TWENTY-XIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS CO>'VENTIOX. 



219 



Eastern field, Messrs. L. F. Graham of San Jose and B. E. Hutchinson 

 of Fowler. Mr. Graham covered a large territory in his travels and 

 made investigations at the Barge Ofiice in New York which were of 

 much interest and value to the committee. His report contains many 

 facts and figures accompanied by oflicial documents, and is worthy of 

 the attention of all fruit-growers interested in this subject. 



Mr. Hutchinson spent many weeks in Ohio and Michigan, and was 

 abundantly supplied with California literature. He was accompanied 

 by his wife, and they took advantage of every opportunity to present to 

 the Eastern people the possibilities in California for young men and 

 men with families from the Eastern agricultural districts. 



In order to properly present our plan throughout the Eastern agri- 

 cultural districts, we prepared a special pamphlet setting forth the 

 needs of the California fruit-growers in the way of labor, and answering 

 questions that might arise in the mind of the intending settler. Some- 

 thing like 100,000 copies of this booklet, which we entitled " Grasp This, 

 Your Opportunity," were judiciously distributed by our travelers, Avhile 

 application blanks for those desiring employment on California fruit 

 orchards and vineyards were also supplied in liberal quantities. In 

 addition, a great deal of California literature was also distributed. Our 

 travelers without exception found the Eastern people much interested 

 in all printed matter descriptive of California and its possibilities. 



The reports of these ten travelers now on file in our office show to 

 this committee conclusively that desirable agricultural help is just as 

 scarce in the Eastern States as it is in California. We find the aver- 

 age farmer in the East so much hampered in his business by the scarcity 

 of help that very many are contemplating selling their holdings and 

 coming to California. It is generally recognized in many Eastern 

 States that a small farm in California, managed and worked by the 

 farmer and his family, will return a larger annual revenue than a much 

 larger acreage in the East, and the discomforts of the severe Eastern 

 winters will be unknown in our mild and genial climate. This serious 

 shortage of farm help in the Eastern States was a revelation to our 

 committee, and has induced us to suggest to the fruit-growers of Cali- 

 fornia the advisability of offering special inducements to men with 

 families from agricultural districts of the East to come to our State and 

 assist us in harvesting our crops. 



The California Promotion Committee has evolved a plan which is. in 

 the judgment of our committee, thoroughly practicable, and will if 

 adopted almost entirely solve the problem of help in the harvest season. 

 The Promotion Committee has sent circular letters to fruit-growers and 

 farmers in various districts of California, suggesting the advisability of 

 leasing or selling on easy terms five, ten, and fifteen-acre pieces of land 

 to men with families who will agree to assist the fruit-grower and farmer 

 in his harvest, while acquiring homes of their own. The replies to these 



