The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-03-09

cident that occurred a few days ago viii
explain. a gentleman from Fullerton
| was telling me of one case last night oil
one OF our exchanges selling car OF
oranges f. o. b. California to an Eastern
| firm. The purchasers discovered during
\ the time the goods were in transit that
they could buy at cheaper figure than
exchange prices. He rejected the order.
The matter was referred to the executive
board in Los Angeles with all OF the facts
in the case. The executive board black
/ listed the firm, and the secretary notihed
them of this action. Immediately upon
receipt of this notice from the office OF
the executive board, this firm in question
righted itself with the exchange making
the shipment. and were reinstated and
/ have since ordered four cars of fruit in
/ the regular course of business. APP
! plause.
Each exchange will stand by the other
1 We had always been in til habit OF paying
| from 81 TO 80 cents per box for packing
/ The exchanges pack at cost ranging
/ from % to 30 cents per box One OF the
| m emil ers of an Orange county exchange
told me Il few days a % that he had figure
out the cost OF their packing approx
matelv and had reduced the cost OF pack
ing 90 % cents box And from that up
to 80 cents a box you can figure how that
! will come out on IA million and half
boxes, which fall under our care.
Now the commissions we were in the
| habit of paying out was all the way from
I to 10 per cent for handling the goods
/ have not the accurate and final figures
! for this year OF course, and cannot pos
sibly have them for some time, but SO lar
as 1 can see at present, Tor TINS year IL
will not exceed per cent for the selling
OF our goods as against to 10 per cent.
You can figure as we'll as | can, what we
have been paying to commission men be-
| fore; from to Is per cent on million
! and half of freight charges-not less
| than S100 900, and now not less than 500,
900 will be saved to the orange growers OF
Southern California on the percentage OF
| freight charges alone. | don know but
my friend Crawlcv down the aisle there,
may think the present transportation
rate are not too high but we know they
are high enough.
We have decided, gentlemen, so far as
the oran se growers OF Southern California
are concerned that it is not necessary to
hire somebody to place our goods on the
Eastern market as we have been doing.
Now can we do the business? Just an
other word gentlemen, and | will give
place.
1t was stated when we began this or
ganization that we were simply COM
bination of hay-seeds and We would not
be able to do the business. l have no
record of the number OF commission men
who came into my office, I was the presi-
dent of the Riverside fruit exchange the
largest of the exchanges in our organlza-
| tom a number of them came in and said,
''you cannot get along without us, and
''give US certain brokerage or certain
brokerage and per cent and we will sell
the goods for YOU They said we could
not sell our goods. You are business men
and know who owns the market and you
know what talks in the market and what
does not. They said this is a new under
taking and it is made up of grangers and
you wi lose your goods by bad credits
and all that sort of thing. ! have nc
record OF how the other exchanges came
out on last years transactions. Climatic
conditions were unfavorable, we cannot
conceal it if we try We can say, however,
that the financial condition of the whole
country was never worse in the experience
of any man here. These two things con-
fronted us besides all the other difficulties
that were in our way. | do not know
what the records of the other exchanges
will show, but the Riverside fruit ex-
change marketed 14S5 cars of goods. We
! lost two cars out of the 1855, one by
| failure of the house and one by the fail
ure OF the bank after it had collected the
money for the goods at the other end. L
undertake to say, gentlemen, that it is
| without precedent in the history of the
business; in no other undertaking which
we remember over all Southern California,
] has the crop been marketed with such a
| slight loss as that
We considered it on this theory, gentle
men, that if the orange growers of South
ern California had not sense enough to
transact leir business, not only the care
of the fruit, but to market it, they had
better sell their ranches TO men who had
sense enough to do so.
We have found that the same business
conditions affect this business that affect
any other business. We have found that
the same careful and economical methods
are ia ,tors i'll this business to make it
profitable that will make any other busin-
ess profitable.
Now we don't stop here gentlemen.
We intend this movement will EN- brace
decdilous fruit industries of Southern
/ California and within a very short time,
and | do not not know where this move
ment will end. | expect we will secure
/ the stumpage and make our own boxes
/ in short time. | am not sure but what
the nails will be made in Los Angeles
and he undeveloped power of our noun
| tain streams may some day be utilized in
/ the manufacture OF the paper i'll which
to wrap our oranges.
| One more word, that is that in these
/ exchanges more than two hundred of the
brightest men or many of the brightest
men out of this 1000, have given very
/ large portion OF their time through the
orange season absolutely without compen-
sation. So far as | know not a single ex-
/ change pays anything to its directors or
| its officers not engaged in full service in
/ the office, and this compensation is discon-
| tinued at the end of the shipping season.
/ A gentleman came into my office this
! morning and stated that a party had said
/ 10 him that there was serious dssatsfac-
/ ton growing up among the exchanges.
1 We will say that the Southern California
/ fruit exchanges have an Office up in the
! Phillips block, who pay secretary and
/ a stenographer and other necessary help.
| No other exchange has any paid officers
/ or directors except the secretaries and
men actually engaged in keeping the ac-
! counts. You may say this is glory
| proposition, but every one of these men
! Is engaged in the orange industry and
realizes the necessity of placing the in
dustry on a paying basis.
| thank you, Mr.. Chairman and gentle
men, for your attention. Great APP
/ pause.
At the close of Mr.. Naftzger's address,
/ President Patterson said he was highly
edited by the gentleman remarks and
| believed everyone present had proftted
| by them. He then introduced T. II. b.
Chambln of Riverside, the originator
and organizer OF the Southern California
| fruit exchanges, on the subject OF CO.
| operative marketing.
Mr.. Chamblin, although not feeling
very well, delivered very interesting
address, detailing at length the reasons
which caused him to aEitate the subject
Of cooperative marketing OF the south
ern California orange crop and telling
i how he worked early and late, in season
a ~