502 CALIFORNIA FRUIT SOCIETIES. 



out of it,* and this they desired to prevent at all hazards; 

 others believed that the ends of the Exchange could be accom- 

 plished for far less money than the budget of the manager 

 proposed, and with no ill will to him, or question of his 

 honesty or ability, desired some one of a more economical turn 

 of mind; and feeling as they did, it was wisest to give them 

 an opportunity to show what could be done with small 

 expenditure. The result was as expected, that they did 

 nothing. 



This feeling of some growers toward the manager of the 

 Exchange and his plans very well illustrates the unwilling- 

 ness of farmers to permit those serving them cooperatively to 

 receive for their services any such compensation as competitive 

 business offers for similar services; it also, possibly, shows the 

 unwisdom of making any trained business man a responsible, 

 salaried officer of a cooperative society at its beginning. An 



*It seems impossible for the majority of farmers to believe that any one will 

 actively promote cooperative movements except with the intent to profit by 

 them. As a matter of fact, promotion of such work is always largely altruistic. 

 In California, those engaged in it, if they devote their entire time, expect their 

 expenses and a small salary to compensate them for the neglect of their own 

 business. In this case the temporary manager was a person in fairly comfort- 

 able circumstances who neither sought nor desired the employment, and stipu- 

 lated from the first that he would serve only until the right man appeared to 

 go on with the work. This fact was publicly stated upon all proper occasions, 

 partly in hopes that the announcement would bring out the right man, and 

 partly to allay the suspicions of personal interest which were fully anticipated. 

 It would not do. Members of the trade who were adverse to the movement 

 circulated lies about the president and manager, which were generally believed, 

 because these officers were necessarily personally unknown to the majority of 

 the fruit-growers. As a matter of fact the president devoted a large part of his 

 time for a year to the Exchange, paying even his personal expenses, with, as 

 events proved, very severe loss from neglect of his own business. The manager 

 did Jiot lose so much because he had not so much to lose, but his neglect of his 

 own attairs resulted quite seriously to him. Neither of these gentlemen have 

 since had anything to do with cooperative work, except merely to cooperate, 

 and probably neither could be induced to again accept responsibilitj' in business 

 cooperation of an important nature. Of course this is not the stuft" that great 

 cooperators are made of, but it is the stuff that int)st liiiinan beings are madeof. 

 Suspicion and ingratitude deprive the public of nuicli service which would be 

 gladly rendered by those who, while altruistic, arc not altruistic enough to 

 patiently endure much bad usage. 



