Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1907-12-17
HOP MEN WILL ORGANIZE
Two Hundred Growers Meet in
Dallas and Discuss Market
Conditions.

In response to call published by
3. Il. Petre, of Bridgeport precinct
nearly 200 hop growers and dealers
from all parts Of Polk and adjoining
counties, met at the Courthouse in
Dallas, Saturday at l O'Clock p. M,
for the purpose of effecting an organ
ization to protect the interests and bet
ter the conditions of hop growers. not
only in Polk County but throughout
Oregon and the Pacific States.
s. II. Petre called the meeting to
order, and after he had stated his
object In summoning the hop men to
be present, George McBee was electe d
temporary chairman, and H. G. Camp
bell secretary OF the convention.
During the greater part of the after
noon, the subject of an organization
of hop growers was discussed from
every view point. In the assembly
were prominent hop growers, hop
dealers and brewers from Polk, Marion
Yamhill and Clackamas Counties,
who almost without exception enthus-
iastically favored the plan. All clear
headed and practical business men,
they touched plainly and definitely on
every vital point of the subjectin hand.
BY comparison and sharing Of plans,
radical ideas were turned down,
unsound schemes shown in their
proper light, and clear, practical and
effective working basis arrived at.
Briefly their plan aud purposes are
as follows: In their present unor-
ganized condition hopgrowers are
able to control neither the price
nor the production of hops, and
their business must be conducted
largely on basis Of mere chance. All
that were present at Saturday after
Moons convention realized that hop
growers union organized in one
county alone would be worse than use
less, and that to do effective work, they
must strive toward the end Of organic
ing the growers, not only Of Polk
county, but of the entire Pacific Coast,
into union for mutual protection and
assistance.
The plan then is first to encourage
organization in every precinct Of Polk
County. These minor organizations
will be combined into county associ-
alton, and when the other counties Of
the state can be prevailed upon to fol-
low the same-plan, all of these larger
organizations will be combined into
union of the hop growers of Oregon
and eventually, of the entire Pacific
Coast.
Hon. 1. M. Simpson, of Monmouth, |
was elected president, and Fl. G.. Camp
bell, secretary, to act while a perman-
ent organization in Polk County is
being effected. Upon the instruction OF
the assembly, President I. M. Simpson
appointed two committees, one to draft
a list Of resolutions, and the other to
ascertain the acreage of hops in their
respective districts, and also the num-
ber of bales yet in the hands of the
growers. Both committees will render
their reports at the next meeting of
the association, in Independence, Sat
urday, December 28.
The following men we're appointed
on the first committee; S. H. Petre,
J. M. Grant, Clyde Beckett, A. J. Rich
ardson, William Percival, Hon. J. S.
Cooper, Henry Clanf1eld, Mart Scraf-
ford, Verd Hill, and T. J. Graves. On
the committee on acreage were George
Ball, Mark Burch, Alley Mclaughlin,
J. E. Hubbard, Harry Lacy, 81. B.
Brophy, I. F. Yoakum, H. Hirschberg,
James Helmtck and s. H. Petre.