must be answered by the enterprise of the metropolis, : GROWTH OF THE WEST. Bince 1790 the increase of population in the ‘United States has been at the rate of three anda half per cent each year, except fora few years when our recent war cut it down a fraction. Ifthe fate of increase shall be maintained, at the close of the century we shall count over 98,000,000, From 1860 to 1860 the annual increase in Ohio, Indiana, Dilinois, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, occupying less than one third of the Mis- @issippi and lake section, was six and one half per cent. Should this rate of gain be maintained those eight grain growing States will have fifty millions of population, or more than half that of the whole mation. These valleys are traversed by many navigable rivers, aggregating more than ten thou- sand miles of natural water communication lead- ing in every direction. . They border upon the Moblest system of lakes in the world, covering an area of one twenty-fifth that of the Atlantic Ocean, and having a coast line of over four thousand miles in length. Near this great natural wheat field in our own contines is the Red River territory of Brit- {sh America, equal in size to one half our Atlantic ‘and Gulf slopes, admirably adapted for wheat pro- duction and destined to be seon the home of a large and productive population. This region is, by matural highways, connected with our own trade routes and may properly be considered as one of the feeders of our commerce, A VAST AND PROFITABLE STREAM. ‘The grain product of the eight States above @amed was 310,384,775 bushels in 1860, 557,551,81e in 1860 and 920,000,000 in 1870. Still their product is but partially developed. Beyond them, in the same great valley region, is double their size of equally fertile soil and having extensive deposits of gold, silver, tin, copper, iron, coal, salt, gypsum, and other valuable minerals. With a salubrious Climate this territory must soon become the home of an industrious population, whose products will still farther swell the stream of wealth-producing traMc which now employs thousands of river Steamers, 2,500 lake steamers and vessels and 6,000 Canalboats on the New York canals, besides over- tasking the freighting capacity of the several great ‘through lines of railway which connect these national wheat fields with the Eastern seaboard, there to exchai their surplus crop for the pro- ducts of other sections and other lands, These ex- changes must, in the nature of trade, be made over the routes which combine cheapness with pe ad and will be controlled by these considera ROUTES TO THE SEA. From the great grain ig section there are through lines of railws aving their eastern ter- mini at Savannah, Charleston, Norfolk, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston Portland. By water the ocean is reached bake i? the Miseis- sippi, by the — chain of lakes and the St. Law- rence, by the lakes and the Champlain route to the Hudson, by the lakes and the Erie Canal to Albany, or by the lakes, the Welland, Oswego and Erie canals. A canal in Western Pennsyivania connects the waters of the Alleghany with Lake Erie; one from Portsmouth, on the Ohio, enters Lake Erie at Cleveland; from Cincinnati one runs to Toledo; another from Evansville, on the Ohio, to lo, and one from the iitinois River at La Salle connects at Chi with Lake Michigan. The James River and Kanawha Can when completed, will jo‘n the Ohio River and Chesapeake Bay. The Fox ‘nd Wisconsin river improvement will enable boats to pass from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan. skort Canela We the navigaion of Several with Lake Erie, others NEW ‘YORK HERALD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1873—QUADRUPLE SHEET, the St. Lawrence. Besides these waterways now | open many other artificial works are pro) one to connect the upper end of Lake wen tase n get rowers ae Huron with Ontario. and others to enabie fe ships to pass from Lake Ontario into the ‘Hudson, ‘nese schemes, which all involve very large expense, would greatly shorten their several routes. Sev- eral (rg are discussed for shortening the con- nection between the Mississippi and thre Gui, A line of canals and river improvement ts urged, for Congressional aid, to connect the Mississippi, through the Tennessee, Etowa, Coosa, and Ocmul- gee rivers, with the Atlantic at Savannah. COST OF TRANSPORTATION BY RAIL AND WATER, Asa rule, the prices of freights are much higher by railroad than by the water routes, ‘Thus freight over say 200 miles of rail, leading easterly into C or Milwaukee, costs on the aver: as much as the total lake and canal freight and tolls by the lakes and the Erie or Oswego and Erie canals and Hudson river to New York, over @ line of about 1,500 miles, For the fast six years the average paid for grain freights irom Chicago to New York by water has been, inciuding the State toll, $7 2 Tr ton for wheat and $6 92 for corn, By the railway tarift of this summer it is $9 per ton and in winter $13. A class of very large lake vessels are building for this trade, which will very much diminish the car- rying expense, and when the canal shall be so en- larged as to admit the passage of boats carrying 600 tons instead of one-third that capacity the rates will be reduced to $3 and $3 50 for Wheat and corn. These rates will aiso be further reduced in event of the successful application of steam as a “motor on the canais, so as to shorten the length of time consumed on the trip. A very cheap Method of gratin transportation by large barges with towing steamers 18 being introduced on the Mississippi, by which grain can be carried {rom St, Paul (2,000 miles) to New Orleans as cheaply as it could be sent by rail from St, Paul to Chicago or Milwaukee. it is handled only at New Orleans, where it 1s transferred by steam power to vessels for New York or Europe, It is in contemplation toextend this barge transportation from sew Orleans to Cedar Keys, in West Florida, whence a railroad, with easy grades, crosses in 164 miles to Fernandina on the east coast. CAN THE RAILROADS CHEAPEN THEIR RATES ? The figures in this respect show that upon the New York Central & Hudson River line wheat has been brought from Buffalo to New York at twelve cents per bushel,or $4 per ton of 2,000 pounds, If this road had taken all its freight at this rate it would have done a losing business. It carried during the fiscal year ending September 30, 1872, 4,393,965 tons of freight, equal to 1,020,008,885 tons transported one mile, ' At the rate per mile equal to the $4 per ton between Buffalo and New York—namely, nine mills and dive one-hundredths per mile—the total treight carriage would have produced a revenue of $9,239,225 41. ‘The Central’s annual financial state- ment for that year was as follows :— i SAnNIXGS. ‘rom passengers. From freig From miscellaneous source: Total For maintenance of way For maintenance of rolling