The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1913-11-07
MEMBERS QUIZ
EXECUTIVES
Phases Of Marketing Discussed at
Saturdays Meeting Of
Fruitgrowers

The executive committee of the
Yakima Valley Fruit Growers AS
sociation met in Kennewick Satur-
day last at the request of the local
trustees. The meeting was held
here that the committee might come
into closer touch with the feelings
and sentiments of our members and
that the members might know better
the men whom they have placed in
charge of the interests of the Asso-
citation.
The following were probably the
more important of the topics dis
cussed:
The success of the efforts to mar
ket Kennewick strawberries. Ken
newick growers received for their
fruit In 1913 about dollar crate
more than was received before, a
result that was so phenomenal that
people from abroad questioned the
accuracy of the figures.
Whether growers outside the as
sociation profted more than the
members or not is not the main
question. The fact is that the as
sociation controlling from seventy to
eighty percent of the crop forced its
competitors to pay fancy prices or
go without the berries.
The policy of the Distributors in
holding up and advancing prices on
apples and pears was also discussed.
For the first time in the history of
the northwest the price of these
fruits have been set here, and though
started at price that would bring
good returns the prices on apples
have been advanced several times
already and will go higher. This
can be done because they control so
large majority of the tonnage avail
able in these fruits.
The reasons for the slump in the
prices secured for peaches were
given and the pooling methods ex-
planned.
The advantage the association has
in collecting claims from the rail-
road and others was shown. Many
thousands of dollars have been COL
lected by the claims department
that would never have been settled
had there not been a powerful and
active organization behind them.
Quite an extended discussion was
had as to the means of bringing the
producer and consumer into closer
| relations to the advantage of both.
It was shown that the most that can
be done now is to get the fruit into
the hands of the wholesaler or into
the hands of dealers who can handle
large quantities. Much more capi-
tai must be had to deal directly
with the small retailer and millions
of capital before the association can
reach the consumer directly.
Reasons why the returns come to
the grower with such exasperating
delay were taken up and explained.
In the nature of the case the asso-
citation cannot pay cash. no co-opera-
tive body could do so. Further,
when the association takes the mem
ber's fruit and sells it for him the
shortest time in which returns ought
to be expected is from three to four
weeks.
Reasons for further delay are as
follows: Pools are sometimes held
up by the failure to get settlement
on one car out of fifty or eighty.
Many firms are slow and do not
come through. Delays in remitting
through the banks often occur.
Delays occur in the office of the
Distributors who have organized
since the second week in June and
found the rush of business on them
before they were ready and so were
buried beneath it. The manager
frankly said that the delay was
much greater than it ought to be or
that it would he in the future when
all the departments were. better Or
ganized. He further said that
blame for the delay could not be
properly placed on the office force
at Yakima. The last bulletin which
is now in the hands of the members
goes into this in considerable detail.
A large number of members were
present and were interested ques-