CALIFORNIA IIAISIN ASSOCIATION. 467 



a form of organization was elaborated and agreed upon, and 

 leading growers selected to incorporate the society and serve 

 as directors for the first year. This done, a form of contract 

 was prepared to be signed by individual growers, which gave 

 to the California Raisin Association absolute control of the 

 crop of 1898. The contracts of growers whose crops were 

 mortgaged for advances must be endorsed by the mortgagee, 

 whose claim would be satisfied by the association. A care- 

 fully prepared list of raisin-growers and acreage was made, 

 and tlie contracts were not to be binding until signed by 

 owners of at least seventy-five per cent of the acreage. They 

 were then to become binding upon the growers who had 

 signed, after which the association had a certain time in 

 which to exercise its option wliether or not it would accept 

 the contracts and itself sign. This was for the purpose of 

 permitting the association to complete its contract witli the 

 packers, which could not be done until the association itself 

 had something to deliver. 



The movement, as stated, had the support of all the large 

 growers but one or two, and of the entire mercantile and 

 financial elements. An active canvass was commenced, and in 

 due time, and after the greatest effort on the part not only of 

 the directors but a large n amber of otliers, the requisite per- 

 centage was secured, and, after further protracted negotiations 

 between the association and the packers, a committee of disin- 

 terested bankers being frequently called in to arbitrate upon 

 matters of detail, the contracts on all sides were closed, and 

 the association began business. It is unnecessary to follow 

 the history further. The details of the management would 

 hardly be understood by the general reader, without lengthy 

 explanations, and are not essential. Like all new enterprises, 

 the association had its troubles, not the least of which were 

 underselling by the few who did not sign, and who had no 

 confidence in the ability of the association to sustain itself, 

 and who wished to avoid the avalanche which they expected 

 to follow its speedy dissolution. But the affairs of the asso- 

 ciation were in the hands of men of great ability. They 

 established a thorough system of inspection and branding, 



