— 36 — 



Mr. Berwick: Was that function attempted this year at all? 



Mr. Adams: When we started, the California Fruit Union was in 

 operation. It was believed by us that in a short time the two institu- 

 tions would be brought under the same management — the Fruit Union 

 would absorb us or we would absorb it, or there would be an amalga- 

 mation, or something. After the Fruit Union decided to go out of busi- 

 ness, the Directors of the Fruit Exchange did all they could with the 

 means at their command. And I did all I could as manager. I could 

 not have worked any harder if I had killed myself. I never did any 

 harder work in my life than I have done during the past year. But I 

 am not big enough to spread over the whole State, nor any considerable 

 part of it. The reason we didn't do more was because we didn't have 

 more help to do it with. Now, my experience in organizing is this: 

 that no individual will take anything on trust. Not one will say, " Here, 

 I think those people are helping us and working right. I will go in 

 with them." No one will send in his money or send in his name. Each 

 man has to be visited on his farm. Each man has to be talked to an 

 average of an hour or an hour and a half. The time ranges from half 

 an hour to three hours. I don't think any one has ever been got into 

 such an organization in any other way, and I don't think any one ever 

 will be. If you will figure it up you will see that an organizer can visit 

 but about ten men a day. And he has got to devote his entire time to 

 it, and it will pretty near take his entire time to convince different 

 people that he is not a thief, or at least, if he is one, that he has not 

 been found out, and that everybody connected with him is not a rascal. 

 [Laughter.] And it takes money to do these things. A small organi- 

 zation may be built up by voluntary effort. Such an organization as 

 the West Side institution, perhaps; one that can be organized at a very 

 small cost. But when you begin to spread out so that, in order to have 

 effective work, some one person has got to devote his entire time to it, 

 dropping all his own business, that person must be paid. No one can 

 be found who will do it voluntarily, and without pay. 



Mr. Weinstock: Under the head of cooperation, and for the purpose 

 of bringing the matter to an intelligent head, so that our time may not 

 be frittered away, I desire to present some resolutions in connection, 

 purely and simply, with the green fruit branch of the industry. These 

 resolutions that I now intend to submit, you will please remember, will 

 not in anyway affect the question of the dried fruit industry — will not 

 in anyway affect the raisin industry. . They apply to the green fruit 

 industry, pure and simple, and with your permission I will read them: 



Whereas, Owing to certain causes, the shipping of fresh fruits to the markets of the 

 East has more recently proven highly unprofitable; and whereas, a continuance of these 

 •causes must mean ruin to untold numbers of growers, and must seriously threaten the 

 future of the fresh fruit industry of our State; and whereas, we have reason to believe 

 that by united action on the part of commercial shippers, local associations, and indi- 

 vidual growers shipping in carload lots and routing their own fruit, many of these 

 causes may be promptly removed, and certain existing evils overcome; therefore, be it 



Resolved, That without reference to any great popular movement to unite the fruit 

 growers of the State in one organization for general purposes, but in addition and 

 .auxiliary to that movement, this convention recommends and earnestly requests the 

 classes of growers and shippers above mentioned to proceed forthwith to organize 

 themselves into a union to be known as the Fruit Growers and Shippers' Association of 

 California; and be it further 



Resolved, That the purposes of the proposed association shall be: (1) the establishment 

 of a Bureau of Information to regulate distribution; (2) to establish one auction-room 

 in each city; (3) to make such auction-rooms open and free to all buyers; (4) to do all 

 suc^i other things as may be conducive to the best interests of the fresh fruit industry 

 of California; and be it further 



