True Democrat., 1863-01-07
(CoMMUNICATED. MT. Phax proposes Remedies TOT Hxtor'


 Mr. F1GGERs. fhave not seen paper published |, ,he Confederacv which has not contained some. tbinp condemnatory of speculators and extorton- ers. Yet they propose no remedy and content themselves with warnings, denunciations and ex- pressions Of contempt
 NJ. PHA1. And yet ths remedy lies in one word.
 F. Let us have it.
 P. That word is--CoMDIsATIoH.
 F. Who and what are to combine.
 P. Two, five, ten, or more men whose souls are not ssessed by the devil of coyetousness.
 r. see. You wou put combination against combination. But do spcculators combine? l thought it was sort of individual, selfish grab game that they played.
 r. Neyerhe eless there is more or less under standing and combination. Even the small far mers who get dollar and half for chicken, go home and tell 1t. Their neighbor next day come ill town and ask quater of a dollar more, and upon his return home, tells this, when the next one that comes asks still higher price. They never underbd each other.
 F. But do you propose to get some of the far mors to pndersell?
 F. No. That might be hopeless task. Ely plan is not new. It is so simple that in all wars and times of distress it has been resorted to- It requires ony few patriotic. unselfish men and does require tbenl to fuse much, if anything To illustrate, let us take one Of the neceSsaEes Of life. Corn can be bought below here for fifty cents a bushel. bushel of corn will make bushel of meal and pay the toll. At all events, by buying it in quantities, corn meal could be sold at dollar a bushel and give good margin of profit to the seller. Let five or six men club gether, employ an agent and purchase 800 bushels of corn, have it ground as fast possible and give notice that they will sell it to families, not more than five bushels to each, at one dollar bushel. Itis plain that the price of meal would be fixed al that, be- cause these men who have charged two, and one week as high as three dollars bushel, would find that they were foreStalled.
 r. Bat would rot spectators rush in, buy up the 800 bushels and then retail it at animmense profit.
 P. That could be guarded against by keepiag list of purchasers If necessary have some af dayits printed, ard get some justice Of the peace to agree to~admn.ter the oath gratis, or for small consideration. Let the purchaser swear that the meal was for his or Ter use. for the purpose of fool aud ret for slle Specuati and if one swore falsely have him indicted aud press she suit. We need not go into questions of political ocono my here, nor talk learneuly of tho laws of supply and demand. It IS apparent J0 you and every man, that if there store in town where meal could be had. in reasonable quantities, at d reasonable psioe speculation in that article would be done.
 r. True. 4 noble hearted gentleman of this .i,, .I. This donation w;ta that of othcrs alike or less liberal, could be putin also.
 P. Certainly. The same agent who sells couli distribute among inc poor. Taae some wounded or crippled soldier Nho is known to be honest. and give him instructions how to distribute the donated and sell the purchased meal. His wages could be paid, and the gentleman who advanced the money could get it back in short time. Take fuel for anotheritem. There would be more outlay perhaps but the money would be refunded. Hire hands to cut wood. Either hire or buy teams to haul 1t in. Have an energetic manager, and when your woodward was commenced, calculate at what price it could be sold. From three to five dollars cord would be the outside price. Veal thy men who haul wood at from four to eight dol lars load, tell that the cost is much greater, they must ask higher prices. Nor we know their negroes and teams must eat whether at work or play. The additional food required when they work will not amount to much. Nor is tue kind of food they eat So costly even now. The wood costs more to grow than it did two years ago. It is just as easily cut and lifted. All we wan. is combination of few men to show how chcaply it can be done.
 F. The remedy is good one h France they guard against these thing finely. Theie the crops are carefully mstched, aai the probable yield cal culatcd. r the crop is short. government begins to provide by sending to foreign countries. Specu- lators are ciostly watcael. If one goes or sends to province to buy uo gcain, government agent is sent to buy un also. The speculator may sue ceed in getting large amount Of grain, but the government agent h4s s.iI larger quantity. The specuator has to pay for transportation, but the agent has preference. Upon arriving at Paris, or other city. the speculator fixes his price. or holds ou to lis grain t.!i prices rise. The government agent either tlroas certain quantity in market each day, 50 as keep prices town, or if the specu lator throws his grain in n4rLes to gcs high price, he finds that another lot is offered at low Erice, his speculation fails, anu he is ruined.
 ?. IiereCour government has not the power or if 1t has, t is not expedient to exercise t. But a few men in every community can do this. Within the past month at San Antonio, Texas, a supply association was formed. Flour fell from forty dol lars to fifteen dollars hundred in week. So of other things ! see by taer papers that meetings are held, and like associations are being formed in other counties. Specua.ion is killed there as far as necessayes are concerned. A supply asSoca- ton here, with few energetic men, could supply the poor with necesares and procure cloth, cotton cards and other things, when opportunity offered.
 F. Can you find the to start such an enter prise?
 P. hope so. Interested men will sheer at t. Those who have wood to sell will Il mons.rate that it cannot be done. Spectators will throw ol,sta cles in the way, but little determination will bansh opposition. In Travis county, Texas, twen ty-ive dollars is subscribed by eaci member of the association. This gives the advantage of making the combination large, and interesting a large number The proper plln is to get subscriptions