The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-06-23
100000 BOXES CITRUS
FRUIT WILL Be FlOR|DA'S
OUTPUT IN A few YEARS

DR.. ]. H. Ross, president, and L
d. Jones, business manager, of the
Florida Citrus Exchange, were visit
ors in the city few days ago. DR.
Ross and Mr.. Jones were on theil
way to attend a meeting of the ex.
change at Enterprise, but owing te
a wreck on the Atlantic Coast Line
which delayed the morning train
they decided to spend the day in Or.
lando returning on the afternoon
train to Tampa.
DR.. Ross was seen this morning.
at the San Juan hotel and talked
very enthusiastically about the sue
cess with which the Exchange had
met the past season.
Eve have been agreeably sur
priA fed with the wonderful growth
which the exchange has enjoyed the
past season." he remarked. "In every
county and citrus locality we have
men at work organizing the farmers
and demonstrating the benefits of
the exchange. The farmers are be-
ginning to realize the great benefits
to be derived from organization.
THE citrus INDUSTRY has developed
to such a degree it is impossible to
market fruit by the old method, and
unless some system of organization
is adopted and carried out ii will
not only end in the destruction of
the citrus industry but also fiancial
ruin to our growers
DR.. Ross estimated that the ex-
change was not handling about fifty
per cent. of the citrus crop of the
state. To make the exchange
profitable to the farmer we must
control at least sixty or seventy-five
per cent. of the cirrus crop, in order
to demand and maintain reasonable
price for fruit" he continued. He
gave illustrations in which the farm
er who handled his fruit through the
exchange received substantial
profit over the one who pursued the
old method of consignment, or hand
ling 1t through commission men,
among which was this: "The ex-
change throu2h it's system of or
ganization knows just where each
car is to be placed Now say we
shipped car to some town in Ohio.
The firm to which that car had been
sonsigned bought it F. o. B., but
that means when it is accepted by
the consignee. There are thous-
and and one ways for him to slip
out of this. Say for instance two
commission men shipped two cars to
the same town. two packers and two
individual shippers also shipped sew
eral cars to this town not knowing
the other man or our car had been
shipped there. The packer and
commission man are spectators, the
individual shipper does not want to
see his carload of fruit spoil on his
hands so they accept any price rath-
er than have dead loss. The COM
mission man receives his commission !
and the shipper may get his freight |
but nothing more. =.
I'm this instance the exchange is
powerless to maintain standard !
price, but had these cars been under
the control Of the exchange they |
would have been diverted to some
unfooded market where a standard
price could have been demanded and !
The exchange has undertaken a
great advertising campaign for the
citrus industry. Heretofore it has
not confined it's advertising to the
exclusively; all the pack
ers and shippers of the state have
reaped the benefits of this advertis- !,
ing, but in the future the exchange !
will ship under one brand to be '
known as the 'Sealdsweet' This ,
trade mark will be on every wrapper
and box handled by the exchange.
'At the rate of acreage which has
been set to grapefruit and oranges !
he past year the amount of fruit
which will be shipped from this :,
state in the next few years. we esti-
nate, will increase from ten mil
ions to thirty millions of boxes. T.
S absolutely essential that this vast
business be conduced and handled
llong systematic lines. The ex-.
hange is working for the farmer, is
his business for him,
md If he will stand by us the citrus
industry of Florida has no limit. -
ASrY nNy n n nvrYr,nC ma TT, nYnrYNY, j