THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



113 



A Projet for the Consideration of the Execu- 

 tive Committee of the State Agricultural So- 

 ciety and the Farmers of Virginia. 

 In reply to the following communication of 

 our friend, we have but a word to say. As he 

 says that a fact he cites, to-wit : That one com- 

 mercial house in Richmond now sells wheat at 

 one cent per bushel, " would relieve him from 

 the necessity of saying any thing further " in 

 favour of his scheme, but for the duty to him- 

 self of a concise (!.) reply to us, we who do not 

 conceive our duty to ourselves requires us to 

 spread it over so many columns of the Planter^ 

 will avail ourselves of the same fact, and say 

 nothing in reply to his argument. For surely, 

 if it was unnecessary to make it, it is unnecessa" 

 ry to answer it. One house follows our friends 

 prescription, and sells wheat at one cent a 

 bushel. But it does not sell all the wheat that 

 comes to Richmond. 



As to the carte and tierce of his communica 

 tion, we have no time, nor inclination, to cross 

 swords with him ; but rather, while we main- 

 tain our opinions, strengthened by his assault 

 upon them, to say with the pacific Irish gentle- 

 man, who was told to consider himself horse- 

 whipped by his enemy, who tapped him lightly 

 on the shoulder, "Arrah ! an' if its considerin' 

 ye come to, consider yerself run clean through 

 the body with a short sword 



For the Southern Planter. 



Some months since this projet was pre- 

 sented to the public and discussed at length by 

 my friend, the editor of the Southern Planter. 

 He takes issue with me upon the grievances 

 complained of and the remedy proposed. If 

 he were not well known to me, I should have 

 inferred, from the character of his criticism, 

 that he was either a miller himself, or a com- 

 mission merchant. He thinks the farmers have 

 no cause of- complaint, that they obtain an 

 abundant price for their grain ; and that the 

 commission of two and a half per cent, charged 

 by the merchants, is a moderate compensa- 

 tion for the services rendered. It would not 

 be necessary to urge any argument in opposi- 

 tion to these views were it not that they are 

 connected with the practical scheme proposed, 

 as I sincerely believe that he stands alone 

 among the farmers of the State in these opin- 

 ions, and that not one other can be found who 

 concurs with him. But I know his independ- 

 ence of thought too well to entertain an idea 

 that the isolation of his position will at all 

 modify his convictions. 



' 8 



It is a source of much regret to me that a 

 long absence from home and other pursuits 

 have prevented my giving an earlier attention 

 to the subject. The arguments of my friend, 

 against the practical working of the scheme 

 require an answer, and it would have been 

 much better to give it when those arguments 

 had been recently considered by the reaaers of 

 the Planter. But as I was then prevented, I 

 will not aggravate the evil by delaying longer. 



1. It is alleged there is no concert of action 

 among the millers, because on some occasions 

 there has been a difference in the price offered 

 for wheat at the different mills. It is easy to 

 perceive that this might occur notwithstanding 

 a general concurrence of action. It is not to 

 be presumed when one of the millers is well 

 supplied with white wheat, and only needs red 

 to mix with it, that he would be as liberal in 

 his offers for white as his neighbor, who wants 

 white, but has an abundance of red. In all 

 such cases we should expect, although there is 

 a general uniformity, some little difference 

 in the offerings according with the urgency 

 of the wants of the respective mills. In Mr. 

 Ruffin's own experience with his last crop, 

 it is easy to understand why he was offered by 

 one miller for purple straw and Mediterranean 

 %1 40 and $1 45, and obtained from another 

 $1 50. The first was supplied with that kind 

 of wheat, and would not buy except at a sacri- J 

 fice on the part of the seller. I do not doubt 

 he would have found at the other mills where 

 that description of wheat was wanted nearly 

 the same price offered. Indeed, it seems he 

 did, for at one he had an offer of $1 50 and $1 

 52. It was never believed by me, and 

 never intimated, that the millers had daily 

 meetings, where they determine on the price 

 they would give for grain during the day. It 

 was only such general concert of action as 

 might be expected from intelligent men, 

 engaged in the same business, next-door neigh- 

 bors, whose large interests would reasonably 

 impel them to act in uniformity rather than 

 in rivalry. By the one course they make pro- 

 bably hundreds of thousands which would be 

 lost by a different proceeding. Three houses 

 similarly situated, with large capital, monopo- 

 lizing for the most part the milling business in 

 the city of Richmond, regulating by the great 

 extent of their operations the price of wheat 

 here, with an abundant supply, trading usu- 

 ally in the same markets, dealing only in one 

 article, with every interest involved in a con- 

 cert of proceedings and every interest equally 

 opposed to a conflict of business; with a capacity 

 on the part of each to do infinite injury to the 

 other by raising the price of wheat by rivalry 

 and an equal power to offer mutual support 

 and add largely to the gains of one another by 

 acting together and keeping prices down to 

 the lowest point that can be reached by their 

 combined action — that these houses so situa- 

 ted should not generally act in concert would 



