The record-union., 1896-09-06
CONSlGNING HOPS.
Spicy Letter From a Californian in
London.
He Denounces Horst Brothers and
Their Methods in Unmeas-
ured Terms.

OI0u A0I0os
The following communication will no
doubt be read with interest by the
many hop-growers of this State:
Eds. Record Union: With your
kind permission should like to warn
any of your hop-growing readers
against consigning hops to be sold
through the firm Of Horst Bros.
This is rather strong request to
make, but it is dictated simply by re-
gard for the welfare Of the hop-grow-
ing interests of the Pacific Coast.
When people consign articles with a
firm or factor to sell, the act of consign-
ing and of making the consignees re-
spOnsible for the sale of the articles con-
signed, carries with it the obligation on
the part of the consignees to sell the
consigned articles to the best advantage
for the account of the consignors in the
market to which they are shipped. The
consignee for the time being represents
the owner of the goods. He is supposed,
and by all rules of business, Of honor
and Of ordinary honesty he Is under the
fullest obligation to do nothing which
would be inimical to the interests of the
party trusting him with his goods to
SELL
Failing in thus conducting himself the
consignee is directly responsible to the
consignor for any loss which may be
sustained from the improper handling
and sale of the consigned articles
No consignee can honestly act both in
the interest Of the seller and Of the
buyer. The consignee eXacts a commits
sion from the consignor for acting as his
agent.
The law will not fail to adjudge suit
able damages for a breach of faith. No
man can serve both buyer and seller
without favoring one or the other Of
them.
The man or firm who accepts goods on
consignment to sell for the account of
the consignor by the mere fact of such
acceptance finds himself or itself to use
the utmost diligence and honesty to
conserve the interest of the consignor.
He likewise is under the most binding
obligations to act first, last and all the
time in the sole interest of the consign-
or. The ultimate end and aim of the
honest agent should be and is to get the
fullest prices possible for the goods. He
cannot accept less than the market
rates for the goods without betraying
the interest OF his principal.
The fact that he has sole control of the
goods in no way lessons his responsible
ity. On the other hand that fact should
tend to increase the exertions of the
agent to use his utmost ability to justify
the trust placed in him.
The agent or factor who, having Sc
cured control Of another mans goods
to be sold in the open market, deliber-
ately goes to work to bear the market
by using the consigned goods to demon
etize and break the market against the
interest Of the owner of the consigned
goods is as much thief as if he delib-
erately entered bank vault and abb
stracted money from it feloniously.
Such an agent or factor is really more
to be condemned than a common thief;
for in addition to the loss caused to the
owner Of the goods, he has also betrayed
the trust confided to him.
My reasons for warning Pacific Coast
grower against consigning with the
firm of Horst Bros. are simply these:
They have accepted hops on consign-
ment to be sold in the open market.
They have made a practice of throwing
consigned hops upon the market by dis
tributing circulars among the brewers
in which they state that they offer them
consigned hops at much under market
rates.
They make the statement to the brew
ers that they will always sell them
hops less than anyone else can.
They practically say that Pacific
Coast and other growers have author
lied them to make business of bear
ing" the market by always cutting
prices in favor Of brewers.
They have offered hops at auction
They have offered them below the cost
of production" when no other firm of
factors or merchants had any intention
of selling for any such prices.
They have taken advantage of con-
signors by using the hops consigned
with them to offer them to brewers
much below ruling rates. They prac-
tically say to brewers: I'VE want your
trade, we have so many bales of con-
signed hops. We will, in considera-
ton of your giving us your order, be-
tray the interest of the consignor and
give you the hops below market rates"
Horst Brothers have not done this
once, or few times only, but it Is their
way Of doing business. They have
flooded the brewers with circulars for
the euectlnS Oh InelT QueSIlOnaDle efluS.
Their sole desire is, first, to get as big
commission as possible from growers,
and second, to work up a trade with
brewers by selling them hops cheaper
than anyone else can.
To do this they sell below the market
and just so much as they do so they
rob consignorS.
They claim to be able to sell cheaper
to brewers because they import direct
from farmers. That is all rot; for the
simple reason that their commissions
and the loss entailed by the lower
prices they sell for amount to from
four to twenty times the regular fac
tors commissions.
I have had some experience with
Horst Brothers, so have my relatives
and neighbors at Wheatland, and 1 am
speaking we'll within the mark when
L say that the firm and their methods
are so we'll known and our experience
has been such that I very thoroughly
distrust both the firms good intentions
and its honesty.
Personally know that the actions Of