The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-14
CAUSES
LOSS OF 100000
Tomato Shortage viii Have Serious
Effect in Three Counties.
SOME FACTORIES TO CLOSE
WAGE LOSS TO BOYS AND GIRLS
ALSO FELT.
(SpeciaI to The Herald

Ogden. Aug. ia conservative esti-
mate by experienced canning factory men
In and about Weber county puts the value
OF the output Of canned tomatoes for this
year at half a million dollars less in the
three counties Of Box Elder, Weber and
Davis than it was a year ago. There
are two general causes responsible for
the very light output this season. The
greatest falling off comes from the de-
struction caused to the plants by some
sort OF diseases, which is called, for want
OF better name. the tomato blight"
Ihts Is entirely new to the tomato crop
OF this locality and the growers are at
a loss TO understand the cause and are
unable to eradicate II.
The other general cause which would
have operated toward a lessening Of the
crop even If the blight had not appeared
is the small acreage planted this season.
The output last year was unusually lareg
and the quality good. The crop of to-
matoes canned was larger than the mar
ket could handle and early in the sea-
son II was seen that considerable por-
ton OF the crop wOdld be left over and
put on the market this year. AS a con-
sequence Il number of the canning fac
tories were closed, the association 10
which the owners belong deciding that the
output must be limited in some way. The
fa g9T b, sFeT Tpa, as intah North d
Hardy's would not have packed toma-
toes this season in any event Uintah is
beans. The others will not open at all
this season. The Wasatch factory will
lAAAs year run on tomatoes packing al
they can get. and also on fruits and
vegetables. The Woods Cross, Star. Salt
Lake Valley, KaysyiIle, Layton, Willard,
Cyracuse and Riverdale will pack ton1a-
toes, but il is fOregone conclusion that
the pack VIII be small, as the blight has
destroyed the greater part of even the
small acreage that was planted.
Officers of the Utah Selling & Storage
company, an association to which all the
owners Of the above named factories be
long. estimate that the two causes will
result in a loss Of at least 20 per cent
OF the usual crop. The actual loss in
value Of the pack is conservatively stated
tual loss, as the companies are spared the
expense OF putting up and handling the
crop.
The packers. however. have some rnone-
tary compensation in the fact that the
commodity wiz bring much better price
brisk demand for western canned toma-
toes from eastern sections The tomato
grower has no such compensation for the
loss Of his crop by the blight, from the
fact that he has no financial interest in
the part of last years pack left over
be interested I'm the factories and for this
years tomatoes the price was fixed by
contract made with the factory people
at the rates in vogue in the year of
plenty.
The canning iniustry-and especially the
tomato canning industry-has been such
an important one during the past few
years for the three counties Of Weber.
Davis and Box Elder that tlrsA. shortage
this year will be all the more noticeable.
The loss TO empiOyeS-manV of them bows
and girls-of the factories during the busy
Der will mount into the thousands OF
dollars