The War on Diseased Orchards
A fierce battle erupts between the State Horticultural Commissioner and outside nurserymen over the destruction of thousands of fruit trees.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Oregon nurserymen are embroiled in a fierce war being waged in the state of Washington by State Horticultural Commissioner V. N. Holderbeke against bad nursery stock. New York nurserymen, and it is said a large shipper from Oregon as well, have filed their interests and hired a well-known local attorney to see if it is possible to make the commissioner responsible for the large quantities of stock destroyed. Out of 75,000 fruit trees received by parties in Yakima county and inspected by the county inspector, 9,596 were condemned and a number of other lots ordered dipped. The commissioner says the report of the county inspector shows that most of the condemned stock came from nurseries outside of the state. He says the percentage of diseased nursery stock is much smaller within the state. 'Those shipping stock,' said the commissioner, 'may as well understand first as last that diseased nursery stock will be condemned wherever found.' The commissioner has the state well policed. As the matter now stands, the aggrieved companies are seeking a means of piercing the commissioner's armor, considering whether they shall file their complaint against the commissioner personally or seek to hold the state responsible.
“Those shipping stock may as well understand first as last that diseased nursery stock will be condemned wherever found.”
This 1903 struggle over agricultural biosecurity highlights the ongoing tension between protecting local agricultural economies and the rights of interstate trade. Just as in the early 20th century, Walla Walla and Yakima orchards remain subject to strict state oversight to prevent the spread of invasive pests and diseases.
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