The record-union., 1896-05-23

Win interest by all interested IA tHe
raisin industry in this State:
Fresno, Cal, May IL, 1896.
To the Raisin Growers of California:
The importance of putting the ra1sln
business back on substantial and pay
ing basis is apparent, and therefore
needs no argument. This is one of the
most important interests in California,
and particularly in the San Joaquin
Valley, and If it can be lifted out OF Its
deplorable and distressing condition, it
may be made to contribute largely to a
return of prosperity to the State. Un-
less this can be done raisin vineyards
Will continue to have no selling value,
and the product obtained from them will
be source of loss, instead Of profit, to
the growers.
The present condition of the raisin
industry is due principally to bad meth
DDS Of handling the product. Without
attempting to fix the responsibility for
the perniciouS and ruinous practices
that now exist, an appeal is made to
those who have it in their power, if they
will act together, to fix the conditions
under which the product shall be ham
died and marketed.
To accomplish the best results every
sentimental consideration and all pet
theories, must, for the time, be laid
aside. The business of applying rem
edy Is intensely practical, and personal
grievances and preferences must, of ne
cessity, be subordinated to the public
good. For the season of 1895, careful
estimates, based on returns from many
quarters, warrant the statement that
the raisin crop, which aggregated about
100000 pounds, did not yield to grow
ers much, if anything, above IA cents
per pound, or S25 per ton. The price
is below the cost of production, so much
below that it is estiamted that the raisin
crop of the San Joaquin Valley lost to
producers last year something like the
sum of $500 900 or S600000 If this is
true, what wonder that, with producers,
hard times and lack of money prevail?
What wonder that the bankers and
merchants, in common with growers,
regard the situation with alarm, and
seek to develop something to avert the
danger that threatens wide financial
ruin to all industrial interests?
Confronted with a condition of things,
both interesting and alarming, and
strong in the belief that united effort
would accomplish good results, the
Chamber of Commerce and the Hun
dred Thousand Club. consisting in the
aggregate of about 300 representative
business men of Fresno County. took the
matter in hand and for weeks have
jointly labored to discover a device or
plan for handling raisins that would to
some extent remedy, if not altogether
change, the methods that now obtain in
this branch of business.
After much inquiry it was discovered
that there were three principal factors
in the distribution of raisins; that those
were gonistic; that neither had any
material advantage over the other, and
that each placed on the others the
responsibility of the unbusiness- like
methods and unreasonable and disas-
trouS competition that prevails These
three interests are so firmly fixed on the
raisin business that for the present they
cannot be wholly set aside for any new
plan, without creating still greater
havoc at least temporarily and there
fore must, If possible, be Incorporated
into and made a part Of any plan
adopted.
The three factors are: The commits
sion packers, who are also purchasers
Of raisins; the cooperative packing
companies and the so-called independ-
ent packers. The business last year
was distributed among the three inter-
ests about as follows: Commission pack
ers, so per cent; cooperative packers,
u per cent; independent packers, per
cent
Each of these has capital invested in
the business, viz: In packing houses,
machinery, etc: and they all have es-
tablshed connections throughout the
country for the distribution Of the prod
uct. 1t must, then, be apparent that in
the limited time before the next crop of
grapes must be cured and the raisin
marketed, it was not practical to wholly
disrupt the present system, excepting
In the method of marketing and ham
ding the product.
To accomplish this it was unanimous
ly agreed that something must be done
TO prevent the consignment of raisins
to any markets for sale, and that all
sales should be made f. o. b. at Califor-
MIA packing and shipping points. This,