The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-08-29

demonstrate it to you. When man in |
st. Louis ships flour to this port, he |
draws upon your merchant for the full
amount of the shipment. He pins the
draft to his bill of lading, presents it to
his banker and obtains the money forit.
This draft is forwarded by mail, which
comes by rail, and reaches the city three
or four days before the flour. Your
merchant cashes it in order not to re-
main out of his money for too long
period, he throws the flour on the mark
ct the instant it arrives, and sells it at
almost any price to reimburse himself.
Hence your market is frequently over
stocked and man on the spot can buy
flour at less than it can be had on the
same day in St. Louis. Now i'll the city
Just named man is never permitted to
glut the market. If he has large stock
lie doesn't offer it and break down the
market; he is not allowed to do so; he
ships it here instead and overstOcllS
your market, and makes it better one
to buy in. Last fall purchased a cargo
Of -four III St. Louis on my own account,
and much to my disgust found when L
reached Shreveport that | could have
purchased the same flour here at 25c per
barrel less. I had to send it up to. the
! interior back of Shreveport to sell it at
a saving price.
| Q.-So you are of the opinion that if
| New Orleans will offer to sell on time,
| she will doa largefall trade with Shreve-
| port, and the adjacent country!
| Al am confident Of it,,
| Q.-I fear we have not the capital to
successfully compete with St. Louis, IN
pursuing this policy. Taxation has
driven our capital away.
| A.-NOt bit of it. There is nOta su-
car planterin the State who does notbuy
| largely from the hardware dealers here,
| from the merchants both grocery and
dry goods, and only pay at the end of
the season when he has gathered his crop.
| Now, If you can afford to credit the
| planter for nine months or a year, why
cannot YOU credit the ShrevepOrtand the
country merchants for ninety days
| You have Il better chance of renewing
your money you sell more goods and
/ will have to wait a third Of the time for
payment. ~
reason for New Orleans losing her trade
with your section of the country, was
her refusal to allow your merchants the
same credit they could obtain in Wes-
Ayes, sir, that is undoubtedly my
opinion, your lack of accommodation
was the sole cause OF IT..
4 O.I have heard it said that the higE
rates of freight charged by our rivel
craft had something to do with it, is this
| so i"
II A.-No, sir; it is not so. ] have take1
merchandise from this city to Shreve
mort at a lower rate of freight than wa
ever charged on the st. Louis line.
once took load of corn at lie. a hun
J ldred pounds, and it was never brought
: from st. Louis at less than 15c. II thu
merchants will sell on equally as go0t
J lfeTms as their eonfreres of st. Louis
5 1.-The steam boatmen will do their par
) and take goods as low. as you could de
{ We commend the foregoing to the Sc
rious consideration of our business men
Y They. are the utterances OF q ma
Ief large experience, who has nar
L roWly watched the trade between 81
+ Louis and Shreveport, and between tn
e latter city and New Orleans, and 4
S tells us there is only one obstacle IN th
way Of our recovering what we haV
e lost. The cotton crop OF Texas an
ii North louisiana bids fair to be q Iarg
g one, and we have but to depart from a
Z expi0ded tradition, and become accom-
nodating, to control it, and IN retur
. supDIy the goods required by. that SCI
q finps al, ,fhe country. Let us then be u
J, and doing, and through prosperity T Y
IS deem our State from those who nay
j. lJesmirched her fair escutcheon, an
is trailed her honor in the dust. # ,... /