The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-03-23
WHY THE MILLERS
SMILE, FOR ONCE
COUNTRY DUSTIES PULL TOGETH-
Err AND MAKE MONEY.
They Believed that Many Buyers Were
Playing Both Ends Against the Mid
die and Beat the Game by Enfor
cling Contracts to the Letter.

No better story has come out of
the recent great bull market in wheat
than that of how the country naillers
turned the tables on the country -four
own game. The woes Of the miller
are sometimes heard along the lines
of competition, low water, car short
ages, labor troubles and the like; but
what he has to contend with in mar
keting the product Is another mat
ter. An instance of a sharp buyers
game frustrated is found in the ex-
perience Of G. A. Rickert, a flour
salesman we'll known to the trade.
In September and October last
Rickert sold in excess of $4,000 barrels
for delivery on or before March l,
1904, at figures around $4.45. Against
these sales, wheat for delivery in No
vember, December, January and Feb
ruary was bought as a hedge, .
Hence, as the matter stood, he had
thousands of bushels of wheat COM
ing which he proposed to make into
-four. .s'. ...-..
Nothing could be done. however,
as the buyers could not be induced to
order out any flour. Letters went out
by the score begging them to take a
little, but they were obdurate. f..
One day Rickert dropped into a
southern Wisconsin town and saw
stacks Of flour made by competitor
going into the store Of man VINO
had 5000 barrels coming from him
and who had not as yet taken barrel.
A little investigation showed the mo-
dus operandi Of the buyers. Since
placing his order with Rickert, wheat
had fallen off a few cents, and the
country merchant was now able to
buy other flour at 5 or possibly IL
cents barrel cheaper, and this he
was certainly doing. Meanwhile he
Cancelled no business with Rickert, MOI
offered any explanation. Why should
he?s He was doing nicely, getting al
the flour he wanted, and had an or
der out with Rickert which he would
take! when he got around to it, and
if Ricketts, mill closed in the mean:
time, that was none of his funeral
No miller had ever insisted upon strict
adherence to terms of delivery, anc
if he did not want the -four on March
he would simply say he could no.
do about it? It was a cinch game
| for the country buyer.
| Millers Compare Notes.
The result was the getting together
! in Minneapolis of a half dozen coun
try millers, who compared notes, tt
find that they were all about in tn
same fix. From the gathering grew
a sentiment favoring mutual protec
tion-the nearst approach to fratern
alism of anything yet seen In tn
milling industry. The country miller
resolved that it was about time 70
the worm to turn, so they did moth
ing rash, but lay low, waiting for thel
chance. March 1 the opportunit
came. Flour sold at $4.45 in the fal
was then worth $5.25, and holders o
these undelivered flour contracts, gloat
\ ing over their profits, were making n
i effort to take the stuff out. For on
reason, they could not then take n1uc]
Of it, as they had meanwhile pur
chased so heavily from other mill
for prompt delivery that many of then
had not enough ready money left.
| Contracts Are Cancelled.
Had lightning hit their RESPECTIVE
places Of business, these Napoleon
Of commerce could not have bee
! more dumfounded than when, on tn
last day of February, they receive
| notices that all -four not ordered GU
by March would be cancelled. PAM
was on in a hundred country stores a
one time. But there was no appea
Tuesday morning, March 1, every I'm
filled order was wiped off the book:
and from the Iron range of mortimer
Michigan to the Iowa Missouri lin
and the banks Of the Wabash, roa
! of indignation went up that could hav
been heard on the Pacific coast.
The country millers lost bushes
amounting to thousands Of barrels
But meanwhile Armour of Chicag
had been at his old game Of bullin
wheat, and, with war on, prices wer
up Is to 80 cents bushel since fal
THE millers had their wheat, bougE
to make flour out of. They turne
, around and sold out their wheat an
| did pretty we'll on the whole. The
had the last laugh.