The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1910-04-07
UNION TO CHARGE
TEN CENTS A BOX
UNIFORM RATE FOR ALL GRADES
Apple Growers Union Elects Directors
and Appoints Committee to Look
into Labor Problem.

Growers Union held Saturday nj the
X. of P. hall, it was voted by the
members of the growers cooperative
marketing organization that hereafter
the union make a charge of ten cents
box to the growers for handling the
apples of all varieties and grades. In
the past it has been the practice of the
union to make the charge for handling
the apples in proportion to the price
which was being paid for the fruit.
1t seemed to the growers that the
cost of handling box of low grade
cheap variety apples was practically
the same as to handle extra fancy
ISpitzenbergs and it seemed fair not to
force the better apples to pay the way
of the poorer ones and at the same
time make small additional incen-
tive to growing only the best varieties
and grades.
In connection with this discussion it
was also brought out that the Apple
Growers Union should make an effort
to pay the grower for his crop at as
early a date as possible and in that
way put itself on an equal footing to
compete with the private buyers who
offered to pay early for the apples
received by them.
When the meeting was first called to
order Saturday morning by President
G. A. McCurdy, there was not quite
enough stock represented to make a
quorum but few of the members went
out and gathered in enough proxies to
amount required to do business. The
l Il e L.,
the business done by the union during
the last year was read.
The matter of cooperation by the
growers of the valley in handling the
labor problem which confronts the or
chardist and land developers brougt up
and discussed at length with result that
a committee consisting of A. /. Mason,
IL. l.. Carter, r. w. Stebbins, Asa
Cutler and G. A. McCurdy was ap-
pointed to investaigte the labor
situation and report to the union.
There is at present a scarcity of com
petent help for orchard work and
in few weeks when the work of thin
ming apples and the strawberry crop
comes on, there will be an even greater
problem for the orchardists to face.
| uG COIuIliIlCC Will eiOO DN CApSt1Su w
investigate the matter of wages paid
for different classes of labor over the
valley and it is probable that a more
or less uniform scale can be adopted as
the result of the investigation.
The stockholders voted to pay seven
lpercent interest on the original stock
subscription of 81, 900 which has here
Itofore drawn no interest. This same
interest rate is paid on the stock which
was later subscribed to the extent of
about $4,000 at the time thewarehOuse
was built. The matter of paying the
directors for their services was brought
up and discussed but the general feel
ing, especially among the members OF
| the board, themselves, seemed to
be that the director was doing good for
himself at the same time he was serv-
ing every other member of the union
and that the service was willingly and
gladly rendered without further COM
pensation.. A resolution was adopted
by the meeting expressing to the old
board the appreciation and thanks of
the members for the work which had
been done.
A letter from Congressman W. C..
Hawley to Joseph A. Wilson was read
at the meeting. The representative
said that the Lafean bill seemed to
be dead at present and that the two
boxes of Hood River apples were very
much appreciated by him and the
others who had shared them in Wash
ington.
The meeting spent considerable time
discussing the matter of the division
of the responsibility between the
grower and the packer for the packing
and grading of apples. 1t was the
feeling of some of the growers that
the packer should be held responsible
for the proper packing of the apples,
but as the packer is not always a
responsible person it did not seem
prac cticable for the final responsibility
| to rest with him. While no expression
was had from the meeting as whole,
it seemed to be the general feeling that
that the responsibility should be shared
between the grower and packer and
that while the cost of repacking poor
pack would fall upon the grower, the
packer who put up such a pack should
not be allowed to do any further work
for the union.
| A board of nine directors were elect
ed to serve the union during the com.
ing year. The members of the ole
board who were reelected were: G. A
McCurdy, C. H. Sproat, Chris Deth
man, E. H. Shepard, v. Winchell anC
L. E. Clark. The new members wht
succeeded Oscar Vanderbilt, j. II
Shoemaker and H. r. Albee are: G.
w. Simons, o. l.. Walters and j. L.
Carter. There were ID men nominated
for the directorate, the other nominees
being: Oscar Vanderbilt, J.W. Palmer
Thomas Avery, J. d. McCully and X
w. Stebbins.