92 PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



CO-OPERATION FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PRODUCER 



By George W. Ashley, of Stockton. 

 Organizations, associations and corporations without number have 

 been formed and are still being formed for the benefit of some one. The 

 greater number of these go to pieces on the rock of adversity. In those 

 that are successful the smaller stockholder or member is usually frozen 

 out and the profits go to the few. With few exceptions those that are 

 successful are conducted on a commercial basis and the profits are 

 divided up according to the number of shares of stock held by their 

 fortunate owner and not according to the products handled for the party 

 that grew them. 



In a list of the few exceptions to the above rule and getting down to 

 those of closer interest to the fruit growers are such bodies as the < 'ali- 

 fornia Fruit Growers' Exchange of Los Angeles, the Hood River Apple 

 Growers' Association of Oregon, The Yakima Fruit Growers' Union of 

 Washington, The Georgia Fruit Exchange of Georgia, The Southern 

 Texas Truck Growers' Association, and several others. These have for 

 their chief object, not how large a per cent they can pay on their stock, 

 if they have any, but how much per box they can return their members 

 for their fruit ? How cheap they can buy their supplies for their mem- 

 bers? How well they can watch legislation, both state and national? 

 How they can better distribute their products? How they can open new 

 markets, and first, last and all the time how good a box of fruit they 

 can put up? The time has gone by when the fruit grower can work 

 under the old Roman maxim of caveat emptor, "Let the buyer beware." 

 The one for the future will be, "The seller must make good.'* The 

 chief road to prosperity for every successful fruit organization will be 

 good goods. Make the brand good in every market. Fire out the care- 

 less and unreliable grower or else have your contracts so ironclad he 

 must come through with good goods. So much for fruit organizations 

 in general. 



Now for our own experience in the San Joaquin County Table Grape 

 Growers' Association. There were several causes for the starting of our 

 association. One of these, and I may say the chief one. was the fight by 

 the importers to reduce the tariff on the Almeria grapes. You all know 

 the result of this fight by which the tariff on foreign grapes was raised 

 25 per cent, This was accomplished by our congressman, more as the 

 result of the action of a committee appointed by the State Fruit 

 Growers' Convention of two years ago. than to the action of any one 

 else. We may, however, all have helped a little. This question, how- 

 ever, called together the grape growers of our district many times and 

 resulted in the formation of an association. 



This association held quite a number of meetings, and discussed 

 whether it would only work along the lines of legislation, cheaper sup- 

 plies, and a better pack, or whether in addition it would conduct a 

 general shipping business. Finally, the more radical element won. and 

 it was decided to undertake all things connected with the picking, 

 packing, and marketing of grapes. When this decision was reached, it 

 was thought best to change from an association to a corporation. This 

 was done, but we still retained our association name. 



In order to carry out our aims we knew we should have to have 



