TOMATO GEOWEES 



A MEETING AT HAMILTON- ADVANCE PRICES DEMANDED. 



A MEETING of tomato growers of 

 Wentworth county was held at the 

 Dominion hotel Saturday for the 

 purpose of considering what steps it would 

 be advisable to take to get better prices from 

 canners for tomatoes grown this summer 

 than were paid last fall. There was an ex- 

 ceptionally good attendance, nearly loo till- 

 ers of the soil being present. It took them 

 a long time to get down to business, there 

 being no person anxious to accept the re- 

 sponsibility of setting the wheels in motion, 

 but when they did get started they trans- 

 acted a large volume of business in a re- 

 markably short space of time. 



The first question discussed was whether 

 or not it would be advisable to form a To- 

 mato Growers' Association, and recognising 

 the fact that in union there was strength, it 

 did not take long to decide in the affirmative. 

 The association starts out with about 75 

 members, and the officers expect that this 

 number will be doubled when the farmers 

 generally understand what the aims and ob- 

 jects of the association are. As an evidence 

 of good faith, those who joined on Saturday 

 deposited 25 cents each with the secretary. 

 The election of officers was next proceeded 

 with. R. H. Lewis, of Bartonville, was the 

 unanimous choice for president, and E. J. 

 Mahoney was elected secretary. 



Having completed their organization the 

 tomato growers started in to discuss other 

 matters, the first of which was the price to 

 be demanded for tomatoes next fall. Last 

 fall the canners paid only 20 cents a bushel 

 for tomatoes, and it was agreed that this 

 figure was far too low. Some thought 30 

 cents a bushel should be the minimum. 

 Others wanted to split the difference by set- 

 ting the price at 25 cents a bushel. After 



much discussion it was decided to allow 

 every grower to make the best bargain he 

 could with the canners, but every member 

 of the association affixed his signature to an 

 agreement not to accept less than 25 cents 

 a bushel. If the canners will not contract 

 for tomatoes at this price, there will be few 

 of them grown this fall, as the farmers are 

 very much in earnest in their demands. They 

 have little fear of outside competition, as the 

 freight rates are sufficiently high to protect 

 them, and as they consider that their griev- 

 ance is a just one they intend to fight to a 

 finish. 



The growers have another grievance 

 against the canners, which they intend to 

 have settled before setting out their plants 

 this spring. The contracts which they have 

 been asked and practically compelled to sign 

 in former years contained an objectionable 

 clause. It gave the canners the privilege 

 of saying vv^hen the tomatoes were to be de- 

 livered. Frequently they were not prepared 

 to accept delivery when the tomatoes were 

 ripe, and the growers had no alternative but 

 to let them rot on the ground. Later the 

 canners would compel them to deliver the 

 quantity contracted for. This clause of the 

 contract will have to be struck out or modi- 

 fied. The growers will insist on being al- 

 lowed to deliver their goods when they are 

 ready. 



Some of the canners had a talk with the 

 officers of the Growers' Association after 

 the meeting, and signified their willingness 

 to comply with the demands of the associa- 

 tion. The officers of the two associations 

 will probably meet in the near future to talk 

 the matter over, and to draw up a new form 

 of contract. 



