The Hood River Glacier

PARSONS CORRECTS
ERRONEOUS REPORT

Seattle, Wash., Feb. 28. 1916.

Editor Glacier: Will you kindly correct an article recently appearing in one of your issues relative to the contemplated withdrawal of the Rogue River Fruit & Produce Association from the Northwestern Fruit Exchange and my connection therewith.

As far as the decision of the Association to cease using the Exchange as its selling medium is concerned, that should be entirely with the stockholders of the Association. Personally, as a grower and one of the organizers of both the Association and Exchange, my interest first naturally lies with a proper selling method employing system and comprehensive distribution and intelligent and experienced operators. I, therefore, have no idea of severing my connection in any way with the Exchange, as in my belief it is only through a central selling agency of this kind that we can in any way meet the present crisis in the fruit situation in the northwest and overcome so many of the problems and difficulties that are confronting us. The function of the local, or district organization, is a most important one and should cover the picking, packing, handling, assembling and shipping under absolutely correct methods. It then becomes the function of the highly systematized and comprehensive central selling agency to market the fruit where the great proportion of the concentrated efforts of the entire northwest can be put financially and morally behind their product, and the business done in a wholesale manner, rather than retail, as the problem is a big one and should have the correlated activities of many experts. The grower is an expert producer; he should hire experts in the next step, or that of the local Association, covering handling and shipping, and they in turn should employ in the technical matter of fruit distribution, an accurately trained and thoroughly broad central selling agency which can cover the markets of the world from the various districts, and whose activities would not be limited by the production in variety, quality and quantity of any one locality and the consequent restrictions of financial effort on the part of the growers generally.

It is pleasing to note that the Northwestern Fruit Exchange has steadily gained in the proportionate amount of fruit sold each year of the six years it has handled fruit from various sections of the northwest, the most recent acquisition being the Milton Cooperative Fruit Growers Union, of Milton, Wash., whose fruit production is considerable, and its possibilities are most promising.

Very truly yours,

Reginald H. Parsons.