178 MODERN FRUIT MARKETING 



Many of the fruit sections in each district became a 

 competitor of other sections, especially where the ship- 

 ments were large enough to interest buyers from outside 

 points. After some experimenting along this line it was 

 found necessary for the local organizations to get to- 

 gether and agree on the prices that they were to take 

 for their products. This was in no sense an organiza- 

 tion, but simply a mutual agreement. There was noth- 

 ing to bind this agreement except the word of honor 

 which, in many cases, did not last very long. Buyers 

 and jobbers soon became aware of this condition and 

 often went to unscrupulous means to get one exchange 

 to set its price and then almost compel the other local 

 organizations to fall in line. 



Later, it was found necessary to organize these locals 

 into a central exchange and handle the business, not 

 through each local office, but through a general man- 

 ager who represented all the exchanges. This, in some 

 cases, is known as the central organization, and in others, 

 as the district. Then further, where several states or 

 fruit-growing sections were involved, shipping to the 

 same market became again a question of competition 

 among these districts and further efforts were made to 

 get the districts together and form a central organiza- 

 tion. 



One California exchange has over 90 local organiza- 

 tions, at the present time, comprising nearly 8,000 mem- 

 bers. These local organizations are combined into 15 

 district organizations and the district organizations 

 again combined into one central exchange. This same 

 plan is followed out by another set of distributors. A 

 large number of local exchanges have formed together 



