The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1911-01-06
A Lesson at battle Creek

Battle Creek, Mich, December 20,
191o.-That it pays to do things a
little better than your competitor is a
lesson that was impressed on my mind
again today. l violate no confidence
in saying l suffered considerable humil-
iation in the process, and I am going
to take it out on the Yakima valley
apple growers and dealers, who are re-
sponsible for my misfortune.
I haven't put in all the time since
l came here taking treatments at the
celebrated Battle Creek sanitarium. Part
of the time 1 have been Dragging on
Yakima apples for the benefit of any
body who would listen. In carrying on
the good work have no doubt I earned
the reputation of being the biggest liar
who ever came down the pike. Today
went down with three or four gentle
men who have kindly listened to my
astonishing tales, to make demonstra-
ton. Somebody had casually informed
me that there was fine display of
Yakima fruit in one of the Christmas
windows.
Now 1 said to these men from
the East, you shall see for yourself
just what Yakima apples are like. Come
down and have one on me-
1t was fine display. I never felt
prouder of Yakima or of myself than
when l went into the store and asked
the dealer to hand out few Yakima
Reds for my friends.
He dug around under the counter
and after while pulled out box of
measley little Jonathans, told me they
were three for a dime and asked how
many wanted.
I don't want any of those, said.
Give me some of those large, elegant,
shining wonders over there in the win
dow
Those he replied, are not Yakima
apples. They don't grow that kind at
Yakima. Our best apples come from
Wenatchee. Here are some Wenat-
chez Jonathans you can have at three
for quarter; here are some Wenatchee
Spitzenbergs that we get 10 cents,
straight for; here is box of Wenatchee
Delicious apples-65 in the box-that
we are getting 12A cents apiece for
II bought Wenatchee apples for my
friends, and told them ours were just as
good, or a little better, but we could
hardly expect to find dealer in small
town like Battle Creek who would be
enterprising enough to carry them.
Two points more l will add to
round out the story. In Chicago and
in every Michigan town l have visited
I have seen the choicest Wenatchee
apples on sale at stores, and nowhere
have 1 seen a Yakima apple displayed
which would compare with them in ap-
pearance. The Jonathans which were
offered to me today at three for 10
cents by the merchant who sold Wen
atchees at 10 and 121s cents each bore
the label of a growers cooperative as
sociation at North Yakima doing busi-
ness under the name OF the Yakima
Horticultural Union.
without beating around the bush l
want to remark this little affair made
me tired. 1t would have made any
Yakima man tired, and probably none
of them would have been any more cut
IN over it than a stockholder in the
Yakima Horticultural Union, had one
of these been on the ground.
81 suppose there are some apples
from the Yakima valley on sale some
where which will compare favorably in
every respect with the Wenatchee ap-
niles, over which nearly everybody in
this thriving town of $4,000 has uttered
exclamations of delight today. know
we grow as good apples, for saw them
on many trees last fall. They must