The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1915-08-12
GROWERS SHOULD PA
TRONIzE AUCTIONS
That is the Opinion of Arthur
Geary, Who Is Preaching
New Marketing Methods.

/ Arthur Geary Of Portland, Ore,
who touring the Northwest in the in
terest Of the American Fruit & Pro-
duce Auction association, was in En-
NETT Tuesday. Mr.. Geary is engaged
in lecturing in the leading fruit CEN
ters on the methods Of marketing
( fruit in the large Eastern cities.
My main work in lecturing before
/ gatherings Of growers in the different
fruit sections of the Northwest con-
sists Of explaining the great difference
between largee fruit auctions Of clear
ing houses that are found in such
population centers as New York, Pitts
burg, Boston, Cincinnati and the like,
and the ordinary action of secondhand
furniture and other goods found in all
parts of the United States" said Mr..
Geary. "The California Fruit Grow
ers' Exchange, which ships from 40
to $4,000 cars of oranges and lemons
each year and the California Fruit
distributors, the great shippers Of
cherries, apricots, prunes, plums,
grapes and other deciduous fruits, as
well as the Florida Citrus exchange,
sell exclusively through these great
clearing houses in II Of the largest
cities of the United States.
"They place their agents IN the
sales rooms where the large retailers,
little and big jobbers, and fruit brok-
ers of each city gather to buy their
regular supplies each day. All buy
ers must bid against each other in the
purchase of the products. The Cali
fornia and Florida associations 90
where all Of the wants and demands
for their fruit are found and by reg
ulating the supplies offered, fix the
price. The agents of these assOcia- {
tions have the auctioneers do the ac-
tual selling, but they are there TO
make certain that every cert is pro-
cured for the fruit that is possible
under the market conditions. They
see each bid that is made by the rn (
or 300 buyers present as clearly as do
the auctioneers. If the price IS aot
satisfactory they withdraw their fruit
all but 2u boxes-which under the
laws must 70 to the highest bidder.
"Ihe auction companies who cp- /
crate these great clearing houses
charge but IL per cent 20 2l& per
cent for selling the fruit, furnishing /
the large display rooms and for run
ming the risks of failure to collect
from the different purchasers. A
check is given by the auction COM
panies to the agent Of the growers
within "a hours after the sale Is made
THE apple industry of the North
west has outgrown the system Of pri-
vate sales from jobbers' stores. Sew
eral hundred cars last winter were
tramped across the country or held
back in storage too long while the
owners were hunting outlets for them
jobbers' stores. Finally, in
a defective condition, they were placed
upon the auction as a last resort. If
these aples had been fed to the great
house in II or Is of the large
cities in a systematic manner while
they were still in prime condition,
like all the fruits from the Pacific
coast are handled, the returns would
have been written in black ink instead
Of red.
"The purpose of my lectures is to
gain the support of the growers in
forcing their agents to use new chan
nels; to force them to break their con-
nections with the old system which
the associations in Florida and Cali
fornia long ago discarded. l do not
doubt but that the demand for Moth
western apples can be increased two
or threefold if the great clearing
houses are used. Also the selling
charges will be cut in two.