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OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



said he could get the money for it, and I haVe heard people in Fresno 

 kicking about the cost of organization. This same man who stated that 

 his land was now worth $250 an acre was kicking about the cost of or- 

 ganization. He said Mr. Kearney got $500 a month, and I said I think 

 he is worth $5,000 a month if he can organize fellows like you are. In the 

 last six months I have seen, in many counties where prunes are raised, 

 men who offered to cooperate, and I think it would be a good plan to get 

 a list of those prune men and of the possible amount they can produce. 

 Some of them told me that they would come to the convention and talk 

 the matter over. I think it is better that all sections of the country 

 should know what is being done here, and that we should get a rep- 

 resentative from every county at a convention to be held here later, 

 and then the representatives of those different counties could go back to 

 their homes with the necessary papers for the growers to sign. I trust 

 we will get together and take some action in that behalf. 



Mr. GORDON. It is a mistake to hire cheap men in an institution 

 of the kind we propose. We pay our president $500 a month, and there 

 are a good many small, narrow, contracted men kicking at that salary. 

 A man said the other day, who was not in the association, " Look at the 

 salary you are paying Kearney — $500 a month." I said, "My dear sir, 

 you have forty or fifty acres of raisins there, and the association has 

 been worth forty or fifty thousand dollars to you in the last year or so. 

 That salary that we pay Mr. Kearney costs about ten cents an acre to 

 the raisin-growers of Fresno County." And I told this man that it was 

 just such men as he who are ruining this country and sending it to 

 destruction. It don't make any odds whether you pay $500 a month or 

 $1,000, if you get the right man in the right place, and I don't believe 

 you will find any more trouble in handling the prune organization than 

 we have found in handling our raisin organization. I once felt as 

 though I was opposed to organization, believing that I could conduct 

 my own business, but I soon learned that I could not do it. I grew 

 raisins when they were worth 5 cents and when prunes were worth 12 

 cents. We have now an organization of raisin-growers in Fresno County, 

 and prunes are worth 24 cents and raisins are worth 7 and 8 cents. Before 

 we organized in Fresno, there were thousands of tons of raisins sold 

 right in Fresno County for $5 a ton less than ground barley was selling 

 for. Barley sold for $30. This was on account of disorganization. 

 Since we organized, and had one management and guaranteed the trade 

 certain prices, raisins have gone up to $100 a ton, and barley has gone 

 down to $15. Now, regarding the prune industry, if I understand the 

 situation, it will not be for long that you can get 2£ cents, because the 

 area is increasing, and you will see that prunes will go down unless you 

 organizej and you will be where the raisin-growers were a few years ago. 



Recess until to-morrow at 9:30 a. m. 



