CHAPTER V 



CONSTITUTION OF THE CALIFORNIA CITRUS GROWERS' 



EXCHANGES 



After the election and at the close of the meeting the 

 newly elected board of directors customarily organizes for 

 business by choosing its officers. It is desirable to select 

 as president a man of tact who can preserve harmony among 

 the members, a man who is not too closely tied down to 

 the routine duties of his grove but who can spend consider- 

 able time in behalf of the association attending fruit 

 growers' meetings, attending the weekly meetings of the 

 California Fruit Growers Exchange in Los Angeles, and 

 generally being on the alert for new and improved methods 

 of growing and packing fruit. However, the choice of the 

 president is of slight importance as compared with the 

 chdice of the manager. Indeed, this is the biggest single 

 act which the board performs. 



The California citrus associations have avoided one peril 

 that has been the undoing of so many cooperative societies, 

 namely, the requirement or the custom that the manager 

 shall be a member. A free hand is given to the directors 

 and they secure the best manager that can be had, regardless 

 of whether he is a citrus grower. Sometimes a member 

 has had the business experience to fit him for the position 

 of manager, and then there is no prejudice to his selection, 

 but in general it seems to be more satisfactory to recognize 

 that producing citrus fruits and packing citrus fruits are 

 separate industries and that specialized skill for the latter 

 is most apt to be found outside the ranks of the orchardists. 



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