Pullman herald. [volume], March 19, 1920, Page 3, Image 3

About Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989

Image provided by: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

                
«^uy. March 10, 1020
-^ WAY WILL YOU
"wW" GO, MR. GROWER
me following article was print
, n the Mountain View Register
-7 der, published at Mountain View,
of ta Clara county, California, in
tissue of January 9. 1920. At
!hat time the Prune and Apricot
Growers, Inc., were making a drive
• add 26,000 acres to the acreage
W { prunes and apricots already
0 ed up and the growers were
'ther slow about signing the con
tracts. Since that date the drive
Has ended with a record of 45,000,
stead of 26,000, additional acres
signed up. which gives the organiza
tion control of 83 per cent of the
prunes and apricots of California.
This is another convincing proof that
the growers are well satisfied with
the success of the co-operative mar
keting Plan- which should have
much weight with all who are con
sidering signing contracts with the
to-operative wheat growers associa
tions of Washington, Idaho and
Oregon.—Editor.)
By P. Milton Smith
Thirteen years ago, or about that
time, I saw prunes selling for less
than a two-cent base, right here in
Mountain View. 1 saw hundreds of
tons of fine prunes rotting on the
ground under the trees because the
price offered would not pay the
grower to pick them and prepare
them for the market.
About that same time there was a
For Sale" sign sticking up some
where on almost every ranch in this
section. The growers were dis
couraged and heartsick, and they
wanted to sell out- and leave the
country and go somewhere where
the name of "prunes" would not be
a nightmare to them as it had be
come here.
At that time one could buy al
most any orchard in all this section
around here for less (in many cases
much less) than five hundred dol
lars per acre, and there were very
few buyers. Everybody wanted to
sell; nobody wanted to buy.
In those days there was no grow
ers' organization of any kind. The
independent picker was supreme.
He had a different price for every
purchase—the lowest possible to get
the crop. On the slightest pretext,
or none at all, he refused to accept
the twit upon delivery unless the
growers would accept a still greater
reduction in price.
: A firm of this sort of packers had
tie Old Mountain View packing
house along about that time on a
lease. They bought up prunes
wherever they could get them cheap
enough, and packed them out of here
under the name of "Santa Clara
County Prunes." They did more to
damage the name of Santa Clara
county fruit and to spoil the market
tor it than all causes combined had
ever been able to do to benefit it.
They were unscrupulous and unfair
ia their dealings with the growers,
Md never hesitated to take advant
age of them whenever opportunity
offered.
Little wonder that the , growers
»ere discouraged and wanted to sell
their lands and leave the country!
Such conditions as these prevailed
kere until about the beginning of
to great war in 1914. In the mean
time the wise heads among the grow
__* had been desperately trying to
THE PRICES ON PRUNES
Something Every Grower Should Study and Then Decide for Himself
What Is His Duty to Protect His Interests for the Future
For many years after the prune industry became the leading
branch of fruit-growing in California, the growers were obliged to
sell their fruit at prices dictated by a combination of packers and
speculators. Every year these speculators were on hand to buy the
Prunes at ridiculously low prices, and it is a notorious fact that they
made more money out of the business than was made by the growers,
here is the record of prices for the past 13 years, showing gross
.Prices received by the growers and the prices paid by consumers at
three leading San Francisco stores, which fairly represent the retail
trade everywhere:
Prices on Prunes Before the Prune and Apricot Association Was
Formed
i '.- - State Crop Prices Received Prices Paid
Year Pounds by Grower by Consumer
v19°7...... .105.000,000 2% to 3c per lb. .8 to 12% c per lb.
