The Great Hop Correction: A Merchant’s Penny and the Price of Truth
In a rare moment of journalistic humility, local merchants publicly corrected a previous error regarding hop prices, revealing the volatile nature of Seattle’s agricultural trade in February 1903.
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.
Mr. Livesay, the hops merchant, paid Mr. Hayes 15 cents per pound for the last lot of hops bought, instead of about 10 cents as stated in yesterday's market report. This transaction was confuted with another one.
All grades of sugar advanced ½ cent per pound here yesterday, in sympathy with a similar advance in San Francisco.
This brief correction highlights the intense scrutiny and rapid price fluctuations of Seattle’s early commodity markets. Just as modern traders watch crypto or stock tickers, 1903 merchants relied on daily newspapers for real-time data, where even a half-cent error could ripple through local supply chains.
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