The Opelousas courier., 1892-04-09
The Rice Trust Combine.
Crowley, La, March 70, 1892.


The price Of Louisiana rough rice IN the
markets of New Orleans, despite the fact
that not one.fourth of the amount of rice re-
required for home consumption is produced
in the United States, has dropped, since the
opening of the rice reason, something over
n$1 per barrel, and is dull at that. To what
cause can this be attributed 2
There is a universal consensus Of opinion
among rice merchants and rice consumers
that this phenomenal and extraordinary con-
diti0n of the rice market has not been
brought about by any legitimate opera
ton of the law of supply and deEiand, but is
due solely and entirely to the existence of o
Rice Trust in the city of New Orleans, lately
organized and created, which has not only
bought up all of the rice mills heretofore
operated in the city of New Orleans, but by
closing all these mills, except, perhaps, three
or four, has cut off all demand for rough rice
except for enough to supply these few mills,
and thereby forced down, by artificial means,
the price of this commodity.
have been forced to the conclusion that
the present unusual condition of the rice
market is caused by the methods adopted
by this Rice Trust, and the question arises,
where and to whom must we look for a rem.
edy for this untoward condition of thingss
Ny opinion is that the remedy lies in the
law, and the law if the one and other can
only be called into action.
Act No. S6 of 1880, entitled an act I
protect trade and against unlawful
restraints and monopolies, and to provide
penalties for the Violates of this act,' seems
to have been enacted to correct just such an
anomoius condition as to day exists in the
rice trade. 1t can be easily established that
the recent purchase of ali the rice mills of
New Orleans tthe chief rice market In the
United Stare>l by foreign and home specu-
fatars could have had 10 other purpose than
to TX the amount or quantity of any article
/ nnTa mndff n ar mn 10 ssf n,,n - -ZL.-
ent case 10 be manufactured, mind, urodae.
ed or sold in this State" and !. To monopn-
lie 8 part OF the trade or within
the limits OF this State" and thus clearly
enntravenes aud violates the expressed pro.
visions OF sections | and 3 of the above quot
ed act. The direct result of the creation OF
the said Rice Trust. and of the methods en-
ployed by it has been TO enable it to control
and limit the amount of rice manufactured
or miiled in the city of New Orleans las only
four of the said mills are now being operated,
instead of fifteen as before, and the monopoly
OF those rice mills has given them the power
to 'monOpolize" the rice trade, and to q large
extent, 10 control its price. No extended ar.
gument is needed to demonstrate to any un.
biased mind that the present unnatural con.
dltlon ofthe rice market is due to the opera.
tions and methods of this Rice Trust, and one
needs not be a lawyer to see that Act No. SO
OF 1890 was framed with the especial object
of preventing such unlawful trade combina.
tons and monopolies. and to afford q remedy
against their nefarious methods.
The question, therefore, naturally arises
why not the law officers enforce the proyis.
ions of this statute and afford the rice plan.
tiers some protection against the machina.
tions ofsuch unlawful combines
The constitution provides that the governor
shall see to it that the laws are faithfully ex-
ecuted, aad it seems to us that it would be
mora in line with practical statesmanship for
the present Executive and his Attorney Gen,
eral to be giving their attention to the re.
dress OF such grievances as the one which
now interests so large a part of the people of
this State, than to be fruitlessly wasting
their time in attempting such dishonorabIe
political dickers as have been lately fully ex-
posed in the columns of your paper, to the ut.
ter disgust of all the decent people of the
State. Verbum sat saplenti.
w, w. DusoS.