Fruit Growers' Associations. 
5 
can be but small chance of failure under our conditions. But men 
who are capable of handling 500 to 1,500 cars of fruit at a good 
profit are not common, and when one is found, every effort should 
be made to retain him. One of the first things that should be 
done for the manager, when a capable one is found, is to give him 
a salary in proportion to the amount of business done and the re¬ 
sponsibility which must be carried. The latter item is certainly 
important when we consider that he may be responsible for a num¬ 
ber of car loads of a very perishable product, which are on the 
road at once. Then, too much supervision on the part of the 
board of directors, who usually have small knowledge of the busi¬ 
ness, only hampers the manager and restricts his personality. If 
he cannot make a success of the association in his own way, the 
advice or help of the directors will be of little use. A much better 
plan is to give the manager a fair chance to work out his own ideas, 
and then if he fails, try another. But right here is the cause of 
most of the failures; too much supervision by the directors and un¬ 
just criticism and fault finding on the part of the stockholders. 
A common source of discontent is the rumor that a neighbor 
in another association has received a higher price for his produce, 
or that an outside buyer is offering attractive prices. Unscrupulous 
firms frequently adopt the latter method of getting consignments 
only to swindle the grower. If there was not some decided advant¬ 
age in buying direct from the growers, these firms would not go to 
the expense of maintaining an agent in the field when just as good 
or better fruit could be had from the association. 
The association idea is no longer an experiment, and when 
each one does his share to maintain the reputation of the fruit, and 
the volume of business is sufficient to pay expenses, there is small 
chance of failure. The history of associations, the country over, 
shows that petty jealousies and distrust oh the part of the mem¬ 
bers is the common cause of failure. One writer has summed up 
the subject in the following terse sentences : 
“All classes of farmers are constitutionally and proverbially distrust¬ 
ful of other people and of one another. In a fruit association there arise 
(such is the experience) the most inveterate jealousies. Each man thinks 
he is furnishing- a better grade of fruit than his neighbor, though all share 
alike in the profits. Each one fears the other will reap some special ad¬ 
vantage somehow. In particular, the appointment of managers, superinten¬ 
dents, supervisors of grading, shipping agents, and all other officials of the 
company, offers a sufficient opportunity for the elaboration of all sorts of 
neighborhood quarrels. Each man thinks he ought to be manager, and 
when one man is finally chosen he is usually suspected of all sorts of 
favoritism. In any case'he is apt to be hampered in his business relations 
by committees, boards of directors, and various kinds of red tape and fool¬ 
ishness. Often he has to consult a committee before taking any important 
action. * * * 
“Another difficulty which arises from the same cause is that sub¬ 
scribers to such an association never want to pay a manager’s wages. Two 
or three dollars a day is considered good pay. Yet such a man is com- 
