The morning call., 1894-07-31
A BOOM IN FRUIT.
One Hundred Carloads
Leaving Daily.
BIG PRICES FOR SHIPPERS.
The Importance of Proper Dis
tribution.
GAMERS ALSO RUSHING THINGS
Eastern Dealers Are Buying "Pie-
Fruit" Class They Never
Before Handled.


Fruit-dealers-in fresh and canned-are
just now at their busiest.
The San Francisco Gamers are employ
ing all the wonderland many men-who
come to them for employment The Cali
foTnia Canneries Company have over 500
women at work, and expect to put another
floor of their extensive cannery to work
to-day. 1t is the same at A. +. Tenney q
Co.'s and other canneries.
The trade IN fresh fruit is enjoying a
radical vacation from the stagnant days of
the strike.
On an average 100 carloads of fruit is
leaving California every day for the East.
The great Eastern markets were wholly
cleaned up on fruit during the latter Gays
of the tie-up. and now that the roads are
open are buying eagerly Of California
fruit and paying big prices for II.
will the demand be so satisfied by the
rush of fruit into the markets that prices
will fall?" The question was put to Mr..
Gray OF Wood, Gray q Co. yesterday.
ut should not if properly handled" he
said. "The great difficulty in the past has
been that the fruit product has been
rushed into a few of the big cities, con-
centrated there and auctiOned off at what
Ii could bring. Ii the fruit is properly
| distributed there Is no reason why 100
carloads day may not be absorbed by The
East without affecting the prevailing good
| prices. The fruit is of an excellent quail
| ity and is carrying we'll in ice cars.
"Yes, there was considerable loss Occa-
| stoned by the strike, which 1t will be i'm
possible TO make up even with Improved
| prices. There was some loss in transit,
| out much more In The orchards. Peaches
especially suffered. Nearly the entire
| crop of early peaches was lost, together
with many apricots and plums. Bartlett
pears held back just long enough 10 be
saved or rather the tie-up untangled just
In time to save them. The demand seems
TO be heavy for frult-probaoiy whetted
appetite because of the empty market and,
as say, if the output is properly dlstri-
buted prices should De maintained"
who gets the benefit of the high pricesS
Does the grower get slice OF 1t?
A member of the firm Of Antovlch d
Fine thought not.
The grower in most instances sells hi;
crop before it is growu." he said. The
big dealers and shippers contract for II
| early In the season al fixed Price, just a:
is done in the hop trade. He gets thai
price for all that he has to sell. If for any
reason he cannot deliver the goods he
doesn't get the money, of course. There
fore the grower has suffered loss because
of the strike that he cannot make up il
any way. Fruit is sent East entirely or
commission. The conSignee SIMPLY get'
his commission, whatever The price, so tht
shipper and contractor receive the creates
benefit from The high prices.
t'Fruit is sold at auction in Chicago. New
York and all the great centers, save st
Louis, Kansas City, Denver and ST. Paul
Mr.. Jacobs of the California Cannere
Company said with regard TO the canning
end of the trade:
Business is very brisk with US. but th
prices are so low hat 1t will be necessar.
TO do big things in order to make anything
out OF il. We have refused All order JUS
received from London for apricOts becaus
OF the low price offered. You see III
strike did not affect prices In our depart
ment of the trade. But as there has bseI
almost complete failure in fruit crops II
the East we ought To have received goo
prices, and would have done so IL Calitor
MIA Gamers were not so blind to their OWL
interests. They contract early IN The sea
[ son for their entire output to Eastern deal
ers, just as the fruit-grOwer sells his Gro
in advance 10 the big dealers here. Blu
, instead of standing together for decen
prices they cut and slash and run counte
TO each other in such fashion that for III
past three years most of them have los
money. This year we might have mad
up for some of the disasters OF the pas
but, contracted in advance as they had, tn
situation was of no benefit.
Buyers are ordering even now. how
ever, ana are contracting for goods tina
, they would never before look at We ca
it 'pie-fruit.' They are buying it in larg
nuanLities" i"