The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1914-07-16
ENTIRE COOPERATION
WOULD SAVE MONEY

growers fTuiL, Uulslue u tIS Aai -
operative shipping organizations, u
Strung out in single file would form
procession over a mile long. There are
Iq Of them. This is one Of the incl
dental revelations Of a thorough census
of slmost all principal fruit growing
districts Of the northwest which has
Just been completed. .,
The canvas did not cover few small
sections but, in presenting hgures ior
running expenses Of such private con-
Germs and capital invested by them IN
the northwest, il is considered compre-
hensive enough to give the growers
a new angle from which to view the
marketing business as it affects them,
inasmuch as the money used m thls
way is derived from but one source ana
that is the growers fruit or, in effect,
the growers themselves.
This in turn, II is pointed out, raises
the issue that all the fruit OF the north
west could be marketed by one organ
ization Of sufficient size without ma
terially increasing its expense OF oper-
alton, 49, thus leaving available Tor
other uses, or saving to the growers,
fund which now mounts up IN the ag-
gregate to S623, ,220 annually, at least.
Several salient features Of the census
made Of these concerns. which include
the so.called cash, commission and con
signment firms. are: .,
Number of concerns, l09; number OF
men employed, 227; annual expense OF
operating, Except automobilesl, $6Oh-
i20; investment Except in automo-
biles), 81 529, $780, number of sutomo.
bies. 79, Fords 33, big machines 46;
annual expense of operating automo-
biles, Sl5, 800: investment in autOmo.
biles, 1884, $50; total annual expense OF
operating, $623, 900; total investment,
81, ,6l4, l40.
In the case OF several firms that do
general wholesale business or deal IN
other lines of produce, only the proper
tion of expense and investment which
relates to the fruit buying, commission
or consignment end of the business is
charged, in many instances this being
figured conservatively at 30 per cent.
The cost of operating the automo-
biles is placed economically, exception
ally so, at $25 per month, big machines
as we'll as Fords.
Some of Kthe district cooperative
shipping organizations use automobiles,
of course, but in one section, which is
indicative of conditions elsewhere, such
an organization employs four automo.
biles in handling 40 per cent of the
tonnage, while 26 private concerns EN-
ploy 25 automobiles to handle the other
60 per cent, so the comparison, numer-
nN
odds on automobiles.
OF the many uses to which money,
represented by the "eXpense of Operat-
ing" and the investment Of the lO9
concerns and furnished necessarily by
the growers and no one else, could be
put by the growers themselves, few
have been tentatively suggested, as
follows:
With the annual expense of operat-
ing Except autOmobiles) l09 sales
offices could be established in market
centers throughout the world. and 227
statesmen could be placed in the field,
to provide for the rapidly increasing
tonnage of the northwest, merely
transferring the same number of offices
and the same number of men to
sphere of usefulness in distribution.
| ,0l2 hired men could be put in the
orchards of the northwest the year
round.
With the Investment in automO-
biles" alone, 1879 of the best power
sprayers on the market could be pur-
chased and III of them could be oper.
ated for the regular seasons sprays,
including cost of material, gasoline,
labor, etc, under conditions applying
to the principal fruit growing sections
of the northwest, for the annual eX-
pense of operating automobiles.
One hundred and twenty-five Ford
automobile trucks for general orchard
and farm use could be bought. and the
annual expense of operating automo-
biles" would run them five months
each year, and 875 growers could use
them one day each week as the German
| farmers do their cooperative automO-
biles, or the annual expense of oper.
ating automobiles" would buy % more
Fords each year, giving l6l more
growers such cooperative use.
| With the total investment a nam
moth warehouse of 8, $40 carloads ca
pacity could be built. or 85 of 100 car.
loads capacity each could be located al
various points in the northwest need
ing them, and 33 more of 100 carloads
capacity each could be built each year
for the total annual expense of oper.
atlng.
Or, granting that present warehouse
facilities are adequate. 1890 FordS
could be bought and the total annua
expense OF operating" would run then
10 months each year.
Reverting again to the serious phase
of the situation, it is stated that The
total annual expense of operating
doesInot include anything for deprecia
tiOn, repairs, taxes, insurance, etc, OF
the plants, warehouses, automobiles
etc, which in hazardous business
such as the handling of perishable frui
cannot be estimated at less than 10 pei
cent. Ii is further set forth that
reasonable return on the capital in
vested, above the operating expense
must be placed at least at eight pc
cent. This. it appears, raises the tota
annual earnings of these firms to
minimum of 1915, 765, as follows
Total annual expense of operating
S623, 900, annual depreciation. etc.
Sl6l, ,4l4, annual returns above expens
of operating, Sl29, l3l. total, 1915, 1855.
D, All of which is derived from but on
source, and, of course, is deducted be
fore the growers receive their return
from their fruit. The million dollars
practically, already being paid out an
nually TO competitive concerns, i
wisely used in a constructive wa
would insure the future of the fruit in
dustry of the northwest, it is declared
y How the growers could save thi
! money or would use it if they did, is
question apparently put up" to them
the census merely presenting the exist
- ing facts as they have been gathered.
CALIFORNIA MINISTER