The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-09-03
Kansas Man Who Helped Break
California Fruit Trust.
A. P. Collins Formerly of Saline
County Here on Visit.
ORANGE RAISING PAYS
Has Made a Success of This
Business.
Only Combine Now Is One to
Grow Better Fruit.

A. P. Collins formerly of Saline
county, Kansas, and now one of the
prominent orange raisers of the famous
Riverside district of California. is visit
ing in Topeka with his daughter, Mrs.
c. H. Matson. Mr.. Collins was active in
the organization of the Populist party
In Kansas. and was twice elected to
the Legislature as a Republican before
the rise of the Populist party. While
resident of Kansas Mr.. Collins owned
LOCO acres of farm land south of Solo
mon, but his total holdings in California.
combined with that of his two sons, is
only As acres. But his California land
is worth nearly 1000 an acre
Il don't want to come back to the
Kansas method of farming, said MI
Collins this morning. Il consider that
the possibilities of orange raising in Cali
fornia are almost unlimited, but l ex-
pect to increase my holdings out there
as rapidly as possible"
Mr.. Collins is no longer mixed up in
politics, and says that he votes with
whatever party offers the best princi-
pies and the best candidates. But he
took an active part, when he went TO
California four years ago, in smash
ing the orange trust which threatened
TO control the entire product of the Cali
fornia orange groves.
THE orange trust" said Mr. Col
Inns consisted of a combination of the
California Fruit Exchange and the Cit
rus Union, both of these being packing
and shipping organizations, which to-
gether had contracts with growers
which gave them the control of So per
cent of the orange product of the state
These two organizations tried to COM
pei the remaining rs per cent of the
growers to come into the organization,
and threatened to ruin their business,
and make it impossible to sell their fruit
il they refused to come in. 1 was among
those who refused to come into the or
ganization, and in their efforts to ruin
US, the combine ruined itself by selling
fruit too cheap to permit the payment of
a profit. These combinations have now
practically ceased to interfere with the
growers, and we ship and market as We
please. Experiments which have been
going on for some time have shown US
that the best profits are in careful
handling and packing of fruit, in or
der to reduce the spoilage. This now
seems to be the object of the most pro-
gressive growerS-to put a little better
product on the market than anybody
else and thus command top prices.
I'm the orange district where my land
is located there are about five or six
sections of land, EThe' owners of this
land have organized what Is known as
the Riverside Highland Water COM
pany, and we have a large body of wa
ter impounded for irrigation. We have
two $40 600 engines with which we pump
this water 270 feet higher among the
foothills where the orange groves are
located. Our groves are all above
where the frost is troublesome, and the
crop is practically sure. The irrigation
plant which we own IS estimated as
worth half million dollars, and anoth-
er smaller plant is worth quarter of a
million 1 did not set out my own
orange grove, but bought a tract for
about $500 per acre. This land is now
worth twice that sum. Oranges are in
5aT,, md aoa la nd
which can be depended upon for sure
returns is very limited. The orange