The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1917-02-22
Money Talks
TO
Fruit Growers
Northwestern Fruit Exchange
No. l3...Advertising 0uT
Apples. "SkOOkum"
TO FRUIT GROWERS:

Many and many time / have hearC
and you too have heard-critlcisms
coming from eastern people to this
effect: "Oh, yes, you people in the
Northwest can grow apples that art
good to LOOK at but not to eat.
Did you ever stop to analyze the WHY
of this criticism? We have, and | an
convinced that it arises from the fact
that consumers are sold such apples as
Gano, Arkansas Black or Ben Davis
in November, at which time we in the
Northwest will admit that the apples
MAY be good to look att but Ger
tainly mot good to eat. Now, oul
analysis should not stop here. If il
does, it will probably result in con
demning the retailers who sell to con.
sumers unfit varieties. Let's carry oui
analysis to its conclusion and inquire
why does the retailer sell the wrong
varieties at the..wrong time, ands.whose
fault is it that he does so?" In my
judgment the answer is that the re-
taller doesn't know any better Just
remember, if you please, that a sur.
prising percentage of all the fruit that
is retailed in this country, especially
in the larger cities, is sold by foreign
ers: Greeks, Italians, Russian Jews
and others. Most of these vendors are
ignorant many of them speak English
very poorly if at all. Practically all
of them are EAGER TO LEARN, but
nobody has taken the time or trouble
to teach them. Very few of these men
know one variety of apple from an
other, though they are excellent judges
of COLOR and APPEARANCE, and
their experience has taught them that
the average consumer knows even less
than he does about QUALITY, CHAR
ACTER or SEASONABlLITY of the
different varieties. So, he continues
to buy on appearance, and the consum-
er does likewise, with the result that
the business of the apple growers of
the Northwest is injured through cur
tailment of consumption due primarily
to IGNORANCE. This ignorance is
by no means confined to the foreign
elements in the trade; it is appalling
to what extent it prevails amongst
every branch of the trade; even
amongst the jobbers. Only very few
of the leading jobbers have any real
understanding of varieties, their treat
ment in storage, which should be ship
ped under refrigeration invariably and
which may be shipped under ventila-
tion, which are useful as dessert fruit,
which are best for baking, for pies,
for sauce, etc. So, right down the
line from jobber to consumer, and
most of all, with the consumer-the
most important of all factors-there is
almost complete IGNORANCE on the
subject of apples. How can we expect
discriminating intelligence to be dis
played under such circumstances? And
now, my friends, WHOSE FAULT is
1T THAT THIS IGNORANCE PRE-
Walls? Just face that question i'm
partially, will you. Whose business is
it to educate the trade and the con-
sumer as to the merits of our mer-
chandise? Why, there can be only one
answer: 1t is the business of the
PRODUCERS of the merchandise, and
nobody's else. Do you, perhaps, use
IVORY SOAP in your home? Do you
use it sometimes for cleansing laces
and other delicate fabrics and for
other special purposes? WHY? Be
| cause the retail grocer told you? Or
UCIdupC IilC II
their advertising, have TAUGHT you
the uses of their article? Just stop
and think how many articles you use
| in your homes and on the ranches that
you are using intelligently because the
MANUFACTURERS have themselves
educated you to use them. This edu-
cation of yourself by the manufactur-
er's has cost them money, and a great
deal of it, but every manufacturer rec
| ognizes the absolute necessity of
spending money for this purpose. 1t
| is mt the retailers business to educate
the consumer; it isn't the jobber' S
| business to educate the retailer. 1t is
their business to pass on the merchan-
disc from the PRODUCER to the
CONSUMER.
If then, you will admit that it is the
business of PRODUCERS to educate
the trade and the public concerning the
merits and uses of their products, you
will have gotten the viewpoint that
will enable you to proceed to the ques-
tion of ways and means. Manifestly,
apple growers throughout the country
have not been equal to their opportuni-
ties. In the past few years the con-
sumption of bananas has grown from
almost nothing to 1885, carloads an
nually in this country alone; the con-
sumption of oranges exceeds rs, 900 car
loads. The consumer who eats for
breakfast banana, or an orange,
doesn't as rule, eat an apple too. So
then, the battle is on for the coveted
prize-the consumers appetite. While
apple growers have been, resting on
their oars and following lines of least
resistance, banana importers have built
up great, aggressive organization,
and captured large share of the pub
lie appetite; orange producers both in
California and Florida have spent hun
dreds of thousands of dollars in wooing
the public favor. 1t is high time that
apple growers were taking steps to ex-
plot the merits and many uses of the
King of Fruits. There is little doubt
that nearly everybody connected with
the industry in the Northwest, more or
less clearly recognizes these princi-
Piles, and for several years there has
been a growing demand: "Our apples
should be advertised"
Meanwhile, the EXCHANGE, which
believes that an ounce of DOING is
worth pound of TALKING, has, for
FOUR YEARS been steadily, though
CONSERVATIVELY and CAUTIOUS
LY, exploring the advertising field,
testing and experimenting, correcting
here, improving there, and all the time
MAKING THE WORK PAY FOR IT
SELF AS 1T WENT ALONG. And
not only pay for itself, but pay a
premium in addition.
In my next article am going to tell
you how the SK0OKUM plan origin
ated. and something of its results.
Faithfully yours,
W. F. GWIN,
VicePresident and General Manager,
Northwestern Fruit Exchange.