Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-12-01

houses than from auction sales, and would
reach much larger consumption. ii,
says:
Commission dealers have cen largely instru
mental in creating and organizing the presen
trade in these fruits, and they are entitled Il
consideration. Established commission mer
chants do not, as rule, buy goods; they are
compelled to stick to their legitimate commits
, sion business. They now have close communi
cation with dealers in adjoining States, ant
furnish them regular supplies. Sales exclu
sively by auction will largely dry up present
avenues of distribution. Goods arriving from
long distances require inspection and careful
asserting to bring value. My Florida CORE
spondents say the growers thoroughly tested
the auction plan last season through the Florids
isfactory. The institution which was to remedy
their difficulties has proved worse than the dis
ease.
In reply to this statement, 1 deem il
needless to again call attention to the fact
that the experience of the past shows that
fruits do not, as rule, command better re.
turns at private sale than at auction. That
commission dealers have been largely in
strumental in creating and organizing trade
in fruits is to be conceded that they are
entitled to consideration is also to be con-
coded, provided the results are mutually
satisfactory; but when the profits are all
on the side of the commission man, and the
risks and losses altogether on the side OF
Rthe California shipper and grower,
| then the traffic ceases to be
mutually profitable, and the COM
mission man as such is no longer
entitled to any consideration. Fur
thermore, who will dare affirm that in
order that few men may make liberal
commissions, without assuming any
risks that an industry like that of Califor-
MIA fruit culture shall be choked and
limited, and its markets either cramped
by shipping to few commits
shipping to many commission men With
due respect to the commission men of the
East, permit me to say that in my opinion
the occupation of the commission dealer is
largely thing of the past Future
possibilities in California fruits are
vast, not in handling them on commission,
but in buying and selling Let the COM
mission man in the East do as the commits
| sion man in California who ships East
has done. Let him buy at the lowest price
and sell at the highest. If our Eastern
commission friend says it will not pay to
come to California to buy fruits, our answer
is that we propose to make such a journey
| unnecessary, we shall place our fruits at his
| doors, but if he wants them he must buy
and pay for them and share our risks as
well as our profits.
Mr. Palmer further says; "Sales ex-
tensively by auction will largely dry up
present avenues of distribution"
| So far as California fruits in the East are
| concerned we have thus far very few
avenues of distribution to dry UP, as our
| fruits have hardly begun to make any i'm
preston east of Chicago. But even though
our present avenues of distribution were
| numerous, the experience of the past
would indicate that auction sales, instead
of drying up distributing avenues increase
them with marvellous rapidity.
Imports of Almeria grapes have grown
| from few hundred barrels a season to
| 10000 barrels, equal to 371 carloads per
| week, the estimated receipts of this season
at the port of New York City. They have
penetrated into every town and hamlet in
| the East, West and Northwest, and are
now consumed by millions of people,
many of whom never get even a glimpse of
California fruits. All this has been done
under the auction system. Mr. Palmer
must be well aware of these facts. How
can he, therefore, state that the auction
method dries up avenues of distribution?
Again, Mr.. Palmer says: My Florida
correspondents say the growers thoroughly
tested the auction plan last season and they
have found it unsatisfactory
The statements made by Mr.. Palmer's
| correspondents are, however, not supported
by facts. From the information at hand it
would appear that the Florida growers
! tested the auction plan in Boston last
season and the results were so satisfactory
that arrangements were made for New
York and elsewhere tor this season, as the
followine, statement of Mr.. Day, of Sgobel
q Day, clearly shows.
Mr.. Day says:
1t is my conviction, based upon experience,
that the proper way to dispose of large quanti-
ties of oranges lemons and grapes is by auction.
Great numbers of new men throughout the
country have within the past few years arranged
to make regular and direct purchases from the
auction house, personally and through their
brokers here. l sincerely believe that before
very long the entire fruit product of the coun-
try will be distributed at auction. 1t viii be
found necessary, and in full accord with the
progressive spirit of commercial affairs. Our
first sale of Florida oranges at auction this sea-
son took place on Thursday, and the prices OBJ
tanned were fully equal to any made at private
sale for the same grade of fruit. Returns to the
shippers were made the next day
In conclusion permit me to quote still
| further from the annual report of the Flor
| ida Fruit Exchange. 1t says:
Nowhere in the world is a valuable agricult-
| ural crop sent TO market in the hap-hazsrd man
ner as the Floripa orange crop. Three million
boxes of Mediterranean fruit-all that comes to
our shores-are handled by one firm in New
| York. and this tasteless, sour ugly fruit actual
ly brings more than our beautiful, high-ilavored
| Florida fruit, simply because it is handled by
| one house, who control the market, rendering
| gluts impossible. Mr. W. K Lente, the founder
of Seville and prominent orange grower per-
tinently asks; How is il with u.s. and our
crop? We ship it all over the country; we ship
| it to small towns to retail grocerymen. Now,
| man in an interior town who formerly bought
| fifty boxes week during the season, is afraid
| to buy more than a few boxes at a time, lest
| some retail dealer should get a consignm ent or
commission direct from Florida, and, by selling
| low, make the former wholesale dealer lose
| money. Formerly the "fifty-boX man" was the
| local wholesale dealer who went to New York,
| attended auction sales and supplied the
retail dealers with box at time: now his
business is ruined. The retail dealer, if
he knew prices would be kept up, would
prefer to buy his fruit outright, and he could
| make more money than if he received consign-
ments direct from Florida at 10 per cent. com
| mission. A retail merchant cannot afford to
| sell oranges at 10 per cent commission, as, for
instance, thirty five cents on So so. A terrible
temptation is placed in the hands of all these
men to q knock off" twenty-five cents. Com
mission men may kick at this, but while l do
not state all do it, do emphatically state, and
| can prove, that some do, especially if by being
| diligent workers they have received q much
| higher price than the quotations would lead
! shippers to expect. Let me cite another case.
| A well-known buyer came to town for oranges.
| He wanted a car-load-250 boxes. The fruit
| commission merchant offered him a carload at
\ So 20. While thinking over the matter another
| commission man came in and cut under the first
man twenty-five cents. II is literally true that
| at last the buyer bought at 81 25. and even then
| got so frightened at the under bidders that he
| only bought fifty boxes he fearing that some of
his neighbors might buy at 81 IS, and make him
| lose money.
Officers of the Exchange have witnessed sales
of from 10000 to 900 boxes of foreign fruit in
| New York City at one time, all sold by one man
| at auction. and realized splendid prices. the
entire lot being disposed of within two or three
hours.
Now, 10000 boxes of Florida fruit shipped in
| the old indscriminate style into the New York
| market at one time, will create a ruinous glut,
dollar per box Why is this? Simply because
the fruit is sent to every dealer in the city to be
sold on commission. So many dealers get it to
sell on commission that there are scarcely any
buyers to be found. Nine men out of every ten
wants to sell. Fruit growers think of it for it
| is you who suffer.
Ifwith the five to ten hundred thousand boxes
shipped during each season for the past three
years markets have been ruinously glutted, how
do you suppose they will stand FIVE to ten mill
ion boxes five or ten years hence, if the old
hap-hazard method of shipping continues, that
old method which in the past has practically
arrayed the produce of one grower against that
of another.
Respectfully, H. WEINsTocK.
THE branch office of the New Home u
Sewing Machine Company, at SOC J street
Sacramento, is now under the management
of Mr.. F. H Clemens, an experienced and
popular agent of Sonoma county and San