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.”— ” Sua si bona novit.”
1. And it came to pass that in tbe city of the Bay, the
mighty Babylon of the land, that aboundeth with quartz
and sherry cobblers, there dwelt a man, and he dwelled
in the way which is called Sacramento.
2. And he builded unto himself an house, an house of
shingles and clapboards ; and the dimensions thereof were
greater even than the dimensions of the house of Fudge;
even six feet this way, and six feet the other way; six
feet in every way ; neither the one foot more, nor one foot
the less
3. And the name of the man was Blackstone.
4. The fame of him was great, even among the sojourn-
ers of the mighty city ; and among the strangers, and
among the men who wielded implements in the moun-
tains afar off. And he was a terror unto the sea faring
Gentiles who vegetate round about the wharf that is
called Long.
5. For it happened, that as he traversed the deep in a
ship, the ruler whereof was named Rogers, there came
unto him one who also abided in the ship, and cried, lo!
thou art a wise man; behold! the teeth that adorn my
jaws are sound, but the soundness of them availeth not,
for I have not wherewith to exercise the power of them.
One flapjack alone hath Rodgers served out to me. See
thou to it ! And Blackstone answered him: go thy ways,
I will account with him.
6. And there came another, and yet another, and they
cried, as with one voice, and complained aloud. And
Blackstone answered them: go thy ways, I will account
with him.
7. And forthwith he sought him out, even Rodgers, he
that starved the people, and spoke unto him the words of
remonstrance, but it availed not ; for he, even Rodgers,
was stiff necked ; or, as it is called in the strange tongue,
” obstropulous.”
8. Then arose Blackstone, and assailed the man, even
Rodgers. with the words of bitterness and wrath ; and
for a space of time great was the din of the battle. And
it came to pass that Blackstone overcame him! and con-
quered, so that Rodgers was silent, and ” dried up. ”
Yea, he obtained a triumph, like unto Sampson of old,
who stew his enemies with the jaw of an ass.
9. And lo! now as he dwelt in the city of the Bay, the
mighty Babylon in an house, an house of his own build-
ing, he thought unto himself; lo! the earth is tilled and
the grain is sown ; the harvest is reaped, but the people
eat not of the bread, the produce of the land ; but from
among the Greasers, yea ! even from the soil of Chile, do
the people draw their food.
10. And forthwith he sent off couriers into a far off
land, where dwell the workers in iron and the workers
in brass, they that fashion both vessels of gold and ves-
sels of silver. And he wrote unto them, “Send me, I
pray ye, an engine of might, yea, even an engine of
cunningness, whereby the grain of the earth may be-
come as dust, that the people of this land may bake their
own flour and eat of their own bread. And let the
power of the engine be great, yea, even as that of the
beast, of one donkey power.”
11. And the couriers sped on their ways, and told
unto the workers in iron and the workers in brass the
words of Blackstone. And the workers in iron and the
workers in brass arose and girded their loins, and set
themselves to the task ; and they fashioned the engine,
an engine of might, even of one donkey power; and
they put it upon a swift vessel, and sent it unto Black-
stone, even unto the mighty Babylon, that the people
might bake their own flour and eat of their own bread.
12. And Blackstone set upon high the engine, even
the engine of one donkey power; and he grinded by day
and he grinded by night, and great was the grinding
thereof.
13. But the glory of the work ascribed he not unto
himself. The profit alone he fingered with an exceeding
tight finger.
14. And the grain of the land became as dust before
the power of the engine, and the dust of the metal that is
called gold became abundant in the wallet of Black
stone.
15. And after a while the thought came unto Black-
stone, yea ! I will arise, and take unto myself a change of
raiment; even a shirt collar and a toothpick, and will
journey unto parts afar off, where dwells the growers of
wheat and the growers of squash — they that raise grain
and they that raise pumpkins.
16. And he arose, and took onto himself a change of
raiment, even a shirt and a tooth-pick, and set his lace
towards the valley that is called Napa.
17. And he arrived at the going down of the sun, at a
place that is called Benecia, and there sojourned.
18. And behold the man of the house where he sojourn-
ed ; yea, even the master of a house was a keen man,
and belonged unto the tribe whose name is ” Yankee.’
19. And on the morrow Blackstone arose and refreshed
himself, and said: Lo! I will ascend unto the chariot
that is drawn by swift couriers, and will go unto Napa,
even unto the valley of wheat and of squash ; of pump-
kins and of grain.
20. But the man of the house, even he that was a keen
man and belonged unto the tribe of Yankee, said unto
himself: Is not the sojourn of this man unto me as gain ?
and shall he depart from hence this day † Nay, he shall
not depart from hence until to morrow ; so that my gain
may be great.
21. So he ordered the charioteer, even Jehu ; and the
charioteer drove forth the chariot with swift coursers,
even towards the valley of Napa. But Blackstone as-
cended not the chariot — he sojourned yet with the man
of Yankee.
