The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1912-04-24
Manager Robbins of Association
Tells of the Labor Which
Will Be Needed
WHILE OUTSIDE BUYERS
SPEAK OF PRODUCTION
Say That Northwestern States
Alone Will Put Nearly Twenty
Three Thousand Cars of Apples
in the Market

IF an average apple packer can
pack 60 boxes in a day it will take
him ten days in which to pack a
carload. This means that it will take
5000 packers ten days to pack the
} fruit of this valley this year or LOCO
packers working over a period of so
days to accomplish the same result
This is the manner in which General
Manager Robbins of the Fruit Grow
crs' association presented the subject
few night ago to members of the
Business Mems association when he
talked on the labor situation Mr.
Robbins did not go into details re-
garding the number of pickcrs and
sorters, box makers and draN and
others who will be needed but con-
fined himself to the packers. And he
did not attempt to suggest where the
skin required can be found lie
merely indicated ono Of the phases
of II situation which is rapidly at-
preaching.
VIII Need Thousands
1t is readily conceded that there
will he needed double as many peo-
pie for the picking, and other phases
of the orchard harvest season as will
lac required for the packing and this
means that new labor will have to
he procured somewhere if suitable
labor can be found. Either that or
other interests, school etc. will need
to he abandoned for time that the
harvest may he handled. The situa-
/ ton is ono which is up to the
/ growers.
! Need for Early Contracts
Another thing was pointed out by
| Mr.. Robbins and that was the need
/ for early contracts with reference to
| Il
cd for the fruit. He advised that con
| tracts be made at the earliest possible
| moment ana that the boxes, as soon
| as received be taken by the growers
and stored at some suitable place at
| each orchard. He called attention TO
| the fact that if the growers allowed
| things to drag and woke up some
morning and found that the Cascade
| Lumber company had shut down for
! some reason or other the loss would
bo half a million dollars easily to
| Yakiam people. similarly, he point
ed ont that if the boxes. upon distri-
| button We're stored i'm some central
! warehouse and such Warehouse de-
| stroYed by fire there would be a
| serious loss.
| Boxes and Papers
| Contracts. blanket in their char
| acter have been made by the Fruit
| Growers association for the boxes II
| viii probably require this year and
| also with the paper companies for
the wrappers, a blanket contract to a
| maximum of forty carloads having
| been made Mr.. Robbins urged that
the needed equipment be ordered at
| the earliest possible moment as wise
! precaution
NJ. G. Michael OF Chicago. a fruit
| buyer who is well known here and
who spends the greatest part of
| each year in the Wenatchce district
| is in North Yakima sizing up the
| valley situation and was out yester-
day with II. NJ. Gilbert looking over
the conditions here W. A. White
of Lewiston, Ida; II. T. Finch of
| Grand Forks. n. -. and j. A. Shining
ton of Mooseiaw. Sask.. are also here.
Speak of the Crop
The gentlemen have been looking
over the various fruit fields and have
| been making some figures of their
own. They are able to see 22.40O
carloads of apples in the Northwest
states this year and do II without
stretching their consciencos a little
bit Here is their argument: ........