I III U0NTHI.1 Bl l.l.l'l IN'. 139 



nl' wine grapes are realizing nearly double what they go1 last year for 

 their grapes. The tax burderi has been relieved by legislation in 

 Washington and the wineries all over the state are running well-nigh 

 to capacity. 



The market value of the wine grape crop this year will be double 

 whai it was hist year and the growers of table grapes and raisin grapes 

 have senl thousands ol tons of their packing-house culls and second-crop 

 grapes to the wineries for sweel wine purposes. The community of 

 interest among all three branches of viticulture is very aptly illustrated 

 this year, and if the wineries have the capacity it is not likely that any 

 of the culls of the table grape vineyards will fail to find a market. 



The state Board of Viticultural Commissioners has been the target 

 for attack b] the prohibition press of the state, although, as an official 

 body of the. state, it did nol engage itseli in the controversy. When 

 asked for a statement of facts, it gave them alike to both sides, and yet 

 because of the individual activities of seme of its membership in the 

 protection of their own private interests the commission has been 

 accused as a body of a lively participation in affairs at issue. As a 

 matter ot cold fact, the Viticultural Commission would have had a 

 perfect right to inject itself officially into the controversy in strict com- 

 pliance with the statutes creating the commission. It saw tit, however, 

 to answer only quest urns asked of it, and. in doing so, it has been made 

 to appear by the prohibition press as a proponent of the interests 

 striving to keep California from going dry. 



Here it might be stated that a representative board of viticultural 

 commissioners could not be expected to advocate a dry California unless 

 its membership had been brought to the belief that the viticultural 

 industry could not be hurt by prohibition. This would he an absurd 

 conclusion fm- them to reach, because not only would wine grape vine- 

 yards be exterminated, but there would be no salvage at all for the 

 culls of the raisin -rape or table -rape crops, which, in a number of 

 3 cars, has run as high as 40 per cent of the total production by volume 

 of table grapes and raisin grapes. It would, therefore, be a poor board 

 of viticultural commissioners, charged with the duty of fostering and 

 protecting the grape industry of the state, if it refused to say that 

 prohibition would do no damage to the three branches of grape growing 

 in California. The board has considered the accusations against it so 

 absolutely unfair that it has refused to take official notice of the wild 

 charges that have been made. It does not overlook the fact, either, 

 that up to the present time a majority of the people of California have 

 H -istered at election times their opposition to prohibition in this state, 

 and it would consider its, .If ill advised were it to heed the admonitions 

 of the minority. 



Aside from the menace of prohibition, the wine -rape industry of 

 California has. in my judgment, an excellent future. The very recent 

 federal legislation has given California an advantage, if availed of, 

 that will operate beneficially in two directions. The recent act of 

 congress reducing the internal revenue tax on wines will probably not 

 be interferred with successfully for a long time. Congress has learned 

 that the subject when placed before it takes up a great deal of time 

 as proven during the past year, and the schedule of tax rates together 