3? 08 -...... 57.000.000 2%t03%C " 10 to 13% c "
109 150,000,000 2% to 3%c " Btol2._C "
1910 75,000,000 3% to ■". 10 to 15c
; 911 140,000.000 3 to 3%c " 9to 13c
J 912;...... 200,000,000 2% to 3c ," Bto 12% c "
J 913 90.000,000 3 to 4c " 10 to 14c
JJJ 4 120.000,000 3% to 3%c " 9to 13c
J 915 174,000.000 3% to 4% " 10 to 14c
916 130,000,000 3%t04%c " 10 to 15c
After the Prune and Apricot Association Was Formed
'J 917---.. 224,000,000 6 to 7%c '" 10 to 16*_c "
■■':}"?•••.••. 120.000,000 8% to 10c " lltol6*_c "
J, 9 260,000,000 12% to 14c ". 15 to 18%
-?»» there be any question as to what caused this remarkable
change? , . -
. It should also be noted that the prices to the consumer have not
t ?«,advanced in anything like the proportion the prices now re
';• '• ed by the grower have been increased.
:^JW» compilation shows conclusively what co-operation among the
5j oWeri> has accomplished, and all that the Prune and Apricot
I buT 6" n^°W need is Btul more co-operation in order to make their
■■■', "ness prosperity a perpetual reality. >;»
effect some means of saving the
remnants of the fruit industry in
this valley, and in the state general
ly. "Organization" was the cry
heard on every hand. "We must
organize, or the industry will per
ish," they said. Many plans were
put forth and suggestions came from
every quarter.
The world went mad in 1914.
Transatlantic shipping became prac
tically impossible and the European
markets, greatest consumers of our
fruit, were closed to us. Then the
packers had the growers at their
mercy as never before. They could
tell the growers that it was impossi
ble to ship to Europe and conse
quently only a small percentage of
the crops would be consumed in the
United States; hence the price would
be whatever the packer felt like pay
ing, or nothing at all. It meant
Hack ruin for the fruit growers of
California unless some other way
out was discovered, and discovered
mighty soon.
A way out was discovered. It
was the old, and only practical way
—organization.
The California Prune and Apricot
Growers. Inc.. was organized. By
almost superhuman efforts, by work
ing nights and days, Sundays and
holidays, the little handful of earnest
men who bad set about to perfect
this organization, managed to secure
almost 75 per cent of the prune and
apricot acreage in the state into the
organization. With this acreage
they- felt they could go into the mar
kets and demand a reasonable prico
for the prunes and apricots. And
they did. The first year of the or
ganization, the independent packers
—the same old orchard robbers —
merely waited aneeringly, saying
the organization was not strong
enough to influence, much less con
trol, the markets. They said they
could afford to rest one year while
the "fool growers" were batting
their brains out against a stone wall.
But the "fool growers," through
their own organization, began to
show that they were not batting
their heads against.anything harder
than a six, seven and even an eight
cent base price for prunes, with apri
cots and peaches coming right along
behind at prices not known before
for years. Then the independents
began to get uneasy. Then they be
gan to send out their hired men to
offer the growers bigger prices than
the organisation was offering, thus
hoping to disrupt the association.
This worked in a good many cases,
but the organization still lived. Then
came the wonder year 1918, with
such prices as the wildest dreamer
among the growers never had seen
in his most alluring vision. Then
the packers were frantic. They had
not broken the organization, and
they had been forced to make good
on short sales at ruinous prices.
This couldn't be allowed to continue!
And all of this going on at a time
when the seas were closed to trans
portation, the markets of the old
world sealed tight, and only the
home market to depend upon!
But this is all history, more or
less ancient. I am reciting it here
and now for the purpose of recalling
to the minds of the old-timers, and
for the information of the newcom
ers here, the conditions that pre
vailed here in those days not so long
ago, and I want to ask them —old-
timer and newcomer alike —if they
THE PULLMAN HERALD
want to have those conditions
brought back here again? If they
want to see the fine ranch they
bought last summer for anywhere
from $1500 to $2000 per acre, drop
in value to less than $1000 per acre?
If they want to be compelled to sell
their prunes for a two-cent base or
less, or let them rot on the ground
under the trees? If they want to
give up the plana for a new house
and a better automobile this year?
