I irdU; JL-i U NEW-YORKER 
The New York Auction Sales. 
By the time this reaches the public the auction sys¬ 
tem of selling fruit in New York will be in full opera¬ 
tion. Already carloads of such fruit have been sold. 
The first to be sold teas a consignment of plums which 
brought 1{0 to 50 cents per crate, and 11 to 12 cents per 
basket. The first carload of pears brought $3 to 
$3.12y 2 per barrel f r the best, and $1 to $1.12 
per bushel basket and keg, according to quality and 
grading. TFc want our readers to understand clearly 
that this auction market is now in operation. For direct 
information about it apply to the N. Y. Foods and Mar¬ 
kets Department, 71 IF. 23d St., New York. 
The Keynote of the Auction Sales. 
The effort to establish the auction system of selling 
New York fruit is pioneer work conducted by a few 
strong and farseeing men who can look into the future. 
In its way this pioneer work of starting a new system 
of disposing of farm produce is as difficult as that of 
cleaning away the forest and subduing the land. 
There are enemies and influence to be fought in either 
case. The conditions which made New York State a 
wilderness confronted the earlier pioneers, and tested 
every energy of mind and body. Today producers are 
facing the conditions which made the 35-cent dollar a 
painful fact. Those who go up against the graft and 
privilege and selfish interests which now control the 
buying and distribution of farm produce must endure 
pioneer conditions as hard and dangerous in their 
way as those of the early days. These conditions can 
only be overcome as the earlier ones were—by strong, 
patient, fearless and continuous service on the part 
of the leaders and loyal support by the farmers and pro¬ 
ducers. In order to show that farmers realize the ser¬ 
ious importance of this auction system as well as 
what it means for the future we print the following 
from a New York farmer: 
I attended the apple auction at Red Hook this week, 
and one of the first impressions I got was that the 
“buyers” did not come to buy at all —but to discredit 
and hinder the work of the Department. That silent 
“passing” of lot after lot of apples without a bid was 
not indifference —it was a part of the game. I felt it 
in the very air, and I’ll venture that the thought up¬ 
permost in the minds of nine-tenths of them, after the 
sale, was: “Now, boys, what are you going to do with 
your apples? Are you going to send them to us as 
usual?” Then Mr. Dillon got up and made his speech. 
He told the growers what they did not have to do, and 
what they could do with their apples—and I thought 
as I saw him standing there, trembling with righteous 
indignation, that he knew far more than it would be 
wise to reveal just then. My father sent apples one 
year to Mr. E. L. Goodsell, the auctioneer, when I was 
a boy going to school. I asked him the other day why 
he gave up the business, and he replied that “he got 
a better job.” That may be true from his point of 
view—the financial one—but tell him from me that 
no man can find a better job than that of pioneer hi a 
reform that xcill ultimately give the people their rights! 
God bless you all! B. c. 
This idea of pioneer work is well fixed in the minds 
of the farmers. No man or set of men can do this 
work for them unless the farmers themselves come for¬ 
ward and help. The very nature of the case is such 
that only strong and united action can put it over. 
At this first sale the old and long-established apple 
buyers evidently decided to kill the auction by refus¬ 
ing to bid. In this way they expected to discourage 
the growers and drive them back to the old system 
wherein the buyer has all the advantage. It was a 
shrewd scheme, but it failed because a new set of buy¬ 
ers came forward and bid for the fruit. Thus the older 
apple buyers face the danger of losing the finest fruit in 
the State unless they come to the auctions and bid for 
it. It was a dramatic situation at Red Hook when 
Commissioner Dillon got up and talked to the crowd. 
The buyers thought they had frightened the farmers 
by refusing to bid on many orchards, and that there 
would be a rush to sell at almost any price. Mr. Dil¬ 
lon told the farmers that they did not have to sell to 
these men—that he could and would handle their fruit 
at the city auction. He told them that the State Land 
Bank would lend them, on good terms, the money with 
which to build a storage house. With such a house and 
the auction system in force they need not sacrifice their 
apples, but could hold them until a fair price was of¬ 
fered. This led to a heated argument and bitter at¬ 
tacks from some of the buyers, but the farmers ap¬ 
plauded and pledged support. The effort was very evi¬ 
dent at Gardiner the next day, for the buyers saw that 
the growers were back of the auction and that they 
must come to it sooner or later if they expect to obtain 
this fine fruit. 
We stated last week that this one day at Red Hook 
was worth half a million dollars to the apple growers 
in the Hudson Valley. We now have proof of this 
from both sides. The Fruitman’s Guide, which has 
been most bitter and hateful in its criticism, says in 
its report of the auction: 
The auction did something which private buyers will 
have to fight hard to overcome. The prices at which 
the apples were sold in both sales were wired and pub¬ 
lished all through the Hudson Valley, as the wide- 
open price at which to sell the fruit. Growers all 
along the valley have taken these prices as their stand¬ 
ard and will try and see to it that very few apples 
sell under these prices. 