stock: For transportation expenses. For interest........... Total...» Balance, surplus, Sept. 80, 1872.. oe If all the Gentral’s freight had been carried at nine mills and five one-hundredths per ton per mile that year its receipts would have been dimin- ished by $7, 21 38, a sum nearly equal to the eight per cent of dividends on its watereu stock, a deduction which would have been far from satis- factory to the enterprising capitalists whose money 1s invested there, and yet the low rate at prota this computation is based is above that by canal. From this exhibit it is clear that, with the pres- ent construction and equipment, none of the roads now in operation, while running siow freight and fast passenger trains on the same tracks, can do @ paying business in carrying freight as low as the ‘erage oi water carriage. To reduce railway ireightage expense to its lowest paying point it is requisite to construct long, straight roads, with easy grades, to lay them in double tracks, with heavy iron, and run over them large and frequent trains, all at one rate of speed, 80 as to avoid all delays. Such roads, built bonestiy for cash, so that their capital should only represent their ac- tual cosi, with prudent and ellicient management, Might reduce very much the cost of carrying treight by railway, if not bring it to the level of the cost by water. OUR REAL RIVALS. As the avenues of transportation now exist the most formidable rivals to New York jor the West- ern grain trade are New Orleans and Muntreal. With the Mississippi and its tributaries New Or- leans has a river navigation of nearly 9,000 miles, in all of which the cheap and efficient barge method may be adapted for carrying grain quickly through nearly the entire route. Against her, however, is the unfavorable effect of heat upon grain, which is 80 severe. that prudent shippers will always hesi- tate at adopting a route otherwise so especially favorable. ‘herefore the actual rivalry is between New York and Montreal. By passing ugh’the Welland Canal vessels of 460 tons capacity and drawing ten {eet of water, can pass directly from Chicago, Milwaukee or Green Bay, witn cargoes of grain to Montreal, and there discharge by floating elevators into vessels or steamers for the ocean voyage. in practice, however, owing to the im- pedim¢nts in the navigation of the St. Lawrence, mos% of the lake craft are discharged at Kingston and their cargoes pass through the Ridean Canal Montreal. 4 few speselt ave carried cargo through from Chicayo by this route to Liverpool; but certain economs lea re Wore an ro! Ne trip. ur-years, ffom to 1859 Inclusive, 19,198,400 bushels of grain passed through Mus oe. ueWietuve Youve. This movement was in- creased in the four years, fi ding with 1871, to 60,885,790 bushels, @ gain of 165 pef cent. This di- version of Western trade is stili increasing annu- ally, the delivery of Western grain at Montreal in 1872 having risen to 17,628,853 bushels, against 4,846,883 bushels in 1856, A COMPETITOR NEARER HOME. Philadelphia, though far behind us in the grain trade, is making strenuous effort to secure a fair portion of it by her railroads and water communi- cations. Her receipts in 1866 were 7,260,516 hushels and in 1872 reached 24,117,150, a gain of 232 per cent. New York, in the three years ending with 1858, received 176,343,636 bushels and in the three years, ending with 1871, the receipts were 222,075,838 bushels, a gain of 26 per cent. In 1872 the receipts were 90,481,922 bushels, more than three times that of Philadelphia, and a gain of 67 per cent over 1856, 2 ow pea WR SECURE THIS PRIZK ? To thid inqu the report furnishes a simple answer. We can secure the great bulk of tie Western grain trade by completing the enlarge- ment of the Erie and Oswego canals and their locks, 80 as to pass boats of 600 tons capacity, and quickening the trip by some practicable and eco- Nomical system of steam propulsion. 1t demon- strates that even tue completion of the Canadian ship canals between Lakes Huron and Ontario would not by reason of the time and expense in- volved in long canal navigation, as compared with free sailing or steaming by the lakes to Bui attract the majority of grain loaded vessels to that route. They could earn more money by trips to Buffalo, where, besides the canal, there is the Tivairy of several railroads to compete for the freights. Estimates by the State Engineer fix the cost of this enlarge- ment at $10,380,169 75, and promise that it will reduce the cost of transportation to one mill and four hundredths per ton per mile; thirty-six cents from Butlalo to the Hudson, or twenty-one cents from Oswego. Ship canals trom Oswego to the Hudson by the present line of the canal or i | the Champlain route are not favorably considered, on account of their very large cost, and because there is large, unnecessary expens attending the working of large crait through lon, canals, in comparison with ordinary cat barges not built for lake na tion. It is also doubtful if a es water supply could be had for suci ship canals. GROWING NEED OF TRANSPORTATION. Tn 1827 only three miles of railway existed in the United States; in 1837, 1,431; in 1847, 5,836; In 1857, 065; in 1867, 36,896, ahd in 1873 we have 67,104 miles, of which 6,427 have been built within this year. We have now a population of 40,000,000, and & steady increase at arate which, at the close of century, Will bring the number to 100,000,000. We Pay about $1,000,000,000 annually for transporta- tion of persons and property, and in 1900 we will ay two and & if times that sum. rtainly this now costs fully $100,000,000 in excess of what it ought to per an- num. Besides the freightage by water yu} long railway lines which have proper feeders are crowded to the full extent of their equipment ca- petty. About 13,00v,000 tons of through freight, jastand West, 18 carried on our various routes [ia in the proportion of three Kast to one West. 1872 the total movement of freight over the main trunk Jines was about 32,000,000 tons. Farmers in the West find that to send their corn to market costs three times its value at their doors; or it requires the crop of three acres to pay freight on the product of one acre. To save this ruinous outlay the corn is as much as possible turned into the production of beefand pork. But this has its limit, and ont of an annual yield of 1,000,000,000 bushels of corn, only 50,000,000 of which are sent abroad, the large proportion must be marketed for home consumption or be burned as fu In 1869 the total numoer of beeves, calves, sheep and swine brought to the four main seaboard cities by ratlroad Was 4,891,441; in 1870, 5,196,192; in 1871, 6,795,676, and last year, 6,506,678. About one-ninth of the entire tonnage of the principal through raik ways {8 animals and their products. The movement of live stock is increasing from 600,000 to 800,000 per annum. Our grain crops for 1872 were about 1,600,000,000, and