The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-22
ON DRIED FRUIT PRICES,
Movement Whereby Merchants
and Growers May Stiffen
the Market.
AGAINST coNs1GNING EAST
BY Holding the California Product
It May Be Made to Con-
troll.

The dried fruit season is marked by a
strong movement among local commission
men u prevent the waste of values. 1t is
urged that under wild promises the grower
is apt to consign his crop to Eastern
houses, which simply reimburse them
selves and disregard the true home inter
ests of the consignor. The local commits
sion men say they can offer the grower
just as good terms as the Eastern houses,
with the further assurance that. by dealing
with them, the grower is helping to build
up a firm market by which California
dried fruit may control the markets of the
world.
The position local houses take is shown
in circular sent out by prominent COM
mission merchant of this City and from
which the followingi an extract:
We believe the loss to the producer hereto
fore has been, to great extent, due to con-
signments made to Eastern commission houses
with whom parties shipping are entirely unac-
ouainted There should be a better feeling
and more confidence shown as between the
San Francisco lighthouses and the producer.
If your goods are handled by reputable firms
doing business in the State in which you live
you will receive fair treatment and full re-
turns. BY consIgning TO Eastern houses OF
wnom you know nothing you are simply as
sisting in building up interests apart from your
own and are, in many instances, in danger of
having your goods sacrificed without your con-
sent.
We cannot too strongly cali your attention 10
the fact that promiscuous consignments East
do more toward running prices than heavy
crops and foreign competition combined. Our
dried fruit should be carried here and sold
(. o. b. exclusively.
1t is urged by the commission men that
the great point to be gained is the estab-
liShment of more confidence between home
growers and home commission houses.
California, they say, might easily control
the dried fruit market. AS it is, they al
lege that fruit is dumped on the Eastern
market at the wrong season, and the home
grower is altogether at the mercy of the
Eastern buyer.
An agent for local house writes as fol-
lows from the East:
To give you an idea how the business has
been transacted throughout the East. have
just learned of a broker n ere who visited our
State and solicited consignmentS on SO per cent
advances His success was marked. as he now
has in cold storage five cars of prunes, besides
several cars of other varieties of fruits. This
is the first city / have visited where the big
merchants do not like the consignment bust
ness, as they claim that the smallest jobber
buys five bags at the same price as they pur
chase carlots /. o. b. California. They are
consequently compelled to avail themselves OF
these spot goods, rs they state, whenever an
1. o. b. is made. Mr. Commission Man, with
nothing TO risk (the goods belonging 10 some
body else) always drops his price below their
landing figure.
If the California fruit people are not inten-
tionally trying TO ruin the dried fruit business
they could not more effectually do so than by {,
continuation of these conSignments. 1t is
natural 10 suppose that an occasional grower
who cannot be controlled will consign a car
here or there, but that cuts no figure as once
or twice nlpped he QUITS. The ones who keep
IT up, however. are the larger dealers in San
Francisco and the dealers and growers in San
Jose, Fresno and other markets OF importance.
They are slowly but surely killing one OF our
greatest interests, and unless they stop writing
literature and take this question and Sc tile II
once for all the fruit business will not be worth
while wasting any more time over. Fruit must
be handled f. o. b. to make same profitable to
either the grower or dealer. and it would pay
California handsomely to throw the entire
crop of dried fruit for one season into the Pa
eltc Ocean II by so doing she could demon
strate TO the Eastern buyers that they are IN
able to purchase fruits consigned East to be
sold Tor whatever they will bring.
1t also appears that great deal OF this
consigning TO the East is done by local
commission men themselves. Some of
these make heavy advances to the growers,
reimbursement for which they are unable
TO wait for, and therefore the fruit is
sacrificed simply TO return the amount of
the advances and the commission. As an
instance IN point may be quoted the follow
ing extract from a letter received by q COM
mission man from an Eastern agent:
We are sending you to-day a sample of No. l
Moorparks, grown and packed in Santa Clara
Valley These goods are packed in 25-pound
boxes and were sold fey days since ut cents
delivered here, being part OF consignment
TO commission house here. You may draw
your own conclusion. 1t is just this kind of
sale which precludes the possibility of f. O. b.
business, and you merchants in California are
yourselves to blame for the ruination of direct
sales. We have seen the Fruit Exchange coz
tract 1t is good document, but we think YOU
would serve your own interest better if your
Fruit Exchange would impose such d heavy
penalty as TO render 1t impossible for con-
unuatlon OF this promiscuous consignment
business.
In conclusion, unless some remedy is applied,
the California fruit business will speedily re-
solve itself into retail fruit proposition.
1t is hoped by the local merchants that
the discussion of the consignment question
wiz result IN some better understanding
between commission men and growers for
their mutual benefit.