The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-03-20

Tho following preliminary account OF
tho canncrymens convention nov In Hes-
sion In Portland. was received last night
from the AHiorian'E special correspond
oDt:
p ortIand. March 10. 1896.
Since tho time. almost. when the mind
Of man runns,h not to the contrary.
convention has been tho subject OF
fsasting and banquc,ing. spccch-making,
orAtory. paper reading and all kinds Of
high Jinks" IL has mattcred little OF
what nature was the convention or by
whom attended. II Il Sufiieient II some
cult, society. principle or fad were repre-
rsnted for arms 10 be opened wide in
welcome and the yielding OF keys to
tho gates OF tho city wherever the con-
vcntion may bo held. with an Rlacrity
astonishing In municipalities always
proverbially slow-going. Doctors, law
ycrp, actors female Surragists, polit-
clans, whH, not. have been thus favored.
and Il mAttcrcd little whether the cot'-
v0ntion personnel were that OF poliu-
clans out Of job or new womtn looking
for one. each city In the balliwick ear
nestiy and peFEcvoringly used every en-
deavor TO become the favored one. and
oven TO this day Chicago rtJolces moro
IN tho title OF Convention City" than in
that OF the place OF the winds"
Portland has been been much favored
In ihis rcspect, locally. and on many an
occasion she has overrcAchrd the limit
In the cXcrss OF her hospitality. but to-
day there 10 a session at the Hotel Port
land a convention. or more correctly and
less dignidediy. a meeting. the efftct OF
which will be moro widely felt and the
results accruing thertfrom more harmful
or moro beneficial 10 the people and
business interests Of the lower Columbia
Than any other that has ever been held
within tho environments OF OREGON. To
digrsss. and. for a moment. plagiariEe
tho style OF an eminent English journal
i.t:
The salmon canncrlmen OF the Column
bia river have a grievance.
They dcslrr 10 produce, rvolute or md
a cure for it,
They also Savo another grievance
They also desire TO produce. evolute or
md cure for Il.
Therefore, the canncrymcn OF the Co
lumhia river are In session. II they sue
coed IN efleuting the object for which
they have mot there viii not only bl
great rejoicing In Zion" but there viii
HnRshing OF teeth and execrations In
"tho waIling place OF the Jews"
Although the members OF this conven-
ton which has been unheraldcd and un-
sung and Of which probably not more
than six people In Portland knew until
the Issuance OF the daily papers, are
well-drtSsed. weil-groomed and well-fed.
they arc analogous In some respects TO
Comanche war party-they are after
scalps-and the fellows who are, TO be
the immediate recipients OF whatever
may be- the fruits OF this convention are
the fishermen. who so down TO the sea
In ships" after tho fish. and tho whole
salers who handle that same fish after
II is put In It's coffin OF tin and a ring
OF solder run around II.
The casus bellt. as has often bean true
In affairs OF like nature Of greater mag
nitude. II money, gold; the samo kind,
presumably. which the children OF Israel
worshiped and which has proverhially
boon the root OF evil since the days be-
fore the Phmnioians ruled the commerce
OF the world.
To be plain, the cannerymen have BON
paying cents per pound for the raw
fsh as IL lays upon the weighing scales.
After IN. fish has been cut up, packed
and shipped, the cannerymen realize
from the wholesalers about $i.S per case,
with a string attached to the top lid In
the nature OF lO-cent rebate. This
string Is strong and will stand quite a
consider able amount OF strain, Under
these conditions. the cannerymcn DO not
think they are having anywhere near an
even balance OF the proposition, and
they are here in convention assembled
with three-fold purpose: Lowering
the price OF raw salmon. eIualEng the
price OF case salmon and forming COM
bine for mutual advancement. Thus we
have It in a nutshell What the fisher
men and wholesalers will think OF the
proposition is a question entirely OF the
future,
Every salmon canning establishment on
the lower Columbia is represented in this
meeting. those present being:
Geo. H. George, j. o. Hanthorn, NJ. ].
Kinney Samuel Elmore, j. w. Cook, II.
A. Seaborg, N. Tallant, ]. @. Megler.
+. NJ Warren. s. Farrell. r. Winters,
c. s. Norris and T. ]. MCGOWAN.
| Many previous attempts have been
made to form similar combine, but
they have all died abornlng, owing to
Individual influences that have clashed
and unpropltious seasons. The gentle
man who has been most largely infuen-
tial In bringing all the diverse elements
| together at this time is Mr., G. s. Norris,
OF Chicago. representative OF the A.
Booth Packing Company, OF many places,
/ Mr.. Norris has been In Astoria almost
| two weeks, and the convention of today
is the elimination OF his labors there
That he has thoroughly interested the
| cannerymen is evidenced by the fact that
Mr.. G. w. sanborn has purposely delayed
his annual visit East that he may be a
factor In the convention.
Mr.. Norris is pleasant tallIer, and he
said to your correspondent today:
"As the matter now stands In the sal
mon industry, the fishermen have alto
gether the best of It, and, consequently.
the cannerymen all the worst Of II. It
seems to me to be entirely reasonable to
any man that. with the price of the
packed FISH at Sis per case, ) cents per
pound is too much to pay for the raw
material particularly when the head
and tail go to waste, resulting In a con-
siderable loss to the packer In money
paid out for material that cannot be used
TO advantage. Aside from this, the pack
er, as rule, Is the only one who stands
to lose, and the credit side OF the fisher
mans ledger Is the only one he need
take into consideration. For instance,
| In hundreds OF cases q dialogue similar