TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



15 



REPORTS BY COMMITTEES. 



Foreign Consular Service. 



The following report of Committee on Foreign Consular Service was 

 submitted by the chairman, Edward Berwick, of Monterey : 



At the Fresno convention a year ago a committee was appointed to endeavor to 

 obtain from the Government the use of the foreign consular services to give us the 

 information regarding fruit that we so much needed from the different countries, as to 

 the prospective crops in foreign countries, as to the stocks in hand, as to the whole 

 condition of the markets there, and as to the price fluctuations ; in fact, give us all 

 details that they possibly could, both by letter and by wire, through certain months of 

 the year. The committee consisted of Emory E. Smith, Edward F. Adams, and myself. 

 We sent details of what we wanted to the Secretary of Agriculture and to the Secretary 

 of State. We also sent to the National Farmers' Convention at Fort Worth, Texas, 

 asking them to aid us by applying also on behalf of the Eastern growers for similar 

 information, and they did so through Mr. Stowe, their secretary. We have had much 

 discouragement in the earlier part of this correspondence. In the first place our letters 

 to our Government were said to have been lost, — those sent to the office of the Agricul- 

 tural Department and to the Department of State. Your committee had then to 

 write those lengthy epistles once more. We then heard there was small hope for us. 

 I will read a few of the letters. 



United States Depabtment of Agriculture, 

 Office of Secretary, 

 Washington, D. C, December 28, 1898. 



Mr. Edward Berwick, Monterey, Cal. : 



Dear Sir : I have your letter of the 22d. Our records do not show the receipt of your previous 

 communication on the subject of foreign consular service, and I have no recollection of seeing it- 



I may state, however, that 1 wrote yesterday to Mr. John M. Stahl, in reply to a similar inquiry 

 from him, and stated that in my opinion such consular reports would be of little value unless the 

 consuls could be in some way compensated for making them. I added that no appropriation is 

 made to this Department from which such compensation could be paid. 

 Respectfully, 



(Signed:) JAMES WILSON, 



Secretary. 



I was not very much pleased on behalf of the committee, and I wrote to President 

 McKinley and to Mr. John Hyde, statistician of the Bureau of Agriculture, who promised 

 us something. His letter to me reads as follows : 



United States Department of Agriculture, 

 Division of Statistics, 



Washington, D. C, April 5, 1899. 



Mr. Edward Berwick, Monterey, Cal.: 



Dear Sir: Replying to your letter of the 25th ultimo, I beg to state that a plan for the utiliza- 

 tion of the services of the United States consuls in foreign countries, in the matter of reporting 

 periodically upon the condition and prospects of the crops in the countries to which they are 

 accredited, is now in preparation. It is not, however, so easy a matter to arrange for as you may 

 think. No extra compensation can be paid to the consuls, and eiforts in the same direction in 

 past years have not been altogether satisfactory. It is hoped, however, that some arrangement 

 will be made that will be of service to the fruit-growers of your great State. 

 Very truly yours, 



( Signed :) JOHN HYDE, 



Statistician. 



