Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. II, Part 14

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 800

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A glance at the map of the United States shows St. Louis located near the center, about midway between the British American line on the north and the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and about midway, also, between the two oceans on the east and west. And when to this central geographical location is added its commanding position at the center of the fluvial system of the great Mississippi Valley, on the middle section of the mighty stream which, with its tributaries, presents over ten thousand miles of navigable water line, its importance as a collecting and dis- tributing point for the products of this vast territory becomes apparent. And even this does not exhaust the natural advantages of St. Louis. It possesses the additional one of

being situated within twenty miles of the point where the two greatest rivers of the valley flow together, and only a short dis- tance from the mouth of the Ohio, the next largest river of the valley. It is true that river transportation has lost much of its im- portance since that prodigious development of railroad construction in the country which was witnessed between 1850 and 1890; but it maintained its value long enough to decide the location of all the large cities in the cen- tral west, for we find them all situated on navigable rivers and lakes, and this arrange- ment itself helps to fortify the commanding natural position of St. Louis. With New Or- leans, the largest city in the South, control- ling the mouth of the Mississippi, and the twin cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis at the head of the great river, and its river connec- tion with them carefully maintained, it is not possible that the supremacy of St. Louis as the chief commercial center and distributing point of the Mississippi Valley shall ever be lost. Before steamboats were thought of, St. Louis was an important trading post, and before they came into use as reliable means of transportation, it was the largest town in the Central West, with a population of ten thousand souls; and this pre-eminence has been maintained through its natural advan- tages of position, reinforced by an intelligent and enterprising community. In 1890 it had a population of 451,770, and in 1900 a popu- lation of 575,238, marking it as one of the great cities of the earth. And it possesses an importance beyond that of mere numbers. Its commerce and manufactures exceed even its population in a reckoning of its greatness, for statistics show that the increase of its manufactures between 1880 and 1890 was three times as great as the increase of its population, and the record of its receipts and shipments of produce and merchandise ex- hibit a corresponding growth of its commerce. In the twenty-nine years of 1870 to 1899 the population did not double. But in the same period the amount of freight received in the city from all sources, by river and rail, more than quadrupled, increasing from 3,182,722 tons to 15,272,482 tons. In the first twenty years of this period, from 1870 to 1890, the United States census shows that the capital employed in manufactures in the city in- creased more than fourfold-from $29,977,- 292 to $140,775,392; and the value of the

COMMERCE OF ST. LOUIS.

gross product turned out more than trebled -increasing from $62,832,570 to $228,714,- 317. The reasonable estimated figures of the product of 1896, as given in the Merchants' Exchange annual statement of the trade and commerce of the city for that year, are $300,- 000,000. While, therefore, the city's popula- tion was not doubled, in the period between 1870 and 1899, its receipts of freight were more than quadrupled, and its manufactures more than quadrupled in value. While there was 15,272,482 tons of freight received in the city in the year 1897, there was 8,469,598 tons shipped from it. Of course the ship- ments embraced a large proportion of the receipts-raw material, such as lumber, tim- ber, iron, lead and ore coming in as receipts and going as shipments in the form of fin- ished manufactures. Nevertheless, the re- ceiving and the shipping constituted two separate carriages, and each carriage was a contribution to the commerce of the city. The receipts (15,272,482 tons) and the ship- ments (8,469,598 tons) added together make the aggregate of 23,742,080 tons, and this enormous freight tonnage represents the bulk of St. Louis commerce. In 1866 the re- ceipts of wheat at St. Louis were $4,410,305 bushels ; corn, 7,233,671 bushels ; oats, 3,568,- 253 bushels; rye, 375,417 bushels, and barley, 548,797 bushels, making a total of grain re- ceipts for that year of 16,114,000 bushels. In 1892 the receipts were, of wheat, 27,483,855 bushels; corn, 32,030,030 bushels; oats, 10,- 604,810 bushels; rye, 1,189,153 bushels; bar- ley, 2,691,249 bushels, making a total of grain receipts of 72,998,000 bushels. In the period of twenty-six years, the receipts had more than trebled. But commerce means shipping as well as receiving, and the statistics show that the shipments of grain from St. Louis increased from 10,033,000 bushels, in 1866, to 43,131,000 bushels, in 1892; and the grain trade, receipts and shipments, increased in the period referred to from 26,445,000 bushels to 117,128,000 bushels. The receipts of coal in the year 1870 were 23,931,475 bushels; in 1899 they were 109,067,875 bushels. In 1875 the receipts of lumber were 474,099,000 feet ; in 1899 they were 1,148,124,000 feet. In 1865 the receipts of live stock were: Cattle, 94,307 head ; sheep, 52,133 head ; hogs, 99,663 head -total, 246,103 head. In 1899 they were: Cattle, 766,932 head ; sheep, 432,566 head; hogs, 2,147,144 head ; horses and mules, 130,-

