58 
STATE AGKICULTURAL SOCIETY 
mercantile and commercial classes have experienced serious 
reverses. The general stringency in financial affairs, was 
greatly aggravated in the producing regions by the great de¬ 
preciation in breadstufFs, without any corresponding reduction 
in the cost of production, and, next to the tillers of the soil, 
this was most seriously felt by the wholesale merchants, whose 
country customers were obliged to curtail their business, and 
in many instances, unable to meet their obligations in conse¬ 
quence of the unwillingness of the farmers to sell their product 
at the extremely low prices prevailing. 
“ It is suggestive to contemplate the enormous extent of 
the commerce of our city, even during a period of such gen¬ 
eral commercial prostration as the past year has been; one is 
bewildered in attempting to estimate to what demensions the 
commerce and general business of this city may grow in future 
years when the resources of the vast fertile regions west and 
north of us shall be more fully developed. * -5^ * 
The total receipts of grain at Milwaukee, in 1869, were 
19,407,054 bushels, of which 17,745,238 bushels were wheat. 
The receipts of flour were 807,763 barrels, and the amount 
manufactured in the city, 481,511 barrels; total 1,289,274 
barrels. The shipments of wheat from this city to Eastern 
and Canadian markets^ during the year, amounted to 14,272,- 
799 bushels, and of flour, to 1,220,058 barrels. 
“As there is a general impression that Chicago handled 
more wheat than Milwaukee, in 1870, the following compar¬ 
ison, from ofiicial sources, will settle that quesion : 
RECEIPTS WHEAT. SHIPMENTS WHEAT. 
Bushels. Bushels. 
Milwaukee. lY,742,238 14,272,799 
Chicago.... 16,876,760 13,244,249 
868,478 1,028,650 
“It will therefore be seen that Milwaukee received 868,478 
bushels more, and shipped 1,028,550 bushels more wheat than 
Chicago, in 1869. But the amount claimed as receipts at 
Chicago, includes 312,515 bushels shipped from this city by 
