THE TRANSPORTATION OP WHEAT 193 



route, has centered in Chicago. The most recent phase of the 

 competition for the great bulk of the wheat grown in the north 

 central portion of the United States is that of the competition 

 between the eastern and southern railroads. Of Atlantic ports, 

 New York alone is falling behind in commerce. New York 

 once held 75 per cent of the nation's commerce, but now holds 

 less than 50 per cent. This tendency towards a division of 

 commerce among different cities is eminently a healthful one. 

 The construction of the New York state barge canal has been 

 advocated as a means of enabling New York to regain and re- 

 tain the grain trade. In view of the successful competition of 

 the railroads with water routes, however, as well as the com- 

 petition of the Canadian canal and the St. Lawrence, it is not 

 probable that the proposed canal would attain the object aimed 

 at. The question is, however, still considered an open one. 



While differentials have exerted a great influence tending to 

 distribute export grain among the different seaboard cities, the 

 securing of through-railroad connections has also been a prime 

 factor in diverting traffic. Within the past 15 years, New Or- 

 leans and Galveston secured through connections, which enabled 

 them to receive grain shipped from the primary markets of the 

 southwest at a rate below that which was prevailing to the At- 

 lantic seaboard. Consequently the importance of the Gulf cities 

 as grain ports, and especially as wheat ports, has greatly in- 

 creased. The percentage of wheat exported from the Gulf 

 ports has risen steadily from 2 per cent in 1884 to 55 per cent 

 in 1904, and the percentage for the Atlantic ports decreased 

 from 59 per cent to 20 per cent during the same period. The 

 corresponding variations in the percentages for both wheat and 

 flour were from 2 to 28 per cent for the Gulf ports, and from 

 69 to 48 per cent for the Atlantic ports. 1 Within recent years 

 through railroad connections have also greatly aided Newport 

 News as an exporting city of wheat from the Atlantic coast. 



Distance from Seaport to Primary Market is another factor 

 in determining the direction taken by export grain. Some of 

 the principle distances in miles by the best routes are as fol- 

 lows: From Duluth to Portland, Maine, 1330, to Boston 1400, 

 and to Baltimore via Chicago, 1280; Chicago to Baltimore 802, 

 1 U. S. Dept. Agr., Bu. of Statistics, Bui. 38 (1905), pp. 10-28. 



