Part II.] STATE BUREAU OF MARKETS. 127 



of Michigan fixed the price of beans, the result of the meeting 

 was immediately telegraphed by the director of markets in 

 Michigan to the director in Idaho, and from there conveyed at 

 once to the bean growers of that State, with the result that the 

 price of beans in Idaho rose $2 per bushel in one day. This 

 year the Idaho apple crop was very short, and whereas Idaho 

 usually exports many carloads of apples, this year she was 

 obliged to import. The market bureau negotiated with the 

 apple associations of Washington and Oregon, and took general 

 charge of the importation and distribution of apples. 



California State Commission Market. 



California, whose marketing bureau is called a State commis- 

 sion market, instead of a State market commission, has been 

 very desirous of bringing together the various co-operative or- 

 ganizations of California into a conference which shall result in 

 the exchange of information regarding the markets to which 

 they are shipping their products. The California Fruit Growers' 

 Exchange ships oranges to many parts of the United States, and 

 has a very efficient distributing system, but perhaps 25 to 30 

 per cent of the oranges in California are not distributed through 

 the exchange. They are handled privately or by independent 

 co-operative societies. Mr. Weinstock has endeavored to bring 

 these organizations together in such a way that they will not 

 compete in the various markets of the United States, and will 

 guard against the oversupply or glutting of any market. 



This bureau also established a municipal fish market in San 

 Francisco for the purpose of distributing fish to the citizens 

 more cheaply than through the ordinary channels of trade. For 

 some time the price of fish was exceedingly low. Everybody 

 had all the fish he desired, and everybody was satisfied except 

 the fishmongers. But suddenly, for some unknown reason, the 

 municipal fish market was discontinued. The first and imme- 

 diate result was a dumping into San Francisco Bay of tons of 

 fish. Since that time fish have been higher, and fewer have 

 been distributed. 



In connection with the exchange conducted by the South 

 Carolina bureau of markets the commissioner keeps a card cat- 



