The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1915-08-12
AUCTIONS AID IN
SALE OF FRUITS
Arthur M. Geary Explains Sys-
tenn Now in Vogue in
Large Market Centers

In an illustrated lecture before the
fruit growers at the Kennewick
Commercial club Arthur M. Geary
exposed defects in the present meth
DDS of marketing apples used by the
northwest and explained the market
ing system of California and Florida
associations. Mr.. Geary was present
in the auditorium of the Philadelphia
Auction company when the first car
of cherries shipped from Kennewick
was sold for the gross price of $780,
"The quality of the cherries in the
car" said Mr.. Geary, Gas well as in
the other cars shipped from the Yak
ina valley was very superior to that
of the California cherries. In fact,
during my investigation Of the mar
keting systems of the large eastern
cities I found that it was generally
conceded that the eastern Washing
ton Bings and Lamberts were super
Tor to any grown elsewhere in the
United States.
However, Norman c. Ives, mana
ger of the Philadelphia Auction COM
pany and other market men inform
me that although the prices received
at auction for northwestern cherries
were good, that they would be rs
cents to 80 cents box better if the
packs were equal to those of Cali
fornia.
"My main work in lecturing before
gatherings of growers in the differ
ent fruit sections of the northwest
consists of explaining the great diff
ference between large fruit auctions
or clearing houses that are found in
such populated centers as New York,
Pittsburg, Boston, Cincinnati and the
like and the ordinary auction of Sec
ond hand furniture and other defec-
tive goods found in all parts of the
United States. The California Fruit
Growers Exchange, which ships from
10000 to- $4,000 cars Of oranges and
lemons each year, and the California
Fruit Distributors, the great ship
pers 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 IL of
the largest cities of the United States.
They place their agents in the sales
auditoriums where the large retailers.
little and big jobbers and fruit brok-
ers of each city gather to buy their
regular supplies each day, and make
them bid against each other in the
purchase Of their products. They go
where all of the wants and demands
for their fruit are found and by regu-
lating the supplies offered, fix the
price. The agents Of these associa-
tions have the workers do the actual
selling, but they are there to make
certain that every cent is procured for
their fruit that is possible under the
market conditions that prevail. They
see each bid that is made by the 200
or 800 buyers present as clearly as
do the auctioneers. If the price is
not satisfactory they withdraw the
fruit; all but 20 boxes, which under
the law must go to the highest bid
der.
"The auction companies who OPP
crate these great clearing houses
charge but IN to 2 per cent for sell
ing the fruit, furnishing the large dis
play rooms and running the risks
Of failure to collect from the different
purchasers. A check is given by the
auction companies to the agent Of
the growers within "a hours after
the sale is made.
Run on Square.
"There may be so-called auctions
in small cities Of the United States
where the law Of supply and demand
does not operate as freely as it does
in these great clearing houses. The
fact that all fruits from the Paci-
fic coast, except the apples, that go to
these great centers are now sold by
the auction companies should be con-
elusive evidence that they are run
strictly on the square. When the
large receiving jobbers sell at auction
products that, they have bought t. o.
b., in the growing districts, instead
of using the natural outlet, their own
wholesale stores, they must have
great confidence in the fairness and
efficiency of the auction system.
"Mr. Scott, representative of the
Florida Citrus Exchange in Boston,
in q lecture recently given before the
growers of Florida, said that, although
the exchange sold exclusively