The Rice Mills of Port Mystery

1891 Heuston, B[enjamin] F[ranklin] (1859-1907). The Rice Mills of Port Mystery. Chicago, IL: Charles H. Kerr. Unity Library No. 8. 2^nd ed. Chicago, IL: Charles H. Kerr, 1892. In almost all early bibliographies the author’s name is misspelled as Houston. DLC, MoU-St, PSt

Eutopia designed as an argument in favor of free trade. The first three chapters are on the physical glories of the Northwestern U.S. The next chapters are future history in which the Northwest is developed, and there are significant technological advances. An inventor of genius discovers how to create organic matter from inorganic matter; hence, the rice mills. Having a monopoly, the man became immensely rich, and the Northwest developed rapidly, but the man died young. His will gives his shipping interests to the men who worked the ships, the rice mill in trust to the State of Washington, and his other property to the city. But the whole thing was a fraud designed to hide free trade with other countries, which is what had actually enriched him.