236 head-total, 3,475.948 head. In 1868 the receipts of hams and meats were 46,753,360 pounds, and of lard 5,941,650 pounds. In 1899 they were, of hams and meats, 269,510,- 100 pounds, and of lard 52.792,420 pounds. In 1875 the receipts of wool were 4,249,307 pounds ; of hides, 7,310 bundles ; and of furs and peltries, 16,588 bundles. In 1899 the re- ceipts were, of wool, 28,491,625 pounds; of hides, 68,933,720 pounds; and of furs and peltries, 259,256 bundles. In 1870 the re- ceipts of lead were 237.039 pigs ; in 1899 they were 1,611,112 pigs. In 1885 the shipments of white lead were 29,161,275 pounds ; in 1899 they were 48,460,250 pounds. In 1883 the receipts of boots and shoes were 301,385 cases ; in 1899 they were 1,305,679 cases. In 1866-7 the receipts of cotton were 19,838 bales ; in 1894-5 they were 249,264 bales.

The foreign commerce of the country con- sists of its exports and imports, and the com- merce of a city may likewise be taken to mean its receipts and shipments, the differ- ence between these being what is consumed by its own population. A great commercial city is a distributing point, continually gath- ering and continually giving out-receiving and distributing. Through the complex agencies of accumulated capital, railways, steamers, warehouses, elevators, tugs, barges, depots, stationhouses, switches, machinery for economical handling, and also through the agency of persons expert in judging, in- specting, grading, selling and buying, it at- tracts commodities from the surrounding regions and even from distant parts of the whole world to be sold and bought, making it a saving both to buyers to bny and to sell- ers to sell in its markets, rather than for buy- ers to order direct from sellers, or for sellers to send direct to buyers. It is this commer- cial property and power, acquired through centuries of patient, skillful management, backed by enormous capital, that has made England, in a higher degree than any other country, the mart of the world-a place where it is cheaper to purchase many prod- ucts than in the very countries where they are produced-a place where it is more ad- vantageous to sell certain products than in the very country where they are most wanted. The merchants of Kansas do not buy Louisiana sugar, molasses and rice in Louisiana, but in St. Louis, because it is cheaper and more convenient to do so; and

COMMERCE OF ST. LOUIS.

the Louisiana planter does not order his corn and pork from Kansas, but from St. Louis, for the same reason. New Orleans buys the products of Nebraska in St. Louis, and Omaha buys Georgia watermelons in St. Louis. And not only does the situation of St. Louis near the center of the Mississippi Valley, half way between the North and the South, and on the middle section of the Mississippi River, indicate it as the proper distributing point for a wide region, but it possesses artificial appliances and instrumen- talities for distribution whose value and effi- ciency can hardly be estimated-twenty-three great railroads, whose tracks run into the same vast train shed, and whose trains de- liver their passengers at the common Union Station; two bridges across the Mississippi river ; one hundred and fifty miles of street railway, affording cheap and rapid transit to all parts of the city; twenty-eight elevators for handling and storing grain; over a hun- dred steam craft engaged in river service; twenty-three banks and trust companies, with an aggregate capital, surphis and de- posits of $127,000,000 ; a spacious Merchants' Exchange and a Cotton Exchange, where buyers and sellers meet daily for the transac- tion of business; numerous hotels for the accommodation of visitors who come on bus- iness or pleasure ; ample libraries and reading rooms ; spacious parks ; and an annual fair for the exhibition of domestic animals, farm, garden, orchard and vineyard products, ma- chinery, implements and works of art. These accessories and adjuncts attract buyers and sellers from all parts of the world, and invite the shipment of commodities to its markets by guaranteeing the prompt sale of them at the prevailing prices and at the smallest cost. It is not strange, therefore, to learn from the annual reports of its Merchants' Exchange, and its various boards and associations, that St. Louis is the mart and supply center for a very large area of the fertile and productive valley of the Mississippi, and that its prosper- ity and wealth are founded on this relation. Its receipts of grain, flour, hay and potatoes in the year 1899 were valued at $25,000,000; its receipts of dairy products, staple vege- tables, fruits and salt were valued at $10,500,- 000 more ; its receipts of groceries at $50,- 000,000; of dry goods at $40,000,000; of drugs, chemicals and medicines at $20,000,- 000; of hardware at $10,000,000; of boots

