180 MODERN FRUIT MARKETING 



slow to evolve a working organization. There has been 

 two ways in which the management of exchanges has been 

 effected. The first and oldest was probably by mutual 

 agreement. The growers got together and agreed to do 

 so and so. They may have had a constitution and by- 

 laws but there were no particular restrictions against 

 their falling out or breaking away from those agree- 

 ments if conditions were in their favor and they so 

 desired. 



A recent experiment of this kind in one of the North- 

 ern states will illustrate the point: A fruit growers' 

 exchange was organized to handle apples primarily. 

 Two men owned a very large number of trees and these 

 constituted the bulk of their apple crop. One year 

 a buyer came in and made these two men a good offer 

 for their fruit on the trees, and they sold. When the 

 organization got ready to handle their business they 

 found that the bulk of the crop had already been bar- 

 gained for, hence the exchange was a failure. 



The present method, and the only one that has been 

 associated with a large measure of success, has been the 

 incorporation of the exchange under the laws of the 

 state. This gives the exchange a legal existence, it has 

 the protection of the state, and also throws around it 

 certain restrictions which are a big help to the producers. 

 Most all states provide for ways and means of incorpor- 

 ating both profit-sharing and non-profit sharing organ- 

 izations. The Secretary of State usually furnishes blanks 

 for this purpose, and records the articles of incorpora- 

 tion on books the same as a deed is recorded on the county 

 record books. 



The organization then becomes a responsible party ; it 