22. And great was the wrath of Blackstone, and he
shook off the dust from his feet upon the man of Yonkee ;
but the dust of his purse bestowed he not so freely. He
gave not one picayune beyond the price of his food and
the price of his rest.
23. And he came unto the house that is named Vallejo
and sat himself down therein.
24. And after awhile there entered in a stranger and
lifted up his voice and called onto the master of the house
that ” he was a-thirst,” and desired a drink, and straight
way the master concocted for him a beverage of refresh-
ment, the name of which is called in that country “gin
cocktail” and brought it to him, and the stranger drank
and was refreshed.
25. And the stranger spoke unto the master of the
house and said : Lo ! I have journeyed from afar! Yea.
I have crossed the Plains, and am a-wearied; my cattle
and my goods are gone, and l am strapped. There re-
maineth unto me but a fabric of cunning workmanship ;
yea, even bolting-cloth ; tell me, I pray you, of one unto
whom I may barter the same for dimes, even that I may
bolt unto the diggings.
26. And Blackstone hearkened and heard, but he held
his peace; for he perceived that the stranger also be-
longed onto the tribe of Yankee, and was a keen man.
27.But after a while be lifted up his voice and spoke :
and he haggled with the stranger for a trade; and the
cuteness of both was great ; but the cuteness of Black-
stone prevailed. Yea, even a coon hath not the cuteness
of him.
28. And he gave unto the stranger divers coin, and
bound him with writings of the pen, to take unto his
house, even the house of Blackstone & Co., in the mighty
Babylon, the bolting-cloth; but he heard not the speech
of the stranger, which said, in the tongue of the tribe of
Yankee, ” He guessed he know’d a trick worth two of
that.”
29.. So the heart of Blackstone was lightened, and he
made merry. He quaffed a goblet of water, mingled
with peppermint, and was glad.
30. And on the morrow he took unto him his change of
raiment, even a shirt collar and a toothpick, and came
unto the valley that is called Napa, even the valley of
squash and of wheat, of pumpkin and of grain.
31. And he entered into an house that is called Napa
Hotel.
32 And sent forth swift- footed coursers to the dwellers
round about, and lifted up his voice also, and blew his
own trumpet, a trumpet of brass, and cried that they
should come unto him, and bring their measures of wheat,
that the same he might convert, by the power of his en-
gine, into flour, that they might bake, and eat of their own
bread.
33.. But the children of the valley coveted the dust of
the metal which it called gold; yea, thus spake they
unto him : Thou art a stranger unto us, and we know
you not ; give unto us the dimes, and we will render unto
you our measures of wheat.
34. But Blackstone waxed wroth, and said, ” Am I
not of the house of Blackstone & Co., that dwelleth in the
City of the Bay ? Give unto me your measures of wheat,
and I will inscribe for ye writings of exceeding cun-
ningness.”
35. But they clamored, and said, “Your shin-plasters
we want not; and the home of Blackstone & Co, that
dwelteth in the City of the Bay, we savey not. Give
unto us the dimes, or you touch not one measure of
wheat.”
36. So Blackstone mounted him upon a steed ; and
there went before him a guide on his own ass, even a
Digger muchacho ; and he vamosed from the land — the
land that is called Napa, the valley of squash and of
wheat, of pumpkin and of grain.
37. And the rest of the acts of Blackstone — are they
not writ in the Chronicles of Gas ?
Daily Alta California, 20 November 1852
Ed. There was a monopoly on flour in California in 1852, other reading on this can be found in:
Sacramento Daily Union, 17 December 1852:
The Flour Monopoly.
It is now nearly four years since the settlement of this country by Americans,
and notwithstanding the advantages it possesses, both as regards its soil
and climate, for raising wheat and every kind of small grain, yet are we
still dependent on foreign countries for our supplies of that most necessary
article of subsistence flour. Contrary to the general rule in most
newly settled countries, the cultivation of the soil has here been
neglected, and California, at the present day, presents the
anomalous position of a State in which thousands of acres of
virgin soil but invite the labor of the husbandman, and
yet from which the means of subsistence for a tenth part
of its population is not raised.
It is this total dependence on foreign supplies that has
given to speculators the power to command the market so
completely that the country is entirely at their mercy,
and the people are obliged to buy from them, at any price
they may demand. With a full supply of flour in the country,
and without there being the slightest anticipation of any
scarcity in the market, the people of this State are forced
to pay fully three times the value for which it could be sold,
even allowing a fair profit to the importer. This, together
with the high rate of freights to the mines, caused by
the bad state of the roads, has raised flour, in our mining
regions, to a famine price.
Already has the population in the southern mines given
evidence of a state of feeling the most unfortunate that
can prevail in any community — the rising of the laborer
against the capitalist.
It should be remembered that California is not the
first country in which such a feeling has existed. History
furnishes us with many examples in which exactly analogous
earner have led not only to discontent and grumbling,
but in which those who considered themselves oppressed have
risen up in arms.
