SELLING AGENCIES 193 



These are variously enumerated, but the following would 

 represent the more common of these subdepartments : 

 (1) Statistical. (2) Traffic. (3) Legal. (4) Field or- 

 ganization. (5) Advertising. (6) Selling. (7) Pur- 

 chasing. In the smaller exchanges these, of course, are 

 collected together and often one man will handle two or 

 three departments, but as the business increases each 

 one becomes an independent department in itself, subject 

 only to the supervision of the general manager. 



The statistical department looks after the collecting of 

 information, largely from the producing end. It gathers 

 figures regarding the acres in fruit, number and kind 

 of varieties and general facts that might be of interest 

 either to the grower or to the management of the ex- 

 change. The traffic department looks after the move- 

 ments of the cars of fruit. It keeps records of the num- 

 bers and names of the cars and follows them through 

 to their destination. It also is instrumental in getting new 

 commodity rates. It files claims for over-charges or for 

 any carelessness due to the railroad's management. It 

 handles, as far as possible, claims filed against the or- 

 ganization and, in connection with the legal department, 

 looks after the claims brought by individuals against the 

 shipments which may be rejected. 



In a recent annual report of a Western exchange 

 occurs the following statement regarding the work of 

 the traffic department. ' ' The exchange has filed with the 

 railroad 6,626 claims for over-charge or damage to fruit 

 in transit 5,745 claims have been paid. And $180,428 

 has been returned to the shippers, the cost of which is 

 included in the selling expense at 4% cents a box." 

 This exchange did a business last year of 28,186 cars 



