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Show CO-OPERATIVE MARKETING IN STATE OF WASHINGTON j How the Farmers and Fruit Growers Buy and Sel! Their Crops How a Capital of $2,000 Does a Million Dollar Business Busi-ness A Most Interesting Story Told by Joel Shomaker, a Former Son of Utah. I I Editor Standard A few days ago I road companies for hauling out fruits called on the manager of the Puyallup end bringing in other products, for nnd Sumner Fruit Growers associa- the members of that most successful tion, at Puyallup. Wash., to find out buslLeSB corporation, how much money was paid to rail- For the first ten months of 1914 the fruit company paid to the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways 1X91,526.91. That sum represents charges for carrying freight and express, ex-press, and has been paid out by an organization of small farmers, having a capital stock of only $2000 and doing do-ing a business of approximately $1,-0O0.COO $1,-0O0.COO a year. Many people, living in the fruit growing districts of different western states write me, asking for informa tion as to how the Puyallup growers handle their business, and especially how they buy farm products anil merchandise through their own store. Af the system is full of interest to every farming community, I will tell something ahout It, although I am not a member, have no money interest in the organization, nor do I get any pay for writing. The Puyallup association has been In existence about twelve years. It bus a membership of 1450 men and women, engaged in growing small fruits. It Is an incorporated Institution, Institu-tion, having a capital stock of $2000. divided into shares of $1 each, with the proviso that no member ran hold more than fifteen shams of the stock. The business is conducted by a hoard of directors and (hat board employs em-ploys n manager, who is the president of Tie company. Although the primary pri-mary purpose of the association is to Bell fruits and vegetables. It carries car-ries on a general store and supplies jits membfiship with farm and other products not grown or manufactured at home. Puyallup Valley Is a small river bottom bot-tom section, once covered with native timber, and is sub-Irrigated from a mountain stream that crosses the valley. val-ley. It has been found best adapted to growing such fruits as rMpberi lee, blackberries, loganberries, strawberries strawber-ries and the orchard products, apples, pears and cherries. The association Is made up of growers, grow-ers, having an average of about one ncre each, and they agree to ship i v rytl.ing through the company warehouse If the fruits get oerrlpe or v. el from rains, they aro put Into canneries, and sold In carload lots to buyers in the mountain states, where such things aro not grown commcr-cnlly. commcr-cnlly. Four banks handle the business of the association, and always have fair cash balances at the disposal of the management That enables the manager mana-ger to take advantage of all offers for cash of such things as the people consume, and during the year, many carloads of hay. grain, sugar, peaches and other things are handled through Iho store, at special prices not obtained ob-tained through regular commercial r hanhela Lust summer, when peachos were low, the management purchased such fruits in car lots, and sold to their j memberi at prices below even the Jobbing ojiotutions. When the war scare sen' Hie price cl i.ugar to $10 a bag. the association had several thousand bags, bought anu delivered at a coat of about one-half one-half ;he retail prices of local merchants, mer-chants, and the members bought su-;;ar su-;;ar for $R a bag. They use many carloads of ha aitd grain, grown several hundred miles awa in eastern Washington, j and by buying in quantity and pa- ing cash, the store la able to distrlb-lite distrlb-lite to the members such products at prices for below the going market j ra'es. The assot i.ition does not take or tiers and parcel out Koods to members, as lias been attempted by som1 farmer organizations, but buys the products and puts them in. the warehouse, ware-house, selling direct to the consumers consum-ers for cash only, the sales sometimes some-times approximating $1500 a day. A storekeeper is kept in the employ em-ploy of the association', on a stated salary, and the expenses for rental, hire and incidentals, are made up by charging a slight advance, of probably prob-ably five pep cpiif, over the cost, so that the members save money on what they buj by paving themselves or operating their own place of business. busi-ness. It is not necessary for any member of the lruit growers to ask for credit, as the association advances money henever necessary, for all legitimate purposes. Members ;ft their fcrtlllz- pa boxes and other necesities, I through the a Boclattora, and pay the h holesale cost. with distribution barges for what they need. While in the office of the association, associa-tion, I noticed a woman call on the lanager for some money. The bookkeeper book-keeper gave her a statement of the berries and other products she had consigned through the company, and lie went to the brink and secured the rapney as a loan, without any endorsement endorse-ment or publicity . Some inquisitive persons bring up an objection to this system, pleading that such methods have a tendency to operate against the home merchants. mer-chants. That may be true in some instances, but it is far more important that an organization that furnishes a ! market for everything, that could not be obtained in any other way. except through organization, and brings in an annual Income of approximately $1,-000.000, $1,-000.000, be kept up. than that a few local merchants be patronized. Previous to the organization of the association, there was no certain market mar-ket for fruits, because of the lack of community co-operation, and the business busi-ness system Inaugurated has made it possible for ever,- member having a patch of berries covering a few square rods in the back yard, to get full value for everything produced, and at the same time has guaranteed the purchase of home and farm necessities, ne-cessities, at a little advance over fobbing prices. Nellita, Washington, December 14, 1914. |