TWENTY-NINTH FRUIT-GROWERS' 



CONVENTION. 



121 



faking the buyer a little, and when it comes to a showdown, the one 

 auctioneer has more opportnnit}^ of conspiring than all the buyers if 

 combined together. 



On the sale of semi-perishable fruits, such as oranges, lemons, and 

 apples, I do not believe in the ultimate practicability of any system 

 except the home auction system : the sale of these fruits, of good carry- 

 ing quality, at the depot of shipment, or at some central point in Cali- 

 fornia, to the speculator of the East or of our own State, giving the 

 owner of that fruit the opportunity, if he is not satisfied with the bid 

 that is offered, to speculate himself, to buy it himself if he likes. You 

 can go in any open auction-room and buy in your own fruit. To sell 

 oranges and lemons under the home auction plan, I would recommend 

 for northern California that it be started at Oroville and at Porterville. 

 For southern California I would recommend that it be started at Colton, 

 and the sales held daily; Colton being the central point to which all 

 the shipments could be brought over night. I would consider the suc- 

 cess more certain if the bidding were not spirited at the beginning. I 

 would like to see them get such bargains that Avould make them all feel 

 like having a representative in California, or one member of the firm 

 coming out to spend the season, not necessarily to buy, but to pick up 

 " snaps " if he sees them. Every " snap " that was picked up would 

 only insure the certainty of the operation of the plan. This battle was 

 fought and the same system was established in New York and in other 

 Eastern cities, and was established against the same odds. Why that 

 system could not be transferred to Porterville, to Watsonville, to Oro- 

 ville, and to Colton, I don't know. The expense of selling at auction is 

 very light. The Eastern representatives could advise their principals 

 about what figure they thought certain brands and lines should bring 

 in the sale the following morning, and, banking on the judgment of 

 their own men, the managers here could buy this fruit in, in fact, re- 

 invest the growers' money, and against them is the price record, which 

 they will either exceed or fail to exceed. It has been argued that the 

 Eastern fruit buyer would not care to come out here and bid for fruit 

 against the man who owns it. He does it all through the East, in all 

 the Eastern auction-rooms. When a few "snaps" occur in the sales, 

 he soon gets over his disinclination. The enticement of a bargain will 

 result in his wiring his broker: "Well, if you can get them for so and 

 so, take them in," and will probably result in the personal attendance 

 of one member of the firm at each sale. 



In conclusion on that topic, I believe that all the oranges, all the 

 lemons, and all the apples of the State could be successfully sold in 

 California by the home auction method, and not the least of its benefits 

 would be that we would operate our picking forces in the orchards as 

 the demand expressed itself. 



