\t\t\t\tDaily Alta California, 20 November 1852<\/p>\n
An Extract from the Lost Book of Gas, Ser.
\nBEING A PORTION OF THE HAND-BOOK OF FLOUR MILLERISM.<\/p>\n
To my friend Blackstone. Esq. this tribute is inscribed by the author.
\n” Monumenturn ore perennius.”\u2014 ” Sua si bona novit.”<\/p>\n
1. And it came to pass that in tbe city of the Bay, the
\nmighty Babylon of the land, that aboundeth with quartz
\nand sherry cobblers, there dwelt a man, and he dwelled
\nin the way which is called Sacramento.
\n2. And he builded unto himself an house, an house of
\nshingles and clapboards ; and the dimensions thereof were
\ngreater even than the dimensions of the house of Fudge;
\neven six feet this way, and six feet the other way; six
\nfeet in every way ; neither the one foot more, nor one foot
\nthe less
\n3. And the name of the man was Blackstone.
\n4. The fame of him was great, even among the sojourn-
\ners of the mighty city ; and among the strangers, and
\namong the men who wielded implements in the moun-
\ntains afar off. And he was a terror unto the sea faring
\nGentiles who vegetate round about the wharf that is
\ncalled Long.
\n5. For it happened, that as he traversed the deep in a
\nship, the ruler whereof was named Rogers, there came
\nunto him one who also abided in the ship, and cried, lo!
\nthou art a wise man; behold! the teeth that adorn my
\njaws are sound, but the soundness of them availeth not,
\nfor I have not wherewith to exercise the power of them.
\nOne flapjack alone hath Rodgers served out to me. See
\nthou to it ! And Blackstone answered him: go thy ways,
\nI will account with him.
\n6. And there came another, and yet another, and they
\ncried, as with one voice, and complained aloud. And
\nBlackstone answered them: go thy ways, I will account
\nwith him.
\n7. And forthwith he sought him out, even Rodgers, he
\nthat starved the people, and spoke unto him the words of
\nremonstrance, but it availed not ; for he, even Rodgers,
\nwas stiff necked ; or, as it is called in the strange tongue,
\n” obstropulous.”
\n8. Then arose Blackstone, and assailed the man, even
\nRodgers. with the words of bitterness and wrath ; and
\nfor a space of time great was the din of the battle. And
\nit came to pass that Blackstone overcame him! and con-
\nquered, so that Rodgers was silent, and ” dried up. ”
\nYea, he obtained a triumph, like unto Sampson of old,
\nwho stew his enemies with the jaw of an ass.
\n9. And lo! now as he dwelt in the city of the Bay, the
\nmighty Babylon in an house, an house of his own build-
\ning, he thought unto himself; lo! the earth is tilled and
\nthe grain is sown ; the harvest is reaped, but the people
\neat not of the bread, the produce of the land ; but from
\namong the Greasers, yea ! even from the soil of Chile, do
\nthe people draw their food.
\n10. And forthwith he sent off couriers into a far off
\nland, where dwell the workers in iron and the workers
\nin brass, they that fashion both vessels of gold and ves-
\nsels of silver. And he wrote unto them, “Send me, I
\npray ye, an engine of might, yea, even an engine of
\ncunningness, whereby the grain of the earth may be-
\ncome as dust, that the people of this land may bake their
\nown flour and eat of their own bread. And let the
\npower of the engine be great, yea, even as that of the
\nbeast, of one donkey power.”
\n11. And the couriers sped on their ways, and told
\nunto the workers in iron and the workers in brass the
\nwords of Blackstone. And the workers in iron and the
\nworkers in brass arose and girded their loins, and set
\nthemselves to the task ; and they fashioned the engine,
\nan engine of might, even of one donkey power; and
\nthey put it upon a swift vessel, and sent it unto Black-
\nstone, even unto the mighty Babylon, that the people
\nmight bake their own flour and eat of their own bread.
\n12. And Blackstone set upon high the engine, even
\nthe engine of one donkey power; and he grinded by day
\nand he grinded by night, and great was the grinding
\nthereof.
\n13. But the glory of the work ascribed he not unto
\nhimself. The profit alone he fingered with an exceeding
\ntight finger.
\n14. And the grain of the land became as dust before
\nthe power of the engine, and the dust of the metal that is
\ncalled gold became abundant in the wallet of Black
\nstone.
\n15. And after a while the thought came unto Black-
\nstone, yea ! I will arise, and take unto myself a change of
\nraiment; even a shirt collar and a toothpick, and will
\njourney unto parts afar off, where dwells the growers of
\nwheat and the growers of squash \u2014 they that raise grain
\nand they that raise pumpkins.
\n16. And he arose, and took onto himself a change of
\nraiment, even a shirt and a tooth-pick, and set his lace
\ntowards the valley that is called Napa.
