368 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



Similar conditions have prevailed with the construction of the 

 Panama Canal. One of the eminent physicians associated with Johns 

 Hopkins Universitv is quoted as saying that in case of any widespread 

 epidemic in a city he would recommend the exclusive use of canned 

 foods as a matter of safety, and the amazing fact is that the concern in 

 which I am interested has distributed over one thousand million pack- 

 ages of California fruit and vegetable products, and there has never 

 been one single authenticated case of illness or distress arising from 

 the eating of these products. This is important for you, because if it 

 were not for the unreasoning ignorant prejudice of the average con- 

 sumer the output of the cauners of California would be doubled, and 

 this would be to the lasting advantage of the grower. 



FOREIGN MARKETS. 



Another and very delicate question I Avish to present is the matter 

 of foreign markets. Growers of prunes, apricots, peaches and pears 

 have long since appreciated the need of developing foreign markets, 

 and yet Ave find that in many countries there is a hostile import duty 

 or tariff set against these products in the dried and canned forms. We 

 ship approximately 24,000,000 cans of apricots, peaches, and pears to 

 England in a normal year. Germany should be almost as good a 

 market, but we ship to Germany only about 2 per cent of the quantity 

 .shipped to England, largely because of the high prohibitive tariff 

 Germany has set against us. Similar conditions exist in Canada, 

 France, Belgimn, Holland, Scandinavia, Italy, Austria, Russia, Japan, 

 New Zealand and Australia. It must be admitted that in many of 

 these countries the present tariffs were levied against us in retaliation 

 for our tariffs upon their products, and the pity of it is that in our 

 recent tariff law there was no adequate provision for maximum and 

 minimum rates so as to give our Department of State the opportunity 

 for negotiating reciprocal reductions of tariffs against our products 

 in exchange for the reductions we have given them. The new tariff 

 law Avith its many reductions has been in effect eight months; there 

 have been no reciprocal reductions in any foreign country so far as 

 California fruits are concerned. There have been some advances in 

 the duty on our products. It Avould seem fitting for those of us aa^Iio 

 produce articles for export — groAA'ers of oranges, lemons, prunes, raisins, 

 apricots, peaches and pears — to ask our representatives in Congress why 

 we can not secure some reciprocal advantage in foreign markets for 

 the reduction in the tariffs in this countrv. 



I thank you for your kind attention, and I am sure that I give the 

 unanimous opinion of the canners of California Avhen I express thanks 

 to Dr. Cook, to the State and County Boards of Horticulture, and to 

 the College of Agriculture of the University of California, who have 

 joined to make this splendid gathering an unprecedented success. I 

 Avould express as Avell our pride and gratitude for these great agencies 

 of the State, Avhich are doing so much for the upbuilding of our 

 industry. 