and shoes at $32,000,000 ; of wool, hides, furs and peltries and leather at $9,000,000 ; of lead, zinc, iron and steel at $10,000,000; of cattle, hogs, sheep, horses and mules at $35,000,000 ; of hog products and beef at $11,000,000 ; of coal and lumber at $14,000,000-the aggre- gate of these being $246,000,000. But St. Louis is an industrial city, as well as a con- mercial city, if, indeed, in a fair reckoning its industries would not outrank its commerce. It is the seat of thriving manufactures of flour, white lead, oils, boots and shoes, cloth- ing, chewing and smoking tobacco, architec- tural iron, stoves and wire, and it is certain that a large portion of the wheat, pig lead, pig iron, steel, seeds, hides, leather, dry goods, lumber, coal and leaf tobacco was used up as raw material in its mills, factories and shops and made into finished and more valuable products to be shipped off for con- sumption elsewhere. It had, in 1896, 6,500 manufacturing establishments, with an ag- gregate capital of $150,000,000, employing 95,000 persons, paying out in wages $57,000,- 000 a year and consuming raw materials valued at $130,000,000 a year. Only one- half of the $260,000,000 worth of commodi- ties which made up its receipts, brought by rail and river to its warehouses, in 1896, therefore, was reshipped in their crude form; the other half was used to feed the city's in- dustrial establishments. But they were not lost to its commerce. On the contrary, they were returned to the channels of trade in a doubly valuable form, for the product of the city's manufactures in 1896 was valued at $300,000,000. In other words the $130,000,- 000 worth of grain, lead, cloth, hides, leather, iron, steel, lumber and leaf tobacco, which the city used, not only furnished a living to 95,000 work people, but came out of their hands doubled in value. Making a reason- able allowance for the portion of these man- ufactures consumed by its own population, it may be assumed that $260,000,000 worth of St. Louis manufactures were shipped away in 1896. And the statistics show that, in ad li- tion to this shipment of manufactures, there was shipped also $60,000,000 worth of grain, cotton, lead, hay, meats, cattle, hogs, horses and mules, eggs, fruit, vegetables, hides and wool. Adding together these three sums- $260,000,000, representing the total receipts ; $60,000,000, representing that portion of these receipts sent off in a crude form ; and

COMMERCIAL CLUB-COMMERCIAL CLUB OF KANSAS CITY.

$260,000,000, representing the value of the manufactures shipped away, and we have $580,000,000 as the value of the commerce of St. Louis in 1896.

D. M. GRISSOM.

Commercial Club .- One of the most prominent, active and influential chibs of St. Louis, whose chief objects are somewhat in- dicated by its name, but whose social and personal attributes have much to do with the high position it maintains among other simi- lar associations of the city. It was organized in 1881, with Gerard B. Allen as president ; E. O. Stanard, vice president ; Joseph Frank- lin, treasurer ; Newton Crane, secretary, and Edwin Harrison, E. C. Simmons and S. M. Dodd, who, with the officers, composed the executive committee. Its purpose is to "ad- vance by social intercourse, and by a friendly interchange of views, the commercial pros- perity of the city of St. Louis." Its select and exclusive character is protected by the limitation of membership to sixty active mem- bers, with such honorary members as may be added from time to time-nominations for membership are made by the executive com- mittee, and, if approved by them, are re- ported to the club and balloted for at the next meeting for election. Three negative votes exclude a candidate. The entrance fee is five dollars. Any member submitted by the unanimous vote of the executive committee may be placed on the honorary list by the unanimous vote at any meeting; and any member, seventy years of age or over, who has been a member for a period of not less than ten years, may be placed on the hon- orary. list by the unanimous vote of the executive committee. In the admission of members due regard is had to the branches of business in which they are engaged, so that the various commercial interests of the city shall be represented. The annual dues for members are fifty dollars, honorary members being exempt. Meetings are held monthly, except during the summer, and any member absenting himself from three con- secutive meetings shall be considered to have withdrawn from the club, and his name shall be stricken from the roll, unless, upon report of the facts, the club shall otherwise order. Members may invite a friend, with the per- mission of the executive committee, to attend a meeting of the club, but no guest shall be present on more than one occasion, except by

