FORTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT. 147 



salaries on years of low yields. The commission must be sufficiently 

 liigii so that in making up for years of low yields, the commission 

 amounts to rather large sums in years of good crop. This gives the 

 impression that the salesmen are getting more compensation than their 

 earning ca]>acity would justify and usually creates much dissatisfaction. 

 The most formidable criticism of the commission plan, is that it sets up 

 an interest which may very easily become opposed to the interest of 

 the grower. While these salesmen may be honest and conscientious they 

 are also human and may be expected to protect what they consider their 

 own interest. A hypothetical case clarifying the point is as follows : — 

 ''The St. Joseph Michigan Fruit Association has on hand a large number 

 of unsold cars which they are unable to move at the prevailing quota- 

 tions. Another organization of standing has more orders than they 

 can supply. Would it be reasonable to expect that the North American 

 Fruit Exchange would sacrifice its commission in turning over these 

 cars to another organization and thereby maintaining the market? The 

 interest of the North American in this case would be diametrically op- 

 ])osed to that of the growers. If that selling agency had been on a 

 salary basis, the interest of the. grower would have been the only con- 

 sideration," 



The handling of supplies inde])endent of the organizations may be dis- 

 a])]>r<»\ed for similar reasons. These practices are further objectionable 

 as building up a possible barrier to future progress along association 

 lines, it being very evident that well established interests would oppose 

 any innovation that miglit distui1> those interests. 



Cooperative organizations ought to be formulated on a broad con- 

 structive basis and all employees or agents should be directly re- 

 si>onsible to the grower and no interest or activity should be allowed to 

 interfere with that responsibility. Attention is here directed to the bet- 

 ter organ iziatious and absolutely no criticism is aimed at the personnel of 

 their management. 



In the progress of cooperative organizations, farmers soon find that a 

 single independent association, controlling a relatively small output, 

 has only a limited usefulness. While it may attack all the problems bet- 

 ter than the individual farmer, it has neither capital or resources sufficient 

 to develop a comprehensive marketing system. All the problems affect- 

 ing the industry in a larger way being entirely beyond its reach. It 

 finds itself practically at the mercy of outside buyers who stimulate the 

 cut-throat competition which normally arises between local associations 

 and si)eculators. 



The first successful effort in uniting local organizations took place in 

 ^''anI?uren county and consisted of the so-called ''arbiter" system, the 

 jmrpose of which was to overcome undue competition. It was a very 

 modest step and consisted in reporting sales and cars on track to an ar- 

 biter with an agreement not to cut prices without notice to the arbiter, 

 who in turn notified the other units. The extension of this arbiter sys- 

 tem to Berrien county was about the only accomplishment of last year's 

 effort in the direction of federation. The arrangement worked out very 

 well last season and although it was in some respects a gentlemen's 

 agreement, there were no complaints about violation of the requirement. 

 It, no doubt, did considerable good in the way of stablizing the market. 

 It was especially beneficial in showing the weakness of the present sys- 



