The morning call., 1894-06-20
THE ORGANIZATION OF OUR
INDUSTRIES.
THE

One of the most encouraging signs Of
the times is the disposition of persons en-
gagged in the wine and Taisin industries to
organize for the future. We produce a
large quantity of the most wholesome and
palatable wine in the world; we grow
nearly half as many pounds of raisins as
the United States consume; and yet 10
one can be pointed out who has made a
very large fortune at either industry, and
a n UNI Der of speculative persons have been
impoverished by trying to do so. The
reason is simply that the industry en-
braces two branches-tbe production of
the article to be sold and the marketing of
that article. We have made success of
the former, and left the latter to Provi-
dence. The time has come to bestow on it
the attention which is required to achieve
success.
The raisin industry has been hampered
by constant friction between the grower
and packer. To obviate this in the future
a California Raisin Growers and Packers
Company was organized at Fresno on Mon
day, with the purpose of bringing both
classes under one control. The capital of
the company is nominal-S40O0 in shares
of 50 each. and no stakeholder can hold
more than one share. But no grower is to
have his raisins packed by a packer who
is not a stakeholder; and packers are TO
deposit with the company sums varying
from $500 to $4,000. according to The
amount of business they do, to be forfeited
in case they violate the rules of the CON-
pany. The price of raisins-that is to say,
a maximum and minimum-is to be fixed
from lime to time by board of directors
consisting of five growers and five packers
chosen from the stockholders. The idea
is 10 get the whole industry under one
control, so as to prevent the slaughtering
Of goods by impecunious packers as in the
past In order to protect the reputation of
California raisins an official inspector is
to examine and brand all goods designed
for market under one of the following four
heads: Clusters, London Layers. Loose
FOur-crOwn and Loose Muscatels, the last
named class including damaged goods.
which are to be put up in fifty-pOund
boxes. If this programme is carried out
the Chicago grOcerS will have to deal
openly and directly with the directors
Of the company instead OF trading, as
heretofore, upon the necessities of a jObber
or commission merchant who happens to
be overstOcked with goods, and the result
should be to impart stability to the trade
and TO increase the rewards of an industry
which is very important to the State.
The proposed organization of the wine
men is faulty, in that it only contemplates
a union OF dealers, in which growers are
not 10 participate. 1t is in part a trust,
like the sugar trust and the oil trust. The
six or seven buyers of wine in this city
deed their cellars, their presses and their
stock to a corporation with a capital of
100000 taking pay in stock. Having
thus secured a monopoly of the business
they specify the terms on which they will
deal with growers. They are a follows:
They will buy Zinfandel. Mataro, Chas-
selas, Reislng, Burger and grapes of that
class, grown in vineyards not less than
three or four years old. at SIS ton; from
vineyards of the same age they will buy
Frank Riesling, Sauvignon, Pinot, Caber-
net aud grapes of that class at S23 ton :;
from vineyards of the same age they will
buy grapes Of the Sauvignon-Cabernet,
Sauvignon blanc, MerlOt, Babernet franc
and similar varieties at $50 a ton; they
will give So for Mission and Maivosie
grapee. On the other hand for wines three,
four and FIVE years old they will pay from
a TO Is cents per gallon for Zinfandel aud
Riesling and their class, the former price
being for wines made from bottom lands
and the latter for wines from hill lands 4;
for wines of the same age and the second
class above given, 10 to % cents; for wines
of the same age of third elass, % to 80
cents per gallon, and for Mission and NAL
vOsie wine s cents per gallon.
This arrangement will at any rate en-
able the wine-grOwer to know what he
may expect to get for his vim tage, and will
save him the annoyance of hawking 1t
around among wine-dealers who are far
too shrewd to bid against each other. But
it is open to the objection that it is one
sided plan in which the buyer dictates to the
seller the price Of an article whose value
should be governed by supply and demand
The remedy for the wine-growers is to or
ganiZe a counter trust with capital enough
to carry goods through times of depres-
sion and to ship all their goods to il. 1t
ought to be possible 10 secure the capital
required from the Eastern millionaires
| who have grown rich through their con-
nectlon with the whisky trust. Such a
growers organization would be as well able
to dictate to the dealers trust as 1t can die
tate at present to individual wine-growers.
THR AEQICAN G0I n MENEC