\n17. And he arrived at the going down of the sun, at a
\nplace that is called Benecia, and there sojourned.
\n18. And behold the man of the house where he sojourn-
\ned ; yea, even the master of a house was a keen man,
\nand belonged unto the tribe whose name is ” Yankee.’
\n19. And on the morrow Blackstone arose and refreshed
\nhimself, and said: Lo! I will ascend unto the chariot
\nthat is drawn by swift couriers, and will go unto Napa,
\neven unto the valley of wheat and of squash ; of pump-
\nkins and of grain.
\n20. But the man of the house, even he that was a keen
\nman and belonged unto the tribe of Yankee, said unto
\nhimself: Is not the sojourn of this man unto me as gain ?
\nand shall he depart from hence this day \u2020 Nay, he shall
\nnot depart from hence until to morrow ; so that my gain
\nmay be great.
\n21. So he ordered the charioteer, even Jehu ; and the
\ncharioteer drove forth the chariot with swift coursers,
\neven towards the valley of Napa. But Blackstone as-
\ncended not the chariot \u2014 he sojourned yet with the man
\nof Yankee.
\n22. And great was the wrath of Blackstone, and he
\nshook off the dust from his feet upon the man of Yonkee ;
\nbut the dust of his purse bestowed he not so freely. He
\ngave not one picayune beyond the price of his food and
\nthe price of his rest.
\n23. And he came unto the house that is named Vallejo
\nand sat himself down therein.
\n24. And after awhile there entered in a stranger and
\nlifted up his voice and called onto the master of the house
\nthat ” he was a-thirst,” and desired a drink, and straight
\nway the master concocted for him a beverage of refresh-
\nment, the name of which is called in that country “gin
\ncocktail” and brought it to him, and the stranger drank
\nand was refreshed.
\n25. And the stranger spoke unto the master of the
\nhouse and said : Lo ! I have journeyed from afar! Yea.
\nI have crossed the Plains, and am a-wearied; my cattle
\nand my goods are gone, and l am strapped. There re-
\nmaineth unto me but a fabric of cunning workmanship ;
\nyea, even bolting-cloth ; tell me, I pray you, of one unto
\nwhom I may barter the same for dimes, even that I may
\nbolt unto the diggings.
\n26. And Blackstone hearkened and heard, but he held
\nhis peace; for he perceived that the stranger also be-
\nlonged onto the tribe of Yankee, and was a keen man.
\n27.But after a while be lifted up his voice and spoke :
\nand he haggled with the stranger for a trade; and the
\ncuteness of both was great ; but the cuteness of Black-
\nstone prevailed. Yea, even a coon hath not the cuteness
\nof him.
\n28. And he gave unto the stranger divers coin, and
\nbound him with writings of the pen, to take unto his
\nhouse, even the house of Blackstone & Co., in the mighty
\nBabylon, the bolting-cloth; but he heard not the speech
\nof the stranger, which said, in the tongue of the tribe of
\nYankee, ” He guessed he know’d a trick worth two of
\nthat.”
\n29.. So the heart of Blackstone was lightened, and he
\nmade merry. He quaffed a goblet of water, mingled
\nwith peppermint, and was glad.
\n30. And on the morrow he took unto him his change of
\nraiment, even a shirt collar and a toothpick, and came
\nunto the valley that is called Napa, even the valley of
\nsquash and of wheat, of pumpkin and of grain.
\n31. And he entered into an house that is called Napa
\nHotel.
\n32 And sent forth swift- footed coursers to the dwellers
\nround about, and lifted up his voice also, and blew his
\nown trumpet, a trumpet of brass, and cried that they
\nshould come unto him, and bring their measures of wheat,
\nthat the same he might convert, by the power of his en-
\ngine, into flour, that they might bake, and eat of their own
\nbread.
\n33.. But the children of the valley coveted the dust\u00a0 of
\nthe metal which it called gold; yea, thus spake they
\nunto him : Thou art a stranger unto us, and we know
\nyou not ; give unto us the dimes, and we will render unto
\nyou our measures of wheat.
\n34. But Blackstone waxed wroth, and said, ” Am I
\nnot of the house of Blackstone & Co., that dwelleth in the
\nCity of the Bay ? Give unto me your measures of wheat,
\nand I will inscribe for ye writings of exceeding cun-
\nningness.”
\n35. But they clamored, and said, “Your shin-plasters
\nwe want not; and the home of Blackstone & Co, that
\ndwelteth in the City of the Bay, we savey not. Give
\nunto us the dimes, or you touch not one measure of
\nwheat.”
