President Jimmy Carter -3 February 23, 1977 Newlin Township Supervisors. Our family believes that hard work is worth while and believe in keeping our nation strong. One member of our family experienced not living with such human dignity, as is offered to every American citizen, that individual is my Grandfather who is a naturalized citizen who immigrated from Italy. Enclosed is an article that was printed in the Pennsylvania Packer magazine about my family and our operation Please excuse the fact that the pictures did not copy very well As a result of not having our markets, P. Mastrippolito & Sons, Inc took a $350,000 loan from S.B.A. on May 5, 1975 We also borrowed $140. 000 from the National Bank and Trust Company of Kennett Square before the loan from S.B.A was taken. Before the accelerated market take over of imported canned mushrooms. P. Mastrippolito & Sons, Inc. had a very small mortgage of $30,000. We have not paid any of the S.B.A. loan back and have been given extensions of loan repayment by S.B A All of the money that was borrowed that is mentioned above was used to pay off creditors as P. Mastrippolito & Sons, Inc. was not able to because of the 16 year history of imports involved with our Domestic Market takeover. The worst years being the last four The Domestic Mushroom Industry including P. Mastrippolito & Sons, Inc. cannot borrow prosperity and cannot maintain the interest on such enlarged debts. We must produce prosperity and use our sales in a competitive market as the major tool for our subsistance. My family and I have new hope in our new President. Your tendering a just solution to this complex problem is needed. Please permit the Domestic Mushroom Industry a chance to utilize the recommendations of the United States International Trade Commission for the hearings held in January of 1977. Please permit me to speak with you personally about this matter. The personal contact would be very much appreciated and I would be honored. If I am not able to speak with you in person, please respond to my letter. NMJR/kjr Enc: 2 Sincerely, P. Mastrippolito & Sons, Inc. Nick Mastupi top. Nick Mastrippolito, Jr. Thank you for your phone call today, February 17, 1976, inquiring about the prices of our canned mushrooms. I request that you call Goodwin Brokerage Company and place your order with them at this phone number 804/288-4789. During our telephone conversation, you informed me that you had been buying imports and at present they were not available. I related to you that there is a shortage of canned mushrooms at present. After our conversation you were probably wondering why there is such a shortage of mushrooms. The reason is that our present federal policy is free trade. Many people get free trade confused with free enterprise The Asian countries are able to ship mushrooms to this country with minimum tariff, and this has caused the imported product to capture 38% of the U.S. Market. It also has a drastic affect on free enterprise as it does not permit competition in the market place. The reason is that the imported product is sold for much lower than the domestic industry, weakened by the imports, is not able to meet the needs of our nation. You see, the average Korean or Taiwanese works for less than 10¢ per hour. In this case, free trade is another word for exploitation of Asian labor at the expense of the U.S. worker and Industry. Another reason there is a shortage, is that we have an election year coming up. The importers are cautious as not to upset anything -2 and make the cocastic industry appear to have its problems under wraps, that can be dre especially when the importer controls 38% of the market These imports are controlled by very few people and enables the manipulatin, to take place The Domestic Mushroom Industry is able to supply the needs of our nation. if our federal polities would permit us to Until our federal government stop being a Hippocrate by saying that the U.S. should be self-supporting and their doing things that make us weakened and less than self-supporting, there has been and will be greater effects than just mushroom shortages I am sure you have seen on the television news pictures of farmers destroying calves and chicks in protest to economic factors These economic factors are being caused in the food industry greatly to the credit of our lack of good sense in the U.S Government I petition you and any buyers that may read this letter to conduct transactions as to support our nation and keep it strong regardless of the lack of support in government. You may ask yourself the question, after reading the above, what has the domestic mushroom industry done to help itself? Please see the enclosed copy of the front cover of a report sent to the president of the United States by the United States Tariff Commission in May of 1973 That report recommended that the Domestic Mushroom Industry receive some relief from imports. The president took no action to comply with the commissions recommendation At present the domestic mushroom industry made another plee for import relief on January 6, 1976 before the International Trade Commission The timeliness of the most recent petition, in my opinion has activated the importers strategy If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, P. Mastrippolito & Sons, Inc. NMJR/kjr Nick Mastrippolito, Jr Philip Mastrippolito (right) the founder of this company, and his son, Nick, are shown standing behind a tank containing mushroom stems and pieces before being canned under the well-known "Kay's" brand name. Mushroom Growing, Canning and Marketing the Mastrippolito Way HE second in our series of Pennsyl TH vania food processor stories is another "all in the family" type of article. It deals with one of Pennsylvania's most successful mushroom operations -successful because its owners are hard-working, determined, imaginative, and willing to take a chance. But let's start at the beginning. Philip Mastrippolito, Sr., now 75 years old and still going strong, came to this country from Italy when 15 years old. He lived with his uncle, working as a water boy on a Massachusetts railroad. He visited another uncle near Coatesville, liked the area and moved there to work in a quarry. The quarry job did not last 11 long, however, so he got a job with the Reading Railroad as a track walker and for seven years he lived in a boxcar and became assistant foreman. In the meantime, he was growing mushrooms "on the side," under the local schoolhouse, and marketing them fresh. One day while walking the tracks, he said to himself, "Enough of this!", so he kicked his lunch basket aside and set out to grow mushrooms on a larger scale and to be on his own. Philip had a partner, John Collier, who was ticket agent for the railroad, but John lost interest in the business, selling his share to Philip. PENNSYLVANIA PACKER |