124 COOPERATIVE MARKETING 



This clause has reference to another important function 

 performed by the district exchange. The exchange repre- 

 sents the associations before the railroads and orders cars 

 as they are needed by the association manager. In former 

 years, a shortage of refrigerator cars was of quite frequent 

 occurrence at certain seasons, and it was sometimes , im- 

 possible for the district manager to secure the necessary 

 cars. If in some manner an enterprising association man- 

 ager located a few cars or was able to make some sales to 

 buyers who could furnish their own cars it was felt to be 

 unjust to forbid him to sell fruit just because the district 

 exchange was unable properly to perform its duties. Re- 

 cently little difficulty of this nature has arisen, the district 

 manager can obtain all the cars he desires, and the proviso 

 in question has lost much of its significance. 



One fundamental point of difiference between the pro- 

 cedure of the associations and that of the district exchange 

 is in regard to pooling. Within an association the fruit 

 of the members is usually pooled, but within the district 

 exchange the fruit of the member associations is never 

 pooled. Each association receives the prices which its 

 particular cars bring without any reference to what prices 

 cars of other associations in the same exchange are bring- 

 ing. The brands of the associations sell on their own 

 merits, and brands from two different associations are never 

 shipped in the same car. Again, let it be emphasized that 

 the district exchange acts only as an agent, that it owns 

 no fruit, and that it has no brands of its own. 



Again like the associations, the district exchange does 

 not attempt to retain its membership by compulsion. At 

 the end of any fruit year an association may inform the 

 district exchange that it withdraws from its obligations to 

 the exchange. While a member association can thus refuse 

 to avail itself of the facilities of the district exchange, the 



