112 PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-THIRD FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



among speculative shippers, and owing to the disasters that beset the 

 growers in the marketing of their product individually, and encouraged 

 largely by the experience of a few growers who had united in associa- 

 tions, a convention of the growers themselves was held in Los Angeles, 

 on the 4th day of April, 1893, the purpose of the meeting being: "To 

 provide for the marketing of all the citrus fruits at the least possible 

 cost under uniform methods and in a manner to secure to each grower 

 a certain marketing of his fruit and the full average price to be 

 obtained in the market for the entire season." 



Immediately following this convention, organizations of associations 

 and district exchanges were effected in all the principal citrus fruit 

 districts, the associations for packing, and the district exchanges for 

 marketing, which was done at first through an executive committee com- 

 posed of one member from each district. This plan was followed for 

 two years, but on October 21, 1895, the Fruit Exchange was incorpo- 

 rated, since which date the marketing of all the fruit controlled by 

 the various district exchanges and associations has been exclusively in 

 the hands of the Southern California Fruit Exchange, or its successor, 

 the California Fruit- Growers' Fruit Exchange, except during the 

 period of seventeen months from April 1, 1903, to August 31, 1904, 

 during which time the Exchange interests combined with various spec- 

 ulative and non-Exchange interests, under the name of the California 

 Fruit Agency. The net results obtained during the agency were not 

 satisfactory to the growers, and on September 1, 1904, the Exchange 

 resumed the sale of the fruit it controlled independently of any 

 other factor. 



The Agency period proved conclusively that the interests of the 

 growers themselves do not readily harmonize with speculative inter- 

 ests, and that in order to achieve the most complete success obtainable 

 the growers must themselves handle their own marketing operations. 



The principle of the Exchange lies in each member being entitled to 

 furnish his pro rata share of the fruit for shipment to the various 

 markets of the country, giving every grower the opportunity to ship 

 his proportion of the fruit from day 'to day and week to week, and an 

 opportunity to obtain his fair share of the average price of all markets 

 during the year. All books and accounts are open to the inspection of 

 each member, the whole basis of the Exchange being one of cooperation. 



Growers near each other, who so elect, unite in packing their fruit, 

 own their brands, arid make such rules as they see fit for grading and 

 conducting their business up to the time of shipment. Usually these 

 organizations of growers own their packing-houses, although in some 

 instances the packing-houses are rented. Every member is given a like 

 privilege to pick fruit and every grower's fruit is separated into differ- 

 ent grades according to the quality, weighed, and thereafter usually 



