The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1932-06-16
LETTERS FROM THE
PEOPLE
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Much has been said by shippers
and growers up and down the Yak
ina valley about the elimination
of the &C" grade apple from the
Washington grades. If / were go
ing to suggest the elimination Of
grades / would start at the bottom
and start with the "culls". These
Gull apples are the greatest men
ace to the apple industry in the
entire northwest. These apples
cost the grower money to raise,
sort, wash and then turn them
over to the Legitimate" Gamer
for trifling sum or some sea-
sons for nothing, even having to
pay the freight to the cannery 20
get them to take them off the
hands of the warehouseman. Then
these same apples are canned and
put on the market in competition
with our &c" grade apples. Can
ned apples have taken the restau-
rant and hotel trade, which a few
years ago was being supplied with
&c" grade apples. Now these ap-
pies we get nothing for, and we
''big' hearted" apple growers give
them to the cannery folks to put
on the market in competition with
our own packed apples. Then we
run up against the cannery or by
product plant that buys culls for
cider, etc. Much of this fruit finds
its way on the boxed apple market
by being shipped to and by un-
scrupulous dealers. If these ap-
pies were destroyed we would have
an open market to Gamers and
cider factories for our &c" grade
apples. Then the question: can
ners don't pay for culls, why ex-
pect them to pay for &c" grade?
They pay for asparagus and pears
and peaches because they are
graded and not culls, and the same
would apply to apples it it was inn
possible for the Gamers to get the
culls. &C" grade apples have not
paid their way for the last seven
or eight years with the exception
of one year, under our present
grade rules. Some shippers put
forth the argument that these ap-
pies cost the grower 15c from the
tree to the packing bench and even
if some of this Is cents can be
salvaged so much better for the
grower. Yea! Four cents to pick,
&c to haul, a to wash, 5 to sort.
Is cents. Now the shipper will tell
you he can save that 15c if you
will pay him for packing and sell
ing and Mr.. F. E. Miller Of the
American Fruit Griwers of Yak
ina, in an article in the Yakima
Herald (if he was properly quoted)
says: "and if they don't pay them
the loss must be taken from the
fancy or extra fancy grades to
make up the deficit" Sure, fine
for the shipper. He gets his any
way. Il would like to say right
here if you did not read Mr.. Mil
er's article of "Why the &c" grade
apple should be retained in the
Washington grades" you should
try to get copy of the Yakima
Herald Of that date. 1t was truly
one of the best articles on why the
&C" grade apple should be elimin-
ated / have read on the contro-
versy. Now, I wonder why Mr.. Mil
Ter or any other shipper would be
so kind as to try and salvage this
15c for the grower. The culls cost
DC to pick, the culls cost 2 to
haul, the culls cost &c to wash,
and these same culls cost A cents
to sort. / wonder why he didn't
offer to save, or even suggest
how this 15c could be saved for
the grower. Answer, we don't pack
culls, can't get our packing profit
and there would be no profit in the
box or the paper, and there is no
storage profit or insurance or adj
vertising in culls so he forgot en-
tirely about the 15c the grower
had in the culls, but where the APP
pie could be packed and little
raked off by the shipper on the
above mentioned items, he can find
a dozen reasons why the &c" grade
should be packed and again these