The Seattle Flour Wars
A brutal price-cutting war between California millers reaches a tentative truce in Seattle, stabilizing the cost of a daily necessity.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
It looks as though the warfare which has been going on in the flour market will be terminated today, at least as far as the leading brands of California flour are concerned. It is understood that the manufacturers of the three leading brands of California flour handled here—the Sperry, Green Crown, and Drifted Snow—have entered into an agreement to maintain a standard price for the trade. The manufacturer of the Golden Gate brand is supposed to be in the arrangement as well. As the Rainier and Olympic brands, which are manufactured by the Tacoma mill, are the only other competitors here, and as the fight was really against the Drifted Snow for having cut prices upon its introduction to this market, it is probable the warfare will now cease. The conflict had run to such an extreme that Green Crown and Sperry were selling as low as $4.60 to $4.65 per barrel.
“It had run to such an extreme that Green Crown and Sperry were selling as low as $4.60 to $4.65.”
In 1892, Seattle’s flour prices were dictated by cutthroat territorial competition between California imports and Tacoma mills. Today, the 'war' has shifted from the price of flour to the rent of the storefronts where it is sold, but the anxiety of market volatility remains a constant feature of Seattle’s economic life.
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