Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-08-27
SALEM A CANNING CENTER.

Communities, like men, to be successful must have
some definite object and devote thei- energies to develop
ing it. Salem, sometime when there is another admlnls-
tration in the state, next year or four years later, will
find one Of her objects waiting, that is flax. 1t will some
time be her greatest industry. In the meanwhile she
has another that is rapidly developing and which will ere
long put her in the front rank in that especial line, and
that is the canine business. Salem is already a great
fruit center, greater than most of the citizens realize, but
that industry is only cutting its baby teeth. 1t will re-
Quire $50 ears this year to handle the shipments of green
prunes alone. What Salem %cannerire have done this year
would make an astonishing story to most OF us, and this
story will be told in the near future when the season
closes.
The building up of this industry requires concerted
effort for the success of a cannely depends largely on
the number of months its plant can he kept at work. Every
month of idleness is so much loss. To stabilize the indus
try is an urgent necessity. This should be undertaken by
the Commercial Club, the fruit unions or the grange, or
possibly better yet, by all of them acting together. To
~lengthen the season requires that berries or vegetables
of each season should be provided In sufficient quantities
to keep the canneries running to capacity and even to
compel that capacity to be increased. There should be
some. means taken to provide berries from the earliest,
gooseberries and Strawberries clear through the season.
There should be an increased acreage OF raspbefries, and
so on through the list Of black and loganberries to the
late fall fruits suitable for canning. Some idea of the I'M
mensity of the canning industry here may be gained from
the pear crop just now coming in. The Hunt cannery
alone expects to can two million pounds of pears, more
than half of which will come from the Wallace orchardI
across the river. lHcSe DTlnR ABOUT Pho u ll w VIC
grower and represent to him $4,000. It will require a
force of 300 workers in the cannery to prepare these for
the market. This illustrates what was said at the be-
ginning of this article as to the necessity Of keeping the
cannery supplied to capacity throughout the season. In
stead of employing from fifty to one hundred part of the
season there should be steady employment for the 300
during the whole season. One of the great drawbacks
so far has been the scarcity Of pickers. With work for
these from early spring until late in the fall this scarcity
would be overcome, There would be families that would
take up the business as a steady occupation. THE Pick
ing industry would be given a permanent character, and
besides it would give ideal work for families during the
entire summer. To the big families it would appeal esq
pecially, for it is an occupation at which the young folks,
too young to earn money at any other occupation, could
add materially to the family income and be at the very
healthiest of pursuits while so doing. They would not be
confined, but out in the sunshine and air developing ro-
bust constitutions and laying the foundation for exuber-
ant health. OF course the canning industry is in a sense
n side issue to the greater fruit business, for outside mar
kets take care Of immense quantities, but the cannery
makes the market certain, and is a safeguard against a
elutted market. In addition to the fruits, such vegetables
as are wanted for canning; string beans, peas and such,
can be grown to fill in the gaps between the berry and
fruit crops. The Kings Products company has opened
another important branch Of the preparing of fruits and
vegetables and its showing since its start has been a splen-
did one. Salem can be the leading canning city of the
northwest just because she can il she cans.
III