The herald., 1896-10-13
DRIED FRUIT

The excellent farmers journal and
long established Pacific Rural Press has
an article on the Dried Fruit Export
Trade" in its issue of October 10th This
article shows that the dried fruit ex-
ports from California to European ports
has been steadily developing. The re-
cent reduction in freight rates on
through bills of lading to European
centers has stimulated the dried fruit
trade. A sharp advance In prices has
taken place even in these dull times.
Apricots, for instance, have sold as low
as AZ cents this summer. Under the
lowered rates the price has gone up to
cents. The purchasers, are reported to
intend shipping to Germany. The key
of success in the orange, green and
dried fruit business is clearly in the
| methods Of distribution and the freight.
| rates. There is already surplus of pro-
duct of many Of our fruits and there will
be a surplus in nearly all. Our safety is
in access to the dense populations Of
Europe. Our fruit growers organiza-
tions have always seen that the distri-
button and the freight rates governed
the profits. 1t has only been self-seeking
politicians who have talked about pro-
lection to the fruit interest. The fruit
interest is already flowing over the
consuming capacity of our people. Yet
California is not one-tenth settled nor
tenth the producer she can and will
| be. California is likely to be the fruit
producer of the world. A restricted mar
| ket such as the protectionists seek to en-
| force is death to the further develop
ment of the California fruit industry.
| If our fruit growers cannot export their
| produce there can be not only no more
| growth in most lines, but in many there
must be curtailment. Protection" is a
misnomer. The policy should be called
restriction" A policy of restriction
cutting off our trade and exchange is
about the only thing California devel-
| opment has to fear. California has been
recognized by experts and by some gov
ernment experts, as those from Italy, to
! possess conditions that are so favorable
as to finally destroy competition in the
fruit trade. We have hardly COM
menced our career of fruit production.
| Even today thousands of acres of fruit
| trees are planted but not yet in bearing.
J Already we are exporting. Already we
| invade the very territories the trust
agents tell us pauper labor controls. If
restriction is to prevail, if our markets
are to be cut off, what is the outlook for
our fruit industry? All this talk about
! protection to the fruit men is trust
trick" 1t is a transparent fraud. The
! politician employees of the great COM
bines laugh in their sleeves as they fool
| the people. The great trusts get boun-
| ties. They hold home markets under a
| rod of iron while selling their American
products to foreigners at less than the
American pays These people combine;
| they limit production by agreement;
| they fix home prices by private deals;
! they hold the people by the throat and
squeeze just as much as they dare. The
/ fruit man cannot limit production. He
cannot shut up his orchard like a wire
nail man shuts up his factory The fruit
man cannot neglect his orchard with
out destroying his capital The fruit
men in their crops are beyond the power
of combines to limit production. Con-
sequently cinches, unfair deals and all
| the trust tricks of tariff and taxes must
be unavailable. The fruit grower can
! not successfully play the part of a tariff
baron; he'cannothope to profit by unfair