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BETTER FRUIT 



Page 7 



tempt to do everything for himself, 

 unless we are to return to the pre- 

 commercial age, when there were no 

 specialists in any line, but every man 

 used only that which he produced or 

 fashioned with his own hands. 



If the fruit growers attempt to estab- 

 lish not only their own lines of com- 

 munication to all markets, but from all 

 markets as well with an idea of 

 eliminating all middlemen, then these 

 middlemen will have to raise their own 

 fruit in the back yard, and you will 

 have to eat your own fruit. So, while 

 I believe that you must hang together 

 in your co-operative selling agencies 

 or be hanged separately outside of 

 them, I believe it is in the marketing 

 of your output in which these agencies 

 have been most useful and in which 

 they are most likely to continue to be 

 useful, rather than in co-operative buy- 

 ing of all the necessities of life, al- 

 though there are doubtless some things 

 of common use to all growers which 

 can be purchased to advantage in 

 quantity lots and satisfactorily dis- 

 tributed through the association to its 

 members, such as spray materials, 

 paper and boxes, but I believe that it 

 would be poor business to attempt to 

 cover too wide a field and take in too 

 many lines of activity, if for no other 

 reason than the enormous amount of 

 capital required. Regarding the lack of 

 adequate capital for handling the tasks 

 you have assigned to your associations, 

 I see no reason why the grower should 

 hesitate to reinvest in the stock and 

 surplus of these organizations some of 

 the money they have undoubtedly saved 

 him since their establishment. If he is 

 afraid to do so and does not want to 

 support with his own money, his own 

 organization, which is supposed to be 

 working for his cwn good and using 

 the funds for his own benefit, then he 

 should not criticise the banker for 

 taking a tip from him- and refusing to 

 risk the hank's money where the 

 grower is afraid to risk his, where the 

 ratio of benefit is 92 to the grower to 8 

 to the banker. I therefore feel that 

 after the capital stock of your co- 

 operative organizations is paid in, every 

 box of fruit passing through its hands 

 should bear a lax equal to a small part 

 of the increased net price the grower is 

 getting by co-operative selling, to the 

 end that a surplus working fund may 

 be built to help take care of the in- 

 creasing volume of business the asso- 

 ciation must do each year, and that 

 your business at bank may be backed 

 up by a combined capital and surplus 

 capable of absorbing the occasional 

 losses that are bound to creep into your 

 business, just as they will creep into any 

 other business involving the handling 

 of perishable products and the exten- 

 sion of credit. This is equally true of 

 the individual grower. He ought to at 

 least set aside in a surplus fund part of 

 the returns from the good years to 

 absorb the shock of the poor years. 

 These shock absorbers of capital and 

 surplus in your business are quite as 

 essential as springs and shock absorb; 

 ers on your machine, and if you don't 

 have them someone is going to get 

 bumped when yon bit the rough places 



in the road. Your banker will be more 

 willing to ride with you if you have 

 them. 



To sum up this somewhat rambling 

 argument, I would say that with the 

 progress that has already been made 

 and is being made toward standardizing 

 the grade and pack of Northwestern 

 fruit, and the safeguards that have been 

 put around the moving of it to market, 

 it is quite possible to so widen the 

 markets and increase consumption as 

 to reasonably insure a ready sale of the 

 output each and every year and place 

 the industry on such a basis of sureness 

 of returns as to make paper arising out 

 of the commercial transactions involved 

 in the marketing of the product quite as 

 attractive to banks as the paper of 

 various other industries now freely 

 circulating through trade channels. 



Keep in mind that it is products 

 rather than prospects that must back 

 up a loan, and that if you must have 

 help when prospects are all you have 

 you need facts and figures to demon- 

 strate your ability to turn prospects 

 into products. You must also be will- 

 ing to tie your product to your paper 

 and let it follow through to market, so 

 that when maturity date arrives the 

 automatic self-liquidating power will 

 be also present. 