That is what we meant last week in saying that the 
auctions have established a definite basic price for fig¬ 
uring—something whieh never before prevailed in the 
valley. And here is more definite proof from a farmer 
in Columbia Co., N. Y. This man wrote us last week 
that buyers were offering small prices for fruit, laugh¬ 
ing at the auction and ridiculing the new Department’s 
work: 
Additional to my letter of a couple of days ago: 
First commission men’s agent offer for my apples, 75c 
a barrel; I told him I’d ship to New York auction 
market; second agent’s offer, $1 a barrel; third agent 
raised price to $1.25, and yesterday evening, very late, 
one came offering cash $1.50 a barrel and pick himself, 
but still they all say auction market will be a failure! 
c. B. 
The auction has come to stay, but we must all re¬ 
member we are still doing pioneer work which requires 
constant attention and full and enthusiastic loyalty and 
support. Back up the city auctions with your influ¬ 
ence and your fruit. 
The Apple Auction at Syracuse. 
The auction sale of Onondaga County apples in 
Syracuse, on September 8, was a great success. There 
was not a large number of buyers and the old large 
dealers of New York were conspicuous for their absence, 
but there was spirited bidding among the buyers pres¬ 
ent, and prices ranged from $2.85 to $3.40 per barrel. 
The Grant Ditchings’ large orchard was knocked down 
for $3.40 for both A. and B. grades to be picked, 
packed and delivered at the station, the A.’s to measure 
2 Vz inches and up and the B.’s 2% inches up. This 
price of $3.40 was for Winter varieties. Mr. Ditchings 
also sold about 1,400 barrels of Fall varieties. Those 
were finally sold at $2.75 for A. grade and $2.25 for 
grade II. 
The attractive orchard of Judson K. Knapp brought 
the same price; A. S. Chase let his orchard of A. 
grade go for $3.25, and the buyer agreed to take the B. 
grade at $2.25, option of the grower. The other or¬ 
chards sold at $3 a barrel for A. grade, and Horace K. 
Ditchings’ orchard brought $3 for run of the orchard 
A. and B. grades included. 
Growers from all parts of Western and Central New 
York were present, and enthusiastic over the sales. 
Not so much because of the price, but from the fact 
that they know the sales were open and free to all 
bidders, and that for the future they have a means 
of selling their apples on the basis of supply and de¬ 
mand. The buyer who depends on the want of in¬ 
formation of sellers to get bargains will not meet with 
much success in New York State from now on. The 
old, and heretofore large buyers, may stay at home and 
sulk if they wish. A new class of men are getting the 
apples and if the process continues much longer the 
large and the small buyers will change places. 
Growers from four different sections have applied for 
help to organize sales in their neighborhood and the 
Department is now organizing sales in other sections to 
be held the week of September 20th. 
Egg Conditions in the United States. 
Part IV. 
THE EXCHANGE INVESTIGATED.—In 1013 a 
thorough investigation was made by the United States 
District Attorney’s office of New York City into the 
conditions prevailing on the docks in the matter of the 
receiving of eggs and the making of claims against the 
railroad companies for breakage. In a great many in¬ 
stances it was found that the claims filed were exor¬ 
bitant and fraudulent; that money was used to bribe 
the railroad inspectors to allow claims greatly in excess 
of the actual loss existing. In many instances the 
claims exceeded the total amount of freight charges 
earned by the railroad companies. The following firms 
were indicted for conspiracy and other charges con¬ 
nected with this wholesale bribery and robbing of the 
railroads in the filing of fictitious and illegal claims: 
DeWinter & Co., Scarborough & Adams, W. P. Brown 
& Son, R. B. Sehimer Co. The members of these con¬ 
cerns were fined, after having pleaded guilty, from 
$2,000 to $6,000 each. It will be found, if an in¬ 
vestigation is made, that members of these concerns, 
who were so heavily fined, have been in a large part, 
the principal dealers under the “call” in eggs on the 
Mercantile Exchange, in New York City, for the past 
six years; that the members of the Exchange have it 
in their power to buy eggs subject to the inspection of 
their own Exchange employees and on advancing mar¬ 
kets accept the eggs thus purchased and on declining 
markets reject them. The records of the Exchange 
show that the members have the power to raise and 
lower prices at their will. The investigation of the af¬ 
fairs of the New York Mercantile Exchange by the At¬ 
torney General’s office has not yet been closed. The 
report has not been made public, and it is understood 
that further hearings will take place in the near fu¬ 
ture. It is to be hoped that a much better system of 
handling this great food product will be adopted in the 
very near future. 
WHAT TERMINAL MARKET WOULD DO._ 
When the plans of the State Department of Foods and 
Markets are fully matured there should be a saving for 
the consumer and the producer in the handling of eggs at 
the terminals in place of the present antiquated system, 
of not less than $1 per case, on each and every one of 
the 100,000 cases now consumed in New York each 
week. There should be a saving on the item of eggs 
alone of $5,200,000, and there should be a further sav¬ 
ing by having all eggs properly taken care of in a 
breaking room at each terminal, constructed accord¬ 
ing to the rules and regulations of the Health Depart¬ 
ment of New York City, where all cracked and defec- 
1141 
tive eggs fit for human food, but not in condition to 
be sent out to the retail trade, will be opened, canned, 
frozen and sold to the bakers throughout the city, and 
a fair return made to the shipper for them. It is esti¬ 
mated that under the present system where the candling 
is done at perhaps 400 different stores and basements 
throughout the city, the waste in this one item of 
cracked eggs amounts to not less than five cents per 
case, or a total of $5,000 per week. The rules and 
regulations are stringent and it is impossible for each 
and every jobber who candles eggs to have a breaking 
room connected with his business. It is easy to see 
that with proper centralization, cooperation and proper 
terminal markets the saving on eggs alone would pay 
10 per cent, return on the investment for all the termin- 
al markets required for Greater New York. 