this roduct could easily be carried to 8,000,000,000 Busnels in the Mississippi Vailey and still have a large uncultivated area. Except Russia, whom we nearly equal, we are the largest grain producing nation onthe face of the globe, our crop bein, about doubie that of France with about equal population. . PRODUCTS OF MINES AND MANUFACTURES, This country now uses annually upwards of 8,600,000 tons of iron, of which 1,000,000 is imported and the balance produced from our own mines. At the present rate of railway extension, with our general progress unchecked, before the end of the century we will use (rom 9,000,000 to 12,000,000 tons ofiron yearly. Facilities beyond the present sup- By wii be needed to transport the ore. the coal, jhe limestone from which this iron is to be pro- duced, and for the iron and its thousand products, Within our limits we have a larger coal area than any other country. Our consumption in 1872 was About 42,000,000 tons one-third bitumingus and. two-thirds anthracite. In 1864 we mived 22,000,000 tons, which amount increased in mine years about ninety percent. At this rate of increase our consumption wil be in 1581, 79,341,357 tons; in 1890, 150,747,578 tons; in 1899, 398 tons and in 1900, 315,000,000 tons, Coal as @ generator of steam is the motive power applion: ble to all machinery, the chief engine in all me- chanical and manufacturing operations, It pro- pels the steamers on our hundreds of rivers, the locomotive over many thousand miles 0! railway drives milis and factories of many kinds and stim: lates persica development in every section of tha land, Its use and that of tron in such rapidly in- creasing amount will make enormous demands upon our freightage system, will iully employ all existing lines and cause the buiiding of new roads and opening of new canals, which will be found absolutely necessary for the requisite distribution of the thousand products of our foundries, shops, milis and factories of ail classes. The products of manufacturing industry in the Union #4 from —$1,019,106,616 in 1450 to $4,232,325,442 in 1870, o largest aggrecate in- crease was in the Eastern and die States; the Pine proportional growth in the Northwestern, ‘ichigan rose from $11,000,000 to $115,000,000, Wisconsin trom $9,000,000 to $77,000,600, [lunois from $16,000,000 to $206,000,000,' Missouri from 24,000,000 to $206,000,000 and Minnesota from zero to $23,000,000, Some of the Southern States like- wise show a marvellous increase in manniacturing industries, This marvellous growth of manulac- turing enterprise is destined to create an immense home market for all kinds of food, yet still we will continue to export a large surplus, 18 THE BRIS CANAL A USELESS DITCH, Daring the past twenty-three years 110,852,444 tons of ireight have been moved on the New York State canals, an amount exceeding the entire ton- nage of all vessels entering New York from all foreign countries within the same period by 67,530,091 tons, and only lacking 73,520,427 tons of the tonnage of all foreign vessels entering all Untted States ports from all joreign ports in the same time, Thus the tonnage of New York canals equals two-thirds the whole foreign tonnage of the United States. The aggregate value of the exports from New York, besides specie, Was In 1870 $195,945,733; in 1871," $234,686,237, and in 1872, $236,869,207. ‘The value of property transported on the canals in 1872 was $220,913,321, nearly eqnal to the vaiue of our exports; while the aggregate value of prop: erty carried om the canals Guring twelve years ex- ceeded the exports from New York to all foreign countries by $063,731,236, or a yearly average ex- cess of $55,728,003, In 1972 ali the ‘railroads and canals of the State moved 19,662,593,782 tons of freights one mile. Of this the canals in the seven and a half months of navigation carried over forty- eight per cent, and all the railroads through the whole year moved fifty-two per cent. The canals have an aggregate length of 900 miles, while the railroads are more than tour times as long. The Erie Canal has earned over and above ail its cost for all purposes, UPWARDS OF FIFTY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Last year its tolls yielded $2,749,400 67; while all the lateral canals gathered but $325,011 05. Can the State afford to expend $15,000,000 to complete and perfect this work, wiich has so jully vindicated its reason of being? Can New York city atford to let her trade slip away to Montreal for the lack of this completion? ATLANTIC STEAM MARINE. There are represented in New York eighteen lines of transatlantic steamships, comprising 174 eatin’ With a capacity of 516,014 vons, classified {Us 2 — LINES BUNNING BETWEEN NEW YORK AND BRITISH PORTS. No. Ships. Tonnage, Anchor line. a) att Cardiff line 3 8.000 Ounard line 23 57.388 Tnman line 1 44,811 Liverpool ana Gr u 39158 Nationalline. BR 50,002 State line .. 3 7,50) White star line 7 m7 104 Red Star line. 2 5,076 Red Cross | Fy 4104 Norse Am 3 000 Great Western. 4 12000 Total..... 105 10,46) LINES RUNNING BETWEEN NEW YORK AND TINENTAL PORTS, cON- No. 8) age. North German Lloyd ... 72,000 Hamburg-American Packet a 65:00 4 10,914 5 20,500 3 6,000 Baltic Lioyd. 4 9,200 Eagle line. 8 24,000 Total.. 205,614 THE COASTING TRADE OF NEW YORK. The number of vessels entered the port of New York engaged in the coasting traae for the year ended June 30, 1872, was 2,990, having an aggregate tonnage measurement of 1,754,810 tons, and 47,211 as the total of their crews, including 1,746 steamers, 1,509,023 tons, and 1,244 sailing vessels, 245,787 tons, The number of vessels cleared during the same period, engaged im the same trade, including sail and steam, was 5,146, having an aggregate tonnage measurement Of 2,331,293 tons and carrying 63,164 men. The coasting steamers and those in the West India, Central and South American trade are shown. in the following SUMMARY. Number = Tor of Measure- Name of Line. Steamers. ment. H.R. Morgan & Uo.’s line 6 ‘BAT Cromwell's line. 6 6,453 George H. Mallory 1 13,232 ae esate ne a urray & Co.'s er Black Star line Per Merchants’ ling. - Sure Lorillard’s line 5,300 Motrmolitan line... Soe Yotk and Savanna. Tipe New York and Alexandria lind. : alne Steamship g070 Tho Narragansett Stea, Sooo 4500 : 3750 New York and Hartford line 200 New York and Stonington Ii 1 New York and Baltimore Transportation Company... .. _ Lorillard’s Philadelphia line. The Electric Steamboi New York and Philadelph! E Ee Shitl United States ai Star Steamship Company line... Total (partly estimated). DECREASE OF By the figures in Mr. Walker’s report it is shown that within the last two years there has been a net loss in the ocean shipping of the principal maritime nations of nearly 5,000 vessels, against the usual total annual loss of about 1,500, which has naturally been overbalanced by the new ships. This is a loss of 1,399,834 tons capacity in the carry- ing business of