The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1917-03-29
Money Talks
Fruit Growers
Northwestern Fruit Exchange
No. 28.Central Packing,
Cooperative Buying and
Conservation Of Re-
sources.
TO FRUIT GROWERS:

TO FRUIT GROWERS:
want to speak of the tremendous
improvement in methods which has
been made possible through the install
lation of the central packing system in
many of the most progressive sections
of the Northwest 1t was inevitable
that the radical change in one season
from RANCH PACK to CENTRAL,
PACK should be characterized by more
or less friction and some error. No
body expected that the new machinery
would work with the noiseless perfec-
tion of a settled system. However,
those of us who appreciate the difficult
ties to be overcome have been amazed
by the splendid. showing that central
packing has made. "A prophet is not
without honor save in his own coun-
try" and perhaps some growers are
not so enthusiastic about the manager
of the CENTRAL PACKING HOUSE
as they would be if they could have
been in some of the sections in which
the OLD RANCH PACKING SYSTEM
was followed and witnessed the grief
and loss suffered by many growers
through labor shortage, box shortage
and car shortage. In certain sections
of the Northwest hundreds of carloads
of apples were wind-rowed under the
trees because the ranchers could not
get packers or boxes, or both, and had
no means of protecting the fruit from
the elements. A great deal of fruit
was lost. Packers were scarce and
were able to pick and choose their
employments. They chose the CEN
TRIAL PACKING HOUSES where
their comfort and profit. 1t is my
deliberate belief that in those sections
where CENTRAL PACKING PLANTS
have been provided and the majority
of the fruit CENTRALLY PACKED,
appalling LOSSES AMOUNTING TO
SCORES OF THOUSANDS OF DOL
LARS would have been suffered by
growers who, in the existing circum-
stances, were fully protected. Besides
these advantages, to say nothing of
the economics which, if not actually
apparent at the moment will become
very marked as time goes on, any little
annoyances or mistakes that may have
been made in some instances, and
which it were unreasonable not to ex-
pect and allow for, will pale into in.
significance.
| wish that every grower in the
Northwest who has been a patron of
any CENRAL PACKING house,
care not were it be-could have visited
all of the other districts during the
harvest and seen, with his own eyes,
conditions as they existed then, he
would be able to compare them with
his situation, and in such an event the
most complete satisfaction would exist
wherever CENTRAL PLANTS are
operated, and the day would be has,
tened when the whole apple industry
of the Northwest villas sooner or
later it inevitably must-be placed on
a CENTRAL PACKING BASIS.
Directors and managers of local or
ganizations which have operated CEN
TRIAL PACKING HOUSES this year
have had to meet an extremely adverse
set of conditions. The intelligent,
earnest way in which they have met
them is a high commentary on their
quality and character. All of them
have gained invaluable experience,
which they will be able to turn to good
advantage next season and in the fut-
ure. Right here, | venture to express
the hope that the growers in their an
nual meetings will take care to retain
in office these men who have borne the
brunt of this years experiments and
acquired this years lessons. These
men are now educated and are in posi-
tion to turn their education to good
account. incidentally, | believe that
more harm has come to growers Or
ganizations through a tendency to
change in direction, change in manage
ment, change in policy, than any other
thing. What is needed is stability,
continuity of management and polciy.
The SKOOKUM PACKERS ASSO-
CITATION, comprising number of the
most progressive and successful grow
ers' organizations in the Northwest,
has been the leader in the matter Of
CENTRAL PACKING, and nearly all
of its members have operated CEN
TRIAL PACKING PLANTS this year.
Another progressive move growing
out of this ASSOCIATION has been
the organization of the SKOOKUM
FIR UT PRODUCTS COMPANY,
which is cooperative concern, owned
outright and controlled by the grow
ers' organizations, the purpose of
which is to equip and operate plants
for the conservation of culls into by
products. The financing of the first
unit of the system is already assured
and fifteen thousand dollar plant will
be established at Wenatchee where the
culls from the affiliated organizations
throughout the Wenatchee- -Okanogan
territory will be assembled and manu.
fatured into y-products.
The management of the SKOOKUM
PACKERS ASSOCIATION has also
developed system for the cooperative
purchase of supplies, which promises
to effect MANY THOUSANDS OF
DOLLARS OF SAVINGS to the grow
ers.
The benefits of all of these enter
prises cooperative advertising, CO.
operative purchases of supplies, CO.
operative conversion of by-products
into cash and waste into profit, are
possible to fruit growers only through
organization. In some sections and
some neighborhoods there is a regret
able tendency on the part of the grow
ers to stand out from all organization.
The grower who does that has got to
admit that he is gambling with his
inner consciousness he knows that he
is taking long chance. In standing
out he proves, by inference at least,
that he does not believe in ADVER-
TlSlNG, does not believe in the econ
omies which can be secured through
COOPERATIVE PURCHASES OF
SUPPLIES, does not believe in the
ENCOURAGEMENT and ADVANCE
MENT OF BY-PR0DUCTS UTILI-
ZATION, does not believe in the need
of MARKETING MACHINERY which
can be depended upon to work, year in
and year out, whether cash BUYERS
come or not, does not believe in the
USE and DEVELOPMENT of FOR
E1GN MARKETS-in short. he stands
for INDIVIDUALISM VERSUS Or
GANIZATION.
The results obtained by first class