Martinsburg statesman. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1869-1906, 1906-02-23
An interesting Paper.

| fruit growers, held recently in this city
Mr.. President, Gentlemen
In my publication, regarding the
| necessity of arrangingi in Martinsburg
J for fruit exchange | have already men-
/ toned the important points and think
there is nothing that could speak
against my suggestions, as the secret
of success will depend on whether
the fruit growers work and stick to-
eether or not. / will here add that
want to have it plainly understood that
my suggestion is not based on an out
/ look for personal profit, | Will do moth
ing else but help and push where | be
! lleve | can do so. Some person asked
me why do not leave it to the people
who were longer here and knew more
about the condition of the people OF
| this section. He added that | could
MT expect to get the confidence of the
fruit growers since am only a stranger
here. Well do not mind it. have the
feeling that | should try nevertheless
and further / have to say that | don
feel at all like stranger, among 20
and / might add with pleasure that no
person yet has made me feel that | am
a stranger.
Now let us come % the particular
point and let us consider what to do. |
think it is better not to speak about
fruit exchange but about fruit and
truck exchange, since fruit and truck
are in close relationship. We do not do
enough tuck farming in this section.
We buy new potatoes, onions and cab
/ bage by carloads from the North but
we shouldn't 90 it. Young orchards
| give enough room for truck farming
in the first two or three years, since it
| is proved that a cultivation such as
truck farming requires is benefit to
the young trees.
Now / come to the point which is
nearest to our hearts, mean the money
A good basis would be to tax the acre
age of the members of the exchange in
order to run the exchange. If we have,
for instance, six thousand acres of
fruit and truck land amongst the
whole membership and each acre is
| taxed with twenty cents, the exchange
could dispose of one thousand two
hundred dollars yearly for expenses
The office rent, sixty dollars; salary
for secretary, seven hundred and fifty
dollars; newspaper, stamps and sta
tionery, one hundred dollars; two tele-
phones, forty dollars; light and heat,
fifty dollars; furniture, one hundred
and fifty dollars; miscellaneous, eighty
dollars.
AS secretary / would like to see q
young, industrious and ambitious gen.
| tlemen, for instance a man who has
had a good business training. We could
send this gentlemen for some weeks to
a similar exchange, to Maryland or
Delaware, where such Institutions are
working excellently. These institutions
will help us and be glad to cooperate
with us. TO send the secretary to an al
ready established exchange is wise,
since it is cheaper and surer to adopt
experiences gained by other exchanges
! than to experiment for ourselves. We
have to start on plan which has al
ready proved a success. After the sec
rotary has learned all he has to learn,
| he arranges the exchange office under
the supervision of a president or COM
mittee, who should not receive any sal
airy before the exchange is on pay
ing basis.
At first the exchange would only
| have to collect and to oliver informal
ton and suggestions as already ex-
planned. The DISPOSE g of farm products
has to grow out of itself. Let as start
on a small scale and grow up, that is
the natural way. Thus the beginning
in the exchange will not represent
a business proposition whatever, but
after the Importance of the exchange
is recognized the practice will ask lots
of things to be done by the exchange.
1t will require the disposition of
fruit and truck, to buy trees and seef s,
or to give information where to get
them profitably and reliable. What to
grow, how to grow it; the exchange
would answer it. What fertilizers are
necessary for certain products; what
are the most profitable the exchange
will answer your questions by letter or
telephone. Formembers without charge
for non-members for small fee. You
have strawberry plants or seed potatoe
the exchange fixes us both products.
For business transactions the ex-
change has to charge say two and a
half per cent. of the selling price for
members and say five per cent for nom
members Many farmers have to dis
pose of small quantities of fruit or
truck and don't know what to do with