Imperial Valley press., 1919-07-29
Citrus Industry Does Not
Seek to Corner Market or
Curtail Production.
STRONG CONTRAST
TO MILK PRODUCERS
Success Of Citrus Growers
Exchange Due to Estab-
lished Distribution Sys-
tenn.

"If the citrus association succeeded
why can't the Milk Producers Asso-
citation succeed?""
1t can, if conducted right. There
is no measure of success that is too
high for the dairy industry of Imper-
ial valley.
And the dairymen, who are honest
ly trying to follow the brilliant ex-
ample of the California Fruit Grow
ers' Exchange, that has increased the
production of citrus fruit in Southern
California from less than 5000 car
loads to $4,000 carloads will be glad
to know what methods these orange
and lemon growers employed to bet
ter their condition so splendidly.
Paul Findlay, Of the Dealer Serv-
ice Department of the citrus associa-
ton, told recently how his organiza-
ton won out for it's members and
added materially to the prosperity
of the community where it operates.
"The success of the California
Fruit Growers Exchange" he said,
"is due to the fact that it operated
from the start through the estab-
lished avenues of distribution. 1t fol-
lowed the lines of the least resistance
and enlisted the cooperation, instead
Of arousing the antagonism, of the
existing marketing agencies.
Common sense told us that we
could not compete in marketing with
the established agencies. So we used
their skill and experience, and made
our great work to increase production
and to better cultural conditions and
methods
"In the beginning there were some
of the marketing agencies that were
suspicious of us because they thought
we were going into distribution. That
was when the Exchange was organized
in Pomona in 1893, and when the an
nual production was less than 5000
carloads. For time some of the
agencies held off and didn't want to do
discovered that we had the good sense
to see that we could go farther with
their help than we could by taking
the selling chance ourselves and car
rying big overhead in marketing.
"The result is that the Exchange
has been able to devote all it's ener-
gies to increasing the quantity and
lettering the quality of production.
That is how we won, until today we
are putting $4,000 instead of less than
5000 carloads out in season.
"What the Exchange has done for
it's members, by devoting itself to the
production end, the growers would
never have been able to do for them
selves singly.
For example, this year we are
distributing 100000 cuttings of pedi-
greed orange and lemon stock, that
our members are using in budding
to improve the strains of their or
chards. This is service that would
be next to impossible for a grower
operating alone.
'1n the same way the association
assists it's members in frost protec-
tion work. Last January our growers
used 17OOOO,0OO gallons of crude oil
for smudges to fight the frost. We
send out temperature information by
telegraph and telephone, where it is
necessary we do not hesitate to ship
carload of crude oil by express.
"IF INSTEAD OF DEVOTING
ITS ENERGIES TO PRODUCTION
THE CALIFORNIA FRUIT GROW.
ERS' EXCHANGE HAD DECIDED
TO DO ITS OWN MARKETING
ITS STORY TODAY WOUD BE A
HISTORY OF FAILURE INSTEAD
OF A SPLENDID EXAMPLE OF
SUCCESS.
1--WE had the sense to see at the
Continued on Page Four)