PROCEEDINGS OF THE SUMMER ME?:TING 15 



SOME POINTED FACTS RELATIVE TO UNION OF FRUITGROWERS. 

 B1^ MR. R. M. HEWITT OF PEACHTON, O. 



That the farmer aud the horticulturist are adverse to combiuations 

 amoug- themselves, to seeure jireater ad\"aiitages in marketing their prod- 

 iTce, or to secure cheaper rates of transportation, cheaper packages^ 

 aud a more honest commission service, can be attributed mainly to a 

 prejudice that unaccouutabh' exists in the minds of a large majority of 

 the rural population. 



This prejudice leads to a feeling of distrust of the mercantile abilities 

 of themselves and their neighbors, together with a Avaut of contidence 

 possibly in the strict integrity of those to "whom the management of 

 •any such combination would have to be intrusted. And yet these same 

 individuals who are afraid to trust themselves or their neighbors, A\ill 

 ship their fruits and produce to commission men of whom they know 

 nothing, seemingly with perfect confidence. 



Instances are too numerous of tlagrant outrages and wholesale frauds 

 of certain members of this class of merchants to make it necessary to 

 more than mention t"he fact. You all are doubtless perfectly conversant 

 with the methods practiced and their frequency. 



Is there no remedy? Most assuredly there is, and the farmer or the 

 fruitgrower who fails to avail himself of the remedy is certainly blind 

 to his own interests, aud will continue to be the victim of dishonest 

 commission merchants, and probably as great a calamity' — that of fight- 

 ing the battle alone and unsupported by his neighbors and friends. 



In union there is strength. IS'o greater truism than this was ever 

 spoken, and whether applied to the union of states or the more modest 

 union of individuals seeking to promote some- worthy aim, it stands 

 forth as a self-evident proposition. 



Alone, what chance has the shipper of securing those advantages 

 that come almost without being asked for by an organization or an 

 incorporated company? As an individual he must submit to whatever 

 charges railways, steamboats, or express companies may choose to make 

 for the transportation of his produce to market. As an individual he 

 may complain, with little hope of restitution, of the robberies committed 

 upon him by the agents of these companies, or the proprietor and 

 employes of some commission house. Alone, he is simply laughed at 

 when he enters complaint. As a member of some influential organiza- 

 tion, his rights, together with that of all others, are respected. 



In these up-to-date times, no fruitgrower can afford the expense of 

 informing himself daily of the state of the markets around him. or at 

 any distant points. Biit the union can. The manager of a company of 

 fruitgrow^ers, through the facilities afforded by the mails, telegraph, and 

 telephone, can obtain all this information required, aud the expense 

 being divided among the members of the association is scarcely felt, 

 and the better prices secured through the information thus obtained 

 far exceeds the cost. Again, in the matter of transportation, a company 

 can ship in carload lots and thus get reduced rates of freight, greater 