the oceans. In consequence of the large pe Supplies on the Pacific, and the dim- inished supplies in Southern and Southeastern kurope the average trips of grain ships for West- ern Europe are made far longer, and therejore call ior a corresponding increase in the number of ships. This creates the high freights for our own cereals now seeking the foreign markets, and will, no doubt, stimulate shipbuilding till the supply shall Cases more nearly balance the freighting demand. rReEsS S585 2 = 3 OUR ADVANTAGES AND DANGERS, These figures show that our city has facilities for ocean commerce in connection with attracting thither the surplus cereal, animal, mining, manu- facturing and other products of the interior, such ascannot be approached by any other American port. Commodities here have ready access to all the markets of the foreign world, as weil as being at the focus of distribution to all parts of our own country, Here is the chief accumulated commercial capitai of the Vontinent, and here are a large class of merchants of liberal and just views engaged in a World-embracing commerce. They covet the bulk of the trafic with the producers and consumers of the nation. To do so successfully they should see to it that by cutting aown to its lowest possible figure the expense of conducting that trafic it should be made more to the advantage of the distant customer than any other rt can offer. New York commerce needs cheap transportation with all our interior localities a8 well ag to all out- side ports, Even a slight excessive charge would threaten the diversion of trade. New York mer- chants are as deeply interested in the subject of cheap freights as are the Western Grangers. Commodore Vanderbilt's Views. In pursuit of further information regarding tne effect of the Granger movement on the great com- mercial interests of the country a HERALD re. porter recently visited Commodore Vanderbilt, as representing one of the three great competing lines to the West. THE FINANCIAL “CAESAR”? was found engaged only with a solitary visitor in his rear oMice, on Fourth street, near Greene, smok- ing his cigar and enjoying his well seasoned otium cum dignitate, in a light linen coat. gray pants and carpet slippers. He had one of his slippered fect on the table in front of him, and lolled back in his arm chair, looking strong and heaithy enough to drive bears in Central down to the lowest point of despair, and seemed to be clear-headed enough, after all the summer at Saratoga, to hold four aces almost at every deal. Next door and extending back of the ofMfce was the Commodore's stable, and through his rear win- dow could be continually heard tne chafing of the thoroughbreds, eager for the five o’clock drive which the indefatigable old gentleman gives them every afternoon, The Hg&kaLD commis- sioner presented his respects to the great money king and then retired into the front office until the business between the two should be fi ished, amusing himself in the meantime 10 sca! ning the photographs of VANDERBILTIAN RAILROAD DEPOTS and steamships which filled the walls, The tnter- vening business was evidently soon finished; for, after a minute of waiting, the Commodore called through the screen “Com you!" having evt- dently neither secretary, janitor, clerk nor un- derstrapper to carry cards and attend to that etiquette of receiving visitors which half the small fry offices and officials in the city deem indispensable to the dignity and DECORUM OF BUSINESS, The HERALD commissioner immediately ushered in and announged to the Commodare thas his busmess was to “interview” nim on the Granger movement and learn his opinion of its probable effect on the great competing railroads. “The Granger movement?” said the Commodore. “what the devil is that?” ‘The farmers’ movement out West,’ responded the HERALD man, “Well, I don’t know anything about it, Haven't id any attention to i “It 18 @ movement against the railroad corpora- and 1 should think you would tions, Commodo! know all about it.”” “But I don’t. I never read one of thelr articles. They are down on the railroads, are Bian “It seems so. They complain generally of high and exacting tariffs, too muca special railroad legislation, and of various privileges enjoyed by railroads and used for purposes of extorting unfair prices from the farmers.’” “They do, eh?’ said the Commodore, knocking the ashes from his cigar. “Well, as to SPECIAL LEGISLATION, Tagree with them, If they are in favor of making only general railroad awa oT be willing to back ‘em. Further than that, I don’t care what the devil they do, The Central can hold it’s own." “I suppose you will be able to secure bread and meat, even if the farmers succeed in all thelr de- mands?’ ‘] might subsist somehow. But as to general railroad legislation, I'll be willing to do anything the other railroads have to do, ‘No special legisia- tion’ is my cry as well as the farmers’, ‘They have already specially legisiated me into carrying pas- sengers for two cents a mile when other roads charge three.” Gi tt y has @ special distinction been made against you “Oh, I suppose there are reasons. The Lord knows what they are. The farmers didn’t do it, you understand, But I don’t know anything about this—what do Ve call it?—Granger question. You ait don’t. can be of no service to you there, “Then pray tell me if prices have been affected any by the movement; prices of transportation?” “I don’t know, really. ‘he farmers complain of charges for local transportation or sometuing or other of that sort. But 1 hardly ever attend very closely to railroad matters now-a-days. If the farmers are opposed to special legislation all rigit, THE CENTRAL can stand anything the other railroads will, Let ‘em give us general railroad legisiation, aud after that I don't care what they do. So, you see, 1 don’t know enough to be of any service to you.” “You have been of great service already, Com- modore, Good morning.” “Good morning, sir.’