YAKIMA VALLEY FRUIT 
holders’ only interest is to do a maximum 
of business at a maximum of profit— 
which means a maximum charge to 
growers, modified only by the necessity 
of making the charge low enough to se- 
cure the business. The stockholders’ in- 
terests and the shippers’ interests are 
not and cannot be made to be anything 
other than essentially antagonistic. Ex- 
perience has shown that it is practically 
impossible to remedy this condition by 
any system of stock control or limitation. 
A right start may be made in a growers’ 
stock organization but the _ shifting 
chances of time will soon bring in a con- 
dition where combinations of stockhold- 
ers can control the corporation against 
the interests of the growers, and the very 
common spectacle will be exhibited of 
a growers’ co-operative organization con- 
trolled by non-growers. By making the 
basis the man with his tonnage and not 
dollars invested in stock all these diffi- 
culties are avoided. 
Non-Profit Making 
The association cannot do business at 
a profit. Under the terms of its charter 
it must perform its services for the 
grower at cost. Its charges for any sea- 
son must be based upon the necessities 
of the budget for that season, and if any 
surplus remain at the close of the year, 
it must be returned to the members. This 
assures the growers a sales-service at 
cost, removes the temptation to build up 
a large surplus in the organization by 
making excessive charges and makes it 
impossible for the association to perform 
services for non-members or to go into 
a general mercantile business to the pos- 
sible endangering of its legitimate pur- 
poses. 
Membership 
Any person who is the owner or lessee 
of lands set to any kind of merchantable 
fruits is eligible to membership upon 
complying with two conditions: 1st, sign- 
ing a contract for the marketing of his 
fruit, which will be referred to again 
more in detail; and, 2nd, paying or bind- 
ing himself to pay the membership fee. 
A certificate is issued to each member 
which is not transferable except to a 
GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION 
1285 
lessee or grantee of the land owned by 
the member and described in his crop 
contract. It can, therefore, at the option 
of the member, “go with the land” or fol- 
low him and attach to other land of 
which he may become the owner or lessee. 
If he sells to another member, the cer- 
tificate may be turned into the associa- 
tion and reissued to the next grower 
applying for membership, the member- 
ship fee to be turned over to the retiring 
member. In case a member ceases to be 
a grower, his certificate may be can- 
celled. 
The certificate entitles the member to 
all the privileges of the association so 
long as his crop contract continues in 
force. Should he withhold his crop from 
the association for any reason, he loses 
his right to any and all privileges of the 
association, but can afterwards renew his 
contract and be restored to the enjoy- 
ment of privileges upon the basis of the 
same certificate and fee. 
Membership Fee 
Every member pays a membership fee 
of $100. In what manner this is paid 
rests entirely in the hands of the district 
associations; it may be paid in cash, se- 
cured by notes payable as suits the con- 
ditions of the growers, or by making a 
percentage deduction from the member’s 
crop returns; the plan is very flexible 
and admits of adjustment to the peculiar 
conditions of each district and individual. 
These membership fees are usually de- 
voted by the districts to providing local 
warehouse facilities. 
Crop Contract 
This is a tripartite agreement between 
the grower, his district association and 
the association. By it the grower agrees 
to market all his fruit grown on the land 
described in the contract through the 
association, and agrees to pay for market- 
ing, loading and such selling charges and 
commissions aS may be necessary in or- 
der to meet expenses. The contract is 
perpetual and continues from year to 
year unless cancelled by the grower on 
March ist of any year, after giving twen- 
ty days’ notice in writing of his inten- 
