The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-29
WHOLESALERS SAY IT'S NOT so,
That the Market is Suffering by Their
Agreement with the Brokers.

That the Market is Suffering by Their
Agreement with the Brokers.
The Savannah jobbers take issue with
those of the retail dealers who claim that
the home market is suffering by reason Of
the operations of the agreement between
the jobbers and the brokers requiring the
latter to sell only to the wholesale trade.
The statement appeared in the Morning
News yesterday on the authority of sew
eral well-knoWn retail dealers that they
We're not buying now from the wholesale
dealers on the Bay to any extent, but were
sending away from Savannah in most in
stances, for their goods, simply because
the brokers had been prohibited from sell
ing them. Among other things it was mem
toned that about $40 900 worth of rice was
brought from New Orleans for the retail
trade here, every year, whereas IL might
just as well be bought right in the SaVan-
nah market. 10 this and other similar
statements the jobbers take exception, ON
the ground that while they may represent
in part the situation with one or two re
taiiers they go no further and do not rep
resent the conditions even with a majority
of those retailers mentioned in the arti-
Gle.
"The jobber is universally recognized
as the proper distributing agency for
most goods" one % them said yesterday
For example take the plan of the Amer
lean Sugar Refining Company, which is
generally recognized as the best of its
kind in existence, and which was submit
ted to and passed upon by Mr.. Joseph H.
ChOatd before ii was adopted and put into
effect. The broker is the employe of the
jobber so to speak, he is practically the
jobber'S buyer, and we don't want him to
work for us and against us at the same
time.
Il know of no agreement into which
the retailers have entered, not TO buy amy
goods from the jobbers. There are some
three or four of them who are not buying
much stuff from the 1obbers, but outside
of that the best of friendly feeling eX-
lists between retailers and JobDers, and
] have on my ledger frequently during
the last three months the names of all
but one of the retailers mentioned in
your article as having agreed not to pur-
chase any goods from us. There is a
telephone order from one of them now"
Just then clerk called out for some
goods to be sent at once to one Of the
retailers who is said TO have entered this
agreement. The jobbers say if there has
been any falling off in their trade they
Rice has always been brought here
from New Orleans, said another we'll
known jobber, but will venture TO say
that more Savannah rice has been sold
in the Savannah market this year than
was the case last year. 1t IS IN the little
stores in Yamacraw and elsewhere, where
the biggest part of the rice is sold. There
has been no Japan or New Orleans rough
rice brought here for milling this year,
as was the case last year
There are from $50 to 400 retail dealers
in Savannah and the three or four who
are buying elsewhere, form very small
percentage. The others all uphold the
agreement between the brokers and the
jobbers, because it is a protection TO them
The whole trouble is just this: Those who
are complaining are paying more money
for their rice from New Orleans than
they would have 10 pay in Savannah, and
they cannot compete with the dealers who
sell Savannah rice in the good and high
grades, all of which grades can be bought
cheaper here than from New Orleans.
If rice were cheaper in New Orleans than
it is in Savannah, the Savannah whole
sale dealers would get their supplies there.
We always give the home market the
preference, as long as the prices are
equal but as a matter of business, if
New orleans rice were cheaper We would
buy 1t. A good deal of rice is brought
here from New Orleans every season,
and 1 do not believe the amount is any
larger now than it has always been. As
a matter of course, if the retailer gets
his rice from New Orleans and pays more
for it, the consumer necessarily pays
more"
MI G. s. Van Horne of the Mutual Co
operative Association saws his firm uses
and has used Georgia rice all along.