Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (March 31, 1928)

Letter from Sydney Chase to Joshua Chase (March 31, 1928)

Chase Correspondence (March 31, 1928)

Chase, Sydney Octavius, 1860-1941

Chase, Joshua Coffin, 1858-1948

Citrus fruit industry--Florida

Penney, J. C.(James Cash), 1875-1971

Sanford (Fla.)

Orlando (Fla.)

Chase and Company (Sanford, Fla.)

An original letter of correspondence between brothers and business partners Sydney Octavius Chase and Joshua Coffin Chase. Topics discussed in the letter include Sydney's reaction to a Florida Times-Union article about agricultural businesses in Florida and how he disagrees with a "Mr. Penny" in establishing similarities between non-perishable and perishable items. The Mr. Penny mentioned in the letter is likely James C. Penney, the founder of the JCPenney department store. Penney also founded Penney Farms in 1924, an experimental farm located in Clay County, Florida. Chase &Company was established by the brothers in 1884. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales. Chase & Company was established by Joshua Chase and his brother Sydney in 1884. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales. Chase & Company was known mainly for its agricultural interests and maintained a series of citrus groves throughout Central Florida. The company was based out of Sanford and became one of the city's largest employers into the early twentieth century. By 1886, the Chase brothers purchased several citrus groves to expand their business, including Isleworth Grove.

Chase, Sydney Octavius

Original letter from Sydney Octavius Chase to Joshua Coffin Chase, March 31, 1928: Chase Collection (MS 14), box 3, folder 13.46, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

1928-03-31

Digital reproduction of original letter from Sydney Octavius Chase to Joshua Coffin Chase, March 31, 1928.

Chase Collection (MS 14), box 3, folder 13.46, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Citrus Collection, Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.

Folder referenced in Chase Collection finding guide, http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.

application/pdf

1,739 KB

1 page typewritten letter on Chase & Company letterhead

eng

Text

Sanford, Florida

Orlando, Florida

28.811729, -81.268138

28.538084, -81.378593

1928-03-31

Donation

SS.K.A.1.2; SS.1.A.1.1; SS.1.A.2.2; SS.1.A.2.4; SS.1.E.1.4; SS.2.A.1.1; SS.3.A.1.1; SS.4.A.1.1; SS.4.A.7.1; SS.4.E.1.1; SS.4.E.1.2; SS.5.A.1.1; SS.6.W.1.3; SS.7.E.2.4; SS.8.A.1.5; SS.8.E.2.1; SS.8.E.2.3; SS.912.A.1.1; SS.912.A.1.6; SS.912.A.5.4; SS.912.E.2.3; SS.912.W.1.3

History Teacher

Economics Teacher

Entire Chase Collection is comprised of four separate accessions from various donors, including Cecilia Johnson, the granddaughter of Joshua Coffin Chase and the children of Randall Chase.

The displayed collection item is housed at Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida to display this item for educational purposes only.

Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida

Marra, Katherine

"Sydney Chase Sr. (1860-1941)." Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Copyright 2012. http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=600.

The Unique Farm Project of James C. Penney. Green Cove Springs, Florida: The J.C. Penney-Gwinn Corporation Farms, 1927.

Warner, S.C. "Development of Marketing Citrus Fruits in Florida." Florida State Horticultural Society vol. 36 (1923): 198-200.

Hopkins, James T. Fifty Years of Citrus, the Florida Citrus Exchange: 1909-1959. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press: 1960.

"Sydney Chase Sr. (1860-1941)"

"Development of Marketing Citrus Fruits in Florida"

CHASE & COMPANY
GROWERS' MARKETING AGENTS
PACKERS AND SHIPPERS
FLORIDA FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

SANFORD, FLORIDA
March 31, 1928.

Mr. J.C. Chase,
Orlando, Fla.

Dear Josh:

When I returned to Sanford this afternoon I read the article in the Times Union setting forth Mr. Penny's plan for reorganizing the citrus and vegetable crops of Florida.
There are two conditions mentioned in the proposition which I think will make it impossible for him to ever become the head of such a marketing organization. The first is it had to be 100 per cent movement on the part of the growers and shippers. The next point which I noticed which was in real conflict with any governmental cooperation was that different officials and heads of the different departments should participate in the profits; they should all work for a small salary, and get a bonus at the end of each year. I have always understood that a cooperative organization was operated on a non-profit basis, simply covering actual expenses.
I know there are a couple of growers in the state who will not go in on the deal, and that is you and I. I prefer to stay on the outside.
Another thing, as I understand Penny's business he has been handling non-perishable merchandise. He has cooperated with himself and his employees, was enabled to sell cheaper than his competitors, and thereby make a small profit on volume sales.When you are handling perishables, which are similar in a sense to snowballs, you cannot function along the same lines which it would be safe to use when handling non-perishables.

Yours very truly,
S.O.C

DISTRIBUTORS
Sunniland
FRUITS A ND VEGETABLES
SOC:HMR.

1 page typewritten letter on Chase & Company letterhead