The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1921-10-05
SOLD AS FAST AS
RECEIVED, SAYS
MIR. S. A. IRVING
Rice Simply Goes Through
Big Warehouse on
to Cars
LOCAL BUYER GETTING
HIS SHARE OF CROP
Admist Competition is The
Strongest He Has Ever
Seen in State

A reporter had a conversation with
s. A. Irving, local rice man, Friday
night Mr.. Irving is manager of the
Atterberry-Irving warehouse in this
city and has been in the rice game
for many years, though he modestly
admits that he lis red-neck from
Mississippi" Before coming to Opel
ousas he resided in Crowley and work
ed in the rice game throughout thai
vast territory. He Is thoroughly capa
BILE in that line and watches all ends
of the industry.
This season, he says, has been a
record breaker in more ways than
one. A year ago the rice farmer fac
ed an unusual situation, in that there
was no demand for the crop and the
producer couldn't sell except at
ruinously low figures. Their rice laid
in warehouses for months without an
offer and they started the 1921 crop
without entertaining any false hopes
of selling for anything but a mere
song. They didn't know what to do
with the tremendous production of
1929 and they deemed it almost use
less to raise much, If any, in 1921.
Then, Mr.. Irving said, came the IN
expected reaction. Some unseen
force-perhaps the speculators-saw
a chance Of reaping huge profits and
a demand for the 1920 crop sprang
up overnight, as it were. In the good
old summer time Of 1921 the 1920 rice
rice began to move and move fast
Before the producers realized it the
startling fact became public know
ledge that the last bag of the grain
had been swallowed up in a myster-
ious way. 1t was out of the way of
the new crop and the menace of its
presence, that the farmers feared so
much, had passed and there was some
hopes of the industry getting back
to normal, and while the producers
had lost hopes of getting rich in the
raising of rice, still they began to
entertain a flickering belief that the
future would hold out better things
for them.
Recounting few of these undeni-
able facts, Mr.. Irving went on and
talked about the present scramble OF
the mills to secure an adequate sup
ply of the 1921 crop in order to keep
their machinery on the go and fill the
contracts they had entered into for
the current year They noted the
short production Of the year and the
further fact that the entire 1920 pro-
duction had passed into the channels
Of trade and had ceased to be an arti-
Gle of speculation.
The fact put thine on the edge Of a
situation none cared to face and so
it became an open fight among the
millers with all restrictive walls and
"gentlemen's agreements" broken
down and the tune was every man
for himself and the devil for US all"
The wild scramble, therefore, has re-
suited in establishing a splendid situa-
ton from the farmers viewpoint and
prices have been changing repidly for
his benefit and profit.
The storage warehouses have
been simply clearing houses, accord
ing to Mr.. Irving. The rice received
at these institutions has simply gone
through" and been snapped up by
greedy buyers and loaded into cars
and sent on the journey to the mills.
Mr. Irving, besides managing the
warehouse here and the one at Law.
tell, is also, independently Of the stor
age business, engaged in buying from
the producers and shipping to mills.
He admits having been up against
some strong competition, but laugh
tngly says he has always managed
to get his share where he appeared
as a buyer, and recounted a few facts
10 show the truthfulness of his as
sertion. He is well satisfied with
his share of the "bloodless victories"
and hopes to keep up his present gait
as buyer as long as there is any
.fee on the market.