? And it being one o'clock the reporter departed, leaving the Commodore just knocking the last ashes off his cigar preparatory to dotting the cares of business and repairing to the joys of lunch and the aiternoon drive, Views of Mr. Blanchard, of Erte. Mr. Blanchard, a Vice President of Erie, who is the oficial authority on transportation and tariffs, was found busily engaged at his desk in the pala- tial Erie offices, and readily consented to give his views on the subject, surmising, however, that they were only his own convictions, by po means the authoritatively expressed views of the Erie Board on the subject, and that they were of neces- sity crude views at best, as the movement had not matured sufiiciently to render the future of ita matter of any certainty. “WITH THE ERIE,” said he, “the effect can hardly be felt. We have really all the transportation business that we can well master, The roads further west which feed the Erie and, the other competing lines doubtless will feel it, and, as we have to bear our share of the through rates which these roads contract for, we may feel it indirectly here.” “Has it been felt at all as yet?” “No, not at all by us. Some months ago, in or- der chiefly to get the immense store of grain through that has accumulated at the great West- ern depots, we lowered freights, without any refer- ence to this movement whatever, and, in fact, pene are lower now than they have ever been, at LOW FREIGHTS do not meet the dificulty, for I have here a tele- gram from the agent olf our steamer lines across the lakes, and it indicates one ® the most remark- able tacts in ratiroad matters that has ever oc- curred; and it willshow you, moreover, that low freights will nov meet the difMicuity. This agent telegraphs that he has contracted to carry from Chicago, via the lake steamers, here, some 20,000 bushels of wheat, at 29 cents a bushels, while all rail lines charge only 27 cents. This price, you understand, has been offered by the producers; not asked for by us. Well, the inference 1s that greater means of transportation are needed, and it indi- cates, not extortion on the part of railroads, but the great development of the country.’ “Then more railroads are needed 1”? “Undoubtedly. But first MORE SHIPS are needed. We cannot carry away the grain already stored here. If Chicago, last week, there were 1,600,000 bushels of grain, mostly wheat, stored. There is demand enough for it in Europe, andiws can carry it here, if the merchants want us to. “But they complain that lack of railroads raises the price of transportation ?”? @“Certainly the law of supply and demand ar- ranges all these matters. We cannot charge more than the Pennsylvania or the Central, because we would lose our customers. At the sametime we cannot refuse freight at twenty-nine cents to carry «j-five. Certainly, there rreignt for farmers At vous -- fh mould be no antagonten, Depge Age ee acends. and the producers. ‘They Lh enat. pro. another. If we raise o rates ye ple the ducers cannot ship by uswe do 2ol.grypPlo, the producers so much as W6 cripplé oursely..” “=+ w, same time, if we make the rates so low thu. cannot keep up the road or pay our debt orbe enabled to open up coal mines or mineral banks or establish new connections, we will run down, lose our credit, and in the end cripple the people along the line as well as ourselves. A HAPPY MEAN must be established." “Well, is this happy mean established ?”” “Yes, subject, of course, to the law of supply and demand which is an immutable law, obeyed readily by farmer and railroads alke,”’ ‘hen what is THE PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF COMPLAINT?” “In Tilinois it was the difference between through and way freights, The jarmers claimed and have succeeded in securing a law that the tariff for freights between way stations shall be tke same per mile as the tariff for through freights. It is the same as asking a drygoods man to sell at retail as low as he would at wholesale. The result has been that the railroads, being compelled to accede to the law, have raised through freights, thus doing no good to the way producers and almost crippling the through freights.”’ “Does this hurt the railroad or the farmer most?’ “lt evidently does the farmer no good and it is Ukely to hurt the railroads very little—certainly less than if the way freights nad been reduced; but it will raise a Chinese wall around Illinois, unless the question now raised of unconstitutionality by reason of the right of Congress to regulate inter- state commerce, is admitted, because railroads througn other States may be competied to shut off all freights tnto Illinois in consequence,” Views of Mr. F. &. Thurber. A HERALD reporter called on Mr. Francis B. Thurber, of the firm of H. K. Thurber & Co., im- porters and general dealers in all kinds of gro- ceries, to ask his views on the transportation agi- tation. The merchant sat in his salesroom sur- rounded by customers and eierks discussing goods and prices while he perused a telegraphic despatch involving a close computation of figures. Ashe talked with the reporter, his subordinates frequently came to him with trade propositions, which he settled promptly with the air of one thoroughly conversant with the details of a busi- ness embracing @ wide range of commodities and covering @ great extent of territory. He required no solicitation or prompting to elicit for the benefit of the public his ideas on this important topic, which substantially are that the entire country is monstrously oppressed by the onerous freight exactions of railway combinations for the beneft of a few sharp managers, CANALS TOO SLOW, For many classes of freight water routes between the great interior agricultural districts and the seaboard, though they are of great service in moving cheap and cOarse articles, are too slow. Live stock, dairy products and various other arti- cles of country production must be brought to market quickly. All goods in our line are for- warded to the country merchants by rail. Most manufactured goods, especially those where the value is great in proportion to bulk and weight, are sent by railway. Interest on the value of such goods saved by rapid transit is iar more than the saving of freight by water as compared with the more speedy delivery by railroad. ReroxTER—How do you propose to remedy the evilsof which you complain ? Mr, THURBER—By & great nationa: double track freight railroad. It shonid nave its eastern ter- mini at Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston ; should extend as far west certainly as the Mississippi and be built on the best lines, without particular reference to touching any great number of the interior towns. Places within certain dis- tances would, of course, build feeder lines to this GRAND TRUNK AVENUE OF TRADE, and new business centres would spring up along its route, It should, in my opinion, be built by the general government, by contract, in such manner as to preclude any corrupt handling ot the public money, and so as to secure ita construction in the most perfect manner and at the smaliest cost, Were a private corporation to undertake so vast an enterprise it would be very doubtful if the ne- cessary financial resources couid be secured to float it, We have examples of this difficulty in most gportant works of @ almilar kind under ance of able nnanciers, now crippled for want of ready cash ppp tabor and Toneeriala. NATIONAL HIGHWAY. This road should be to the business of the coun- try of this age what the common highway was in relerence to the wants of our fathers. One func- tion of our local government 1s vo furnish roads, This is done by towns, cities, counties and States. Why not by the federal Union, one of whose con- stitutioual powers and duties tt is “to regulate commerce between the States?” I don’t pretend to have solved all the questions or obviated all the diMculties involved