The San Francisco call., 1896-01-17
Its Advocates Hold a Meeting
and Loudly Sound It's
Praises.
MUCH ENTHUSIASM EvINCED.
Middlemen Damned With Faint
Praise Proposal From the
Harbor Commission.

AT least, so say w. II. Mills and a goodly
number more, and it looks as though
they would see their pet project through
to a successful outcome. The advocates of
the idea had chance to give free vent
to their views on the matter at last nights
special meeting of the trade and finance
committee of the Merchants Association.
Despite the tempestuous weather there was
a good attendance.
Among those present we're; 4. Fusenot,
R. F. Osborne, w. II. Mills, K. Melrose,
j. w. Carmany, A. S. Baldwin, NJ Adams
and K. J. Frued, secretary of the commit
tee. NJ. S. kohlberg, the committees
president, occupied the chair.
Mr.. Mills was the first speaker of the
evening. He said he was well aware that
the opening of free market might work
some little hardship to commission mer-
chants. AT the same time, he said, he was
not speaking for or against any one IN the
commission business. He was looking to
the good of the producer and of the con-
sumner. II he were considering some mat
ter bearing upon the public health he
would not consult the undertaken By the
same rule OF reasoning, when he was de-
liberaung upon measure intended for
the benefit of the general public he could
not be expected to consult those who make
a living off the needs of the same public.
AT present the consumer pays price
which, continued Mr.. Mills, "if divided
equally with the producer would render
the cultivation of land IN California worth
while. The difficulty at present is that
the producer has no voice in fixing the
price of his products. The consumer as
well, is powerless to determine the rates at
which he must procure food products
which are regarded as necessaries. The
fact Is that producer and consumer are un-
able to come to any understanding. Be-
tween them stands third party anxious
to buy at the lowest figure and sell at the
highest. That is the commission mer-
chants business, and no one has right TO
find fault with him for it. But in any
event both producer and consumer have
to live, while if the middleman's business
is taken from him he will find something
else to do.
Another point may be noticed when we
recollect that here in San Francisco about
50, 600 people live IN hotels and boarding
houses. There are in the City about $50
licensed restaurants, in some of the largest
of which as many as 2500 meals are served
every day. From hotels, boarding houses
and restaurants come about 1900 daily
purchasers, and heavy, constant purchas-
ers at that. If these large buyers could
purchase directly from the producer, it
can easily be seen how expenses to both
parties would be minimized. This is
really the great raison d'etre of a free
market, and | am sure such an institution
here in San Francisco would be eminently
successful
Now, our City has not, properly speak
ing market. ALI we have in the market
line at present are marketplaces occupied
by commission merchants, who perhaps
have purchased their wares from other
commission merchants in turn. In order
to comprehend the bearing of this patent
fact we must recollect that the greater
the number of hands through which q
staple article of commerce has to pass the
higher its price invariably becomes. There
is no reason for us to ignore the fact that
our present commercial methods are at
fault. l can think of no city where free
market is so necessary as our own.
'A free market will render small hold
ings of land desirable and lucrative to
heads of families and once this state of
things is well established the problem of
the settling and colonizing of the unin-
habited portions of our State will be
solved. How is it that in Mexico living
is so much easier and less expensive than
in the United States? Simply this: Food
products always have a market, and
the producer is constantly urged to
further production by the consumer, with
whom he deals directly day after day.
"a free market here would be contin-
would be placed on exhibition by men
having an interest in disposing of their
very best wares. Such a market here
would be magnificent advertisement for
Californian products, and far surpass any
other establishment of the kind in any
other section of the Union. 1t would also
radically cure some grave defects in our
present commercial conditions.
b. n. Rowley was of the opinion that,
while markets see emed to be success in
some Eastern cities, notably Philadelphia,
they would not work here, the manner of
living in California being altogether differ
ent from that in vogue in the Atlantic
cities. He said he had given the subject
very little attention from Mr.. Mills point
of view, and thought that genrleman's S
plan q brilliant one ''if it would only
work"
Mr.. Mills and Mr.. Rowley then engaged
in discussion on the issue raised by the
last-named gentleman. Each of the COLI
testants seemed deslrouS OF holding his
own IN a quiet, gentlemanly way, when
Mr.. Fusenot came to the rescue in very
suave little speech, which ended by his
placing himself unequivocally on the side
of Mr.. Mills.
Mr.. Adams gave some strange iilustra-
tions of sharp practice among commission
merchants of the City. He cited one in
stance in which the commission merchant
sold at high retail price, crediting the
consignor with moderate wholesale rate.
He said he had the names. and that con-
siderations of delicacy alone prevented
him from making them public.
at this point some little feeling was
manifested by one or two of the visitors
present.
Mr.. Adams hastened to express his re-
gret that any discussion should have
arisen, and hoped his attitude might not
be misunderstood. He maintained, how
ever, that the dishonorabe practices re-
ferred to by him were said to be very CON-
mon among commission merchants. He
contended that if such ways were not gen.
eral among commission merchants, that
tact should be made public by the better
class of men in the business and offenders
against strict honesty exposed as frauds
and swindlers.
Mr.. Rowley gave his recollections of the
free markets of Philadelphia as he had
seen them in his boyhood and in later
years. He laid particular stress upon the
fact that the farmers have chance to go
into town with their produce and return
home at night with their money, large or
little, as the case might be, but all of it.
without having to share their profit with
any one else. He said perhaps 20 per
cent of the venders were women, the hus-
bands usually attending to the heavy work