The Seattle Star Newspaper, June 24, 1920, Page 8

THE SEATTLE STAR EA TL THE NATION’S APPLE CAPITAL HE 1919-1920 apple season just closing finds ’ REGINALD H. PARSONS President Northwestern Fruit Exchange, Owner of the Famous Hillcrest Or- chards of Medford, Ore. the State of Washington leading every other state in the Union in the total volume of its com- mercial apple crop. | te _ shipped almost 20,000 car loads, or approximately — In round figures this state 16,000,000 bushels, returning net to growers at shipping points in all parts of the Northwest a total amount in excess of thirty millions of dollars. Even this large sum does not represent the total economic value of the crop, as large additional income is derived by. the sal- vage of cull apples and their conversion into by-products, the manufacture and sale of which, from this state, is coming to constitute an important industry in itself. . Washington Leads the Country in Apple Production Seattle, as the state’s largest city, is the logical headquarters for this apple industry because it is the headquarters of the fi- nancial and transportation interests which are so vitally neces- sary to the growth of this industry. Seattle as the world’s great- est harbor in the years to come as soon as refrigerator space on steamship lines is available, should take a first position as an ex- ‘ port port for apples. Australia and all the various Asiatic points reached from here should be an ever increasing market for Northwestern apples. Seattle is also the home office of the Northwestern Fruit Exchange. The Exchange is the world’s largest distributor of boxed apples, and its nationally adver- tised brand “SKOOKUM” is well known in all of the consuming markets of the country. Last year the Northwest Fruit Ex- change passed through the banks of Seattle nearly seven mil- — lions of dollars received from the sale of car loads of North- western apples in various sections of the country. The Exchange _ has 140 resident salesmen in the principal markets of the United States and Canada, and is in daily contagt with these men by means of telegraphic sérvice, Incidentally, the Exchange is one of Seattle’s largest users of this telegraphic service, and as ex- port conditions clear up it will undoubtedly be extensive users of cable service with foreign countries. It is interesting to note that although not as near to some of the apple producing sections of the Northwest as other cities, yet Seattle has advantages which more than offset the matter of distance. The Yakima and Wenatchee Valleys produce most of the commercial apple crop of this state, and Seattle as head- quarters furnishes not only the marketing machinery for a large part of this crop, but also the necessary financial assistance and a large percentage of supplies; such as paper, nails, etc. NORTHWEST INDUSTRIAL EDUCATIONAL BUREAU