Rocky Ford enterprise., 1898-12-15

And E6ectually Answers
the Denver Fruit & Auc-
ton Co.'S Circular.
After having had the pleasure
OF making a final settlement with
all the melongrowers Of Colorado
I have taken time to review a few
little incidents that happened in
the pnst few months in reference
to the Colorado business.
In behalf of the melongrowers
OF the valley I want to ask and
answer few questions on subjects
discussed in the circular letter is
sued to the cantaloupe growers by
the Denver Fruit d Auction Co.
of Denver, under date of Nov. Is.
In this letter l note that the
gentleman dwells particularly on
the Importance of the association
standing together. I want to ask
him if it has not been the desire
and purpose of the company
which he represents for the past
two years, and especially the
present year, to demoralize the
association? Have they not put
forth every effort possible by
sending men into the fields,
spending their money, and every
other conceivable plan with some
slight success, to have these men
repudiate their honest obligations
and contracts? Did they not know
that the melon men of the valley
were under contract to sell US their
goods? Yet this same principle
has been adopted regardless of that
contract. If this is the class Of
teaching and schools they operate
l want to ask, is it honorable?
They ask that we go back few
years. 1 am glad they do. Let
us go back a few years. What
was the result of this same COM
pany or its stockholders operation
during the time previous to our
entering the melon fields of Colo
RADIO? No one knows better than
the melongrowers. Let them
answer and produce records. And
facts are powerful though stub
born things sometimes.
1 believe these records show
that in all these many years that
the melons were grown in Rocky
Ford and vicinity they were not a
success financially to the growers.
If they are SO powerful and can do
SO much, why did they not do it
years ago? Why did they wait
until some one else. has entered
the field and put in four years
hard work, spent our money in adj
vertising this product until today
it is the best advertised product
in the produce world, and now
they have nerve enough to put out
their sign, Agents for the famous
Rocky Ford melon" Who made
it famous? And what have these
men done toward making it fam
Gus? I want to ask if they are
familiar with the fact that three
years ago the Western Poultry d.
Game Co. paid the melongrowers
of the valley moro money than
they asked for their goods and
paid it spot cash. And l want to
ask if they know that in 1897 this
conpany's contract was for 35 cars
while we took 124, and paid them
more money than the terms of our
contract called for? Is this at the
growers risk? l want to ask
what the Denver concern did with
the IS or 40 cars they handled this
year? What is their average for
all the melons they have sold, and
they were not restricted to Dem
yer, they had the world to sell
their goods in. Is their average
US good rs ours, 63 cents, for the
valley per crate for every crate OF
melons we have taken out of there?
If not, what wovld they have done
had they taken 450 cars more as
we did? I would like to ask if
there is market in the world
that represents the Rocky Ford
melons that is up to our average
on this "the terrible disastrous
year" according to their circular
letter? !.
I would like to ask by what
means they could better the situa-
ton on the manner of handling
and manipulating the markets
other than the present system
which we have inaugurated and
fought the battle alone.