Handling, Distributing, and Sale of Fruit 245 



in what amount it shall ship; to what markets it shall 

 ship and the price it is willing to receive ; reserving the 

 right of free competition with all other shippers, including 

 other members of the same organization uncontrolled by 

 any one. The agent in the market acts directly under the 

 order of the shipper, who determines the price at which 

 each car shall be sold outside of the auction markets and 

 all other matters connected with its disposition, the Cali- 

 fornia Fruit-growers' Exchange acting as the medium 

 through which orders pass from the agent to the shipper, 

 but never selling a car or determining the price at which 

 it shall be sold. 



The exchange is a broadly democratic organization in 

 which the growers exercise control over all matters. The 

 membership in the exchange is voluntary; a grower may 

 withdraw from an association at the end of the year, an 

 association may withdraw from a district exchange, and a 

 district exchange may withdraw from the central exchange, 

 these relations being set forth in the various contracts 

 that hold the members together. There is no attempt 

 on the part of the central exchange to regulate shipments 

 or to influence prices. In this connection its function 

 ends in keeping the associations informed daily regarding 

 the shipments from California, the general movement and 

 market conditions in the different marketing points, and in 

 furnishing such other information as will allow the growers 

 through their associations and district exchanges to de- 

 cide these questions for themselves. One-third of the 

 entire shipment is sold in the auction markets, and the 

 remainder at other points through unrestricted competi- 

 tion. There is no uniformity in price hi the different 



