The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-03-27
LOOKING BACKWARD
A REVIEW OF RESULTS OBTAIN.
Ed BY THE FLORIDA CITRUS
EXCHANGE FOR GROWERS
OF THE STATE.
GROWERS WERE PROTECTED
Oespife Unfavorabie Weather condi.
aohs IN the North, Florida Or
an9es Sold for Three Times
as Much This January as
They Did in the Pre-
cedina Year.

now that the citrus fruit season OF
1sIl is rapidly drawing to a close. it
seems an opportune time to take a
back view of the results for the
growers OF the state, in the light of
the bitter controversy over the green
Irult question that ragged so fiercely
at the beginning of the season.
1t VIII be remembered that certain
interests In the state insisted at the
beginning of this citrus season that
prohibition of the shipment of imma-
lure oranges was an impossible thing
10 carry out, in the first place, and in
the second place that if it could be
carried out, it spelt disaster TO the
industry.
We ourselves We're in the main non
commlttal and We're frank to admit
that we did not know We were in
clined TO think that if green fruit
shipments would be stopped without
seriously disturbing the distribution
OF fruit, that it would be a good thing.
as 1t stood to reason that it was a
bad thing to ship fruit out of the
state in condition that would give
it a black eye with the consumers.
But so many arguments were offered
against this position that we prefer
red waiting until the close of the
season and watching with great in
terest the developments as they came
through, as it was certainty that
both parties to the contention could
not be right, and time alone would
demonstrate which was.
1t will be remembered that while
the Florida Citrus Exchange was &C
cused of being the sole champion of
the green fruit prohibition, that there
We're many of the big independent, or
individual, interests in the state that
We're inclined to agree with them.
For instance, John T. Fuller, of Or
| lando, Fla, one of the biggest in
dependent shippers in the state and
the owner of the famous Niger
Baby brand, was outspoken in his
support of the non-shipment of green
fruit policy. On the other hand, the
Independent dealers almost to man
claims that the prohibition of the
! shipping of green fruit spelt the ruina
ton of the Florida industry.
The principal contention was that
if nothing but ripe fruit was shipped
out of Florida that it meant the con
centration of enormous shipments in
| to such a short space of time that the
crop could not have been marketed
except at great loss, from the fact
| that markets all over the country
would be overcrowded with ship
ments, and there could be no sale fol
| them.
The Exchange and it's supporters
claimed, on the other hand, that the
enormous consuming power of the
public was not realized by these greer
| fruit shippers if the fruit was put in
their hands in the condition fit to eat;
or, in other words, that while ship
| ments of fifty cars day of sour AND
immature fruit would glut the mar
kets thoroughly and pile up hundreds
| of thousands of boxes of unsold anG
unstable fruit, that if the fruit was
not shipped at all until it was really
fit to eat, that instead of piling up
unsold and unstable, in the markets
it would be eaten as fast as it could
be shipped, even though the shipping
facilities of the state were taxed tt
| their utmost in getting the stuff out.
Unfortunately, the shipment o
green fruit out of the state was no
entirely stopped, even by the strenu
Gus efforts that were made to &C
complish this result; but everybod.
will admit that it was severely check
ed. The shipments during TIL,
months of September and Octobe
were several hundred cars less thar
the preceding year. The Novembe
shipments were very much less thai
any November for many years preced
ing.
Notwithstanding this fact, Their,
were still several hundred cars O
fruit shipped out of the state tina
should not have been shipped. Ha'
these cars been kept at home, tn
results-it is claimed by the ES
change upporters-would have beer
even more marked than they hav
been.
!, The practically exclusive organ O
the Green Fruiters' last fall wa
the so-called Pink Sheet and il
their issue of October %, 1911. the
make fat prophecy that the Florid
orange crop of 1911-1912 would net
cents a box less than the crop of tn
, preceding season, simply on accoun
of the damage done to the reputation
of the Florida orange by the so-calle
Poison Telegram" having been sen
throughout the country in order t
induce consumers not TO be stung b
buying immature, unripe Florid
oranges, a literal quotation from thi
publication being as follows:
I "A loss of .25 cents on each box o
five million box crop means grower
: will pay a cool million and quartz
dollars for the result of the E
changes brilliant iettergram. An
there are observing dealers who b
neve that the crop will not averag
. within % cents as much as 1t di
? during the season, comparing Xix
conditions, month by month
Their only solace will be: The E
change did it, All Of the growers c
the state must pay the bill"