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



compared with the state and county tax, I will call your attention to the following 



statements taken from the records ; therefore, correct : 



GROWER NUMBER ONE. 



Charges for transportation on 53 cars $22,048 00 



State and county taxes ^ 1.031 00 



Excess transportation tax S21.G17 00 



This grower pays $21,617.00 more tax for transportation than he pays for state 

 and county purposes, or over 2,098 per cent more. His state and county tax amounts 

 to over $19.00 per car. 



GROWER NUMBER TWO. 



Charges for transportation on 36 cars $15,380 00 



State and county taxes r 503 00 



Excess transportation tax $14,877 00 



This grower pays $14,877 more tax for transportation than he pays for state 

 and county purposes, or over 3,057 per cent more. His state and county tax amounts 

 to $14 per car. 



GROWER NUMBER THREE. 



Charges for transportation on 66 cars $28,246 00 



State and county tax 787 00 



Excess transportation tax $27,459 00 



This grower pays $27,459 more tax for transportation than he pays for state 

 and county purposes, or over 3,589 per cent more. His state and county tax amounts 

 to about $12 per car. 



These are fair illustrations and show how the fruit growers are being taxed and 

 that so heavily that it will not be long, unless relief in some form comes to them, 

 until their orchards and vineyards pass into the control of their creditors. 



The question that you are now called to pass upon, which is of more importance 

 to you than all other questions combined that have bearing upon your interests, is, 

 are you going to make an effort to protect yourselves from financial ruin? Should 

 you decide in the affirmative, then the next question will be how? It is quite plain 

 that you can not afford to remain inactive any longer. You can not expect assist- 

 ance from others, unless you manifest a disposition to help yourselves. Now. what 

 are you going to do? 



Now, Mr. Chairman, I am afflicted with a cold and I would like to 

 have the secretary read a portion of the report any way. if no more. 

 This is a copy of what is termed and known in the report as the 

 "Printed Petition." You understand, ladies and gentlemen, that we 

 made a request. We had to back that request up in some way in order 

 to be justified in making it, and therefore we presented it to these 

 eighty-seven different railroad officials, facts and figures regarding the 

 cost of production and setting forth the reasons why the deciduous fruit 

 interests demanded it, AVe have here statistics compiled from all the 

 auction districts in the United States, showing the result of the sale of 

 1,046 cars. It shows heavy loss to the growers. These sales were made 

 in 1908. In this you will also find what I stated in the preliminary 

 remarks, that we are backed by all the shipping interests. Here are 

 communications from the Earl Fruit Company, the Producers' Fruit 

 Company, the California Fruit Exchange. Also, we have a letter from 

 Mr. F. B. McKevitt, manager of the California Fruit Distributors, in 

 the matter that we submitted to the railroads for consideration, repre- 

 senting all the other shipping interests in that organization. This is 

 the report which I would like to have read, or such part of it as will 

 give you an idea of the work done by our committee. And while I think 

 of it, I wish to call your attention to the fact that the date in this report 



