The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-08
TO BAR COMMISSION MEN.
Growers Only Can Become
Members of the Co-opera-
tive Organization.
METHOD OF MARKETING CROPS.
recommendations of the Projectors
Receive Unanimous Support at
Preliminary Meeting.

FRESNO, March THE first general gath
ering of raisin-growers this year was held
in Kutner Hall this afternoon. 1t was the
result of call issued by Thomas E.
Hughes, F. c. White, William Harvey and
other large growers who for some weeks
past have been working on plans for
raisin combine to take the place of that of
last year.
Thomas E. Hughes presided at the meet
ing, which was well attended by represen-
tative raisin-growers. Itlasted three hours
and the recommendations of the projectors
were unanimously supported. Several
representatives from Kings County were
present.
The marketing of the crops is to be in
the absolute control of a committee com
posed of one or more delegates from each
district. The sole power to represent
district will be left to the delegate. The
central committee will meet often during
the season, and will determine the prices
and styles of packing The receipts from
sales are to be divided among the packing
districts in proportion to the number of
boxes of raisins each house has ready for
shipment No one who is not a grower
can belong to the combine.
AS the packers themselves elect the
members of the executive committee there
will be no chance for commission men to
gain control.
T. G. White, a raisin- grower and promi-
nent banker is confident that the money
necessary for building the packing houses.
holding goods, ETC., can be obtained from
the local banks. One dollar a ton will be
taken from the pack of each district to pay
the cost of building the packing house of
each district. Five dollars a ton can be
saved to the growers by packing their own
raisins. This single item means saving
of 100000 to the growers OF the valley.
A mass-meeting was called for Saturday,
March 16, and meetings will be held all
over this and adjoining counties before
that time, to discuss the proposed plan.
T. G. White, Colin Chisholm, Jacob
Vogel and William Harvey were appointed
to draft constitution and set of bylaws
which will be distributed widely before the
mass-meeting. The feeling among growers
is much better than for long time past
From January, 1894, to January, 1895,
there were shipped from Fresno, Kings,
Tulare and MADEIRA counties about 300
cars of raisins. OF these large part bore
the seal of the estate of California Raisin
Growers and Packers Company" The
total shipment for last year was 200 cars
greater than that of the preceding year.
Ninety per cent of the growers of the four
counties named entered last years COM
bine, but of these 400 growers only $50
actually bought stock.
During the season thirteen official in
spectors were employed to oversee the
packing in the different houses. 1t is gem
orally believed that last years combine
was failure because the commission men
were allowed to control the organization.
After an existence of a few months it
| broke up.
Five or six years ago raisins brought the
grower cents pound, cash being paid at
the time of delivery to the packing house.
Last year many growers received only
enough to pay the actual cost of picking.
Cash sales have brought only from to
cents for the finest raisins, and number
of growers have fed their crops to hogs.
The recommendations of the projectors
of the new combine are as follows:
1. That cooperative raisin-packing COM
| pany be formed in each raisin district.
g That such cooperative company shall con-
| sist of raisin-growers only, who shall be
| pledged to oppose the present system of mar
keting the crop through the commission
| packer.
| 3. That each cooperative company when
| formed shall officiate with a central marketing
| committee, which committee shall consist OF
one member to be selected by each of the affil-
| lated cooperative companies. Such committee
| shall market all raisins that are packed by its
| tributary packing companies direct with the
Eastern wholesale trader for cash, and not, as
heretofore through the agency of Eastern
| brokers.
3. That each grower shall be entitled to re-
ceive from his packing company on the security
| of his crop an advance sufficient to enable him
| to pick, and when the crop is delivered at the
packing house he shall be entitled to further
| advance not to exceed in all so per cent of the
market value.
| 8. That each district be encouraged to build
packing houses as near to the railroad as pos
| sible, which packing houses, together with the
necessary machinery, should not cost more
than $4,000.