The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-12-08
BIG R|CH|MOND'S
FLOUR BUSINESS
Always Great, 1t Has
Never Been SO Great
as at This Time.
SOUTH AMERICA
ONCE TItlE FIELD
Now Ricl1mond's Export Business
Is Done With Great Britain,
and 1t Is Larger Than
1t Used to Be With
the Republic OF
Brazil.

Brazil.
The older citizens OF Richmond who
remember the days when the Virginia
wheattselds and tho Richmond -four
ting mills supplied the Empire OF Bra
I'll. and as for that matter pretty
much all OF South America, with us
Hour, are In the habit of saying now
that Richmond has lost Its flour trade.
they base this statement upon the
superstition that the Richmond -four
Ing mills no longer supply South Amer
lea with its breadstuffs. shipped on
vessels that laid at the Richmond
docks.
II Is true that Richmond no longer
supplies South America with flour and
meal as in the days long ago, but the
statement or the insinuation that the
Richmond mills are no longer In ac-
tive operation. and no longer supply
a foreign trade, Is a mistake. Very few
Richmond people are aware OF the
,mmensity OF the business which Rich
mond mills do with foreign lands. The
simple fact is that the Richmond mills,
three OF which are now controlled b!
one firm. do much larger business
with foreign countries than all of the
Richmond mills combined did In the
good did times. The difference Is they
now do business with Great Britain
which is large flour consumer, In
stead OF. with South America, the
smaller consumer.
rhc Early Day Mills.
From the earliest day of the settle
ment df Virginia, Richmond most nat
uratly became milling centre. The
water power made 1t pre-eniinently
mill town In the very earliest days.
The fields for hundred or more miles
around produced the grain that sup
piled the primitive mills that natu-
rally grew up around the James River
falls. There were mills here of n kind
even before William Byrd selected the
seven Hills for the site OF a city.
These early-day mills were, of course
primitive. but they ground out the
grain produced on the lowgrounds Of
the James and supplied the people
with both meal and flour. 1t Is true
that the Hour was not strictly first
class dis VIC look AT it to-day. but 1t
is doubtful II there is a mill in all
Virginia to-day. which supplies corn
meal that Is altogether as good for hoe
cake anG ashcake as that which was
supplied by the primitive mills. Some
where in. his writings William Byrd
paid tribute to the old-fashioned
Virginia corn-cake. and 1t is matter
= OF regret tHaI Tie litteT 5udy sSeohS
nave entirely forgotten how to mako
the old corn-cake OF William Byrds
time.
john Galreso, the Miller.
The milling business of Richmond
from Its earliest incipiency, Is OF inter-
est. In the year 1898 Mr.. John Gal
lego, h man who had learned some-
what of how to run the old-time grist
mill, and had an idea that he could
Improve somewhat on the old method
ventured to establish mill at the
falls at the foot OF Twelfth Street.
Some OF the old-time people thought
lie was foolhardy youth. but Gallegs
looked far ahead. He built his little
mill, and he improved 1t and enlarged
1t from year to year. In those day!
the trouble with yirginia-made flou
was that it would not keep In goot
condition when carried out upon tn
waters Of the salty ocean. The larges
trade for the home millers was in TIL
matter of supplying ships, and tn
trouble was that the flour ground u
tho mills on shore did not keep man,
days after getting to sea. GALLEY
conceived the idea that IL lie coul
make flour that would keep at Sc
as we'll as on land his fortune wa
made--made in supplying sailors Wit
bread. In some way he discovered tn
secret, and for many long years hi
mill lii Richmond was the only one 0
tia Atlantic coast that supplied flou
that the sailors could rely upon whe
TAR out at sea.
Trade Dcyond the sen.
MIR. Gallego thought it was but mai
ural that If he could make a -four thu
would satisfy the sailors there was r
reason why he should not cater to tt
South American trade a trade that d.
pended upon the keeping qualities
the -four in transit over the seas. +
discovered the secret, whatever it mu
y have been, and for many long yea
Richmond supplied nearly all OF Soul
America with it's -four. Ships TIL
5stluct Of the coffee fields of Brazil we
II back loaded witll41lour from the Ga
tn lego Mills. This was Rchnond,s b
trade in the anti-bellunl days. Al
When the War Between the Stat
closed Richmond undertook 70 resull
business at the old stand,
Tue Changed Conditions.
Conditions had changed. liowevt
Argentina had commenced to raj
wheat and great deal OF IT. MI
had sprung up on Its streams and al
those Fl ned PrsT itb tns c what f9
been transferred to New York, a
.sS through New York to the Weste
mills, and Richmond soon learned TIL
tile great flour trade With South Ans
y It lea was lost. About the, same time.
also learned that new conditions h
made u change I'm tho coffee ira
with Brazil, but That is another stol
Nevertheless tlleI Richmond MILL
interest was too blg a thing to
surrendered without q STRUGGLED I
advantages OF water power; the adVa
taEes of freight rates, and thenearnt
to the senhoard We're all too great
be tnrned down. The firm of War;
Moore & Company took the sltuatl
CONTINUED onjsSecond Fase,)e