in this movement; but it is parent we must do something to be rid of thie great evil, which Sppremee producers as well as consumers, and tends to paralyze trade, Expe- rience would perfect the working of the improve- ment and prevent abuses when once the road was in operation, FRER COMPETITION IN FREIGHTING BY RAIL. Probably government action should go no further than to build and maintain the roadway, leaving traMc over it under proper regulations open to all, either companies or individuals, 80 as to defeat any tendency to monopoly in ite use. It should be the great national tron road—call it @ military road if you choose, Trains should all run at one rate, then they would be able to run very frequently and would have no reason for the slightest delay. It bow requires about ten days to bring freight from the Mississippi River here. By such aroad as is propoaea itshould come in three days and a half, The saving of interest alone on the vast value of property moving in both directions would in a short time pay the cost of the road, All this ow comes out of producers and consumers, as well as the excess in present treights beyond the actual cost of trans- portation over an honestly and properly con- structed road. By the present system it is utterly impossible to ascertain what ts a fair charge for carrying freight by railway. Having watered capital and dishonest contracts with construction companies and transportation monopolists, whereby railroad oMcers manage to secure for themselves and their friends large revenues, at the expense of the railway stockholders, these great corporations so conceal and mystify their operations that no accurate estimate oan be made as yet of the comparative cost of transportatiun by rail and water. DANGER OF A LARGE CORPORATION. Even if it were feasible for a corporation to con- struct sucha great freight road as the nation needs it would be Wadle to absorption by existing lines or to pass into the hands of those who would defeat the great bPepers of the people. Its stock would become the football of the operators in Wall Street, and in the end it would only add to the perils of our financial system, instead of relieving @ threatening pressure upon the industry aud en- terprise of the country. OFFICIAL AND LEGISLATIVE CORRUPTION. Fears are expressed that the building and matn- tenance of such a road as I have suggested by the federal government could not be done without corrupt use of public money by officials. Possibly that may be so. Certainly our experience leads to the conviction that corruption is closely allied with power. But these trusts can be strictly hedged with legal safeguards, so as to reduce the chance for official peculation to the narrowest limits. Ad- mitting that there will be some leaks, they cer- tamly need not equal the monstrous scandals of legislatures bought and courts bribed with the pel of the great corporations which we con- stantiy witness under the present system. CARRYING AT A LOSS, A Now York paper has stated that the railway transportation of the country is a losing business, This 18 easily refuted by reference to the published returns of the cost and earnings of all the railways in the country. Some in the sparsely settled regions certainly have been unable to make dividends; but they are built for the juture, and the growth of the country will benefit them. In all the Middle and Eastern States the roads pay fair dividends, even on watered stock, which far exceeds the actual cost of the roads. It 1s only needed, however, to point at the score of our most Wealthy citizens, whose millions have been piled up witnin @ very few years by the rewards of this ‘losing business” to stamp the falsity of the assertion that the freight of the coun- try is carried over our railroads at leas than actual cost. TIME FOR ACTION IN NEW YORK. Western producers are thoroughly alive to the oppression under which they sulifer. Eastern con- sumers and manufacturers are already preparing to fight the monopolists, It is surely time for New York merchants, whose trade is taxed by the rail- road companies to a ruinous extent, to bring the power of efficient organization and united effort to bear in this great movement to rid ourselves of a giant evil, which threatens to strangle trade as Well as paralyze industry. CASARISM. (From the Doylestown (Pa.) Democrat, Sept. 2.] The New YORK HERALD continues to discuss the question of OCwsarism with ability. Those who favor Grant having a third term treat the contem- plated danger as a joke, and laugh at the HERaLp’s predictions, While we are not an alarmist, we look at the question in the same light as the HERALD, There is no doubt that Grant’s hangers- on are anxious that he should have a third term, and ifit would keep them in place and power they Would consent to make him President for life, or even an Emperor. If the traditional rule that guided Washington, Jackson and others of our greatest and best Presidents to lay down power at the end of eight years be departed irom it will bring danger to the Republic. We hope to see the American eople put their feet upon this attempt while in 13 oe on which any other course would wither and jorever, We, a6 & people, gre not ihfuenced by our man; tony 08 se ee peng of @ mouarchy, where works by rule. Our great prosperity depends om individual enterprise, and our great safety lies in individual intelligence, To the casual ob- server It might seem that we wre iudifferent to re- feptican principles and only interested in gaia, ut an effort to subvert the ernment be- queathed by the hers of the Republic would thrill the nation North, South, East and West, aud, a8 in 1861, self would be Dianne the impulses of patriotism, and the effort would be futile with— out a blow. We believe with Keid that the twe great parties of the past quarter ofa century are dead or dying; we see new parties rising, marked in the limits of their Layee by no geographicae lines, and suggesting in their names and their battle shouts none of the troubles of the past. Our faith in the Republic growa stronger each day, and our fear of a despotism weaker; but to 3| suc~ eess, the dead issues must be forgotten and parties: base their principles on policies prospective for the beneiit of the whole nation. (From the Greenville (Alay Advocate, August 28.) ‘The bare fact that the American people cam calmly discuss the probabilities of an empire im tus country is portentous of coming evil, and is, or Should be sufficient to arouse every patriotic citi- zen to @ sense of the danger which threatens the Priceless birthright which he inherited from his Revolutionary sires, The burning zeal for the maintenance and further development of republi- can institutions in the United States, affected by the party now in power, does not, by any means, afford a sufficient guarantee of the continuance of a democratic form of Pins in this country. Indeed, there is good reason