SOME ECONOMIC INTERESTS 125 



In Ireland and England cooperative buying and selling have 

 not yet reached the perfection they have in Denmark. Never- 

 theless, the Irish farmer has for some years been selling his 

 bacon, eggs and poultry on the markets of the world very suc- 

 cessfully because he has been shipping them through his local 

 cooperative societies. 



The United States has lagged somewhat behind in the matter 

 of cooperative endeavor among farmers; nevertheless, there are 

 some examples of very successful cooperation even in our own 

 country. Perhaps nowhere in the world is there a stronger sell- 

 ing organization than the California Fruit Growers' Exchange. 

 The Exchange has passed through various vicissitudes and has 

 met successfully the most serious opposition from railroads, com- 

 mission men and other opposing interests. It is now so strongly 

 entrenched in handling the citrus fruit of the Far West that it 

 is a mere truism to say that without it citrus fruit growing on 

 the Pacific Coast would be an utter failure. 



The Hood Kiver and other northwestern apple-shipping asso- 

 ciations have been almost as successful in marketing apples as 

 the citrus fruit men have in handling their California oranges. 

 The Hood River apple growers have a world-wide reputation for 

 neat and uniform packages of thoroughly dependable apples 

 which are absolutely guaranteed to the consumer. These apples 

 are packed by authorized inspectors and shipped by experts. 

 They are sold on the markets of the world by agents of the fruit 

 growers' association and all the returns for the apples go to the 

 grower after deducting the charges of transportation and the 

 services of agents employed* by the association itself. 



Moreover, the truck growers of the Atlantic Coast and the 

 Gulf region have made use of associated selling for some years. 

 The example of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Produce Exchange 

 is most worthy of imitation. Beginning a few years ago with a 

 number of disgruntled farmers who had been shipping their per- 

 ishable products individually to the markets of Philadelphia and 

 other cities, it has grown to be one of the strongest marketing 

 associations in the United States, doing millions of dollars worth 

 of business and putting upon the market products guaranteed by 

 the Exchange in which the commission men and retailers have 

 the utmost confidence. 