special invitation of the club itself. In 1898 there were fifty-six active members and ten honorary members, and twenty-one members have died since the first organization. The club is constituted without regard to politics, and does not deal with party disputes as a general rule; but this rule, which is implied rather than expressed, does not debar it from an active interest and participation in impor- tant public questions on which there is unan- imity of opinion among its members. It took an energetic part, soon after its organization, in the movement for a reconstruction of the streets of St. Louis, and it is largely due to its efforts, and the information on the subject given in a report made by it to the public, that the mud and dust of the macadam and the rotting wooden blocks of a former day have been replaced by the clean, firm and im- perishable granite blocks with which the streets are now laid. The club's efforts in this behalf were followed by a vigorous action in favor of the general system of street sprinkling for the city, which has taken the place of the incomplete and unsatisfactory method by private subscription which for- merly prevailed. At a later day the organi- zation took a conspicuous and leading part in opposition to free silver coinage in the national controversy on that issne which preceded the presidential election of 1896. One of the duties which the club imposes upon itself, in the prosecution of its supreme purpose to "advance the commercial pros- perity of the city of St. Louis," is that of interchanging courtesies with other cities, particularly Chicago, Cincinnati and Boston, in each of which a similar club exists, and be- tween which and the Commercial Club of St. Louis cordial relations are maintained. The St. Louis Commercial Club has paid visits to each of these cities upon the invitation of their clubs, and has, in turn, entertained successively the· Commercial Club of each.

Commercial Club of Kansas City. For a number of years, the business men of Kansas City were without any organization whatever, with the exception of the Board of Trade and Live Stock Exchange, both of these organizations being formed and con- ducted for the purpose of trading, the one in live stock and the other in grain. And while it is true that the Board of Trade took more or less interest in public affairs, the jobbers

COMMERCIAL CLUB OF KANSAS CITY.

and manufacturers were of the opinion that there should be an organization whose chief business would be to promote Kansas City's welfare as a commercial and manufacturing center. Accordingly, in December, 1887, a meeting of business men was called, the result of which was the formation of the Commercial Club. The organization was in- corporated in December, 1887, and its object is fully stated in the incorporation papers as follows: "The objects of the association shall be to promote the progress, extension, and increase of the trade and industries of Kansas City, acquire and disseminate valu- able commercial and economical information, promote just and equitable principles of trade and foster the highest commercial integrity among those engaged in the various lines of business represented; to increase acquain- tanceship among its members and facilitate the speedy adjustment, by arbitration, of business disputes ; to interchange views and secure concerted action upon matters of public interest, freely discuss and correct ahuses, using such means as may be best cal- culated to protect the interests and rights of its members as business men and citizens, looking chiefly toward the commercial development of the city."

The officers consist of a president, first and second vice presidents, secretary and a treas- urer. The Board of Directors number fifteen and from their number they choose all of the officers except the secretary, who is ap- pointed. The club's year dates from the first of September. The standing committees of the Commercial Club are as follows : Executive committee, house committee, arbi- tration committee, committee on agriculture, auditing committee, entertainment commit- tee, insurance committee, committee on manufactures, committee on mercantile library, committee on municipal legislation, committee on State and national legislation, trade extension committee, transportation committee.

From an organization consisting of a few jobbers and manufacturers, the Commercial Club has grown to a membership of 235, embracing an individual membership of 575. Memberships in the Commercial Club are taken either by the individual or by the firm or corporation, which is entitled to be repre- sented by either the individual, a member of the firm or an officer of the corporation. The

club embraces men who are engaged actively in jobbing or manufacturing, as well as pro- fessional men.

