240 



TWENTY-NINTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



information came from certain packers and others interested adversely. 

 I ask whether this is not so? 



MR. WHITE. I will answer Mr. Kearney. My information was 

 from the trade generally. They gave as a reason for the statement that 

 the retail dealer did not like to be dictated to as to what price he should 

 sell the seeded raisins from California; that if he saw fit to charge 12^ 

 cents for a package, the customary price, he did not like to have the 

 California producer say to him that he must sell them for 10 cents, and 

 consequently he said he would not sell them at all. Now, I said the 

 other day, Mr. Kearney, that if the trade could be educated up to it, 

 when they become accustomed to it, so that we can get the producer 

 and consumer closer together — I will admit that if we can introduce 

 this proposition of having the price placed upon every package of 

 raisins that we send out from Fresno, so that that package shall not be 

 sold for more than 10 cents — when they become accustomed to it and 

 the purchasers of those raisins become accustomed to the fact that they 

 can go to their retail grocer and buy a package of raisins for 10 cents 

 that perhaps it will be an improvement; but I said in my remarks the 

 other day that they were not yet accustomed to it, and I say as a reason 

 why that plan was not a greater success — I did not say it was a failure — 

 that why it was not a greater success was because the trade did not like 

 it. I think those are my exact words as stated then. 



MR. KEARNEY. One other question to complete that point. T 

 believe you said that the crop that year was a very small one and that 

 this year it is a very large one. I believe that was the statement you 

 made ? 



MR. WHITE. Yes, sir. 



MR. KEARNEY. As I remember, froni that small crop, in April- 

 long after the raisin season was over — we had 1,500 carloads of raisins 

 unsold. I think it is understood by gentlemen familiar with raisin- 

 selling that the bulk of the crop is usually sold prior to Christmas time. 

 Now in April, out of the small crop, we had 1,500 carloads of raisins 

 unsold. We adopted the "sticker" and we sold all but 300 or 400 car- 

 loads before the next crop came in. 



MR. WHITE. There are raisins carried over every year. There 

 were raisins carried over from the year I refer to, 1891, when we only 

 had 74,000,000 pounds. I was informed to-day that there were 400 or 

 500 carloads carried over that year, and I think that I can prove that 

 the very year which my friend Mr. Kearney refers to, 1891, there were at 

 least 500 carloads of raisins carried over into the crop of 1892. 



MR. KEARNEY. I admitted that there were 300 or 400 carloads; 

 in my statement I said that we sold all but 300 or 400 carloads out of 

 1,500 in that year after the season was over. I claim that the "sticker'' 

 sold the "hold-overs." 



