The daily sentinel., 1914-01-21

About Home folks Mtbed
There are two sides to the question
OF making any change in the size
OF our apple box, at least until there
is national law covering the mat
ter. In the first place the Grand
Junction box is known all over the
apple eating sections, and its reputa-
tion is established. 1t has a fixed
price. and this price is always a little
above every other box, and largely
because we give a full bushel, and
three boxes will fill a three-bushel
barrel, and no other sized box will
do IL. If we adopt a smaller box we
shall be very apt to have strenu-
Gus kick and cut in the price which
may bring ii lower than the saving
in apples by the change. 1t is al
most sure that we can not hold our
prices with a smaller box.
There is also a possible advantage
for another sized box which will
weight just fifty pounds. so that il
can be shipped within the first two
zones in any territory which handles
box apples, and which wishes to re-
tail to the small towns. The pro-
posed new size will not come within
the parcels post regulation. II
seems to me that the matter ought
to be discussed generally and
adopted after careful consideration.
At the meeting of the National
League of Commission men last week
in Florida reference was made to the
Colorado Commission bill in the fol-
lowing language; THE Colorado
law requiring the licensing and bond
ing of commission men and other
obnoxious restrictions, is now inop-
erative by reason of the fact that
due to a strong petition from the
commission merchants, backed by
the growers throughout the state,
they were successful in having the
bill referred" it is doubtful if there
were many growers who signed the
petition.
And by the way. there ought to be
an amendment to our initiation and
referendum law which shall provide
that the five per cent of the voters
necessary shall come from major
ity of the counties of the state in
equal ratio to the vote. This will
prevent Denver, Pueblo and the 9TH
er large cities from referring a bill
all by themselves and ignoring all
other parts of the state, which they
can do and have done in the case OF
utility biii wfAn tonid not have
been referred If five per cent of the
vote in fifty-one counties had been
necessary.
1t was the hope of many voters re-
gardless of partys that Governor Am
mons would forget party politics of
a machine nature and select some
man of his own party who would be
a practical man on the state railroad
commission. The commission is a
good deal of a farce at the present
time, and when under the public
utility law which will be carried
next fall these men have to take up
a wide scope of activity, there should
be big men ON the commission. One
would almost reach the conclusion
that our governor has changed his
mind about another term and was
fixing his fences"
In an article in the Montrose Press
of recent date. James f. Kyle, one
of the best known apple growers of
the Western Slope. who has more
| thoh oiiC aNito VI ,
has some excellent things to say
| along the lines | have been talking
the past few months: He says:
Too many men have made side
show of the apple growing industry;
they expected trees to grow and de-
velop into a good producing orchard,
regardless of where the trees were
planted or how they were cared for,
and such growers say the business is
Il failure"
Also. "as matter Of fact there
have been very few failures where
men have lived with. built up and
employed their time and capital the
same as prudent business men have
lived with and built up the banking
or merchandise business. There is
also but little question that the best
results are obtained from orchards
just large enough so that the owners
can look after every detail" He also
says that 1t is his opinion 1t is poor
policy to grow crops in an orchard
at any age, and it permanently dam
ages an orchard to grow and mature
u grain crop"
One of the best showing of fruit
| i,x