The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-09-08

"a have speculated on small
scale in apple crops. will have
to make the best possible terms with
the fruit commission men OF the city
or else come out at the decidedly lit
tie end of the horn. For the commits
sion men control absolutely all of the
available cold storage room in the city
for the handling of apples, and choice
apples can not be handled for the
market to the best advantage without
cold storage facilities.
But while the commission men con-
troll these cold storage facilities col
lectively. they do so as individuals.
There has been no collusion among
TO get this control and thereby freeze
out the small fry. AS a matter of fact
they have been playing a freeze. out
game amongst themselves over the
handling Of the apple crop and are at
swords points with each other. They
are, and have been for some time,
fighting tooth and nail for cold stor-
age room, and while each concern has
secured more or less Of It, some con-
siderably more than others, not a one
of them will admit that the facilities
at their disposal are adequate for their
individual needs.
Indeed there has never been time
in the history of the city when the
commission men have been quite so
bitter, one with the other, as they are
now, and the present trouble in their
ranks is all over the handling of the
apple crop and there are several feat
ureS to this trouble outside of the cold
storage proposition. It is not so many
months ago that these same commits
sion men organized an association for
their mutual benefit and protection
and other things They. even had
picnic where they consorted together
in the friendliest sort of a fashion but
a short time after this picnic the as
ISOLATION went to smash over the ques-
ton of blacklisting certain customers
of questionable credit and now these
same men who were hobnobbing with
each other not long ago, scarcely
speak as they pass by.
And though they are fighting
amongst themselves. they collectively
control. as stated. all of the cold stor-
age facilities in the city for the hand
ling of apples and no one who wants to
market an apple crop here. or store
apples for markets Of the future can
do SO without. coming to the terms of
the commission men,. There are FIVE
cold storage plants in the city. They
are operated, by the Continental
Creamery company. the Charles Wolff
Packing company the Mutual Ice g.
Cold Storage company the Topeka
Cold Storage. Ice &. Fuel company and
panies. or at least some of them, have
not as much cold storage facilities for
general use Is they had last year when
there was no bumper apple crop to
take care of. For instance, the Con-
tinental Creamery company is using
for its own purposes good portion of
the cold storage room it had for rent
year go. The Wolff Packing company
is doing the same thing. This con-
Germ had three large rooms in its cold
storage plant which were available for
general use last year, but which are
needed by the company this year for its
storage room of Seymour & Company
is filled with eggs at the present time
and none of this portion viii be for
rent before October IA, which will be
somewhat late for the storage of APP
pies. Under these conditions it is evil
dent that the cold storage facilities in
the city are actually considerably less
this year than they were last when
there were no unusual fruit crops to
handle.
In view of this fact it has been the
policy of the concerns controlling the
cold storage plants to divide up such
room as was at their disposal among
the commission men in as equitable
way as was possible, because the COM
mission men were the first to put in
bids for the space And the commits
sion men have all of it and anybody
else who wants to put apples in cold
storage in this city will have to come
to their terms. These terms are about
sion men doing business in the city.
Many of them insist that they have no
cold storage space at their disposal ex-
cept such as they need to handle apples
for their regular customers and they
will not have anything to do with
growers or spectators unless they sell
outright to them. Other commission
men, who have at their disposal a sur
will sort Of subHent 1t on the conditions
that the regular storage charges be
paid and in addition that they receive
their usual 10 per cent commission on
the selling price
On either of these propositions the APP
pie grower. who wants to market his
own crop. or the individual who has
purchased an apple crop and wants to
put it in cold storage for future use, as
several of the grocers i'm the city have
done. are up against it. They cannot
get any cold storage facilities in the
city unless they go to the commission
men. Unless they sell their crop out
right a good many of the commission
men will not handle it under any con-
sideration and on the other proposition
/ Of paying the storage charges and the
additional ten per cent commission on
the selling price. they have small chance
Of making any money on their venture
The warning Of the commission men
among themselves, however, Is not con-
fined to the cold storage question The
great majority of them have no facili-
ties for packing the apples they buy
Choice apples are now packed almost
! exclusively in boxes, three OF which
hold about the same amount as a bar
rel In using boxes the apples can be
handled easier. both as to storing and
as to their display. About every COM
mission house in the city contra cted to
get boxes from the California Pine Box
/ company. of which Whiteker Bros. are
/ the local agents. Few of these boxes
have been delivered. They are manu-
4 featured in various parts of Arizona and
/ California and Whiteker Bros. explain
( their failure to arrive because of lack of
/ freight facilities on the railroads. The
/ commission men. who relied on these
boxes, are trifie more than wrathy be-
cause they have nothing IN sight in
which m 774sf fhefr aDpieS unless thew 20