The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-03-26
LOCAL Field OF COMMERCE
;The Produce Market Opens
Quiet and Easy
NO CHANGES IN QUOTATIONS
Eggs Decidedly Firmer With an Upward
Tendency
Butter Weak Owing to the Oversapply Now
on Hand-But Few New
Features

The week opened quiet all along the
line, and there was but little worthy of
special mention. Mondays. as well as
Saturdays, are comparatively featurelcss
days, for the reason that in one instance
the week closes and in the other it opens.
Changes in quotations are made as rule
on Tuesday, after which business COM
mences in earnest.
At the office of the Fruit Exchange
-. there was nothing new to report. Secre-
tary Kimball has been sick for several
days. but there has been nothing that de-
manded his attention, and no harm re-
suited from his indsposition. AS mat
ter of fact, the Eastern markets are some
what in the nature of disappointment.
The heavy arrivals of foreign stock keep
down the prices, and, except in the case
of fancy navels, virtually shut out Caifor-
MIA stock, which of course shuts off ship
ments.
The Associated Press dispatch published
in The Herald yesterday morning to the
effect that another leading firm of insur-
ance agents had cut loose from the com
bine in San Francisco caused some talk
"a among insurance men in the city. 1t was
IN generally agreed that the detection would
4 Ahave no effect, for the reason that rates
are already so low that there can be no
further reduction. except by doing bust
ness at a loss and this the agents are not
,r,sdisposed to do. AS matter of fact, it is
I claimed that there has been horizontal
Ncut of more than so per cent in the past
three years, and if this assertion holds
good, it has certainly been most liberal
concession.
Collections remain very light, and mer-
chants report that money appears to be
very scarce in the country. OF course
there will be an improvement as soon as
the orange crop begins to move freely,
but for the time being the circulating
medium is conspicuous by its absence.
The banks, however, have plenty Of funds
: ION hand, and there is no trouble about
Nm getting money on satisfactory collateral.
The Pacific Rural Press publishes the
following interview with w. II. Wright,
the well known fruit packer of San Jose,
who has recently returned from tour of
. Europe:
I'm the east found that the effect of
= the business depression is still being felt
in the fruit market, as well as in other
lines. The greatest hindranee to anything
= like an advance or tirmness in prices, how
ever. was when Congress was in session
and there was prevailing uncertainty
, ; and uneasiness as to what was going to be
done with the tariff.
:. After the adjournment things have
p been growing more and more settled, and
r.. the prospects for California fruit, as re-
CARDS a large consumption there at good
prices, are Frightening.
ie- In the principal cities of Europe
1Ounu UildJ Gnere was llJJle or no knOWl-
edge, even among the most extensive deal
ers in fruits, regarding the California dried
product. few apricots have reached the
market, but Santa Clara county dried fruit
peaches, pears and apples-are almost
On unknown quantity. In Spain and
Portugal, where apricots are raised, and
whence they originally came, little of that
fruit is dried 1t is put up for consump-
ton i'll glassware and tin. Some dried
apricots have reached the European
slot frnr ri lint frtrt
greatly inferior to the California product,
as was agreed by all to whom, displayed
s'my samples. - ''+~'',
g ''As / intimated before, / found few
q fruit dealers in Europe whogcoud handle.
the California dried fruit intelligently. l.
however. was fortunate in securing first
class agents in London, Edinburg, Dub
lin, Paris, Hamburg and Bremen Il did
not visit Russia on account of --the-ex-
IRENE cold weather to the north, but
through the London house | established
Ts-an agency at st. Petersburg.
I'm my travels | visited Rome, but l
found that the present situation in Italy
makes it almost entirely hopeless to ex-
pect to reach that market with the dried
! fruits of this state. The people there raise
a great deal OF fruit, and it is obtainable
at remarkably low prices. The masses are
too poor to pay any kind of prices for i'm
ported food products of any kind.
AS far as prunes are concerned, the
French control the market OF Europe, and,
as is well known, they have also managed
to get good foothold in the East in this
country. Large quantities of other kinds
o,, of fruits can undoubtedly, however, be
sold in European cities if the goods can
be placed in the market there at low
enough prices to make them accessible to
the masses of the people. The trouble has
been that heretofore the fruit has gone
through too many hands and too many
r. large commissions were charged upon it
before it reached the dealer in England
or the continent.
Besides establishing the direct agen-
cies, l made arrangements for direct ship
ping rates by rail and sail to the various
European points. To insure against dam
age by the sea voyage, the dried fruit
81, will be shipped principally in new pack
age, consisting of barrels lined with tin.
"The fruit dealers of Europe seemed
very favorably impressed with the Cali
: @fornia product, especially the peaches,
pears and apricots. On account of the
tariff, it is impossible to get the fruit of
this state that is put. up in glassware or
tin into the markets across the ocean.
THE object of this tariff is to protect the
y large amount of sugar that is used in pre-
=, seerving fruit in those countries. Only
extra quality preserved fruits that are
sold to the fancy trade in glassware and
~ Tin goods Can at present be disposed of in
any quantity in the markets of Europe"
fSy