\n36. So Blackstone mounted him upon a steed ; and
\nthere went before him a guide on his own ass, even a
\nDigger muchacho ; and he vamosed from the land \u2014 the
\nland that is called Napa, the valley of squash and of
\nwheat, of pumpkin and of grain.
\n37. And the rest of the acts of Blackstone \u2014 are they
\nnot writ in the Chronicles of Gas ?<\/p>\n
Daily Alta California, 20 November 1852<\/p>\n
Ed. There was a monopoly on flour in California in 1852, other reading on this can be found in:<\/p>\n
Sacramento Daily Union, 17 December 1852:<\/p>\n
The Flour Monopoly.<\/p>\n
It is now nearly four years since the settlement of this country by Americans,
\nand notwithstanding the advantages it possesses, both as regards its soil
\nand climate, for raising wheat and every kind of small grain, yet are we
\nstill dependent on foreign countries for our supplies of that most necessary
\narticle of subsistence flour. Contrary to the general rule in most
\nnewly settled countries, the cultivation of the soil has here been
\nneglected, and California, at the present day, presents the
\nanomalous position of a State in which thousands of acres of
\nvirgin soil but invite the labor of the husbandman, and
\nyet from which the means of subsistence for a tenth part
\nof its population is not raised.
\nIt is this total dependence on foreign supplies that has
\ngiven to speculators the power to command the market so
\ncompletely that the country is entirely at their mercy,
\nand the people are obliged to buy from them, at any price
\nthey may demand. With a full supply of flour in the country,
\nand without there being the slightest anticipation of any
\nscarcity in the market, the people of this State are forced
\nto pay fully three times the value for which it could be sold,
\neven allowing a fair profit to the importer. This, together
\nwith the high rate of freights to the mines, caused by
\nthe bad state of the roads, has raised flour, in our mining
\nregions, to a famine price.
\nAlready has the population in the southern mines given
\nevidence of a state of feeling the most unfortunate that
\ncan prevail in any community \u2014 the rising of the laborer
\nagainst the capitalist.
\nIt should be remembered that California is not the
\nfirst country in which such a feeling has existed. History
\nfurnishes us with many examples in which exactly analogous
\nearner have led not only to discontent and grumbling,
\nbut in which those who considered themselves oppressed have
\nrisen up in arms.
\nThe most bloody and disastrous civil wars in the republic
\nof Rome had their origin in just such a monopoly as a
\nfew of the merchants of San Francisco are now imposing
\non the country ; and, although we think there is but little
\ndanger of any direct outbreak, yet we cannot but deplore the
\nexistence of feelings of hatred or distrust between different
\nclasses in the community. Nor does the evil end even with the
\ncessation of the cause which first produced it. The ill feeling
\nexcited against the capitalist by this flour speculation, must
\nultimately exert an injurious influence on the development of
\nthe mining resources of our Slate ; it is becoming every day
\nmore evident that a large class of mining operations cannot
\nbe conducted profitably without the assistance of capital;
\nbut there already exists amongst the mass of the mining population
\na sort of jealousy or suspicion of capitalists, which in some
\ninstances has been carried so far as to impede or prevent undertakings
\nof undoubted utility. Unfortunately this feeling cannot but be
\naugmented by the loss and suffering which will be inflicted
\non our mining population this winter by the monstrous flour
\nmonopoly at the Bay. Such are the causes, and such are some
\nof the evils which are likely to result from the monopoly.
\nWe now propose to consider what means can be applied
\nfor its immediate dissolution\u2014 and what steps it
\nis necessary for the country to take in order
\nto prevent the recurrence of such an alarming evil.
\nThe question is a difficult one as regards the
\ndirect breaking up of the present monopoly.
\nThe Alta, in an able article on the subject,
\nwritten a few days since, seems to despair
\nof \u00bbny direct remedy being found, whilst
\nthe Times and Transcript is of a contrary
\nopinion, without, however, suggesting any
\ndefinite plan. After a careful consideration
\nof the subject, and,with the assistance of some
\nof our legal friends, we think it evident
\nthat the flour monopolists have subjected
\nthemselves to an indictment under the common law.
\nIt is expressly laid down in Blackstone, that
\n” The bare engrossing of a whole commodity with
\nan intent to sell it at an unreasonable price, is
\nan offense indictable at the common law, for if.
\nsuch practices were allowed, a rich man might
\nengross the whole of a commodity and thus sell it
\nat what price he may think fit.”
\nChitty, in his remarks on Blackstone, observes,
\n“that at the present day it would probably be-
\nholden that no offense would be committed, unless
\nthere is an intent to raise the price of provisions
\nby the conduct of the party.”
\nSuch is the common law of England on the subject ;
\nand the statutes of California enact that ” the common law
\nof England, so far as it is not repugnant to
\nor inconsistent with the Constitution of the
\nUnited States or the laws of the State of California,
\nshall be the rule of decision in all the Courts of this State.”
