The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-02-17
SHIP THROUGH AGEN-
CIES, Is ADVICE

However large they mayshave been,
campaigns and meetings among fruit
growers of the northwest dwindle in
comparison with the propaganda of ed
ucation proposed by no less an institu-
tion than the Department of Agricul-
ture of the United States, which is
now looming, according to advices re-
ceived here by Wilmer Sieg.
G. w. Moomaw, G. E. Bassett and
W.. h. Kerr, representatives of the
Office of Markets of the United States
Department of Agriculture, who have
been in Washington since the middle of
January preparing a report on an in
vestigation made in all the fruit grow.
ing states, Oregon, Washington, Idaho
and Montana, have been instructed to
return to the northwest, and tomorrow
they will meet with the members of
the Shippers League at Spokane. At
this time they will make known their
report and will undoubtedly offer some
suggestions to the League, but the pri-
mary purpose of the meeting, as sug-
gested by letter received by MIR. Sieg
from Charles j. Brand, chief of the
Office, will be to outline plans for
uiCCtiuko Vi liuit ktoWCEb III cNGTI otC-
tion of the four states.
Judging from Mr.. Brands cores.
pOndence the government investigate
has found the chief failures in the
marketing of boxed apples due to lack
of cooperation on the part of individual
growers, who make shipments to diff.
ferent markets direct. MIR. Brand evil
dences feeling of confidence in the
work of the Shippers League, and the
ability of the organization of shipping
concerns to stabilize to a great degree
the marketing of their product. But
before the work of the government can
be made effective, it is declared, it will
be necessary to carry a message direct
to the growers themselves, and edu-
cate them to the necessity of coopera-
tion, not merely in name, but in reality
cooperation that will be practiced.
All growers will be told to form some
affiliation with representative and re-
putable shipping organization.
1t is probable that the plans of hold
ing growers meetings have been more
thoroughly worked out for the state of
Oregon than for any other of the
northwestern boxed apple states. MIR.
Brand says that DR.. Hector Mcpherson,
of the Oregon Agricultural College,
has been chosen to collaborate with
the Office of Markets and assist with
the proposed meetings. An absolute
neutrality as between the different
marketing organizations will be pre-
served: apple growers will merely be
told to join some selling agency, and
working in conjunction with thefgov-
ernment the Shippers League will be
expected to work out the actual task of
the best manner of distribution and
marketing of the fruit.
Plans of an incorporation of the
Shippers League were held in abey-
ance until after the report of the Office
of Markets had been submitted. 1t is
expected that this incorporation will
be effected along lines to be suggested
at the Spokane meeting tomorrow.
The report made lsat week by the
Office of Markets on the distribution of
northwestern boxed apples is character
ICED by Mr.. Sieg as being of little
value. This report, however, is dis
tinct from the one to be made tomor-
row. Data from the former was gath
cred by representatives. of the Office of
Markets sent to Spokane early last
fall. These men planned merely to Sc.
cure statistics as to actual tonnage and
POINTS to which it was shipped.
The report itself, " says MIR. Sieg,
Shows that growers failed to cooper
ate with the government, in that out of
9,407 cars of apples reported, but 4,3l3
were reported by shippers. The delin-
quent shippers, however, were not
among the growers associations, but
were made up from growers who were
shipping Independently"