THE H0NTHL1 BULLETIN. 167 



the domination of the fruit growers; otherwise it meant disaster for 

 the state of California. From the California Fresh Fruit Exchange 

 has grown the present institution the California Fruit Exchange, of 

 sixteen years standing. We have fought political, financial and com- 

 mercial interests opposed to the organization of the growers until some 

 of us have almost sweat blood and lost thousands of dollars in further- 

 ing the interests of the Exchange, bu1 today we stand alone, the only- 

 cooperative organization handling deciduous fruits in California. We 

 are an institution of seventeen hundred fruit growers traversing the 

 state from the Imperial Valley to Shasta County. 



We have listened to the arguments in the press and through circular 

 letter issued by Mr. Weinstock recommending thai we join the bureau 

 and denouncing my attitude as manager. I stand here today to read 

 you a proclamation from all of our people commending the stand taken 

 by our board of directors. This is indicative of their entire satisfaction. 

 We have handled three million dollars worth of fruit this year and 

 in the sixteen years we have been in business we have never lost one 

 dollar from Eastern collections. We have developed two hundred 

 fifty markets and we have taken advantage of every opportunity to 

 secure for our people better results than they have ever had before 

 and in this we have been entirely successful and willing to stand 

 on our own record. 



We have declared and paid to our fruil growers over half a million 

 dollars in dividends and have collected and paid over three' hundred 

 fifty thousand dollars in railroad claims, something that was unusual, 

 as you probably know, before the organization of the Exchange. 



1 want to say further that 1 haven't anything againsl Mr. Weinstock, 

 in fact I have the highest regard for him as an able man. but consider 

 him absolutely incompetenl to tell me how 1 should run my business, 

 and 1 consider the Exchange a scientific marketing organization. I 

 consider him incompetent to regulate this industry, as he is not familiar 

 with the present system el' marketing. Furthermore, he has accepted 

 as a basis of criticism of my action a letter from the Stewart Fruit 

 Company in which is stated that had they known in advance the num- 

 ber of cars or the number of boxes of pears thai were to be sold in New 

 York on Monday. July L'4. they would not have '•played" the market 

 so heavy. Gentlemen, for your information, the Journal of Commerce, 

 printed daily in New York City, shows and is within reach of every 

 receiver, the number of cars thai are to be offered on the market twenty- 

 four leans in advance, and from another source all the receivers know 

 forty-eight hours in advance what is to he sold. If the Stewart Fruit 

 Company did not know how many cars were to lie offered for sale on 

 Monday, Julv 24. then their agent in New York or in California was 

 negligent in his duty. I contend that the Stewart Fruit Company owes 

 its people an apology for indiscriminately marketing all of these 

 years the fruit of their clients without having any information in 

 advance of what competitors were going to do; and. furthermore, I 

 contend that Colonel Weinstock owes his governor an apology for 



accepting the position that he holds when lie aecepts as a liasis of criti- 

 cism of us ,-in unintelligenl letter that Mr. Stewart had the audacity to 

 write, and make public to vmi people. 



