The Punta Gorda herald., 1919-05-15
GIANT ORGANIZATION
TO CONTROL CROPS

while cement went up and up,
Just like the promoters OF the
combine declared it would, but
the little mills went in have never
shared in that rise. The dust of
the speed OF the rise choked
them, too. More instances could
be mentioned, but we are confin-
ing ourselves to facts with which
we personally are very familiar.
With history such as this back
Of all such combines and with no
instances in history where the
converse proved true, it would
lseem to be indicated beyond reas-
enable question that the news OF
the probable formation of such a
combine in the citrus industry is
a direct and serious threat against
the owner of a citrus grove in
Florida. The history of such
combines is sufficient to cause a
grove owner apprehension. That
history is punctuated with the
collapse and disintegration of the
little fellow who refused to go in.
And the same fate, through anoth-
er route, befell the little fellows
who did go in on the ground floor.
/ The ones who refused were chok-
ed to death. The ones who went
in were frozen out and killed.
Death was their common fate.
Whether the Citrus Exchange
is the proper organization OF
growers to combat this proposed
combine successfully is question
that the grove owners themselves
must determine, that is point
upon which we believe that news
paper advice might be presump-
tuous unless it emanated t. omIa
source of information more def
mite and more technical than is at
the command of the usual run OF
country journalism. But it is
very plain that some organization
of the grove owners themselves
must combat this octopus and do
it Immediately. 1t will require a
more united front than the ex-
change now presents. Either a
new organization that can COM
mand the great majority of indiv-
idual growers and the vast maj
ority Of the acreage and product
ion must be formed quickly, or
the exchange must be strengthen
ed quickly to such point that it's
membership will represent that
necessary battle line. Which it
shall be the growers themselves
must determine, bat if they are
| to survive, it must be one
|Leesburg Commercial.
| Jacksonville, April 30.-Con-
,tr0l of the citrus and deciduous
fruit industries of the United
Estates on much the same plan as
THAT under which bananas are
produced and marketed appears
Ito be completed by the American
Fruit Growers, Incorporated, the
Organization of which was an
nounced this week in Los Angeles,
according to telegraphic advices
from that city.
| The banana business of the
world for years has been under
unified direction through the
ownership by one big concern of
most of the groves producing this
fruit. For some time there have
been rumors that the banana in
terests proposed to enter the cit
rus field and it is possible that the
California combination represents
activity on their part in this dir
ection.
The Los Angeles dispatch state
that the American Fruit Growers,
Inc, has authorized capital of one
hundred million dollars and ex-
poets to merge big grapefruit and
orange groves, both in California
and Florida with important apple
orchards in the Pacific northwest
and in the Eastern States. The
promoters are reported to claim
that properties worth ten million
dollars already have joined in the
enterprise.
One of the advantages of the
movement set forth in the intro
duction it ito California interests
is the removal of the hazards of
the fruit business by neutralizing
the losses of any district in an off
year through averaging or polling