OUTLETS AND METHODS OF SALE FOR SHIPPERS. 15 
PRIVATE EXCHANGES. 
Private exchanges are stock companies, organized for profit, 
which distribute shipments, usually in car lots, for either individual 
growers or producers' organizations. They take charge of the goods 
before they are packed, and sell through salaried representatives or 
individual brokers in the large markets, subject to the growers' 
orders. Except that they are operated for profit rather than on a 
cooperative basis, they resemble very closely the cooperative asso- 
ciations in their distribution and sales methods. 
These exchanges charge either a straight brokerage or a percentage 
based upon contract. The charges vary with each transaction, con- 
sequently no general average can be given. In general, their charges 
will be found to be about the same as private brokerage charges, 
with an addition sufficient to cover the cost of any extra services 
which may be rendered. Large quantities of Northwestern apples, 
Michigan grapes, and California citrus fruits are handled by these 
exchanges. 
OPERATORS. 
Operators are large wholesale firms which send private buyers or 
solicitors into producing sections, and which, through representa- 
tives or branch houses in several large markets, afford a wide distri- 
bution for commodities purchased on their own account. Some of 
the firms which have handled a large part of the Colorado cantaloupe 
production in recent years may be termed operators. These firms 
performed the following functions: (1) They have advanced rent, 
irrigation expenses, crate materials, and other supplies; (2) super- 
intended the picking, grading, packing, and loading of the crop; (3) 
made further cash advances at the time of shipment; (4) distributed 
the crop. 
Operators buy in car lots, and in many cases they will handle the 
whole "deal" in a particular section, as was done with Colorado and 
California cantaloupes in the 1914 season. They attend to all of the 
details of advertising and marketing, and sell the fruit under their 
own wrappers and labels. The advances made vary with each 
transaction and depend upon how favorable a contract the grower 
is able to demand from the representatives of the operators. Canta- 
loupes in California and Colorado, tomatoes in Florida, and potatoes 
in Texas are handled, to a large extent, by these organizations. 
The producer who sells to operators is reasonably sure of a market, 
although he may have to accept low prices. - The low prices some- 
times offered by the firms acting in this capacity are perhaps justified 
by the fact that they assume large risks and heavy financial burdens, 
while the growers are relieved of all speculative worries. 
