BENEFITS OF COOPERATION 185 



In all of these selling negotiations the district manager 

 is in more or less close consultation with the manager of 

 the association which owns the car. When the sale is con- 

 summated, the agent immediately collects the proceeds and 

 forwards the entire amount directly to the district exchange. 

 The district exchange retains a fixed sum a box to cover 

 its own expenses and those of the California Fruit Growers 

 Exchange and forwards the rest to the association, and at 

 the close of the pool the growers receive their due shares 

 according to the manner already described. 



From the nature of its business, dealing as it does in 

 commodities of interstate commerce and having relations 

 with transportation companies of all kinds, the exchange 

 system is constantly confronted with technical legal ques- 

 tions. For handling these the contract provides for the 

 creation of a legal department. It is the duty of this de- 

 partment to see that the exchange conforms to all national 

 and state statutes concerning interstate commerce, rela- 

 tions to labor, taxation, and similar matters. The depart- 

 ment also handles trademark infringements and stands 

 prepared to render legal advice to any association or dis- 

 trict exchange. As much of the work of this department 

 is carried on in connection with the Citrus Protective 

 League, further comment will be deferred until that or- 

 ganization is described. 



It is not particularly difficult to construct an elaborate 

 selling mechanism. Indeed the chief defect of our present 

 system of food distribution is that it is too elaborate. From 

 the foregoing account of the selling organization of the 

 California Fruit Growers Exchange one might wonder 

 whether any simplification has in reality been effected 

 through cooperation and whether the profits of the industry 

 are not largely dissipated in supporting a top-heavy and 

 expensive marketing service. "How much does it cost" 



