The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1913-03-13
~The Union"

"You would like to know" the COM
mission merchant wrote in answer to
q query from the doubtful editor Of an
Eastern agricultural journal. ''if the
packing OF the Hood River apples IS
so perfect that we accept them with
out close Investigation. Not only do
We accept them without close investi.
cation. but We accept them without
any Investigation whatever, leaving
the entire matter up 10 the Hood River
Apple. Growers Union. Our
contract Is certainly a very stringent
enc, they guaranteeing us q perfect
pack and also guaranteeing that every
apple In every box Is absolutely per-
feet We have handled several hun.
dred thousand boxes, and never have
We found ourselves In condition 10
make a single complaint against their
pack. This Is more than we
have been able to say for any other
large pack Of fruit that we have ever
Just as good in the East as in the
West. and we see no reason why the
Eastern grower can't get just as much
for his goods as the Western grower,
If he will only make up his mind to
one absolute fact and that is that
he has got to be honest. and that If
he thinks he can fool the people all
the time by putting up a fake barrel
OF apples he is making a big mistake
What was the real reason for the
organization of the Union?" I asked
Mr.. A. ]. Mason. one OF the most sue
cessful apple-growers OF the valley.
who formerly was a Portland mail
carrier and who has always been 10y
al to the Union.
''Exira-fancy Spitz at ninety cents a
box" he answered.
The apple production Of the valley
and the West was very small at the
time Of the organization OF the Apple
Growers Union. about ten years ago.
But the market was demoralized. More
precisely 1t hadn't yet been found. The
Hood River apple had already proved
its quality by landing some big prizes.
and the apple-growing pioneers had
unlimited lighting faith in their orcn-
ards. But fighting faith did not open
markets for their apples. The Union
started out to develop the best possi-
BILE pack. Stringent grading and pack
ing rules were adopted. Soon the
Hood River apple sold by the Union
became known to the trade as a fancy
apple and an honest apple.
1T took the Union Ave years." Mr.
Mason continued. ito get to the point
where our apples we're received with
out inspection. And 1t took us two
years longer TO get on the London
market report as a recognized stand
ard brand of goods
Those were golden days. Commits
sion merchants crossed the continent
to the little Hood River Valley to bid
against each other for the entire fancy
apple crop. Real estate values jump
ed and bounded. Old homesteaders
who had gained the real apple vision
were forced into the capitalist class
in spite OF themselves: but It should
be added that many OF the old pioneers
didn't see the light and fell over them
selves to sell out for cash before the
boom had really started.
Hood River continued to sell It's
fancy apples for fancy prices. mostly
in New York City. Even up TO two
years ago. when | made my first trip
TO Hood River. I saw displayed in a
grocery-store window in the valley
metropolis box of apples marked for
sale at a price which amounted to al
most ten cents an apple-thIs price
by the box. and practically in the orch
ard. During this period came the or
chard-land boom throughout the West,