The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1913-10-23

ARE OPTOMISTIC
1900 CARS OF FRUIT DISTRIBUTED
Expectations Have Been Surpassed, Ae-
eOrding to Davidson, Who Sees
Possible Portland Office

II. F. Davidson, who returned Satur-
day morning from Spokane, where he
has spent the past week conferring
with his assoc istes and attending to
business of the organization, expresses
unbounded optimism in the marketing
Of northwestern fruits.
81 never dreamed that we would
reach this point so soon,,' said Mr..
Davidson Saturday afternoon. "By
this evening we will have distributed
1900 carloads of apples"
Mr.. Davidson complimented the Ore
gonian and Mark Woodruff on the work
of gathering for the people of the
northwest facts on cooperative market
ing. 81 spent portion of Friday
E2iking with Mr.. Woodruff" he said,
sFand he has made thorough investi-
cation of the workings of the Distrib-
utors. From his comprehensively and
intelligently arranged stories much
benefit will result for the cooperative
movement in the northwest, his es-
pecial interest being to aid the farmers
of the Willamette valley. The people
of Oregon and Washington are under
obligation to the Oregonian for gather
in up this information and making it
available to them in practical form.
IF this spirit is taken up in western
Oregon as it should be, it will be nec-
essary for the North Pacific Fruit Dis
triDutors to establish an office in Port
land. The Distributors are now main
tanning an Office in Hood River, where
from 81 200, 900 to $1,000, 900 will be
distributed this year, while at the main
Office at Spokane more than $4,000, 900
worth of fruit will be handled. The
office is busy now distributing to the
Growers money received from the sale
of the early fruits, which have in the
past frequently been sold for but little
above the freight charges. But this
year the Office has already distributed
5000, 900 to the growers of the north
west.
"The policy of the Distributors to
on strictly I. o. b. basis has worked
out to the entire satisfaction of the or
ganization's officers, and after two
weeks struggle with consignment So
licitors. who had the field their own
way last year, commission men were
turned into buyers. and the fruit busi-
ness of the northwest was put on a
stable basis.
Zone very important matter before
the fruit growers of the northwest, in
all districts outside of Hood River,
where ample buildings have already
been erected. is that of providing more
warehouse space for receiving and
loading the fruit. In order to work
out the policy of filing Z. o. b. orders,
it is necessary to have aEple ware
houses at loading stations. in order
that carload lots of certain varieties
and grades can be accumulated in suf-
| ficient quantities to fill specified orders.
"0wing to lack of warehouse facili-
| ties many districts load cars partly
with stock that should be used in fill
| ing specified orders, but failing to have
enough of the proper gri des and ,vari-
sties to complete the cars, fill them
partly instead with apples that do not
suit the buyers, and as a resul t the ap'
Piles have to be sold en- route, and are
known to the trade as tramp cars.
Shippers of the northwest, who do not
secure sufiicienst orders to take care of
their output have many of these cars
rolling unsold, and when they do not
find satisfactory purchasers by the
time the fruit arrives at its destina.
tion, it is either sold at forced private
sale or at auction. And while the sea-
son is yet young, the trade is already
being affected by these salls at auction
prices netting back 0 the northwest
ern growers so cents to a dollar less
than prices obtained on {. o. b. sales.
''The shipments of the Distributors
on apples began less than 60 days ago
and out of the first 500 cars sold, set
Elements have been made on all bu
three cars, and out of the first 1000
settlements have been made on all bu
81. Of the 1900 carloads that we have
distributed but "a that are rolling have
not been sold"
Most of the green and golden vari
eties of apples were picked by the lat
ter part of last week. However, thu
red fruit, Arkansas Blacks and Spitz
enburgs, were allowed to remsS& OF
the trees as long as possible to ge
we'll colored, and piekeYb are busy thi
week cleaning up the trees. By th'
end Of the week the work of picking
will be pretty we'll done. However
the packing at many places will con
tinue for month yet.