52 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



opinion among the individuals as regards the standard to 

 which they would pack. This cannot be left to the indi- 

 vidual. It must be determined by the Union itself. Its 

 rules and laws must be fixed and then its member? must sub- 

 scribe to the rules by contract. At the West if any member 

 who has signed a contract to deliver all his fruit to the packing 

 house, or to have it packed by the Union, by any means with- 

 draws his fruit and sells it to some one else, who he thinks 

 may pay him a little higher value, he is fined so much for every 

 box of fruit that he sells. He has to pay the penalty for the 

 violation of his contract by paying a fine which is collectible. 

 So I believe that in the organization of co-operative unions 

 here in the East, it will be important that in the formation of the 

 organization there be absolutely rigid contracts drawn which 

 every member will have to subscribe to, that he shall not be 

 tempted to let his fruit go to some buyer outside who may 

 come and possibly offer him a little higher value than he thinks 

 he may get through his Union. This will be an entirely new 

 line of work for the eastern fruit grower to take up, but I be- 

 lieve that it is the only salvation of our eastern fruit growing 

 interests, and that just as soon as that is done, and we put our- 

 selves along these lines of organization, and put up our fruit as 

 this is put up here before us today and send it into our markets, 

 we will have the lead of the markets of the East absolutely and 

 the West will find it will be unprofitable to send so large quan- 

 tities of its fruit here as is being done at the present time. 

 Why, the western fruit growers already recognize this fact. I 

 have the most profound respect and admiration for the fruit 

 growers in the \\>st. They are splendid business men. They 

 see the danger that confronts them in this eastern development 

 when it shall be put upon the lines of co-operative work. I was 

 very much interested last week in the great Land Show at New 

 York in Madison Square Garden, in seeing eastern people go 

 to the managers and directors of these dift'erent western ex- 

 hibits and ask this question : "Your fruit is beautiful in color, 

 it nms fine in size, but is the flavor of your fruit equal to that 

 which is grown here in New York or in Connecticut^" I want 

 to say that these men were honest and they stood and shook 

 their heads. They all recognized the fact, and said so, that we 

 had the best of them in point of quality. And that is what the 