A beautiful method of operation cov- 

 ering this has been provided by the 

 federal reserve act in the trade ac- 

 ceptance. The national bank act de- 

 clared and the federal reserve act re- 

 affirmed a preference for bills of ex- 

 change drawn in good faith against 

 actually-existing values. The most ac- 

 ceptable form of such a bill of exchange 

 is the trade acceptance, which, briefly, 

 is a draft drawn by the seller of mer- 

 chandise on the buyer, payable at a 

 definitely fixed future date and accepted 



by the buyer. This must be accom- 

 panied by evidence, or bear declara- 

 tion on its face that it arises out of a 

 commercial transaction between the 

 parties, involving the sale of merchan- 

 dise, and in order to be eligible for dis- 

 count at bank must be accompanied by 

 signed financial statements of the par- 

 ties showing satisfactory responsibility 

 and a reasonable proportion of quick 

 assets to current liabilities. 



All the fruit growers must do to put 

 their paper in this favored class is to 

 be able to demonstrate to the federal 

 reserve board that apples in warehouse 

 and in transit to market are actual- 

 existing values that are sure to con- 

 tinue to exist to the end of the chapter, 

 and that the market is sure and steady 

 enough to insure payment for the 

 apples by the buyer upon arrival at 

 destination, and that all parties to the 

 paper are financially responsible and 

 proper safeguards are employed for 

 protection of the apples, such as ware- 

 house facilities to avoid loss from 

 freezing, proper cars for safely ship- 

 ping and adequate fire-insurance pro- 

 tection, and perhaps a few other little 

 things like that. 



Hut believe me, all this, and more, is 

 worth while, for the old days of hap- 

 hazard jawbone style of credit are at 

 an end, and the man who wants it now 

 must be able to cite book, chapter and 

 verse for the faith that is in him, or 

 that he wants the banker to have in 

 him; and the fellow who is conducting 

 a farm or an orchard on a business 

 basis, and has recorded facts and fig- 

 ures with which to illustrate his story, 

 is more likely to get a respectful hear- 

 ing and live happily ever alter than the 

 fellow who approaches the custodian 

 of the long, green alfalfa from the 

 "You know me, Al" standpoint. 



The Labor Problem Among Fruit Growers 



By Dr. Suzzallo, President University of Washington, Chairman State Council of Defense 



THE State Council of Defense is 

 aware of the great seriousness of 

 the labor problem for the horticul- 

 turists. The last season was difficult 

 because of a shortage in the labor sup- 

 ply and strikes. Since then there has 

 been one complete military draft and 

 another is coming about the month of 

 April. In addition, the large growth of 

 war industries in this state and in Ore- 

 gon has drawn still further numbers 

 from the ranks ordinarily available for 

 agricultural labor. Still larger numbers 

 will be drawn into industrial estab- 

 lishments the next three months. All 

 this forecasts still further labor short- 

 age. The situation is menacing and 

 must be met because the food situation 

 is crucial. 



The policy of the State Council of 

 Defense is to plan early to meet this 

 situation. It has already held several 

 conferences on the subject with govern- 

 ment officials. Thus far its organized 

 win k covers the following points: First, 

 the United States Employment Service, 

 which is now established in a few 

 places in this state without adequate 

 co-ordination, is to be extended and 

 co-ordinated under the supervision of 



paid government olficials. This ma- 

 chinery is being set up now for the 

 shipbuilding industry's use this winter, 

 and it can be utilized for the ranchers 

 this spring and summer. We under- 

 stand a Federal appropriation will soon 

 he available for this purpose. Second, 

 the public service reserve is now being 

 organized to tap previously unused 

 labor resources. The Council of Na- 

 tional Defense has already issued sug- 

 gestions for this work, and a state 

 director has been appointed. The im- 

 mediate co-operation of this organiza- 

 tion will be with shipbuilding, but its 

 mechanism will be tinned over lo agri- 

 cultural needs as soon as the present 

 ei-isis has passed. Pari of its machinery 

 is specially devised lo aid the rancher. 

 The work will cover: The men's 

 working reserve; the women's working 

 reserve; the boys' and girls' working 

 reserve. Each county will have a 

 county director with two associates, 

 probably some school official represent- 

 ing boys and girls, and one oilier per- 

 son representing women, 'these county 

 officers will work in direct connection 

 with the United States Employment 

 Service and will perform Iwo services: 



