50 



THE ILLINOIS FARMER. 



#• 



Feb. 



Enlargement of tho Erio Canal. 



Illinois Central lLai,r.OA» Company, ) 

 Trosidcnt's Ofiieov 

 Chicago, Dec. 7, ISC'i.) 

 William n. Van Errs, PI-q., 



President State Agricultural Soc',cti/, Dixon III : 

 Dear Sir: — It seems to be (IcsiraMe at this time, 

 that some organized and re spoil si bl(; bod}- of <^on- 

 tlemcn, directly representing the land interest of 

 this State, should meet for tlie purpose of consulta- 

 tion to determine the most pvactieal method of hn- 

 proving the facilities fur carrying ti> m-irket the 

 vast products of tliis and tlio neig!d)or!!ig Slates 

 west of Lake Michigan. Tlio cultivation of the 

 most fertile land in the -world is almost rendered 

 unprofitable through the urmecessary expense of 

 handling and transferring our crops to tide-v.-ator. 

 We are confined to a narrov*' water course. The 

 Erie canal sulfieed v.hen the Xort!i-v,-cst scut fifty 

 millions of bushels of grain., but is utteily inade- 

 ciuate to taking off our present surplus of u')v.ards 

 of one hundred and fifcy millions of b\ishj!s. 



It is almost idle to extend the in.ternal improve- 

 ments of the Xorthwest. or to urge tin; farmcj's to 

 produce more, Vv'h.ile every acre cultivated adds to 

 the volume of business Vv-iiieh already chokes the 

 narrow channels of the Erie omal and three trunk 

 lines of railway. A broad water course from Lake 

 Erie to the Hudson, through v.hich our lake vessels 

 can float without breaking bulk, v.dll cheapen the 

 cost of transportation to the point at wluch Vi'c 

 can supply the European markets profitaldy under 

 all circumstances. 



A leading commercial house in London writes : 

 "Of the present population of Ee.rope, v>l;ich is 

 two hundred and eighty millions, about one hun- 

 dred and fifty millions are comsumers of wheat, 

 using annually upwards of one huiidred miliions of 

 quarters, or one tliousand. millions of Ijushels. 

 This mass of people r.:ay be considered to press 

 alwaj'S upon tiie means of subsistence, or supply of 

 food, since there is no instance v.'ithin tlic memo- 

 ry of man any large accumuLition of wheat for 

 want of buyers or consumers; it is only b}- a, suc- 

 cession of two or tliree abundi'.nt harvests, that 

 orices can be brouglit in Europe to a lov,' level, 

 say 36s. per quarter in England, SOs. on the Con- 

 tinent. Such was the case ome in this century — in 

 1855. Overwhelming importations from your 

 country would operate in ihe same way as a suc- 

 cession of abundant crops in Europe. Those would, 

 in course of time, depress prices to the minimum 

 of 363. in England, and SOs. in Europe — (the aver- 

 age price of wheat in England for twenty-two years 

 has been S-ls. 6d. per quarter.) Such a state would 

 pre suppose that America could furnish an annu- 



! ally increasing immense supply at the cost of Ss. 

 4u., or 8;> cents per bushel on board at the ship- 

 ping ports, and probably no less a quantity than 

 five hundied millions of bushels would have that 

 eii'cct." This reliable and carefully advised state- 

 ment seems conclusive in regard to the markets. 

 There is an ahnost unlimited demand for our pro- 

 ducts — wheat, Indian corn; barley, and provisions. 



This ([uestiiu of transportalion is vit-d to the 

 interests of our agricultural State. Illinois has for 

 two years sent away food enough to supply ten 

 millioiis ()f ]).;ople, and November of each of ths 

 last two years lias closed down uprm a surplus of 

 f.iod in this State as large as that sent o'T in the 

 sh!j)|)ing sei.son. At this mom;'nt, only a fortnight 

 after the clos- of navigation, all tiie lines of rail- 

 ways east f;o:n Chicago are blocked with beef, 

 pork, flour, r.nd every description of provisions. It 

 m;.y be said that this is exceptional in consequence 

 of ti.e loss of Southern tr:'.(le, 1)ul it i- liardly the 

 case. L)v,-a and jlissouri sulfer more frcni the loss 

 of die trade -wl Ji the South, for t!ic grain of those 

 States caraioc afford tiie railway transportation 

 from thene;' t:) the l;;!ce3. Tiioir crops av'' largely 

 in the hands of the pr-:deeer, v.-aiting for the open 

 ing of the Mississippi. 



jSine-tintiis of the products of Illinois grown 

 near the lines of railways construe^'d witiiin the 

 last liiteen years, and upon which ovfr_ three- 

 fourths of the population of the State n rhie, have 



liitherto b( ( n forw-arded to E.'.steru niai 



If 



the Soutiierii trade v.'as r. siimed at oiiee, it would, 

 doubtless, be found at the close of navigation next 

 year, that rs l.u'go supply of food v/il! lie left iu the 

 country, solely from the want of means during the 

 period of open navigation of the lakes and canal 

 to tiike forward the surplus. 



Every exprrioiiced farmer will conSrrn the state- 

 ment that it reciuires four or five years before new 

 settlers, even upon oiir easily numagedpraiiie soils, 

 can furnish a large surplus for market, and, I think, 

 will agree, tiiat the effect of the extraordinary em- 

 igration to this State, between 1S52 and 185G, was 

 not apparent in the surplus products until the har- 

 vest of 18G0. We have now been blessed with 

 abundant harvests, and j^iive over-taxed all the re- 

 sources of the avenues of transit to tide-water to 

 such an extent that our own competition to sell has 

 destroyed our profits. The ch.arge by water \ipon 

 a bushel of corn to Xew York, for instance, has for 

 two seasons past, been four times as great as the 

 cost of producing it. We must regard this ques- 

 tion, not only as essential to our own maintenance 

 and prosperity, but as one of the highest national 

 importance. 



This food producing district should have closer 





,».ia,.»v;-.iafc«» 



