486 CALIFORNIA FRUIT SOCIETIES. 



but certainly not sufficient to buy stationery. Another effort 

 was made, which brought the total up to $139, au amount 

 perhaps sufficient to pay the postage, printing, and stationery 

 bills, but leaving nothing for traveling expenses, much less 

 compensation for the gentleman whom they had asked to 

 conduct the organization, and who was one of their own 

 number, and, presumably, no better off than the rest. That 

 sum, however, .was perhaps the fair share of the few dele- 

 gates present, and the convention appointed a "finance com- 

 mittee" to procure the rest of the money, and went home. 

 The finance committee could raise no money, and then the 

 energetic organizer went to work and organized eleven local 

 societies, which, with a few large individual growers, met and 

 organized the Central Exchange, which began business on 

 June 23, 1898, and sold, during the year, for its members, 

 dried fruit to the amount of |63,721, the small sale being due 

 to a drought so severe as to practically destroy the crop, some of 

 the local associations not having a pound of fruit to dispose of 

 I mention the monetary details of these organizations for the 

 reason that they are seldom publicly spoken of, the farmers 

 aj)pearing to think that the funds for such work are supplied 

 as the Israelites were supplied with manna, which is distinctly 

 not tlie fact. If the Lord provides for such expenses, He does 

 it by inspiring with an altruistic spirit some capable man, 

 who goes down into his pockets and digs up tlie money. 

 Whether the organizer of these southern deciduous Exchanges 

 was ever reimbursed for his expenses, I do not know. I 

 presume he was. But if he had not succeeded he would not 

 have been, which would have been wrong. Those engaged 

 in an industry have no moral right to ask one of their number 

 to assume such a work without sharing the risk. Altruism 

 is properly displayed in behalf of really suffering Immanity, 

 but farmers with homes, and horses, and credit, and enough 

 to eat, ought not to ask charity of this kind. It must not be 

 thought that these farmers of southern California are worse 

 than others. On the contrary, that convention did more 

 towards raising money than any other I ever knew of, except 

 one, for which reason I select it for my principal illustration, 



