Page 68 



BETTER FRUIT 



May 



CONCERNING CO-OPERATIVE FRUIT ORGANIZATION 



THAT co-operation is the basis of 

 good business, and that the more 

 centralized the efifort the greater is 

 the measure of success attained, is 

 becoming more and more recognized; but 

 to obtain this result good business prin- 

 ciples must be the basis of organization. 



Organized effort may be as futile of 

 desired results as is individual effort, and 

 will be unless the principles of the 

 organization are followed, and the better 

 the understanding of those principles, 

 together with the knowledge of the diffi- 

 culties encountered, both within as well 

 as without the organization, on the part 

 of those who are attempting to co-oper- 

 ate the more is the assurance that those 

 principles will be followed. 



To help to a better understanding of 

 the principles of co-operation as well as 

 to show the need for the same is the 

 purpose of this article. 



It has long been understood that "In 

 union there is strength" — but why? 

 How does union promote strength? This 

 is the day of big business. The larger 

 the accumulation of business under one 

 head the more cheaply it can be done, 

 as well as being done with more effi- 

 ciency, provided, always, that good meth- 

 ods are followed. 



In the matter of fruit producers' organ- 

 izations it is believed that as many, if 

 not more, difficulties present themselves 

 for adjustment than in an organization 

 for the handling of any other product. 

 The complications arising, owing to the 

 nature of the product handled, are much 

 more acute. For instance, the values of 

 the product are more varied as well as 

 being subject to more rapid changes in 

 quality; also subject to more rapid 

 changes of market values than almost 

 any other product. This being true, it 

 is essential that provision be made to 

 meet these varying conditions, which, of 

 course, become the basis of organization. 

 Let us, therefore, notice the needs of 

 organization. Without it each grower 

 must act as agent for himself, both in 

 buying his supplies and in selling his 

 product. In the buying of his supplies 

 it has long been established that pur- 

 chases on a large scale can be made 

 much more cheaply than on a small 



BY C. E. WHISLER, MEDFORD, OREGON 



scale; First, because it enables the 

 large concerns from whom supplies are 

 obtained to handle the same amount of 

 goods much more cheaply. Thus by 

 purchasing box material, wrapping paper, 

 nails, spray material, etc., in carlot ship- 

 ments the price of the supplies are 

 greatly reduced. Second, because by 

 handling in large quantities it enables 

 them to handle a greater amount of 

 goods with the same labor. That makes 

 it possible, by co-operation, to purchase 

 supplies in large quantities at reduced 

 prices, and by dealing these out to the 

 consumer it is possible, with a small fee 

 to cover handling and expense charges, 

 for him to obtain his supplies at a greatly 

 reduced price from what he would have 

 to pay were he purchasing direct. In 

 the selling of his product he is still at 

 much worse disadvantage. Again, the 

 large concerns handling his product pre- 

 fer to deal with large concerns for the 

 same reason that the dealer in his sup- 

 plies offers "big business." 



Again, the individual shipper cannot so 

 readily obtain that information needed, 

 both with regard to prices and the supply 

 on the markets of that food product with 

 which his fruit comes the most directly 

 into competition, all of which entails 

 much labor and expense, and is essen- 

 tial to successful operation. The same 

 requirements enter into both sides of his 

 transaction, namely, "big business." 



It is, therefore, evident that the smaller 

 the grower the more he feels the need of 

 organization, and a co-operative organi- 

 zation can only justify its existence by 

 securing for him his supplies at the best 

 minimum price and returning to him for 

 his product the best possible maximum 

 price. This is the "milk in the cocoanut." 

 And to obtain this result requires the 

 application of good business principles 

 on the part of the operators as well as 

 patience and forebearance on the part 

 of the producers. 



As the purchase of supplies is a simple 

 matter and of minor importance com- 

 pared with the handling of the product 

 this article will waste no time with that 

 question, but will attempt to deal at some 

 length with the question of the market- 

 ing of the product. 



Let it be remembered tha!t e\''ery s'peci- 

 men of fruit going into the market does 

 so in competition with every other speci- 

 men of the same kind of fruit, and not 

 only so, but it goes in competition to a 

 greater or lesser degree with every other 

 food product. 



To regulate competition among fruits 

 of the same kind and to overcome com- 

 petition of food products of other kinds 

 is within the realm of good business, and 

 to obtain that price for your fruit which 

 truly measures its relative value as com- 

 pared with all products with which it 

 comes in competition is the right measure 

 of successful effort. This brings us to a 

 consideration of the nature of the prod- 

 uct handled. Let us consider especially 

 pears and apples: First, it is of a very 

 perishable nature, extending in its life 

 from but a few weeks to a few months 

 at best. All of it must be consumed or 

 decay within one year (unlike many 

 manufactured food products, which can 



Buy and Try 



White 

 River 

 Flour 



Makes 



Whiter, Lighter 

 Bread 



APPLES 



PLUMS 



PEARS 



PEACHES 



PRUNES 



THE LAND OF 

 OPPORTUNITY 



WHITE SALMON VALLEY 



Located across the Columbia River from Hood River, Oregon, the White Salmon Valley offers 

 the greatest opportunities of any land on earth to fruit growers. 



WHERE APPLES, CHERRIES, PEACHES, PEARS, PRUNES AND STRAWBERRIES 



GROW TO PERFECTION 

 A few dollars invested in fruit land today will return to you in a very few years sixty-fold. 

 The SOIL, CLIMATE, WATER and SCENERY are unsurpassed by that of any country. 



We have bargains in orchard lands in and near White Salmon, also large and small bodies of 

 timber land, cheap. write us for descriptive matter and prices 



ESTES REALTY & INVESTMENT CO. 



White Salmon, Washington 



BERRIES 



CHERRIES 



STRAWBERRIES 



NUTS 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



