202 Cooperation in Agriculture 



jobbers as well. A recent canvass of the fruit commission 

 merchants in one of the large cities developed but one who 

 was not a dealer in the products which he was handling 

 for other people. 



The Auction Company. An auction company is 

 formed to sell produce for the owner or his representative 

 to the jobber, or to the retail trade, the buyers purchasing 

 it in open competition. The auction companies may be 

 organized independently, but are usually formed by mem- 

 bers of the trade. The auction company may be located 

 at the shipping point, or in the cities to which the produce 

 is shipped. Nearly all imported fruit is sold at auction 

 at the point of entry, and a great deal of the fruit of the 

 Pacific coast is sold in this manner in many of the larger 

 cities. The owner of the fruit is charged from one and 

 one-half to five per cent on the gross sales. The auction 

 company, like the commission merchant, acts as an agent 

 for the owner of the fruit or for his agent. The former 

 sells to a large number of buyers through public sale, the 

 latter to a few buyers usually at private sale. The auc- 

 tion company may also be a dealer in the products which 

 it sells for its patrons. It may be engaged, either directly 

 or indirectly, in financing its clients, in handling the prod- 

 ucts on joint account with its patrons, or in the purchase 

 of products to be sold in competition with those of its 

 clients. Many of the auction companies are formed by 

 members of the trade who may either sell the fruit to 

 themselves, thereby making an extra profit for themselves 

 through the sales, or the company may be an open auction 

 and sell to all buyers. In some companies the firms who 

 are the stockholders act as agents in that market in han- 



