23 



Grade C — This grade shall be made up of all merchant- 

 able apples not included in the Extra Fancy and Fancy 

 grades. These apples must be sound and free from bruises, 

 worm stings, and other diseases. Skin to be unbroken, but 

 will include mis-shapen apples or apples having a limb mark 

 or other like defect. This grade will include apples of all 

 colors and as small as 200s, but no smaller, ll is optional 

 with the buyer whether this grade is wrapped or not." 



Then they insure that these apples shall be lived up to 

 by putting the packing of the fruit into the hands of entirely 

 disinterested parties. Every packing house is in charge of 

 a boss who is responsible, not to the owners of the fruit, bu^ 

 to the Union. And if the owner objects to the way things 

 are carried on, his redress is through the Union. We all 

 know what this type of marketing has done for them. The 

 Kural New-Yorker recently contained a statement from 

 Steinhardt & Kelley, from which I quote the following: 



"Our contract with the Hood River Apple Growers' 

 Union, as represented by their board of directors, is cer- 

 tainly a very stringent one, they guaranteeing us a perfect 

 pack and also guaranteeing that every apple in every bo:^ is 

 absolutely perfect. We have handled several hundred 

 thousand boxes, and never have we found ourselves in condi- 

 tion to make a single complaint against their pack. It is as 

 near perfect as human ingenuity and honesty of endeavor 

 can make it ; in fact, we shall be glad to have you drop in our 

 place of business at any time and take a box of fruit from 

 any heap, and you will find that every box is practically 

 identical, and that every apple is absolutely perfect, wheth- 

 er you open the top, bottom or side of any package. This 

 is more than we have been able to say for any large pack 

 of fruit that we have ever contracted for." 



In order that the packing may be satisfactory, the 

 Union is very careful who does it. No one is allowed to 

 pack who does not have a license from the Union, and 

 only those have proved that they are capable will be grant- 

 ed such a license. In order to keep up the supply of good 

 packers, they conduct each fall, at the beginning of the 

 packing season, a "packing school," where every one may 

 get two weeks of practice under expert supervision for $15. 

 At the end of that time, any one of ordinary ability should 

 be reasonably expert. If the "graduate" from this school 

 packs for members of the Union during the whole season, 