Conditions of Auction Sale. 
Contract “A,” Lot No.has been sold and 
the buyer and the seller both agree that the terms are 
as follows: 
The owner sells the fruit in orchard described by 
the above Lot No. on the inside pages of this cata¬ 
logue, outright to the buyer on the trees. The buyer 
to pick, pack and furnish his own packages, and the 
owner to board the help during the time the fruit is 
being picked and packed, without charge, and to de¬ 
liver the fruit to the railroad station or boat line 
without extra charge. 
ihe amount paid for above orchard lump sum which 
covers all the fruit described by Lot. No. 
is included in this sale for the gross amount of 
$ . 
Twenty-five (25%) per cent, cash to be paid on the 
day of sale, balance to be paid at the time fruit is 
picked and packed. 
Owner. 
Buyer. 
. Contract “B,” Lot No., described on the 
inside page of this catalogue. This fruit is sold by 
the owner and bought by the buyer on the following 
terms. 
The owner to pick the fruit down and pile it on the 
ground, using due care not to bruise or damage the fruit 
in the picking. After fruit is piled on the ground the 
buyer is to do his own packing, furnish barrels and do 
his own grading in accordance with the Laws of the 
State of J\ew York, at his own expense, and he agi'ees 
to pay the owner $. per barrel for all the 
bruit picked from said orchard, the owner to board the 
help during the time of picking and packing, and to 
haul the fruit to the railroad or boat line for ship¬ 
ment. 
Twenty-five (25%) per cent, cash to be paid on the 
day of the sale, balance to be paid at the time the fruit 
is picked and packed. 
Owner. 
Buyer. !.!!!!!!!! 
. Contract “C,” Lot No.., described on the 
inside page of this catalogue is sold by the owner and 
bought by the buyer, to be picked by the owner, eare- 
fully graded in accordance with the Laws of the State 
ot New lork, and under the supervision of a represen¬ 
tative of the buyer, the buyer to pay for the apples 
$...... - for Grade A, and $. for 
Drade B on all stock subject to being packed under the 
Laws of the State of New York as graded fruit, and 
for the balance of the fruit to be branded “Unclassified 
bruit. Ihe owner to deliver to the railroad station 
or boat line for shipment. 
Twenty-five (25%) per cent, cash to be paid on the 
day of sale, balance to be paid at the time fruit is 
picked and packed. 
Owner. 
Buyer. 
Contract “D,” Lot No., described in the 
inside page of this catalogue, the owner sells and the 
buyer buys the apples as follows: 
The owner carefully hand picks and piles the ap- 
ples on the ground and the buyer then takes charge of 
the fruit at his own expense, furnishing barrels and 
grades the fruit according to the Laws of the State 
ot New York and at his own expense carts the fruit 
to the transportation lines over which he wishes to 
ship The owner boarding the help during the time 
the fruit is being picked and shipped, free of charge 
the buyer assuming all risks of weather conditions on 
and after the day of sale. 
Twenty-five (25%) per cent, cash to be paid on the 
day of sale, balance to be paid at the time the fruit is 
picked and packed. 
Owner. 
Buyer. 
Department Stores and Farm Produce. 
1“ enclosing a copy of an advertisement from one 
of the large department stores in Toronto, clipped from 
a recent^ paper, in which they feature “A Country 
Hamper. If my memory serves me correctly you ad¬ 
vocated something of this kind on several occasions 
Hamilton, Ontario. R. l. N 
This seems to be the development of a plan we sug¬ 
gested several years ago. A large department store 
advertises “Home Hampers” just as it would furniture 
or dry goods bargains. Here is part of the advertise¬ 
ment : 
. ™ vegeuiuies duik large in a well-considered and 
health-giving bill ot fare. Their delicate or savory fla¬ 
vours, the freshness and crispness of a salad depend en¬ 
tirely on the length of time they occupy on their trip 
from the country garden to the city table. We do all 
we can to expedite matters, but have now a more 
unique service to offer our customers. By special ar¬ 
rangement we are the_ exclusive agents in Toronto for 
Home Hampers, _ which are packed on the farm and 
unpacked by you in less than 24 hours from the time 
tne vegetables are picked. Each hamper contains from 
seven to twelve varieties of vegetables, nicely packed in 
baskets and crated. The quantity is sufficient for a 
family ot six for one week, and the price is $1.50.” 
Then follows a description of the vegetables. Any¬ 
thing that brings farm products in this way on a par 
with other store goods is a help. It means that more 
of them will be used, and that those who produce them 
will get closer to the buyers. 
