The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1897-09-02
HOP-PICKING COMMENCES
A Threatened Shortage Of Hop-Pickers
Discovered and Relieved.
A ONE-DOLLAR RATE ADOPTED BIZ ALL
A Genutne Little strike Occurs.
Many Yards are Picking Hut the
Majority OF Growers VIII Not Be.
gin Uniil Next Monday.
The days for picking hops have come.
The plaidpst of the wear

The gladdest of the year.
The past week has been full OF interest
and excitement to everybody who is con-
nected in any way with the hop industry.
The buyers have been making hay" as
rapidly as possible by contracting hops
first at nine, and later on at ten cents.
They remain very firm at this figure and
the majority of growers who did not
contract early in the season are holding
off for still better prices, and are very
strong in their belief that better prices
are bound to come.
The Hop Growers association has had
hard problem to contend with in estab-
fishing a price for picking. Their origi-
nal conclusion was that seventy five
cents was fair figure. This decision
was based on the fact that many growers
had been forced to make low contracts
and cannot afford to pay more for pick,
ing. One dollar box means loss to
them instead of gain. Many growers
also argue that they had picked their
hops for the pest two years at no profit
whatever, purely for the purpose of Civ
ing employment and causing money to
circulate, and they hold that now the
pickers should reciprocate by continuing
the same price this year. Many of the
pickers were satisfied with this arrange
ment while others insisted that on a ten
cent market they ought to have dollar
per box. The question began to be a
serious one and even went so far as to
cause genuine little strike in California
Hop Co.'S yards early in the week The
whole matter was solved in an unexpect-
ed way on Wednesday. 1t was discover
ed that pickers from outside points were
not coming in sufficient numbers to har-
vest the crop, so the price was immedi-
ately placed at one dollar and this fact
wired all over the state by Mayor Fech
ter. In very few hours he received the
following reply:
SEATTLE, Sept. /, 1897.
Eighty nine pickers today More Friday and
Monday. A. II. CIRCUIT,
Labor Commissioner.
Pickers are coming in from all direc-
tons by team and train and the opinion
prevails that by Monday the supply will
be sufficient
Most of the growers will begin picking
next Monday but quite number began
during the past few day. Among those
who are now picking are the Mondors,
John Knox, Timothy Lynch. Charles
Kinney, &. NJ. Allen, John Shaw, and
Henry Knox of Tampico; Dell Hiscock
Yakima Hop Co., and others in the
Mckee valley; Fechter, Poole 4 Bosdet
of Parker Bottom; the Wilcox yard and
others in the Cowychee valley; John
Stone in the Selah, and Crandall versoy
and Bert Allen on Mob Hill. 1t is very
fortunate that these began thus early as 1t
gave an opportunity to discover the
threatened shortage of pickers in time to
ward off the danger.
The matter of securing pickers and
getting them to the proper yards is very
difficult one and has to be handled very
carefully. The Indians are always rep.
resented by a tyee who makes all ar
rangement for his people. These tyees
have all the way from a dozen to fifty
pickers and it takes diplomat to do
business with them.
The white pickers do not bunch so
much but make their arrangements in
smaller parties. The agitator is among
them and wise grower avoids him as he
would rattlesnake. THE HERALD man
was amused to see Mayor Fechter spot
one of these worthless in large crowd
and dispose of him.
We venture to say North Yakima is
the livelest city of its size in the state
today, and it will continue to be so for
some time to come.