to suspect that the dominant party secretly intend to inaugurate a monarchy by so far abusing republicanism as te bring it into contempt. Already the foul and lawless deeds done gn the name of republicanism, and which are but the ie~ gitimate offspring of extreme radicalism, have ex- cited the disgust of decent and sensible people ta such a degree that many, perhaps asa last resort, would be willing to accept a monarchy a8 a means. of escape from the intolerable misrule of a party that derives its power from the capidity of kuaves and the ignorant prejudices and the basest and most malignant passions of the deceived aud mus- guided masses, Whatever may be the covert designs of the re-" publican party, so-called, itis mot too late to ex- pose and to thwart these designs, and to save the country from ® one-man rule, Three mil- lions of pabiods democrats and a respectable number of liberal republicans have not yet bowed the knee beiore the radical Moloch. Their votem and, if need be, their stout arms and brave. hearts, may yet be interposed between the liber- ties bequeathed to them by their forefathers and the consolidation of coequal and sovereign States into an empire. It has been well and truthfully said that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty ;” Geter if it be the U elgg the radical party to elect General Grant to a third term, and thereby adford him an Cae tanity to play the part of Owsar, the people of thus country would do well to look to thetr liber~ ties, The strongest proofs of the existence of such. & purpose are the ominous silence and the non~ committal cautiousness of the radical press on shis: subject. Whether or not such a purpose does ex- ist, the opponents of radical misrule can lose noth-. ing by guarding against its possible execution. {From the Lancaster (P: Intelligencer (deme~ cratic), September 2.) When the New York HERALD started the discus sion of the subject of Cesarism it was sneered at as an alarmist by the radical newspapers of the country; but, since the subject bas assumed a more serious aspect, it may be well to inquire whether there is any ground for the alarm which the HERALD is endeavoring to excite. We have no fears that the American people would tamely sub- mit to any such usurpation of power as is implied ia the term Cmwsarism. Any attempt by General Grant or his friends to seize the reins of govern— ment for imperial purposes, or to overturn repub- lican institutions, would fire the patriotic spirits of even a more degenerate People than ours. that the idea of a third term is distasteful tar General Grant or his political friends, or that they’ would not embrace any practical means to secure such result, we do not believe. There is janger- ous and wide-spread idea aoroad in the land that & change of administration would shock the mate- vial interests of the oroey, and perhaps create & commercial panic. ‘his idea is encouraged by a large class, to whom the continuance of the present. administration is a consideration of profit. large army of office-holders, thorouguly organized, coutrolled the republican Mage! last fall and se~ cured Grant's renomination. The same element has a like interest in his re-election in three years, and, it ia most likely, are already aylng pipe to ge- curé that end. No offort will be Spared to convince: the people that a change of administration is uncalled for and dangoroas, gnd gradually the re- publican party will be led to favor Grant’s re-elec- tion, At the commenoement of his first term no one dreamed that he would be a candidate the sec- ond Lor. and iia thdiperence to the subject now is no indication that he will not lend himself to this scheme Of 4 third election, which is now openly acknowled Ze ‘4 some quarters. It is not too early to compyence the agitation of this issue, and the way to meet it fairly and squarely is by the in- ts intense. ‘Those who love liberty cannot be too watchiwi for its preservation. (From the mer LAIN os Sr ee The Tripune Aldtinctly disagrees with the Wass: ington Repubtican, whichg advocates General Grants Fe-¢lection to a third term of the Prest- dency. Thla §pfalon iv not bern of any apprehen- sion that he would abuse that confidence in any way, for no man Jess inclined to maintain power by force, no man less likely to execute @ coup @etat, ever sat inthe first clair of any govern- ment. In the first place the President loves popu- lar liberty, respects popular rights, believes in the Republic and desires to see it perpetuated, to bless the rac+ and belle the evil prophecies of kings. If he 1s not brilliant, he is wise. If he is not elo- quent, he is thoughtful. Moreover, the boldest and worst demagogue that ever climbed to power would know better than to attempt to subvert, for his own uses, the government that has been established and defended by the American peopie. But, while we deem the President’s second re-elec- tion unavoidabie, it would be a violation of prece- dent, and nothing extraordinary ought to be done, except for extraordinary reasons. The Washington Republican snares as @ reason why Grant should be re-elected in 1876, the fact that Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe were urged to run for a third term; but it forgets to mention the fact that they uniformly refused seriously to consider the proposition. ‘Ihe people of this country were never more jealous of their public servants than they are to-day, and it is a wholesome sign. Noth- ing that we can think of would alarm them more than such an attempt as is proposed. Thurlow Weed expressed the general feeling the other day— “I would oppose the re-election of George Wasn- ington, ifhe were on earth.” here i8 no excuse for a breach of precedent, which has become political law. We are not in midstream, when swapping horses is perilous. There is no great. emergency pending. All is trai quil and prosperous, on land and sea, in mine and mill, in bank and bin. The country is thriving. The great peace and serenity are mainly the direct result of General Grant’s terra and serie poling: of his work first at the head of the army and then at the head of the State. The nation owes him gratitude, and tt will constantly do its utmost to pay this debt. And it ts largely in gratitude to him hat his friends rece to-day against his bei) thrust into @ position where he could do no goo where he would bea target for malice, hatred and aac and would be sacrificed in the The republican party has plenty of other men amply qualitied for the high trust; Sherman and Sheridan, trom among tie military, aud Blaine, Washburne, Logan, Colfax, Hawley and Morton in civil life. {From the Columbus (Ga.) Enquirer, August 29.) General Grant has never been @ partisan. Im 1866, had it not been for his quarrel with Andrew Johnson, he would have been in a dilemma as to the party from which he would take the nomina- tion, for both were ready to tender it, Johnson, sustained