Imperial Valley press., 1909-08-28
ONLY HOPE
 |S COOPERATION Salvation is in Acceptanse of the Gospel of Get
 Together
California Citrus Growers Solved the Problem of Eliminating Commission Parasites, and Others Need Only to Follow Their Lead and Organize For Protection.


 In Everybody's Magazine recently, Forrest Crissey told, under the title of "Robbing the Hand That Feeds," how the farmer is swindled and plund- cred by commission agents and spec tlators and how diSastetr comes from unorganized shipping to glutted mar kets. In the September number of the magazine, Mr. Crissey tells what organization and cooperation are do- ing for the producer The story is of especial interest to the farmers of Imperial Valley, whose experience with commission men has been little short of calamitous. The following excerpts from the article indicate it's scope
 California Shows the Way
 Unquestionably, California has con- tributed more to the cause of cooper ation among growers than any other state in the Union. The California Fruit Growers Exchange is not only the most powerful organization of it's kind in America, but also the best and most progressive. It is built like a watch" performs it's functions with mechanical exactness, and works with a broad, intelligent out reach. As a piece of adroit construction it may we'll challenge the admiration of the most tight knit trust in existence
 It has reduced the selling of citrus fruit to science-a good orange yield in California today means good profit to the grower and no guess work about it. It has put the specu- lator out of the game, and the con- mission men and the private car lines have to be very very good or they don't get any orange! It distributes this golden product in so scientific a way that the normal demand of every community will be exactly supplied and never oversupplied; and above all, it persistently plans ahead so that the increase of orange consumption shall always outstrip the increase in popu- lation.
 Texan Sucker Crop
 The story of organization develop ment in the Gulf Coast Country" of is, orIx eion cant. This section is remote from any large center and it has comparatively no local markets. There are many small growers here and comparative ly few who produce truck upon a big industrial scale and it's whole his tory as garden region is so recent as to come easily, definitely and com pletely under the eye.
 The first truck crop was produced in 1905 and was grown almost en- tirely by men who had left proies- sions and commercial callings to get away from the deadly grind of office routine. The first shipment took the northern markets by surprise, getting in ahead of all other early regions The prices almost made these pioneer truck growers dizzy-four dollars and fifty cents a bushel for new potatoes one dollar and eighty cents a dozen for cucumbers; three and one halt cents a pound for onions. The growers overworked the multiplication table in figuring out their next season s profits at these figures. Organization was unthought of and every man took his own guess at the market If one seemed to strike it right dozen oth- CTS followed his lead-with carload shipments! this not only glutted the favored" market but it also gave the commission men sure tip that the new garden spot of Southern Texas