\nSuch is the law as regards monopolies, and never was there an
\noccasion that called more loudly for its most strict
\napplication. It is not merely the direct inconvenience
\nand loss sustained by some four hundred thousand persons,
\nin order to enrich a few speculators, that renders it
\nimperative on our public legal authorities to use
\nevery means to break up this monopoly. But the indirect
\nconsequences that must result from this unholy attempt
\nto raise the price of the staple article of food are far
\nmore appalling than any pecuniary considerations.
\nIt is a well known fact that the mines at the present
\nmoment are almost bare of provisions \u2014 even at so important
\na place as Downieville, there was not at the
\nclose of last week, a pound of flour to be bought.
\nAnd if such is the case at this point, what
\naccounts may we not expect to hear from places farther
\nup in the mountains, which by the late inclement
\nweather have been entirely cut off from all means
\nof obtaining supplies.
\nWe fear that the present winter will not pass
\nover without furnishing us with many a harrowing
\naccount of death from starvation. The unconscionable
\nhigh price at which flour has been maintained, and
\nthe constant expectation that large arrivals must
\nproduce a great fall in the market, have prevented
\ndealers in the mines from laying in their winter supplies.
\nAnd now in many parts they, find themselves cut off from
\nall possibility of doing it. We do not mean to accuse
\nthe speculators as responsible for all the mischief
\nand suffering that must result from this state
\nof things ; but had they not kept the price up to
\nsuch an unnatural height, there can be no doubt that
\nmany a life that will now be sacrificed would have
\nbeen spared, and although thousands may flow into
\ntheir coffers from the course they have pursued,
\nyet we, for our parts, do not envy them their riches,
\ntarnished as they are by the sufferings of their fellow citizens.
\nWe trust, however, that this unnatural and illegal
\ncombination of capital, against the best interests
\nof our State and the welfare and lives of our fellow
\ncitizens will now be brought to an end by legal means,
\nand that the wise laws of our ancestors to secure the
\ncommunity from such an unholy conspiracy, will be strictly
\nenforced by those who are so liberally paid by the people
\nto look after their interests.
\nSufficient mischief has already been done to rouse
\nthese gentlemen to a sense of their duty, and we trust that
\nthere is honesty enough in the bench to punish the offenders,
\nnotwithstanding the enormous fortunes behind which they will
\nentrench themselves.
\nLet the Attorney General and the District Attorney look into
\nthis matter, and, unless we are much mistaken it will not
\nbe many hours before some of these monopolists will have
\ntheir golden dream tempered by visions of State Prisons and
\nchain-gangs. It is indeed a fortunate circumstance that
\nthe law has provided a remedy for such a serious
\noffense as the monopolizing of the articles of food
\nmay inflict on a community, for on the perpetration
\nof no other species of crime are the united feelings
\nof an outraged community more likely to lead to the
\napplication of the principles of lynch law.
\nWe believe, however, that San Francisco will be spared
\nfrom witnessing anything analogies to the disgraceful
\nriots that took place at New York a few years since on
\naccount of a like monopoly. Let our public functionaries
\ndo their duty, and the lives of our fellow citizens,
\nand the interests of the State cannot much longer be
\nsacrificed at the shrine of individual aggrandizement.
\nWe have not space at present to give to this Subject
\nall the attention its importance demands, but we
\nshall take an early opportunity of reverting to it again.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Daily Alta California, 20 November 1852 An Extract from the Lost Book of Gas, Ser. BEING A PORTION OF THE HAND-BOOK OF FLOUR MILLERISM. To my friend Blackstone. Esq. this tribute is inscribed by the author. ” Monumenturn ore perennius.”\u2014 ” Sua si bona novit.” 1. And it came to pass that in tbe city … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,6,7,3825,13,16,17],"tags":[49,269,4192,692,1471,1473],"class_list":{"0":"entry","1":"post","2":"publish","3":"author-sergneri","4":"has-excerpt","5":"post-455","7":"format-standard","8":"category-california-history","9":"category-california-newspaper-archive","10":"category-ethical-and-green-living","11":"category-faits-divers","12":"category-history","13":"category-politics","14":"category-sea-stories","15":"category-thinking-about","16":"post_tag-49","17":"post_tag-blackstone","18":"post_tag-daily-alta-california","19":"post_tag-flour-monopoly","20":"post_tag-sacramento","21":"post_tag-sacramento-daily-union"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sergneri.net\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sergneri.net\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sergneri.net\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sergneri.net\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sergneri.net\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sergneri.net\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5047,"href":"https:\/\/www.sergneri.net\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455\/revisions\/5047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sergneri.net\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sergneri.net\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sergneri.net\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}