by the democracy, drove General Grant, who had no decided political views, into the arms of the republicans. ; While General Grant is not a statesman, he has—as Whitelaw Reid, of the 7ri- dune expresses it—much “hard, horse sense,” and ® pretty thorough knowledge of the American people; too much sense and too much knowledge, ludeed, to array his ambition against those tradi- tions, stronger than law, that heretofore have cone trolled the terms of the Presidential office. In his elevated position he has veen feted and flattered and fawned onjtill he must feel, no matter his sti sense, that he ts asort of demi-god, particularly when 60,000 office-holders now burn incense to him and form shadowy crowns for his head in the smoke. It is enough to rouse anv dormant aspira- tions for @ dictatorship that Grant may have, to see himself thus lauded, particularly when he, the head of a great nation, looks back over the short space of fourteen years and sees himseif an un- known workman in the tanyard of an obscure Western town, with forty dollars @ month as his sole compensation, To such a man, were he am- bitious, nothing might seem impossible. But Grant knows that the oifice-seekers and flat- Verers are not the exponents of the forty millions of people in this Republic, and thata movement to re-elect him would shake the nation from centre to circumference, as did the firing of the first gun at Sumter in ’61, The brave men who fought with him, and the mass of the men who cheered him into oilice, who sustained him while there, would revolt, and, forgetting the past, place in power one A ai eyes pee re Sap prt eh ings and the spirit of the nation. that Grant dreams of a third terra, for he mus augaration of a movement to limit the term of Odice by constitutional provision. Let this be made “at once a vital political issue, ere if the republican party fears to meet it the tim® has arrived for the people of this country to be on their gears against the spirit which would establish a pelitical system at variance with the spirit of our republican insti- SO ARETE TI Tepe e ro, Wiese ar < i, *. (From the St. Louis Republican (anti-administray tion), Sept, J.) While the “Cwsarism” which just now engages some share of public attention is probably nothing more than a sensation, it is worth retiarking that this is not the first nor the second ume the idea has been brought before the country since the re- publican party came jinto power. Why is this? Why does the phantom—if phantom it be—come back again and, again, now in the form of “im- perlalism,”’ now in the form of centralization, and now in the garb of “Cwgarism,” to disturb the public peace ? Is it the false cry of ‘wolf? which precedes the real wolf? Is it a presentiment of am approaching danger? Or ts it only the phantasy of an excited and sensitive public mind? The vague notion that makes Grant aud a third term the central point in the supposed Cesarism we re; as a wild delusion, Grant esses none ol the attributes of Cwsar; he none of Cssar’s. greatness nor ambition ; he cuuid not play the — of Cwsar if he wished to, and we do not beliewe he wishes to, But tnis does not dissipate the ides. Louis Napoleon is generally credited with all the: honor and infamy or the coup d'état, but it is cer- tain that St. Arnaud, Fleary, De Morny, Espinasse and the other daring men who formed first imperial household had more todo with it tham! he; they decoyed him into it, and, after it was be- gun, forced him to go turough it with a pistol hela at his temples. We do not believe that Grant de- sires to be Emperor or that he will ever make ®, coup d'état, either with or without the assistance! of others. But there is a demand in certain quar- ters for a “strong government,” even aiter thee government has already been made so strong that its simplest writs and orders are everye where obeyed without dissent, and @ . company of federal infantry can awe a whole pope. lation into sabmission, All the powerful agen and classes toat give strength and success to the re] bee ent pend are not only Willing to see the, féderal authority increased, but seem to be gather- ing closer around it as if to protect themselves and. it from the hostility of the people. The moneyed and manufacturing classes of the Kast have profited. so largely by an exaggeration ef the federal Power, wielded {n @ great measure in their special behalf. that they have come to look upon the government, asa part of their system; they are ready to make it stronger, because to do so is to make themselves: stronger, They regard the earnest clamor of the West for equitable legislation and the aboli- tion of bounties, protective tariifs and bond. exemptions ag @ cry of war against themselves,, ani it is not unwarrantable to say that they are looking forward to the establishment of a govern- ment which shall have all the attributes of an em- pire, but without Its name, as their protector. The thirst for wealth has come to take the place of the stern love of local liberty which prevailed twenty. years ago, and the prodigious muitipiication of Wealth and its absorption by a few favored classes, which began during the war and are still going on, are begetting that love of power and spiendor which invariably follows the possession of wealth. | We can already recognize the callings and classes? that would form the brilliant appanage of an tim- perial régime, if one should come; we can almost name those who would be members of the impe-) rial household. Is it @ very absurd stretch imagination to suppose that these classes and per~ sons are willing to see Cwsarism, or somotuing it, become a reality? {From the Columbus (Miss.) Democrat (deme~ cratic), Angust 30.) Cewsarism 1s to be feared, provably, quite as'mech 4s the HeRacp has, with so much pewer, depacued. It might effectually destroy all community and personal independence, supplant the ballot with the bayonet and set aside trial by jury alike incall sections of the coventry, But this would be. no worse than what Congress did in the tllegal suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in the Carolinas, where scores of men were imprisoned and tried snd pan ished in violation of all law and justtce, or in Louisiana, where the State government was overthrown and the white people virtually distran~ chised. if there is danger from Cwsarism in the | future, there is equal cone from Congress now, for there is no Kimit to its power, and no sense of fear or justice in whatever act of tyranny it see fit to perpetrate, If the Republic is restored, which means the ovetForow of the present con- | golidation system of government, then there will be a restoration of Popular liberty; if Dot, | Know that he has all of the world’s goods that he the gaid- | opp epiav. pnd that his ratiremons in '7o will dil the is mat. ters little whether tne centralized by i shall be exercised by oDe man or wany, tht it Would, be nearly the agxaq,