In fact. I want to ask them if they
are anxious to slip back 13 years in
time and progress and try to do all
over again the Herculean tasks that
have been accomplished in that time
by a few wise, earnest men, who
have thought of the future of the
fruit industry in California, and of I
the happiness and prosperity of
their children and their children'^
children? •
For just as surely as the sun
shall rise over Mt. Hamilton tomor- '■
row morning, so surely will these
conditions prevail in this state
among the fruit growers if the Cal- i
ifornia Prune and Apricot Grower-,
Inc., shall go to pieces. And it will
go to pieces if the required acreage
is not signed up by the time set, 30
that the forces of the organization
may be turned toward the markets,
their natural function.
The last two years have been bad
for the California Prune and Apricot
Growers, Inc.. in this way: The
unprecedented prices for the fruit
Stimulated the sales of land as no
thing ever had done before; conse
quently many ranches, large and
small, changed hands. Now the
contract with the growers' organiza
tion is made with the rancher and
not with the ranch, so that when a
ranch passes from one owner to an
other the contract with the growers
association lapses unless the new'
owner signs up a new contract. This j
has not been done in many cases oi !
transfer of acreage, so that the. per-1
centage of acreage in the growers'
association has fallen far below the
necessary 75 per cent, and very far
below the desired 90 per cent. This
is why the work of signing up the
acreage has to be done practically
all over again. And this is why the
organization is certain to be a fail
ure unless the new owners of acre
age, and more of the old non-mem
ber owners, get into the organiza
tion right now.
There is a class of owner who al
most, if not quite, holds the fate of
this organization in his hands today,
and that is the man known in the
organization circles as the "Non-
Member Grower." He is the man
who, for some reason or other, has
refused to get into the organization,
but has profited just as much from
the big prices as any member of the :
organization. He knows that the i
big prices were solely due to the
organization and the efforts of the
independent packers to disrupt it
by boosting the prices to what they
believed would be a ruinous high
plane. These non-member growers
have exhibited most singular and
mistaken selfishness in thus refus
ing to maintain an organization that \
is making them rich; an organization !
that has changed the conditions
from those of 1907 to those of 1919 j
in the fruit industry of California:
singular because the California
rancher is not, as a rule, narrow or
mean; and mistaken, because they
can not possibly have any foundation j
for hoping that the organization
can, or will, carry them along indef-!
initely. The organization has too!
many natural enemies among the j
grafters and profiteers of the in
dependent packers to fight without j
being compelled to waste precious |
munitions of war upon the very peo
ple it is doing the most for. It
seems mighty queer to me that any
fruit grower would dare the chances
of failure of . the organization .by
staying out of it. I can not under
stnd why. every grower isn't crowd
ing into the offices of the organiza
tion today trying to get his name
upon the rolls of loyal supporters
of the association that means for
him the difference between prosper
ity and bankruptcy. If the men in
any other line of business or indus
try had such an organization that
meant so much to them and the suc
cess or failure of their business, does
anybody believe that a single man
in that line of business or industry
would take a chance staying out of
that organization for the few dollars
of "easy money" he might get as an
outsider? Well, he wouldn't unless
he were a fool. We talk about "big
business," and consider It as some
thing apotheosißed; but "big busi
ness" is nothing under heaven other
than organization raised to the Nth
power.
The deciduous fruit industry of
California is today at the crucial
point in its existence; the grower ie '
at the parting of the ways between ,
success . and failure. Which road
will he take? The maintenance of
the Prune and Apricot Growers. Inc., j
means success and prosperity for the
growers, and through them, for al
most every other agrarian and sub
urban Industry and enterprise; the
disruption of that organization
means failure and hard times for
all of us.
Which way are you going to go,
Mr. Grower?
