PROCEEDINGS OF NINETEENTH FRUIT GROWERS' CONVENTION. 99 



tion, as expressed several times over, should be carried into effect. I 

 trust, my friends, that we shall proceed now to do this or something else 

 immediately. 



Mr. Adams: I did not intend to discuss this matter at all, but in the 

 absence of Mr. Walton, I will give an account of the workings of the 

 organization already in existence in Santa Clara County. Upon the 

 organization of the State exchange, we proceeded at once to the organiza- 

 tion of local exchanges, that being the first duty we had to do. As the 

 result of a year's work, a large number of local exchanges were formed, 

 and about the last of February, or possibly January, a convention of the 

 local exchanges was called. In order to do this, we had to form an incor- 

 poration under the laws of the State of California. There was a full meet- 

 ing of all the exchanges, some of them very large. Three days, I believe, 

 were spent in San Francisco, in discussing and adopting plans of pro- 

 cedure. The result of that meeting was the formulation of a definite 

 plan of procedure, and the substance of that plan was this: There were 

 certain things to do. The first thing was to get money; and the next, 

 what could be best done by cooperation? The local exchanges could 

 communicate with each other by bulletins, and by the same methods 

 that business houses use. Thus, they could know exactly what was go- 

 ing on. Under the plan adopted there, Mr. Thompson's exchange would 

 know exactly what Mr. Righter's exchange would do, just what was on 

 hand there, what the asking prices were, and in that way enable the 

 cooperative societies in all parts of the State to know the facts and all 

 work together. It was proposed that all the agents of all the existing 

 exchanges should be the agents of the State exchange, and of such other 

 exchanges as may be found necessary. Through the medium of Eastern 

 agencies, correct information in regard to the crops both in the United 

 States and in foreign countries could be constantly obtained, and be dis- 

 tributed through the State exchange to local exchanges. Having a 

 good agent in every market of the East, we could push our sales every- 

 where at the best prices, avoiding superfluous middlemen, monopolies, 

 and high-priced auctioneers. 



It was proposed that every individual who desired should be able to 

 sell on precisely the same terms. The cooperative movement is gradu- 

 ally gaining in many localities of the State. We have figures on the 

 benefits which would be derived from membership in the exchange, and 

 what it would cost the growers. It would cost about one quarter of 1 

 per cent of their annual output. The method of operation is this: We 

 take one quarter of 1 per cent of your output for the coming year in 

 return for the advantages of membership. They would pay back about 

 half of that in advance — a quarter, if necessary. This year the large 

 fruit-growers of the State will cooperate strongly. It is the large fruit- 

 growers of the State who will have to spend the money. 



Now, the Scandinavian market is an important market. The Ger- 

 man market is an important one, and so is the English. It would pay 

 us to send competent men there to open them up to California products; 

 but, in order to do those things, it costs money. Have confidence in 

 each other, and you will discover that it is profitable to spend $100,000 

 a year for this purpose, and, I think, an expenditure like that will make 

 $500,000 a wise expenditure. Business men spend a great deal of money 

 in increasing the sales of their products. They put out their money as 

 their judgment may dictate, trusting to get it back again with interest. 



