The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-09-13

Now that the citrus fruit season of
1911 is rapidly drawing to a close, it
seems an opportune time to take a
Dack view or the results for the
growers OF The state, in the light Of
the bitter controversy over the green
fruit question that ragged SO fiercely
at the beginning of the season.
1t will 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 were in the main non
committal and were frank to admit
that We did not know. We were in
cllned 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 it stood to reason that it was a
bad thing to ship fruit out of the
state in a condition that would give
1t 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 a 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 ac-
cused of being the sole champion of
the green fruit prohibition, that there
were many of the big independent, or
| individual, interests in the state that
were 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 "Nigger
Baby brand, was outspoken in his
| support of the non-shipment of green
| fruit policy. On the other hand, the
Independent dealers almost to a man
were just as outspoken in their
claims that the prohibition of the
I 6hlpPlnS VI SEeSu lTulI SpelI the Tulud-
ton of the Florida industry.
The principal contention was that
II nothing but ripe fruit was shipped
out of Florida that it meant the con-
centration of enormous shipments in
to such short space of time that the
crop could not have been marketed
except at great loss, from the fact
| that mQrkatc all ho nfy-xy
would be overcrowded with ship
ments, and there could be no sale for
them.
The Exchange and its supporters
claimed, on the other hand, that the
enormous consuming power of the
public was not realized by these green
fruit shippers If the fruit was put in
their hands in the condition At to eat;
or, in other words. that while ship
ments of fifty cars a day of sour and
immature fruit would glut the mar
kets thoroughly and pile up hundreds
of thousands of boxes of unsold and
unstable fruit, that if the fruit was
not shipped at all until 1t was really
fit to eat, that instead of piling up,
unsold and unstable, in the markets,
1t would be eaten as fast as it could
be shipped, even though the shipping
facilities Of the state were taxed to
their utmost in getting the stuff out.
Unfortunately, the shipment of
green fruit out of the state was not
entirely stopped, even by the strenu-
Gus efforts that were made to &C.
complish this result; but everybody
will admit that it was severely check.
ed. The shipments during the
months of September and October
were several hundred cars less than
the preceding year. The November
shipments were very much less than
any November for many years preced
ing.
Notwithstanding this fact, there
were still several hundred cars OF
fruit shipped out of the state that
should not have been shipped. Had
these cars been kept at home, the
results-it is claimed by the Elk
change upporters-would have been
even more marked than they have
been.
The practically exclusive organ OF
the Green Fruiters' last fall was
the so-called Pink Sheet and in
their issue of October %, 1911, they
make a fat prophecy that the Florida
orange crop of 1911-1912 would net q
cents a box less than the crop of the
preceding season, simply on account
of the damage done TO the reputation
of the Florida orange by the so-called
Poison Telegram having been sent
throughout the country in order &c
induce consumers not to be stung BY
buying immature. unripe Florida
oranges, a literal quotation from this
publication being as follows:
: "A loss of 25 cents on each box or
a FIVE million box crop means grower:
will pay a cool million and a quarter
dollars for the result of the Eek
changes brilliant lettergram. AnC
there are observing dealers who be
lieve that the crop will not average