MARKETING 



321 



attached to each barrel or box if the shipment is small, or the car or 

 several cars may be consigned outright to one commission house. 

 So much swindling has been done by certain commission men 

 that as a class they have come into general disfavor, and often 

 unjustly. Commission men are human ; some are honest and 

 others are not. Many times the growers are at fault. They think 

 they have handled their product well, but it arrives at the market 

 in a deplorable condition, and the commission man is blamed for 

 the low price. A great deal of thanks is due the commission men, 



Fig. 146. Selling at auction 



The auction room of the Erie Railroad, where thousands of dollars' worth of apples and 

 other fruit are sold annually 



for in many localities the fruit industry owes its growth to their 

 efforts, and it will be a long time before we can dispense with 

 them entirely, if indeed we ever can. However, it is true that the 

 commission business is so conducted that there is ample oppor- 

 tunity for swindling. The grower must rely entirely on the honesty 

 of the commission man, who can easily return fake accounts. 

 Only in those cases where the fruit is bought outright for cash is 

 there assurance against fraud. It is no wonder, then, that much 

 swindling is done, and as a result the whole family of commission 

 men must bear the stigma. It is largely their own fault, however, 

 for often they conduct their business on the plan that if there is 