The most bloody and disastrous civil wars in the republic
of Rome had their origin in just such a monopoly as a
few of the merchants of San Francisco are now imposing
on the country ; and, although we think there is but little
danger of any direct outbreak, yet we cannot but deplore the
existence of feelings of hatred or distrust between different
classes in the community. Nor does the evil end even with the
cessation of the cause which first produced it. The ill feeling
excited against the capitalist by this flour speculation, must
ultimately exert an injurious influence on the development of
the mining resources of our Slate ; it is becoming every day
more evident that a large class of mining operations cannot
be conducted profitably without the assistance of capital;
but there already exists amongst the mass of the mining population
a sort of jealousy or suspicion of capitalists, which in some
instances has been carried so far as to impede or prevent undertakings
of undoubted utility. Unfortunately this feeling cannot but be
augmented by the loss and suffering which will be inflicted
on our mining population this winter by the monstrous flour
monopoly at the Bay. Such are the causes, and such are some
of the evils which are likely to result from the monopoly.
We now propose to consider what means can be applied
for its immediate dissolution— and what steps it
is necessary for the country to take in order
to prevent the recurrence of such an alarming evil.
The question is a difficult one as regards the
direct breaking up of the present monopoly.
The Alta, in an able article on the subject,
written a few days since, seems to despair
of »ny direct remedy being found, whilst
the Times and Transcript is of a contrary
opinion, without, however, suggesting any
definite plan. After a careful consideration
of the subject, and,with the assistance of some
of our legal friends, we think it evident
that the flour monopolists have subjected
themselves to an indictment under the common law.
It is expressly laid down in Blackstone, that
” The bare engrossing of a whole commodity with
an intent to sell it at an unreasonable price, is
an offense indictable at the common law, for if.
such practices were allowed, a rich man might
engross the whole of a commodity and thus sell it
at what price he may think fit.”
Chitty, in his remarks on Blackstone, observes,
“that at the present day it would probably be-
holden that no offense would be committed, unless
there is an intent to raise the price of provisions
by the conduct of the party.”
Such is the common law of England on the subject ;
and the statutes of California enact that ” the common law
of England, so far as it is not repugnant to
or inconsistent with the Constitution of the
United States or the laws of the State of California,
shall be the rule of decision in all the Courts of this State.”
Such is the law as regards monopolies, and never was there an
occasion that called more loudly for its most strict
application. It is not merely the direct inconvenience
and loss sustained by some four hundred thousand persons,
in order to enrich a few speculators, that renders it
imperative on our public legal authorities to use
every means to break up this monopoly. But the indirect
consequences that must result from this unholy attempt
to raise the price of the staple article of food are far
more appalling than any pecuniary considerations.
It is a well known fact that the mines at the present
moment are almost bare of provisions — even at so important
a place as Downieville, there was not at the
close of last week, a pound of flour to be bought.
And if such is the case at this point, what
accounts may we not expect to hear from places farther
up in the mountains, which by the late inclement
weather have been entirely cut off from all means
of obtaining supplies.
We fear that the present winter will not pass
over without furnishing us with many a harrowing
account of death from starvation. The unconscionable
high price at which flour has been maintained, and
the constant expectation that large arrivals must
produce a great fall in the market, have prevented
dealers in the mines from laying in their winter supplies.
And now in many parts they, find themselves cut off from
all possibility of doing it. We do not mean to accuse
the speculators as responsible for all the mischief
and suffering that must result from this state
of things ; but had they not kept the price up to
such an unnatural height, there can be no doubt that
many a life that will now be sacrificed would have
been spared, and although thousands may flow into
their coffers from the course they have pursued,
yet we, for our parts, do not envy them their riches,
tarnished as they are by the sufferings of their fellow citizens.
We trust, however, that this unnatural and illegal
combination of capital, against the best interests
of our State and the welfare and lives of our fellow
citizens will now be brought to an end by legal means,
and that the wise laws of our ancestors to secure the
community from such an unholy conspiracy, will be strictly
enforced by those who are so liberally paid by the people
to look after their interests.
Sufficient mischief has already been done to rouse
these gentlemen to a sense of their duty, and we trust that
there is honesty enough in the bench to punish the offenders,
notwithstanding the enormous fortunes behind which they will
entrench themselves.
Let the Attorney General and the District Attorney look into
this matter, and, unless we are much mistaken it will not
be many hours before some of these monopolists will have
their golden dream tempered by visions of State Prisons and
chain-gangs. It is indeed a fortunate circumstance that
the law has provided a remedy for such a serious
offense as the monopolizing of the articles of food
may inflict on a community, for on the perpetration
of no other species of crime are the united feelings
of an outraged community more likely to lead to the
application of the principles of lynch law.
We believe, however, that San Francisco will be spared
from witnessing anything analogies to the disgraceful
riots that took place at New York a few years since on
account of a like monopoly. Let our public functionaries
do their duty, and the lives of our fellow citizens,
and the interests of the State cannot much longer be
sacrificed at the shrine of individual aggrandizement.
We have not space at present to give to this Subject
all the attention its importance demands, but we
shall take an early opportunity of reverting to it again.