A Fruit Grower's Pitch: Stop Sending Cash East — Feed Alaska Instead

Before the Northwest Fruitgrower's Association, S. L. Moore began with Noah Webster's definition of a farmer: 'A farmer is one who tills the soil, than which no occupation is more honorable.' Webster, Moore noted, did not draw the line between the farmer who tills the soil for wheat and vegetables and the farmer who tills it for berries, grapes, and peaches. It was worthy of repetition, Moore said, that 'no occupation is more honorable.' Who would not be a farmer?

Following this farther in the encyclopedia, we find that a farmer possesses not only land and orchards but horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry, a large portion of the crop being consumed by the stock; that the profits of farming fluctuate quite as much as those of any other trade; that if from year to year there is an improvement in the farm in the extent of its fertility, if the crops increase and at the same time the manure pile is gradually growing larger, it is a sure sign that good farming is being practiced. Allowing stock to decline in flesh is a loss to the farmer, even though he has fodder to sell in consequence. We can find nothing in such works to indicate that to be successful a farmer must be a specialist and raise wheat, or potatoes, or Italian prunes.

There was shipped from the East into Western Montana, Washington, and Portland, over the various railroads, during the twelve months just closed, more than twenty-three million pounds of hog products, such as pork, lard, hams, bacon, and shoulders. Also nearly eight million pounds of butter and eggs.

Your good cash to the extent of several millions of dollars went back to the East in exchange for these products. This sum of money, kept in circulation at home amongst the farmers in these valleys, would have been very noticeable in its favorable effect.

A carload — twelve tons, twenty-four thousand pounds — of honey was shipped from the East to Washington a couple of weeks since. Where are the busy bees of the Pacific slope? Honey is being shipped here nearly all the year round. As I once said before, a pickle is a small thing — about the size of your little finger — yet there is consumed between Duluth, Portland, and Puget Sound more than one hundred carloads, or two and one-half million pounds, annually. Only a few days since my attention was called to one consignment of twenty-five tons of pickles to one party in Portland. Query: Will cucumbers grow west of the Rockies? A few months ago I received a letter from a fruit-grower west of the Cascade Mountains asking for the freight rate on canned goods to the Atlantic coast cities, and in reply I stated that the carload rate ruled about one cent per pound, but I could see no reason for paying so much freight when the canned goods could be sent to Tacoma, Seattle, Portland, and Spokane at a lesser rate; and if any of the product remained over, I would urge that it be sent to Helena, Butte, and Anaconda, where the shelves in the stores are burdened with similar fruits from California. You ought to participate in this trade.

Who will provide the canned beans, peas, and other vegetables, the canned peaches, apricots, plums, pears, and other fruits for Alaska? Who will provide the butter, eggs, cheese, pickles, the hams, pork, and bacon for Alaska? Must all the burden fall on California? Or will you accept Alaska gold in exchange for such supplies?

In the last Missionary Review of the World I noticed the following from the pen of Robert E. Speer: 'It is a common belief among men who are living in the East, and who are without bias studying the future, that the Pacific is to supplant the Atlantic as the great sea of commerce and the ocean theater of the world's life and movement.'

We may not in this generation reap the benefits that will accrue to the producers of the Pacific slope, but it will be safe to increase our cultivated areas and banish all anxiety about an oversupply. When immigration sets in, this country will rapidly fill up.

Mr. Moore read an extract from a letter of Mr. C. W. Mott, general emigration agent, Northern Pacific Railway, dated January 6th, 1893, as follows:

'In accordance with your request for some facts and figures in regard to the work of our product car, I beg to make the following statement: Since it first started on its travels, the car has traversed about 14,500 miles, distributed over one million pieces of printed matter, and has been visited by about a million and a quarter of people. It has, during this time, traversed, more or less thoroughly, the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New York, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. As you are well aware, the most attractive part of our display in the car is the fruit exhibit from Washington and Oregon. Of course the car does very valuable work for other sections of the country, and also for our passenger department, but unquestionably the one feature of it which appeals most powerfully to the eye of the ordinary visitor is the beautiful exhibit of fruit in bottles; and in many parts of the country where North Dakota or some other state nearer home has been the objective point of emigration up to the time our car arrived on the scene, the sight of our Oregon and Washington display has awakened a sentiment in favor of the Western country among those who have the means of getting there, which is bound to result in a large influx of settlers into the North Pacific states. Another fact to be borne in mind is that in the central states Southern railroads have been hard at work, and a car devoted to the interests of Florida has traversed a good deal of the country which we have covered; and had we not had something of this sort in the field, this other section of the country would have had it all its own way among those who desired to locate in a region where they could grow fruit. I think, therefore, that you cannot very well overstate to the convention the advantages which the states of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon have derived from the advertising which our product car has given them.'

It seems to a casual observer that very little interest has been manifested here in grape culture and grape product. This industry is rapid in its growth in California, and it is to be hoped that interest may be aroused here now. The Northern Pacific Railway Company will offer some small prizes to help set it in motion, and I have no doubt your representatives may succeed in having more valuable premiums provided by each state at the next sessions of the legislature. When your wine reaches a good standard in quality, it will be used on the dining cars of the Northern Pacific.

Here Mr. Moore read the following letter from J. M. Hannaford, general traffic manager of the Northern Pacific Railway Company:

'Referring to our conversation of a few days since in regard to an attempt to encourage the cultivation of grapes and the manufacture of wine in states contiguous to our line, I understand you are arranging to be present at the meeting of the Fruit Growers' Association, to be held some time in January. I suggest, if you can interest this body in our scheme, that you, in connection with their executive committee, or a committee to be appointed, offer four prizes, two first and two second, for the best samples of sweet and sour wines manufactured from grapes grown in the territory described above; these first premiums to consist of round-trip tickets to Eastern terminals and second prizes of round-trip tickets to the Pacific Coast, or some point, so that the transportation contributed will be about half that of the first premium. I leave you to arrange details. Probably it is not practicable, but of this you can assure yourself after you discuss the matter with our Western friends.'