Marketing Pecans 149 



and so the latter failed to secure results, for they were 

 put in open competition with producers of the same 

 commodity. This was the experience of the citrus fruit ex- 

 changes of California that finally forced them into organizing 

 the big California Fruit Growers' Exchange. Organization 

 on the principle of commodity is a broader conception than 

 on a community basis. Under this system all commodity 

 organizations handling the same commodity unite to form 

 one large association which recognizes the various community 

 associations as component parts. The field service of the 

 general association keeps all the local sections in touch with 

 each other and vdXh headquarters. Wherever the volume 

 of business warrants, the field service organizes new local 

 associations. 



The advantages of the organization of marketing by com- 

 modity are ob\dous. In the first place it eliminates destructive 

 competition ; secondly, it tends to stabilize the market. When 

 the general association controls a large percentage of the 

 commodity, there is little danger of glutting one market and 

 starving another ; consequently the price will run more evenly 

 and the demand will be steadier. When an association handles 

 a large percentage of the commodity, it attracts the most 

 influential type of buyers and can command the respect of 

 the business world and use to advantage the ordinary chan- 

 nels of trade that are not accessible to small business. In 

 addition, the larger the volume of business, the less in pro- 

 portion are the overhead expenses and the more able is the 

 association to hire experts in all necessary lines. 



Standardization of commodity. 



Another fundamental principle of successful cooperative 