RESOLUTION No. fWO
______
Be it Resolved by the City Council
of the City of Pullman, Wash
ington:
1. That it is the intention of the
City Council to order the improve
ment of the following described
streets:
Beginning on Paradise street at
th west line of the paving on Alder
street thence west along Paradise
street to the east line of the paving
on Grand street; beginning on High
street at the south line of the pav
ing on Main street thence south
along High street to the south City
Limits; Dexter street, beginning on
Dexter street at tho east line of the
paring on High street thence east
along Dexter street to its Intersec
tion with Side street; Side street,
beginning at the south line of
Dexter street, thence north along
Side street to its intersection with
South street; South street, begin
ning at the east line of Side
street, thence west along South
street to its Intersection with Hill
street; Hill street, beginning at
the south line of South street,
thence north along Hill street to its
intersection with Jackson street;
Jackson street, beginning at the
east line of Hill street, thence
west along Jackson street to
its intersection with Spring street:
Spring street, from the south
line of Jackson street thence
northeasterly along Spring street, to
the paving on Daniel street.
Beginning on the west lino of the
paving on Spring street where said
Spring street intersects the alloy
running through Block 23, Original
Town, thence west along the alleys,
running through Blocks Nop. 23, 24
and 26, Original Town and across
Lot 4, Block 2, Original Town to
its intersection with High street, by
filling, grading, paving, curbing and
guttering said streets, and doing
such other work as may bo neces
sary in connection therewith, all in
accordance with plans and specifica
tions to be prepared by the City's
Engineer.
2. That it is proposed to create
an enlarged district to pay the whole
of the cost and expense of such im
provement as shall be chargeable
against the property within the dis
trict.
The boundaries of such enlarged
district are hereby specified and de
scribed as follows, to-wit:
Beginning at the northernmost cor
ner of Block 6, Original Town, thence
southwesterly along the east line of
Grand street to a point, said point
being located by the intersection of
the projection of the west line
of Jordan road with the east
line of Grand street: thence
southerly parallel to High street to
a point on the south line of
South street; thence westerly to
the northwest corner of block 2,
Rossiter's addition; thence southerly
along the east line of Wash
ington street to the city limits line;
thence easterly along the south city
limits line to a point formed by
the intersection of the projection
of the center line of alley
through True's subdivision with
said city limits line; thence
northerly along the projection
of the center line of the alley through
True's subdivision across tract H
and block 70, Daw's 2nd addition,
and alley through True's subdivision
and alleys through blocks 09 and 66,
Daw's addition, to a point on the
south line of McKenzie street;
thence northwesterly along Mc-
Kenzie street to the southwest
corner of block 19, Original Town;
thence northwesterly along the
southerly line of Daniel street
to a point formed by the In
tersection of the projection of the
line between lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, block
12, Original Town, with said prop
erty line of Daniel street; thence
westerly parallel to McKenzie street
to the northwest corner of lot 4,
block 12, Original Town; thence
south along the west line of lot 4.
block 12. Original Town to a point
on the north line of McKenzie street;
thence west along the north
line of McKenzie street to the south
west corner of lot 5, block 10, Orig
inal Town; thence along the west
line of lots 5 and 6, block 11. Orig
inal Town to the northwest corner
of lot 6. block 10, Original Town;
thence easterly along the north line
of lots 6 and 3. block 10, Original
Town to a point on Alder street;
thence north along the west line of
£lder street to the northeast corner
of lot 3, block 8, Original Town;
thence west along the north line of
lots 3 and 6. block 8. Original Town
and across tracts J, X and L to the
southeast corner of tract X; thence
north along the east line of tract X
to the south line of Main
street: thence west along the south
line of Main street to the place of be
ginning.
3. That there be assessed against
that portion of the property with
in such enlarged district lying be
tween the termini of the proposed
improvement and extending back
from the marginal lines thereof to
the middle of the block on each side
thereof in the mode prescribed in
section thirteen of Chapter ninety
eight of the session laws of the state
of Washington for 1911. sixty-five
per cent of the cost and expense of
r.uch improvement, and that the re
mainder of such cost and expense be
distributed and assessed against all
the"property included in the remain
der of such enlarged district In ac
cordance with special benefits. Pro
vided, that in the future, in case
any street or alley within this en
larged district not improved at-this
time, shall be Improved, then and
In that case, all property lying ad
lucent to such future Improvement
within the five zones provided by
law shall be assessed sixty-five per
cent of the total cost of such future
improvement, and all remaining
property within this enlarged dis
trict shall bear thirty-five per cent
of the cost and expense of such fu
ture improvement
4. That all persons desiring to
object thereto are hereby notified to
appear and present such objections
at I meeting Of the city council to
be held In the council chamber in
lie city hall in the city of Pullman,
Washington, at 8 o'clock p. m. on
the rtth day of April, 1920, which
time and place la hereby fixed for
hearing all matters relating to said
improvement, and all objections
thereto, and for determining the
method of payment for said improve
ment.
