The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-28
BUYING FROM NEW ORLEANS.
SAVANNAH RETAILERS GETTING
THEIR RICE THERE INSTEAD
OF AT HOME.

They Handle About $4,000 Worth a
Year, Most of Which Was Formerly
Bought Through Savannah Bro
kers-They Now Buy Rice and Ev-
erything Else From other Sources
Because the JObbers Refuse TO Let
the Brokers Sell to Them-HOw the
Situation Affects Home Industries.
savannahians are buying at the rate of
from $4,000 to $4,000 worth Of rice every
year from New Orleans, all of which, or
the greater part, at least might come
direct from the neighboring plantations
through the brokers or jobbers in this
city.
This is one of the unfortunate results
of the situation between the wholesale
and the retail grocery and provision deal
ers. by which the brokers were prohibited
from selling the latter, under penalty of
losing the business of the former, which,
of course, being larger in amount, was
retained at the expense of what business
the retailers afforded them.
When the wholesalers forced the brok-
ers to enter into an agreement
with them by which they were
to sell no more goods to the re-
tail dealers, the retail dealers associa-
ton took the matter under serious con-
sideration, and appointed a committee to
report as to what action could best be
taken. The result was the retail dealers
entered into an agreement among them
selves not to buy any more goods what
ever from the jobbers, and this they have
religiously adhered TO.
Among the members of this association
are the Branch Estate. Lyons, Cooper,
Evans, the Mutual Cooperative sullivan,
Loo Il IL m mr.
Each of these firms handles among it's
customers something like 20 to 30 barrels
of rice month or an estimated total OF
about 5000 barrels a year, the value OF
which is put down at nearly $4,000. These
dealers are now buying every barrel Of
this rice from New Orleans, and they say
before they would buy a single barrel
from one of the jobbers on the Bay they
would secure a temporary supply from
one of the other retailers. They cannot
buy rice from the brokers, because under
the agreement Of the brokers with the job
bers, the brokers cannot sell them. They
will not buy it from the jobbers for the
reason that the jobbers forced this agree
ment on the brokers' so it will be seen at
once that they are not in a position TO ham
die any Savannah rice.
A Savannah rice dealer remarked to a
broker the other day that he had some
rice which he knew some of the retail
dealers would like to have. The broker
told him he could not sell II TO them be-
cause he had signed a contract not to do
so. The rice man himself could not 40
so because he was in a similar position.
And thus it goes, while a home industry
suffers at home, all on account of an
agreement by which 1T is forced.
Rice is perhaps the most important ar
ticle affected because it is a home PROD
uct and one that is largely used. The re-
tailers mentioned, however, are not doing
any business where they can help 1t with
the jobbers on the Bay. They are buying
their coffee and sugar from New York,
even though the articles may cost them a
little more than IL they bought from the
jobbers here. for the same reasons. Simi-
larly they are securing other articles from
manufacturers, instead of from the jon
bers, and when they run short on supplies
they buy from each other at market rates,
or even higher, rather than go to the JOB
bers on the Bay.
How this is affecting the jobbers it is
hard TO say. Some Of them rely on a large
local business, while Others do the greater
part of their business in the country. They
say, however. they do not miss the bust
ness they would otherwise get from the
retail dealers, as a great deal of it was
formerly done through the brokers, and
they did not get a chance at it.