The San Mateo item. (San Mateo City, Putnam County, Fla) 189?-19??, 1910-04-16
FARM
COOPERATION .
BY Milo Hastings.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. ID.

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in, Europe or Canada.
Our lag in this respect is probably
due to the Astounding optimism OF our
fourth-reader literature, which as
sures every boy of his opportunity
to become the owner Of great COM
mercial enterprise. Obviously the
lad with commercial ambitions will
not aspire to be the hireling of lot
OF farmers IL he has faith in his
chance to market the farmers prod
ucts and own the business himself.
Notwithstanding the handicap Of
American ideals and psychology,
farm. cooperation is successfully at
work in this country on a larger
scale than most of us realize.
One of the oldest and best estab.
lished examples of such cooperative
marketing is that of the citrus fruit
trade Of California There are sew
eral associations engaged in handling
the California fruit crop. The most
important of these is the California
Fruit Growers Exchange, which han
dies over half the orange crop-a
volume Of business amounting to
nearly twenty million dollars a year.
The Fruit Growers Exchange SUI.
pervises the packing, grading and
branding in the home country, the
shipping throughout the United
States, and, with representatives at
all leading markets, the sale to pri-
vate jobbers at the points Of con-
sumption.
Thus the single organization own.
ed by the producers performs the
functions which, with non-co-opera-
tive marketing, as in the case Of the
poultry products, represents three
distinct middlemen-namely, the
country grocer, the produce shipper
and the city commission man.
The expense OF marketing oranges
comparatively, excluding transporta-
ton, is cents a crate. The Elk
change claims a saving of 80 cents a
crate over the methods previously in
vogue.
The source of this large economy
is not only in the elimination OF for
mer profits, but OF former wastes.
Oranges are readily perishable; more
over, they are a product with which
the consumers appetite is soon cloy-
ed.
Under the individual system OF dis
tribution reported raise in the quo
tations Of a particular market meant
rush of fruit, glut, and oranges
forced upon a satiated public at
prices below the cost OF production.
On the other hand, a local famine
meant exorbitant prices to consumers
and scoop for jobbers and retail
ers, without q corresponding increase
in the returns to the producer.
The Exchange, by code telegraphy,
keeps In constant touch with every
market In the country and every car
OF fruit en- route. II the Chicago
market shows stagnation, a portion OF
the Chicago-bound fruit Is switched
at Kansas City and sent TO st. Louis
or routed on through to Cleveland.
In addition TO the 80 cents a crate
saved directly, the Exchange claims
a 8O-cent reduction in the profits of
city jobber and retailer. These deal
ers are now willing to work with a
smaller margin because OF an as
sured regular supply OF sound fruit,
which. under the combined educative
influences OF the Exchange and the
United States Department OF Agri-
culture, has replaced the bruised and
decayfng product OF a generation ago.
A single striking proof that CO.
operation Is an eficient business
methof Is found In the fact that OF
81, 100000 worth OF fruit sold In three
years only 1891 was lost on bad debts