The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1915-03-25
VOLUME XXIII-NUMBER II.
FOR THEIR MUTUAL BENEFIT
Held an Important Meeting at Area
dia on Saturday Resolutions
Adopted on Organizing

A large number of the orange
growers of the county met IN Ar
cadia last Saturday, and effected a
very important organization
having for its object the securing
of remunerative prices for fruit.
This was an adjourned meeting
from one held on February q, at
which a committee was appointed
to formulate and present a plan
for attaining the object mention
ed.
f. r. Jones presented the re-
port. but, before doing so, read
section 6 of the Sherman antitrust
law to show that the proposed or
ganization did not conflict there
with. The resolutions presented
by Mr.. Jones were unanimously
adopted and are as follows
Resolved, That this organiza-
ton shall be known as the Florida
Growers Association, and is
founded upon the following prin-
ciples and rules to which each
member subscribes and pledges
his hearty cooperation and sup
port.
/. We believe that the only
way to secure profitable prices for
our fruits, is that the growers OF
the state shall form an agreement
to make minimum price on this
fruit.
2. The minimum price should
be made in the following manner:
Each of the counties of the state
growing citrus fruits should be
sub-divided into smaller districts
(the shipping points would proba-
bly, be the correct unit for such
ub-division), and each district is
entitled to representation on the
county committee in proportion to
the approximate number of boxes
of fruit, produced annually, in the
district. The member or members
in each district to be selected by
the growers in each district, who
subscribe to this agreement.
3. The members, so selected in
each district, shall meet in the
county seat and select one of their
number as chairman and one as
secretary.
4. This county committee shall
then have the power to select three
of it's members as a committee, to
meet with the committees In like
manner in all the citrus fruit
growing counties of the state, and
this committee shall be called the
state board of control, and shall
have the power to fix minimum
price of citrus fruits for the entire
state. The state board of con-
troll shall have the power, in case
the minimum price SO fixed is
found to be too high, or too low,
to change the minimum price to
meet the exigencies of the occa-
sion. There shall be no maximum
price fixed.
5. This agreement is purely
tentative, and in no sense binding
upon the individual signer until
the state board of control shall
be fully satisfied that at least
per cent of all the citrus fruit pro-
duced in the state of Florida shall
have been signed up under the
contract.
6. A majority of the members
of the state board of control shall
constitute quorum for business,
and a majority vote of the mem
bers present shall be necessary to
decide a vote.
We, the undersigned, growers of
DeSotO county, Florida, having
carefully read the above agree
ment, and being fully convinced
that the only hope of our fruit
growing industry is Tor us tOi
stand together in fixing a reason
able price upon the fruit sub
scribed to the above agreement, |
and bind ourselves not to place
our citrus fruits on the market
for a less price than that fixed by
the state board of control, above |
mentioned.
The above agreement was sign
ed by forty-three growers repre- |
senting 100000 boxes of fruit.
A permanent organization was
effected by the election of w. H. |
Smoke as president, E. R. Jones, |
secretary, and E. T. Smith, treas
urer, after which the body ad- |