The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1895-07-25
THE COMING HOP CROP.
Hop Growers Were Thcked By Buyers
Last Year.
WHAT WILL The PRICES BIZ?
The Peoples Fsrum-Lesters Re.
garaing she Care Of the city Park,
and she Taxation OF the West
Side wishsut Cenpensation.

and she Taxation OF the West
Side wishsut Csnpensation.
Misleading and harmful statements
often find their way into print in this
city, the publication of which should
hardly be permitted by the owners Of any
paper located here. A statement was
made last week in local paper that may
work hardship on many hop grower,
because he will not understand the ami
mus of the remark. II was reported that
buyer had told q reporter that hot
weather in England had destroyed hops
in large areas, according to telegram
received by the buyer; and that, If the
telegram were true, hops would be worth
Is cents per pound in Yakima this fall.
In the first place, no such telegram
was received by the buyer. in all proba-
bility. At any rate, he denied having
received any such message when accosted
by prominent grower who had heard
the report. In the next place, these ru-
mors should be sifted and weighed by To-
cal growers before they are swallowed in
their entirety.
THE HERALD does not maintain that
the following assumption would explain
the origin Of such rumor, but it might:
Suppose large hop buying firm, which
buys hops to make money-and all pos.
sible quantities of it-should concoct a
scheme to raise the hopes of growers to .
belief that Is cent? was sure to be the
figure this fall. Now If growers became
90 convinced, legitimate buyers could not
purchase pound Of the '95 product in
Yakima this fall, because everybody
would be waiting for the 15c figure-and
no buyer 10 going to make that offer
early this season, II ever, it is safe to
prophesy. Well, If every grower holds
off until the last minute, hoping for q
l5c offer, he would be continually allow
ing opportunities to sell at say 8, 10 or
II cents to slip by him, and will sud-
denly find himself without picking
money near the end Of the season. At
this juncture along will como the firm
which has been saying. Hops will bring
iJc this fall" This firm will offer 8 or
cents advance for crops on consignment,
the long-sufering grower will snap at the
chance for picking money thus offered,
and the experience Of last year will be
again repeated.
Now, this is suppositious; but "a
taught many lesson in the hop.growing
business. One or two buyers last year
continually iterated the statement, when
asked as to the Chem present price Of
hops, 20, about 8 cents" "All right"
responded the grower in nearly every in
stance, "I'll sell for s cents" Then the
buyer: "But I'm not contracting to-day
I'll be here at such aud such q
time, and then we'll talk" etc. In the
mean time 6@7c offers were refused,
growers would wait for the &c man, and
finally, when the field was clear he
would materialize, but with the state
ment that he couldn't pay Sc, but he
might give &c. And the victimized
grower had to accept. OF course all buy
ers did not adopt these tactics; but some
Of them did, and one or two Of them
may realize % they read this article that
their practices are known. As before
said, "a taught many lesson. 1t
taught that hop contract, on the side OF
the buyer, was not altogether SO iron-clsd
Is the grower had dreamed 1t to be; it
taught that one or two Of the "smoothest"
dealers in the northwest were operating
in Yakima; it should have taught the
grower not to allow himself to be caught
twice in the same trap; and it might
have taught that the maxim OF q well
known and successful hop king was and
is the only true enc, |. e., "The proper
time to sell is when you have buyer"
Now, THE HERALD does not wish to i'm
ply that, in its opinion, hops will not be
worth 15c this fall; nor, indeed, does
this paper wish to be quoted as predict
ing that they will reach that figure.
However, nearly all the signs OF the
times point TO figure not greatly in ex.
cess of 1Oc. It is possible that lie will
be offered, and it is not nonsense to
dream of l2c. But that anything over
that price will be offered, seems improb-
able. Although there are indications of
short crops in some parts Of England and
the United States, "The Hop Grower"
Wolverhampton, England, in its last is
sue, July 2, sums up the outside outlook
in the statement that, "On the whole,
continental reports are favorable as to
the growing crop, and the same may be
said of America" This means that Ger
many will have her usual gigantic guam
tity-and Germany has much to say in
debating market quotations which are
not speculative. Add to this the fact
that the brewers OF both the old and the
new world will this year profit by the
great cold storage plants, erected at q
cost Of millions Of dollars and now esti-
mated to hold a large percentage of the
hops necessary for this years brewing.
Again, not nearly 30 many hops are used
in the process of beer-making as has OBJ