The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-08-19

ahaA . NIAhO
The stockholders of the East Carolina
Truck and Fruit Growers Association
met yesterday in regular annual session
in the court house. There were a ma
jorfty of the members of the associa>
ton present and those who were not
represented by proxy.
The body of men that met In the
court house yesterday represented one
Of the greatest truck growing sections
IN the United States and the greatest
strawberry belt in the world. They
till soil that only a few years ago was
considered worthless and is now bring
ing in thousands of dollars per acre.
The growth of the trucking industry
in this section during the past few years
has been something wonderful and The
past season eclipsed all of the rest.
The meeting was called to order
promptly at 5 o'clock by w. l.. Hill,
president of the association, with s. H.
Strange. treasurer and H. T. Bauman,
secretary, present. After a few pre-
HminaTy remarks the members proceed
ed to business.
The executive committee and the
board of directors of the association
met on Tuesday. A report was made
by the executive committee to the
board OF directors and this was, ON
yesterday. submitted to the stockhold-
ers meeting. The report was a lengthy
one and went into all the details con-
nected with the association during the
past year. Last spring the. majority of
IA crate factories formed a corpora
TiOn with one set of officers and they
Stated at the time hat the truck grow
erS would not have the same difficult
in securing crates his year as was
the case during some seasons in the
mast. The total number of crates fur
nished by the combine was S4,696
which was not sufficient to handle the
crop. The report of the executive
committee has the following in regard
to this matter:
From this you will see that the
guarantee of this company to furnish
an ample supply of crates to each sec
ton this season, was not lived up to
and caused trouble, expense and loss
to many In the C~hadbOurn
section growers had to haul crates IN
wagons from certain points where an
o~ver-supply had been furnished ana
paw from Is to So cents for these crates.
If the agents of the Carolina Fruit
Packing Company eXacted tnlS price
from our people, when the price quoted
and agreed upon, was % and 70 cents
then it is up to this mpa to explain
That the manufacture and distributor
of crates by the Carolina Fruit Pack
ing Company was not carried out, aS
we were given the most positive assur-
ance would be, is shown by their Owl
statement.
I'VE quote the following from tht
statement issued February 9Th, by tn
Carolina Package Company to tn
Truckers and Berry Growers Of Nortl
Carolina There has been heretofor'
no uniformity in the system or rathe
Iack of system, by which this great in
dustry has been supplied. No singh
manufactures has been able satisfac
torily to distribute his product, bu
has been subjected to much unneces
sary expense and many unforeseen loss
HS. II he Carolina Fruit Package Con
Bany was organized to reduce expense
and losses to a minimum and provid
q systematic method of supplying tn
demands Of every section Of our terri
tory, so that there may at no time be
a Of crates at n point while ther
may be an o~yersupply elsewhere
tFrom the report of our bushes
agent, 1t will he seen that 534, 15S crate
of Strawberries were shipped from Ii
Wilmington and Weldon, Wilmingtol
Columbia and Augusta, Chadbourn AN
Conway and Atlantic and Yadkin SCI
tions this season, (the territory mer
toned above) and the Carolina Fru
Package Company, furnished in a
434 .696 crates to meet this demand. Ha
the crop not exceeded 450, 600 crat,
their shortage would have been 1873
crates. AS il was. with a g~uarantt
of 5 $1,000 crates and $4,000 additions +,
emergencies. they Failed to supply 65,S
crates. TheTefCIe on h lowest est
mate Of the output they fe
short. But for the feet that u grow
ers supplied themselves, at great di
advantage and expense, from outsiC
h territory controlled by this comp;
ny, the losses they would have su
gained had they not done so, would ha'
been simply enormous.
This does not speak we'll for II
systematic method" promises al
guarantees OF the Carolina Fruit Pacl
aga Company, and we leave it to yo1
honorable body TO say just what actiC
should be taken in the premises.
ut occurred to us during the pa
strawberry aso that there was
Screw loose somewhere in the usu
prompt method Of supplying shippe
with empty refrigerator ears by Il
Fruit Growers Express, and we are sa
listed, upon investigation. that if N
e. W. Woodward, agent for this cor
pany for this territory, was allowed
this more time before al
during b shipping season in this Sc
ton, there would be less complaint {
this score than was the season jul
passed. Mr.. Woodward has been trail
ed to the business OF this section, knoq
its wants and we rely ON him to sup