Letter from Randall Chase to Sydney Chase, Joshua Chase, and Sydney Chase, Jr. (December 28, 1936)

Letter from Randall Chase to Sydney Chase, Joshua Chase, and Sydney Chase, Jr. (December 28, 1936)

Chase Correspondence (December 28, 1936)

Chase, Sydney Octavius, 1860-1941

Chase, Joshua Coffin, 1858-1948

Lakeland (Fla.)

Citrus--Florida

Grapefruit

Chase and Company (Sanford, Fla.)

An original letter of correspondence written by Randall Chase to his father and Chase & Company business partner Sydney Chase. The letter discusses the troubles the Florida citrus industry faced in 1936 in selling grapefruit to its fullest potential. Randall Chase participated in a meeting where citrus growers identified the production and merchandising issues they faced when selling grapefruit. In that same year, a W .C. Daniells of Eustis wrote an article entitled, "The Plight of Grapefruit." In the article, Daniells stressed citrus growers and producers in Florida to start advertising the importance of grapefruit to a healthy life.

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 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. Randall Chase joined in the family business soon after his brother, Sydney Chase, Jr., did in 1922. Randall became the president of Chase & Company from 1948-1965.

Chase, Randall

Original letter from Randall Chase to Sydney Chase, Joshua Chase, and Sydney Chase, Jr., December 28, 1936: Chase Collection (MS 14), box 3, folder 13.48, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

1936-12-28

Digital reproduction of original letter from Randall Chase to Sydney Chase, Joshua Chase, and Sydney Chase, Jr., December 28, 1936.

Chase Collection (MS 14), box 3, folder 13.48, 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

453 KB

2 page typrwritten letter on Chase & Company letterhead

eng

Text

Sanford, Florida

Lakeland, Florida

Lake Wales, Florida

Leesburg, Florida

Tallahasse, Florida

Washington, D.C.

28.811729, -81.268138

28.044035, -81.954281

27.901563, -81.586513

28.809848, -81.880399

30.441085, -84.284550

38.907223, -77.038952

1936-12-26/1937-01-12

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.7.2; 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.5.11; SS.912.A.5.12; SS.912.E.1.5; SS.912.E.2.12; SS.912.E.2.3; SS.912.W.1.3; SS.912.W.7.4

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

Digital Collections (UFDC), University of Florida

Marra, Katherine

Daniells, W.C. "The Plight of Grapefruit." Florida State Horticultural Society, vol. 49 (1936): 97-103.

"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.

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

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

"The Plight of Grapefruit"

"Sydney Chase Sr. (1860-1941)"

"Development of Marketing Citrus Fruits in Florida"

CHASE & CO.
SANFORD, FLORIDA
December 28, 196.
Mr. S. 0. Chase Mr. J. C. Chase
Mr. S. 0. Chase Jr.
Gentlemen:
Saturday, at the telegraphic request of Mr. C. H. Walker, I attended a meeting at the Lakeland Terrace of several growers and shippers interested in
the grapefruit situation. Among those present were:
H. C. Babcock
John Snively
L. Maxey
Fred Davis
Gunn, or the Lake Wales Assn.
Fowler
Vet. Brown
Pringle, of Leesburg
Fender, of the A.F.G.
A representative of W. J. Howey, whose name I
do not recall.
Mossherger of the State Chamber of Commerce.
Gnunne, also of the State Chamber of Commerce
and Marketing Bureau.
As might be expected, Snively dominated the talk with a lot of his school boy ideas. We convened shortly after ten o'clock, and a little after twelve adjourned with the following plan to be put into effect.
A Committee, consisting of John Rust, C. H. Walker and A. M. Pratt are to contact the chain buyers to ascertain how many cars of grapefruit for each prorate period they estimate they could use. These three men would then add to it the estimated amount sold thru other sources. The Control Committee will be requested to pro¬rate the total amount of grapefruit estimated to be used. The chains expect to put on an advertising campaign, start¬ing January 12, and want to be sure they can get supplies after they are advertised. The chains feel it would be a mistake to put the price up too high, but feel they could get from 20 cents to 45 cents a box more than is now being paid without curtailing the consumption.
CHASE & CO
SANFORD. FLORIDA
#2. December 28, 1936
The chains are no operating approximately 53,000 stores. Then they start the grapefruit advertising campaign they advise they are willing to handle grapefruit on the basis of 15%.
At first there was a good deal of criticism in the direction of the present Control Committee, but before adjourning everyone felt that the Control Committee had a terrifically difficult job, nobody wanted to trade places with them, and they concurred that the present Control Committee was as good machinery to work with for a plan of control and merchandising as could be had.
Confidentially, I saw Mr. Kirkland and Mr. John Clark for a few minutes after the grapefruit meeting adjourned. They advise they fear that injunction proceedings may he filed at any time by some of the smaller disgruntled shippers, because they cannot get prorates enough to operate their
houses as fast as they would like. If an injunction is
filed they hope ti get it thru the courts in about two weeks.
Apparently the A.A.A. officials in Washington are backing up the present Control Committee, end the A.A.A. will handle the matter of prosecution on matters of over—shipments, and any other flagrant violation of regulations.
In talking with Maxcy about the present prices on canned grapefruit he gave me the impression that an attempt is being made by some operators to stifle or smother out some smaller canneries which are attempting to start in business. The larger canners feel if they will sell cheap enough for a long enough period it will discourage or break some of the smaller operators. In the meantime the grower is paying the bill.
Yours very truly,
RC

2 page typrwritten letter on Chase & Company letterhead