340 THE GRAIN TRADE 



Competition. It is true that the whole grain trade (as well as 

 the wheat trade) is one of fierce competition and narrow margins. 

 It is a trade of many "middlemen," each taking a small margin, 

 rather than a few, powerful, dominating middlemen taking a big 

 toll. Competing farmers deal with competing country elevators. 

 And country elevators ship to competing mills or to competing 

 terminal markets. A partial list of the various grain exchanges, 

 given below, indicates the real nature of this competition for the 

 farmers' grain. 



Chicago Board of Trade Louisville Board of Trade 



Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce Memphis Merchants' Exchange 



Duluth Board of Trade Houston Grain and Hay Exchange 



Omaha Grain Exchange Topeka Board of Trade 



Kansas City Board of Trade Wichita Board of Trade 



St. Louis Merchants' Exchange Salina (Kansas) Board of Trade 



Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce Hutchinson (Kansas) Board of Trade 



Toledo Produce Exchange Oklahoma City Board of Trade 



Buffalo Corn Exchange Enid (Oklahoma) Board of Trade 



Philadelphia Commercial Exchange Denver Grain Exchange 



New York Produce Exchange Sioux City Grain Exchange 



New Orleans Board of Trade Superior (Nebraska) Board of Trade 



Cleveland Grain and Hay Exchange Cairo Board of Trade 



Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Peoria Board of Trade 



Baltimore Chamber of Commerce Wichita Merchants' Exchange 



Boston Chamber of Commerce Seattle Board of Trade 



Indianapolis Board of Trade Lincoln Grain Exchange 



Little Rock Board of Trade Des Moines Board of Trade 



St. Joseph (Missouri) Grain Exchange Tacoma Grain Exchange 



Atchison Board of Trade Los Angeles Grain Exchange 



Ft. Worth Grain and Cotton Exchange 



No one market and no one class of dealers dominate the grain 

 trade, although Chicago is our largest grain market, and the millers 

 and terminal elevator interests are the largest buyers. Where, 

 for instance, will the corn be sold that is in a country elevator in 

 central Iowa? The elevator manager receives his daily price cards 

 or market letters from the nearby terminal markets, namely, 

 Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, and Minneapolis. He also receives 

 market quotations from the important interior markets, such as 

 Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Sioux City. He has the opportunity 

 to consign his grain to the large terminals, and receive what the 

 market will give when the grain arrives ; or he may ship to any one 

 of several buyers who send him "To arrive" bids, that is, a definite 

 bid as to price and as to time of shipment. His grain may go to a 

 nearby Iowa cattle feeder. Or a Kansas City house, specializing 

 in corn, may buy the corn to ship to Maple Hill or Peabody, 



