The San Francisco call., 1896-04-16
MENACE TO DRIED FRUITS
Growers of the Northwest De
plore IndiScrlmlnate
Shipments.
Say Fruits Are Thrown on the Mar.
ket at Prices Ruinous to Ship.
perS and Dealers.

| Secretary Lelong of the State Board Of
Horticulture received yesterday a letter
| from prominent firm of st. Paul, which
| inclosed protest from the Northwestern
Grocers' Association against the indis-
criminate selling of dried fruit to unquali-
fed agents of that section of the country.
The letter explaining the protest states
that the jobbers of that association dis
tribute upward of 1000 cars of dried fruits
year and are the legitimate buyers of
dried fruits and canned goods from Cali
fornia, and they forward the protest be-
cause some growers and shippers send
from this State goods to people who can
not handle them inteligently, thereby
rendering the business of buying dried
fruits hazardous.
The protest reads as follows:
ST. PAUL, Mimi, April IL, 1896.
To the Fruit GrOtCers and Dried Fruit Dealers
of CGHfoj ojniI-GENTLEMEN: This association,
representing as it does all the wholesale gro
GERS doing business in the great Northwest,
dition of the dried fruit market, growing out
OF the indiscriminate shipments of dried fruits
by the fruit-growers OF your State TO the farm
produce and green fruit dealers in this section
of the country.
The principal effect of this is that such ship
ments are thrown on this market by such farm
Gus to both the original shippers and to the
legitimate dealers in dried fruits, and such
shipments are sold without regard to their
value at whatever prices may be offered for
them. The goods are used as bats to increase
the sale OF oranges, lemons and farm produce,
and the principal object sought to be gained is
regard 10 the interests of the shipper Such
sales establish fictitious price and depreciate
the real value OF every. pound OF like goods
which we may be at that time carrying in
of &c in
tainty and legitimate handling of such goods
is made unsatisfactory and hazardous.
We feel that the interests of the California
fruit-growers, the legitimate handlers of dried
| fruits in California and the Jobbers in grocer
les (Which include dried fruits) in this market
are identical, and none of them are benefited
suggested 1t is foreign to our wishes or in
terests that the fruit growers of the Pacific
Coast should be ruined by the sacrifice of their
products in this market.
We, therefore, hereby place ourselves on rec
ord as being wholly opposed to the methods
referred TO, which are subversive of the best
interests of all parties concerned, and respect
fully recommend to the fruit-growers of Cali
fornia that they should ignore deIusive cireu-
lars or personal solicitors from this section oil
the Northwest, soliciting individual shipments
to unknown parties, who may promise enticing
returns from such shipments; and we further
recommend them to dispose of their products
through known and regular dealers or brokers
in dried fruits, and not otherwise. Very re-
spectfully,
NORTHWESTERN WHOLESALE GRoCERs' AssoC1A-
TIoN. Per j. ID. BECK, Secretary.
"There has been no concerted action on
the part of many growers in shipping
fruit" said Mr.. Lelong, land these ship
ments mentioned by the protest are from
people outside the numerous exchanges
and associations throughoutthe State. In
fact, in some instances, they are working
directly in opposition to the exchanges.
The importance of such protective organl-
cations is shown by this protest to,be pre-
eminent.
"The board will take steps toward recti-
flying this matter and will advise all indi-
v.dual growers to identity themselves with
some recognized body of shippers"