The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1894-11-24
CALIFORNIA FRUIT GROWERS.
Their State Convention at
Sacramento.
sprague's Resolution for State
Railroad Adopted.
EARLY Construction of the Nicaragua
CANAL and Foreclosure of Mort
gagcs Pacific Rail-
t.,. roads Favored.
By the Annotated Press.

| oAonhMhNlOs NoN. <os-OuhiI " al
Buck presided at the opening OF this
forenoon's session OF the state fruit
growers convention and E. P. Adams
read statement Of the shipments Of
dried fruits from California from July
lst to November 18th for the years 1893
and 1894. as follows:
Raisins, 1898, carloads OF IL tons,
1744; 1894, 1864.
Dried fruits, except prunes. 1898,
1886; 1894. 1899.
Prunes, 1898. 1921 1894, 523.
The committee on resolutions reported
in favor of q resolution recommending
the speedy completion of the Nicaragua
canal; q resolution on the mining debris
question, and resolution asking the
government to foYeclose the mortgages
held against the Union and Central
Pacific railroads.
The committee reported back, without
recommendation or prejudice, the reso.
luton referring to the building by the
state OF q railroad through the San
joaquin and Sacramento valleys.
Mr.. Sprague OF Los Angeles county
made speech on the subject OF the re-
ferred resolution. He said that if the
state OF California should build rail.
road through the valleys of California to
give producers an outlet, great advan-
tsge would accrue to those producers.
Ii has become generally known, he said,
that more than 40 governments are now
owning or controlling their railroad sys-
TENS and they are doing it successfully.
1t was very practicable thing to do. A
road could be built by the state as
easily and as chesply az by private cor.
porations.
j. A. Wilcox of Yuba county said the
Erie canal had been q source of endless
taxation and political corruption in the
state of New York and that farmers
should 90 slow and consider we'll the
consequences Of such wild schemes.
Mr.. Hutchings of Yuba county spoke
OF the destruction of the navigable
rivers of the state by mining debris, and
declared that this should be checked.
He was opposed to the state building
railroads. 1--WE are taxed nearly to
death already" he said.
Mr.. Motheral denounced the remarks
OF the last speaker ss selfish. alleging
that because he had the Sacramento
river az his in the northern section of
the state. he did not want the southern
part of the state provided with trans
portation facilities.
Chairman Buck remarked that it
would be cheaper and better to build q
railroad to connect with competing lines
outside the state. He said:
what this state needs 10 q compet-
ing line to connect with the lines cen.
tering at Ogden, and less money would
be required to build it than it would
take to build road from the Northern
to the southern part of the state"
d. r. Fowler made . speech in favor
of government ownership of the rail-
roads. --n -.yi44
The valley railroad resolution was put
to vote and was adopted with q few
dissenting voices.
were appointed committee to lay the
resolution before the legislature at the
next session. ...
A paper was read by E. F. Smith on
experiments made with the carbonic
acid gas process. The history of car
load Of fresh fruit that was sent to
Chicago was read. The fruit was IL
days on the road and arrived in better
condition than that in refrigerator cars.
All experiments in this line with all
kinds of fruit have been entirely sue
cessful, he said, and by means Of this
process fruit may be shipped to England
in q state OF perfect preservation.
A paper on Fruit Marketing, by P. E,
Plat, was read. Mr.. Plat suggested a
com plete and thorough organization of
the growers. He said:
There are many important cities in
the east which have never received q
pound of deciduous fruit from Califor.
mia. The manner in which California
fruit is sold in the east resembles a
sherif's sale. The fruit is exposed on
the sidewalk and is knocked down to
some one OF a dozen who choose to bid
Oh it. Producers would have received
as much money for last seasons ship
ments if they had allowed half the fruit
TO rot on the trees and had shipped the
other half intelligently."
A paper on pecan culture in Texas BY
Edward Post of Texas was read by the
secretary.
Mr.. Berwick moved that the secretary
OF the state horticultural society be in
structed to mail copy of the Nicaragua
canal resolution to President Cleveland
and every membe of congress. Adopt
ed unanimously.
Mr.. Sprsgue moved that the conven-
ton instruct the California congression-
al delegation to use special effort in
congress with respect to the early COM
pletion of the Nicaragua canal and the
foreclosure OF the mortgage on the Pa
ciic railroads. The resolution was
adopted.
The convention adjourned this after
noon to meet next year at San Diego.
Santa Rosa got votes, San Jose IA and
San Diego 40.
Tomorrow many of the delegates will
visit the etste prison and water power
plant at Folsom.
The subject of fruit transportation to
the east was again discussed this after
noon. 1t was voted that expedited |
trains alone were not enough, and that
there should be reduced rates.
The question as to whether the use OF |
fruit was preventive of disease, with |
request that it be answered by W. s. |
Manning, was answered by that gentle. |
man in long disqusition, in which he |,
stated that bread was called the staff OF |
life and yet oil the ills OF life were at
tributable to it.
A motion was made to submit the |
question to the state board OF health,
with request that it report on it at |
the next convention.
AS Mr.. Perkins, the inventor of the |
Perkins process for preserving fruit in |
transit, was sick and had left the city,
the subject could not be taken up.
Votes OF thanks were rendered the
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