■'. That the city's engineer Is
hereby instructed to submit to the
council on or before the 6th day of
April, 1920. an estimate of the cost
and expense of the improvement;
herein contemplated, together with'
the statement of the proportionate 1'
amount, thereof which should be
borne by the property within the j
proposed assessment district, to-1
gel her with a statement of the ag
gregate valuation of the real estate]
exclusive of improvements within!
said district, according to the val
uation last placed upon it, for thoj
purposes of general taxation, to
i gether with a diagram or print
showing thereon the lots, tracts or
parcels of land or other property
which will be especially benefited by
said Improvement, together with his
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiii in ii 111 mi 11 in
When you think of Clothesthink of Clarkson
■111«11.111111 ii i iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiimiiiii
Time tor that Easier Hat
VY^III.N you buy that Easter Hat this spring be
vv sure that it's a Mallory. Their style gives a
look of distinction, their quality a mark of taste.
They are the aristocrats of the hat world.
You can't find newer styles, better shapes or more
attractive shades than come in
livery line, curve and dimension is exactly right.
Soft bats and derbies in every style, shade and shape
that's correct.
The finest quality, light in weight, permanent color
and as smart as they make 'em.
rlhe most becoming hat you ever wore is here for
you now. See the display in our windows, or better
Btill—bring your head in and give it a treat.
MALLORY HAT WEEK
V. W. CLARKSON
Men's Outfitter
iillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllililllllliilllliiiilli
When you think of Clothes think of Clarkson
Moscow Electrical Supply Store
Electrical contractors and dealers in electrical supplies
Edison, Hotpoint and Universal Appliances
One Minute Wash Machines
The Farmers Universal Lighting Plant
Try us .or quick service and good work
J. F. BARNES C. E. HYER
PHONE M 25. MOSCOW, Idaho ° ">* ™
How to Make Some Money
Real Estate is a side issue with me; but I can show you how
to make some money on Pullman property.'
The price of a six-room dwelling on the corner of Ruby and
Montgomery, $2500 until March 15. Price will be raised $100
on that date and every month thereafter for five months —
because it is worth $3000 now.
D. C. DOWNEN
Insurance Specialist
Phone 1242 or call and leave orders for sale dates with
Downen Insurance Agency.
N. W. Cairns
Paige Throe
•jstimate of the amount of the coat
and expense of said improvement
which should be borne by each lot
:ract or parcel of land or other
property.
6. That the cost and expense of
laid improvement shall be borne by
and assessed against the property
liable therefor, as provided by law.
7. Be It further resolved, that
he city clerk shall cause this reao
ution to be published for two con
tecntlve issues of the Pullman Her
ald, the official newspaper of the
Mty of Pullman, the first publics
ton to be at least fifteen days before
ho 6th day of April, 1920.
Passed March 2, 1920.
W. C. KREUGEL,
attest: Mayor Pro. Tern.
MATILDA F. GANNON,
City Clerk.
Approved as to form:
D. C. DOW,
nch 12-19
FOR SALE—A one and one-half
horsepower Fairbanks-Morse gaso
line engine. Baker Motor Co.
_ichstf ,
Ever try Sunkist canned goods?
J. O. Adams* Grocery handles them.
Phone 56. mchßtf
FOR SALE—Ton acres of land,
.loso in, on easy terms. Inquire ot
Mrs. Mary L. Keyes, 1002 Thatuna
St., Pullman, Wash. feb2otf