Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1924-07-28
The Distribution Of
Peaches

proper distribution; one market
being glutted, another neglect
ed.
Whether the fault is careless
ness or .inefficiency we do not
pretend to know. 1t may be
either-or both. Again, it may
be an intentional effort to
wreck certain growers for the
benefit of others.
These are questions that only
the peach growers and the
peach exchange can settle after
careful investigation.
We have seen little evidence
of this surplus Of peaches on the
Chicago market" declares the
Chicago Herald and Examiner
in an editorial July %, which
was marked and sent us by
Frank Sheffield, from Roches-
ter, MINI. In this editorial,
captioned Saving the Peach
Crop" the Chicago paper says:
Four million bushels of peaches
5000 carloads of sweetness
and sunshine have been destroy
ed by Georgia peach growers in
the last ten days.
That is the burden of a dis
patch from Macon, the center of
the peach orchards in that state.
According to this report Geor-
gia has had the greatest peach
crop i'm its history. AS a result
the markets are so glutted that
the peaches cannot be sold for
enough to pay shipping charges.
We have seen little evidence
of this surplus of peaches on the
Chicago market. Maybe the
Georgians have tried to market
too much of their crop on the
Atlantic seaboard
Possibly, also, if the Georgia
growers had undertaken an ad-
vertising campaign to increase
the general appetite for their
luscious wares, they might have
saved much of their loss.
Such campaigns have produced
striking results in other fields.
The markets for oranges, al
monds, raisins, and pears which
the California growers supply
have absorbed enormous crops at
good prices, because advertising
has created an ever increasing
demand. The sane is true of
the markets for Colorado melons,
for Washington apples, for Flor
ida oranges and grapefruit-and
for many other lines of food,
even including Ohio sauerkraut.
But In the meantime the plight
of the Georgia orchard owners
reveals one of the weak spots in
Americas economic structure.
The 100000 bushels of Geor-
gia peaches that have gone to
waste would have meant wealth
and happiness to thousands in
Chicago and elsewhere. Properly
marketed, they should have been
available at prices within the
reach of many to whom peaches
at present prices are an unattain- Z.
able luxury.
Presently, we shall probably
hear much of the same story
from orchards that are nearer at
hand. In an airplane man can
fly from. the Atlantic to the Pa
clflc between dawn and dusk
American aviators are on their
way around the world. By radio
we can hear the music of Euro
pean and even Australian orches-
tras. Man has conquered the
air, the water, the earth. He
has trlumphed over space, dist
ance, time.
But, somehow, we have NOT
been able to master the difficulty
of picking a peach from the Rol
den orchards of Georgia or Mich
igan and putting it on a break
tast table in Chicago without add
ing a cost that wastes more
peaches than are eaten.
The scientist who solves that
problem viii bring more happiness
to the world than the discoverer
Of the airplane or the radio.
Chicago has seen little of til,
surplus peach crop, according t.
this newspaper. The same i
true of other cities. In Wash
ington City peaches were non,
too plentiful said o. c. johnson
who made inquiry there and il
other cities in that section abou
ten days ago.
eve priced peaches and wa
tremelons through Virginia, West
Virginia and ON into Washing
ton" declared Mr.. Johnson. eve
found no oyersupply and the pre-
vailing price on fruit stands was
5 cents each or three for dime"
Without doubt Georgia peacl
growers have been robbed il
many instances; gross misman
agement seems evident in til,
distribution; there's no legiti
mate reason for the almost uni
versal loss that has been expert
enced BY South Georgia peach