REPORTS OP DISTRICT AND LOCAL SOCIETIES. 349 



many of them Beem to loose sight of a very important part of the business and when it 

 comes to marketing their fruit they fail to have any well defined or practicable plan and 

 eeem to be ready and anxious to turn it over to the first fellow that comes along with a 

 well arranged story to tell of the wonderful advantages possessed by the house he may 

 for the time being happen to represent. 



The system, or rather the lack of any system, as practiced by the growers and ship- 

 pers of westero Allegan county in the marketing of their fruit has many defects and 

 has taken from the growers thousands of dollars each year. By the present system a 

 large per cent, of all our fruit is consigned to South Water street. Chicago and West 

 Water street. Milwaukee, there to compete against itself in crowding prices down to 

 the lowest possible point and in prolific seasons this results in little less than the giving 

 away of a considerable portion of the crop. 



It is said that '• It is more blessed to give than to receive." If this rule in any way 

 can be applied to the peach grower of western Allegan county, they would be a much 

 blessed people. 



It is thought by many of the growers and shippers that the commission merchant 

 gets more than his share of the price paid by the consumer for their fruit. That this 

 is true to a great extent there can be no reason for doubt, as the consumer invariably 

 pays a good round price for all the fruit he gets, while at the same time growers may 

 be receiving barely enough to defray the expense of gathering and packing, to say 

 nothing of the cost of production. That there are dishonest men in the commission 

 business no one doubts, but, from having dealt quite largely with that class of 

 merchants, I am willing to believe that much the larger per cent, of them are endeavor- 

 ing to transact a fair and honest business, under a very faulty and objectionable system. 

 This, to a large extent, has been brought about by the close competition existing 

 between themselves in obtaining and holding trade and by the unreasonable demands 

 made upon them by the producers and shippers. The merchant knows perfectly well 

 that, in order to be able to retain the average grower's trade, he must attend to the one 

 essential thing (that of making prompt returns) and in order to comply with this 

 demand account of sales must be made out and mailed to the consignor on the evening 

 of the same day the fruit was received. It is generally understood that a very large 

 percent, of all fruit consigned to Chicago and Milwaukee commission merchants is sent 

 or forwarded by them to points outside and beyond these cities for final sale. That the 

 merchant expects to. and in most cases does, receive more for this fruit than could be 

 obtained for it at his store or place of business is evident and this doubtless, to a great 

 extent, is the main incentive to the persistent effort made by him and his agents in 

 obtaining consignments. The main inducement and stock in trade with these men is 

 that their house makes prompt returns and possesses unlimited facilities for sending 

 fruit beyond their own market to be soid. 



Growers as a general rule insist upon having prompt returns, and the merchant, in 

 order to comply with this demand, returns the price prevailing on an already over-sup- 

 plied market, while perhaps the fruit sent him by the grower is still in transit to a 

 market, where it will sell for a good price. 



Now what the fruitgrower needs and is entitled to is all that is paid by the consumer 

 for his fruit, less the actual and necessary expense incurred in freight and commissions. 

 But in order to be able to obtain this he needs to know that the house he consigns his 

 fruit to is perfectly reliable and have an established reputation for honest dealing. He 

 can arrange to have his fruit sold where it will bring the most money, so that should it 

 be necessary for him to wait ten or even thirty days for returns he would feel safe in 

 doing so. This would enable the merchant to return the amount the consumer pays for 

 the fruit, less of course the expense incurred in forwarding it. This, too, would relieve 

 the merchant from the necessity of advancing money to pay for the fruit before he 

 receives it, as he is called upon to do under the present system. 



It will need to be borne in mind that all expenses incurred by the commission mer- 

 chant in soliciting and in the advance of money and even the paying of checks come out 

 of the grower's pocket in the end. 



It is quite generally conceded by growers that there is urgent need for a radical 

 change in the manner of marketing our fruit here on the lake shore if we hope to 

 obtain fair compensation for capital and labor invested. Competition in the leading 

 fruit markets are fast reducing profits to the lowest possible mark, without a corre- 

 sponding decrease in expenses. 



Numerous schemes have, from time to time, been advanced by growers with a view 

 of obtaining better conditions for marketing their fruit, but so far there has been no 

 marked progress made, owing no doubt to a lack of united action on the part of the 

 shippers It is thought the plan of having agents in Chicago and Milwaukee during 

 the shipping season, to look after the general interests of those employing them, might 