One of the great accomplishments of the Commercial Club has been to have the bus- iness men of Kansas City become acquainted with each other. Previous to the organiza- tion of this club, business men in the same line of business scarcely knew each other, but now they all feel upon friendly terms with their competitors, and the members of the club feel that the bringing about of this result has been a great work. In the way of practical work the Commercial Club formed what is known as the Transportation Bureau, presided over by a competent freight man, whose business it is to look after the freight and passenger business in which Kansas City is interested, and see to it that her mer- chants are not discriminated against in the matter of freight rates. In the accomplish- ment of this purpose, the club members organized a transportation company and built a line of steamers which were used on the Missouri River until such time as freight rates were in such condition that the use of these boats was not necessary. The club has been instrumental in locating in Kansas City several of the large jobbing and manufactur- ing houses, has always been interested. in everything that would tend to make this more of a commercial and manufacturing center, and has not been unmindful of other things which are not strictly of a commercial nature. The club has advocated the building of parks and boulevards, and if the present plans of the park board are carried out, Kan- sas City will have some of the best parks and boulevards of any city in this country. The club has advocated well paved streets; it believes in the enforcement of sanitary laws and the abatement of the smoke nuisance. In the last few years the club has advocated the building of a free public library, which Kansas City now has ; also a manual training high school, and its most recent accomplish- ment has been the erection of a convention hall, capable of seating 15,000 people. The erection of this building was the result of the Commercial Club's enterprise, and they have to their credit the completion of a building costing something like a quarter of a million dollars, upon which there is no debt.

E. M. CLENDENING.

COMMERCIAL CLUB OF ST. JOSEPH-COMMON PLEAS COURT.

Commercial Club of St. Joseph .- A club which has for its object the promo- tion of the business interests of St. Joseph. It encourages new enterprises and affords information in regard to the city. It has an office with a secretary ever ready to impart information. Its monthly meetings are held in sumptuous rooms, in the Chamber of Commerce building, where all other public business meetings are held. This club has cognizance of all business matters pertain- ing to the welfare of the city. The expenses of the club are defrayed by the annual mem- bership fees of the business men who belong to it.

Commissioners of Deeds .- Persons appointed by the Governor to make certifi- cation of deeds, conveyances of land, re- linquishment of dower, lease of lands, con- tracts, letters of attorney and all other writ- ings under seal to be used or recorded in Missouri. They may be appointed in every State in the Union, for every Territory, and in foreign countries where they are needed.

Commissioners of Public Print- ing .- These are the State Auditor, the Sec- retary of State, and the State Treasurer. They have supervision over the printing of the Supreme Court reports and other print- ing for the State.

Commissioner of Public Schools. An officer chosen by the people at the dis- trict school meeting, on the first Tuesday in April in the odd years. His duties are to ex- amine applicants who desire to become teacher's, and grant certificates to those whom he finds qualified, receiving $1.50 from each applicant. He makes report of the educa- tional statistics of his county. His term of office is two years.

Commissioners, United States .- The office of United States commissioner has been in existence since 1791, and has always been a part of Federal jurisprudence. The number of such officials in St. Louis varies from time to time, as appointments are made to subserve the purposes of the courts. They are appointed by the respective United States courts for the purpose of taking depositions and testimony in cases pending in such courts. They also have the power to bind

offenders against Federal laws over to the grand jury.

Committee of Safety .- A committee formed in St. Louis in January of 1861, with full power to act for the Union party in in- augurating measures designed to prevent Missouri from joining the seceding States, and to aid in establishing the Federal au- thority throughout the city and State. The committee was composed of O. D. Filley, Samuel T. Glover, Francis P. Blair, Jr., J. J. Witzig, John How and James O. Broadhead. O. D. Filley was president, and James O. Broadhead was secretary of the committee. It maintained a paid detective force, which reported, from time to time, material facts relative to the movements of the secession- ists. For a long time the committee met every night at Turner Hall, at the corner of Tenth and Walnut Streets, to receive these reports and take such action as might be deemed necessary. . (See "War Between the States ; Federal History.")

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Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. II, Part 14

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n Publication date: 1901 Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors Number of Pages: 800

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 800