No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 389 



far as I know, every man in the country permits a buyer's repre- 

 sentative do this work. Please consider that these questions have 

 nothing to do with the price. Forget price for the moment and 

 remember that if we grow the right sort of fruit and put it up 

 right it will sell itself. 



We know what a tremendous development in fruit growing is 

 taking place out in the Pacitic Northwest. It may be a great deal 

 bigger from this point than if we were out there, but we know 

 something about the character of their fruit, and the only thing 

 that makes fruit growing possible in that country is the close ef- 

 fective organization they have perfected. 



The object is to put the small fruit grower on the same level 

 with the large one, and by combining to standardize the packing 

 and grading of fruit. I am quite sure that there is no sort of dis- 

 position on the part of any of our people large or small, to be jeal- 

 ous. We should get together for the one purpose of standardizing 

 fruit packing and packages of this whole eastern country, and you 

 can't help but succeed, 3'ou can't help but realize the profits from 

 such an organization. I do not know anything that has so injured 

 the fruit business as the disposition, not only of the growers, but 

 the buyers who are just as bad, to deceive the public by putting 

 good apples in the end of the barrel and bad ones in the middle. I 

 never saw a barrel of apples fixed up in that way until some fruit 

 buyer showed me how to do it. Please understand that I do not 

 claim to be any better or more honest than my neighbor. This is 

 not so much a question of morals as of plain business common sense. 



Last year I had a printed guarantee put in the package. The 

 apples were uniform throughout the package and so guaranteed. 

 1 made a bargain that it was to be done that way yet during the 

 picking season the buyer came out to my orchard a half dozen times 

 insisting on my not putting that guarantee in the barrel. He said 

 my apples were no better than other peoples apples, which was 

 probably true and that the guarantee would interfere with the sale 

 of the fruit he bought from other people. Maybe this will be true 

 also but the guarantee goes in the future. 



It is going to take a year when we people here in the East, can't 

 get but 75 cents or a dollar per barrel for our apples, and per- 

 haps not that to make us organize. Then we will begin to sit up 

 and take notice, but as long as we can get good prices for our apples 

 then we are going to feel as independent as we have been feeling. 

 But you certainly can get together on these other propositions that 

 I have mentioned. I do not want to take up too much of your time 

 because there are other gentlemen to speak, but let me express the 

 hope that you will not understand or think that I have come to 

 Pennsylvania to teach you a lesson. We have been in the business 

 longer and the truth of the matter is we are having too good luck. 

 We would be better off, in some respects, if we did not have such 

 good crops and such good prices, alll.nugh I cannot say that I hope 

 there will be a change in this respect. I have come here simply to 

 tell you our own troubles, and T could like nothing better than to 

 have some of you gentlemen fo come down next year and tell us 

 you have an organization that is doing something, doing good work. 



