NORTH PACIFIC FRUIT DISTRIBUTORS 
sumer might receive his fruit at a lower 
price, which would increase consumption 
and thus secure an outlet for our ever- 
increasing tonnage. 
From time to time, at different places 
where fruit growers congregated, much 
discussion and feeble attempts to bring 
about the above results had been made. 
But nothing tangible was accomplished 
until at the Growers’ Congress, held No- 
vember 11 to 17, 1912, at Spokane, Wash- 
ington, in connection with the Fifth Na- 
tional Apple Show, in a meeting at which 
were present hundreds of the best-known 
growers and heads of growers’ unions, 
bankers, transportation men and others, 
it was decided to call a convention of 
delegates of the growers from the four 
Northwestern states to meet at Spokane 
December 16, 1912. 
On this date over four hundred dele- 
gates, representing all the fruit-zrowing 
and producing districts in the Northwest- 
ern states, met and decided to undertake 
the organization of a central selling and 
distributing agency, and a committee of 
nine was appointed to outline a plan. This 
committee recommended that the four 
Northwestern states be divided into nine 
sections, which would represent the prin- 
cipal fruit-producing districts; that each 
of these sections elect a representative, 
and that such representatives organize 
and direct a central selling organization. 
The plan recommended by the committee 
was unanimously adopted by the conven- 
tion of delegates and the committee was 
authorized to proceed with the perfection 
of such an organization. 
Acting under these instructions, the 
committee on December 17, 1912, incor- 
porated the North Pacific Fruit Distrib- 
utors, a purely mutual corporation organ- 
ized without capital stock under the non- 
profit corporation laws of the state of 
Washington, the members of the com- 
mittee acting as incorporators and as a 
temporary board of trustees. 
On March 21 and 22, 1918, the incor- 
porators and trustees held a meeting at 
North Yakima, Washington. Present by 
invitation of the trustees at this meeting 
were many representative growers from 
1289 
all of the Northwestern states. After two 
days and two nights of most earnest dis- 
cussion, a preliminary organization was 
effected. 
It was apparent that for the various 
fruit districts of the Northwest to con- 
tinue marketing their crops in sharp 
competition with each other meant dis- 
aster to the industry. Fortunately, most 
of the principal growers and shippers 
fully realized the situation and began 
a diligent study of a practical plan for 
overcoming the jealousies and prejudices 
that existed in the different districts. 
When the time came for permanent or- 
ganization, the board of trustees, with the 
assistance and guidance of general coun- 
sel, adopted a code of underlying prin- 
ciples for by-laws, which had stood the 
test of the large California and Florida 
citrus organizations, and which had 
saved that industry from disaster in those 
states. The details of that plan were 
modified to meet the requirements and 
after one season’s experience it is fair to 
state that the institution has assumed a 
strong position in the fruit-growing and 
fruit-marketing world. 
Permanent Organization 
At Hood River, Oregon, May 30 and 31, 
1918, occurred the final organization and 
actual affiliation of six sub-centrals, in- 
cluding the Apple Growers’ Association of 
Hood River, Oregon; Yakima Valley Fruit 
Growers’ Association of North Yakima, 
Washington; "Walla Walla Fruit Distrib- 
utors of Walla Walla, Washington; Idaho- 
Oregon Fruit Growers Association of 
Payette, Idaho; Montana Fruit Distribu- 
tors of Hamilton, Montana, and Spokane 
Fruit Growers’ Company of Spokane, 
Washington. 
The Central Idaho-Washington Fruit 
Growers’ Association of Garfield, Wash- 
ington, completed affiliation on July 19, 
1918, and the Wenatchee-North Central 
Distributors of Wenatchee, Washington, 
completed affiliation on July 19, 1913. 
Tonnage and Results 
From July 8, 1913, to August 30, 1914, 
the distributors handled a total of 3,958 
ears of fruit and 1,125 cars of potatoes, 
