Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-06-28
OF THE
] MILLERS
By
Frederic
j. H0Skin

/ is suffered to 60 the rounds OF the press
| concerning Hour One of them cites the
case o. the assertion that much barytes
is used in the adulteration of flour, and
| that it is placed in the -four to add
weight to it. This miller contends that
such an idea is one of the biggest fool
] notions in the world" He asserts that
| barytes cost much more than -four, and
that no miller would find 1t profitable to
use as a maKe-weight a. substitute which
costs 80 per cent more than the flour it.
self. Furthermore, he insists, the pres
ence CT barytes would ruin the reputation
| of any flour.
The milling business OF the United
States is a large industry. According
to late census figures. the total value
of the milling products of the mer-
chant mills OF the United states
amounts to s713.000,000 a year. The
| cost of the material used In the prep
aration OF this product aounted 10
s617 ,0Oo,000 OF the products or
American mills, wheat flour consti-
| tuted 81 per cent, corn meal IL per
cent, the other rs per cent being scat
tered among other kinds of mill stufrs.
At the recent hearing on the cost or
living before a committee in songress,
It was testified by the sealer or
weights ana measures for the District
| of columbia that every one of the SOO'-
| 600 barrels of flour used in Washing
ton last year were four pounds snort
weight at current prices. this would
represent AN expenditure Of $4,000 Dy
the people OF Washington Tor flour
they did rot get An effort mas been
made to make 200 pounds the standard
weight for a barrel OF flour, DIT IN
/ trade sticks tenaciously to the old
standard of 1913 pounds. This quaint.
ty became the standard under the old
English table IA pounds make one
stone, "A stones make one barrel"
Germany has been striving to take
the lead in excellence of flour pro-
ducts. That country has established a
1nilIers' technical school, where ambi-
tious young men are given thorough
| training IN the production OF perfect
mill stuffs. In the United states
there are q great many trade papers
which sive attention to the technical
side of milling, and it is probable that
when read in connecuIon with an ap-
! prenti ,eshIp in Il MIL, the American
/ nov NAV get all the benefits from
| such reading that the German boy gets
| from his course at school. Probably
no otner industry of the extent of tn
milling business has as many TRACE
| journals as are supported by the
| American milling interests. Their
main function is to keep careful tab on
prices of milling commodities through
out the world, and these reports con-
stitute one of the most valuable assets
! of the millers.
Milling is one of the oldest industries
| in which man has engaged. OF course, the
[ first mill was the human jaw. when
cereals were eaten whole. After this
came the MASKING of the grain between
two stones. This, in turn, was succeeded
| by the pestle and the mortar, and this
was followed by the upper and the neither
mill stones. The first grinding motion
seems to have been utilized in the Quern,
/ the earliest mechanical contrivance that
bears a resemblance to the buhr of later
periods. 1t is said that the oldest mill
| in the United States is the one which
stands on the old Benjamin Harrison es-
tate in the James river section of Viz
ginia. This mill still grinds its regular
grist The first steam -four mill in the
world is said to have been built in Lon
don in 1854. The first one constructed in
the United States was at Cincinnati in
| 1915.
| The modern roller mill first was estab-
Ished in 1910 in the city of Pest. In 1868
was begun the system of cool rollers
which, developed and extended, has given
the world its modern merchant mill.
Minneapolis, which now occupies nrst
place among all the cities of the world
| as a flour producing center, saw the es-
| Establishment of it's first merchant mill only
| 56 years ago. Since then it has develop
ed with a wonderful rapidity, and it is
believed that for many years to come that
the Minnesota city will continue TO hold
] the place of primacy among all the cities
/ of the earth as a producer of flour.
While America is the greatest wheat |
producing country of the world, its in
| habitants do not enjoy the cheapest
bread In the cities of the United States
one buys a 14-ounce loaf for cents. In
London he may buy a 64-ounce loaf for
Is cents In an American city cent will |
buy 2.S ounces of bread, while in London |
1t will buy 40 ounces. And at that, the |
London bread may be made of good |!
American wheat.
m