104 



TWENTY-NINTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



MR. WHITE. The j^roducer gets it all except a 6^ per cent commis- 

 sion. 



MR. SPRAGUE. And who is it rules the prices? 



MR. WHITE. The Association rules the price. The packer sells at 

 the price that is established by the Association, and the price of our 

 best grade of raisins is $3 a box for twenty pounds, and if that is not 

 15 cents a pound, then my arithmetic is "off." The next grade of 

 raisins below that is $2.50 a box, which is 12-| cents a pound. 



MR. McIXTOSH. What is the average price? 



MR. WHITE. The average price the grower has received for his 

 product since the Raisin-Growers' Association was organized, with the 

 exception of the first year and with the exception of the third year — 

 which was an off year — has been 4 cents per pound. The first of last 

 April, when the growers met in this hall, at the annual meeting of 

 raisin-growers, they passed resolutions of thanks to the board of direct- 

 ors, and were more than satisfied with the prices they had received as a 

 result of last year's business, and we had the largest crop the State has 

 ever produced until this year. But there were at least five hundred to 

 a thousand cars of last year's crop carried over into this year. Now 

 then, we have produced five or six hundred cars more this year than 

 last year. We have 110,000,000 pounds this year. It is possible that 

 all of those raisins may be marketed. I am in favor of some sort of 

 scheme that will get our raisins closer to the consumer and cut out 

 very many of the expenses that are incurred in handling the raisins 

 by the middleman. But how are you going to do it? It might be a 

 good scheme to educate the dealers in these goods, and whenever we 

 can educate the dealer or the retailer to set a certain price which would 

 be a fair and reasonable price at retail for our products, and put a 

 sticker on the side of the box and say that "These raisins are 10 cents 

 per pound and no more," then, if he sells our raisins and the market is 

 cleaned out every year, it is time enough for us to say, " Go on and 

 plant some more vineyards; we can dispose of another hundred million 

 pounds." Now, so far as I am concerned personally, I have a very 

 small interest in the vineyards of this county. I have a little interest 

 in some other property. I have land that is adapted to raisin-grape 

 vines that I am willing to sell, but the only interest which I have in 

 any vineyard is my interest in a bank which owns a few vineyards, or 

 owns an interest in the vineyards. I don't own a vineyard myself. I 

 own land, plenty of it, in half a dozen different places in this county 

 and in other counties, that is adapted to the culture of raisin grapes, so 

 that I hope Mr. Mcintosh does not impugn my motives when I say that 

 I am afraid, if we keep up the same pace of production which we have 

 in the last twenty years, that we will have more raisins than we can sell 

 at any price. 



