The Opelousas courier., 1892-10-08
Correspondence.
.-orELousAs, La, Oct. 6, 1899.

Editor COURIER:
returned to this place from Crowley yes
terlay. had passed two days there. Go.
ing aud coming | saw large fields thickly
covered by stacks of rice. and very many
Wagons crowding tho streets of Crowley all
laden with it, | was told that the farmers
made large, abundant crops generally. was
also informed they were get, ting about 24 cts.
per H. for it, and this too with d protection OF
3 cts. per 10. of clean rice given it by the Tar
iff / asked how this came about tnd by
some intelligent gentlemen / was told, the
market for the rough rice is entirely in tho
hands of about twenty decorticating mills, all
operating in New Orleans. l went into a
grocery store to purchase few pounds OF
clean rice for my family and had topay 81 cts.
per pound for tho same or no better rice. l
began to reflect Here we see the farmer in
yesting his little capital in the cultivation OF
il, he works in water and mud the year round
exposing himself all the while, to inclement
weather; Providence rewards bis honest ar
duous toll with an abundant yield. But alas
for his hopes. The mill proprietors combine,
fix the prices of the rough at q cents, he is
forced to take it, or, not sell, and thus he dis
covers at the end of the agricultural year,
that the monopolizing mills have combined to
get all the profits from his labor and he is no
greater gamer than il he had made but
small crop.
The mills have no competition in the mar
ket for rough rice and the farmers 90 alterna-
tive but to let them have the crop for what
they will give. They decorticate the rice
thus by virtual robbery obtained and the
farmer buys it back from the retail grocer
at tho price the mills are pleased to fix upon
it. The question naturally arises, how long
will the farmers permit this state of things to
prevail Why have they allowed it to be
done at all /?
They would make money and that too lib
orally, by erecting cooperative mill, or mills
of their own, at any cost, and thereby have
the supplying of the market with their own
clean rice. The purchasers of this are the
millions of consumers-while the purchasers
of the rough rice, al are the few mills engaged in
decorticating it. The planters, if unable to put
up mills should send agents to st. Louis and
Chicago and negotiate for the establishment
of mills there, which would compete with
these id n. Orleans. 1t is very true that
even ts.1ese might combine and thus control
the nike of rough rice, but if with this the
planfrfs wonld put up cooperative mills OF
their own at home, they might be enabled
to protect themselves against combines.
They will fud that as long as their rough
rice raust go into the hands of a few mills,
they thust labor in vain to make money by
raising it; that all the profits will go to
them and to the retail grocers. The latter
realizing very small per centum. In my
humble Judgment the planters should COM
bnr aud resolutely prepare to so arrange
matters as to be left some agency in regnla.
ting the price of the products of their honest
toll.
Farmers, you can yet do it in time to save
inneh If this eiors Do it. The erection OF
mills will east yon much less than you all
lose III your dependent and helpless condi
tiou. The crnp of rice now on hand and
grown III the twn parishes of st. Landry aud
Acadia will prove to be about | SOC, 600 sacks
Th.se weigh say 200 lbs on the average. Now
presuming tand think it can be fairly done,
that by having bis own mill the farmer N ay
be able to command three-fourths of one
ceut more per pound for his rice, and we find
his profits would be in the aggregate over 81,
000, 900 This sum distributed among the
farmers i'll the two parishes would be quite
sufficient TO erect mills and leave remunera
tive incomes. Wake up farmers and dc
something in self defense. There is wide
margin between two and one half cents in the
rough and cts. cleaned rice.
E. NORTH CULLoM