Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-03-29
COOPERATION
MARKETING
OF PRODUCE
MILO HASTINGS WRITES IN THE
INLAND EMPIRE OF THE VAST
SAVING MADE BY THIS METH
OD.

The cooperative marketing Of
farm products is not as we'll devel-
oped in the United States as 1t is in
Europe or Canada.
Our lack in this respect is probab-
ly due to the abounding optimism
of our fourth-reader literature,
which assures every boy of hi OPP
portunity to become the owner of
great commercial enterprise. OBJ
viously the lad with commercial am
billions will not aspire to be the hire
ling of a lot of farmers If he has
faith in his chance to market the
farmers products and own the busi-
nes 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 in California. There are sew
eral associations handling the Cali
fornia fruit crop The most import
ant of these is the California Fruit
Growers Exchange, which handles
over half the orange crop--a volume
of business amounting to nearly
twenty million dollars a year.
The Fruit Growers Exchange sup
cruises 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-oper-
ative marketing, as in the case of
the poultry products, represents
three distinct middlemen-namely
the country grocer, the produce ship
per and the city commission man.
The expense of marketing oran-
ges co-operatively. excluding trans
portatiou, is cents n crate. The
exchange claims saving of so cents
crate over the methods previously
in vogue.
The source of this large economy
is not only in the elimination of for
mer middlemen's profits, but of for
mer wastes. Oranges are readily
perishable; moreover, they are a
product with which the consumers
appetite is soon cloyed.
Under the individual system of
distribution a reported raise in the
quotations of a particular market
meant a rush of fruit, a glut and
oranges forced on satiated public
at prices below the cost or produC-
tion. ON the other hand. a local
famine meant eNorbitant prices To
consumers and a scoop for iObberS
and retailers, without a correspond .
ing increase in the returns to the
producer
The exchange, by code telegraph, I
Keep In constant touch with every
market in the country and every cas- I
of fruit en- route. IL the Chicago
market shows stagnation, portion .
OF the Chicago-bound fruit is switch /
ed AT Kansas City and sent To 81 1
Louis or routed on through to Cleve- 7
land
In addition 20 the so cents crate .
saved directly, the exchange claims
a SO-cent reduction In the profits of
city iohber and retailer, These
dealers are now willing to work for
a smaller margin because OF an as
sured regular supply Of sound fruit.
which, urder the combined educat
i've influences of the exchange and .
the United States department OF ag-
riculWre, has replaced the bruised .
and decaying product of genera
lion ago.
A single striking proof that cO-op-
Grafton Is an eic ent business
method is found In the fact that OF
Sbl. .0O0, 600 worth OF fruit sold n
three years ON 1891 was lost on bad
debts The fruit commission men
charge per cent for guaranteed
sale The saving OF cooperation on
this point alone Is two and a hale
million dollars. and in this as In
other eases where waste Is elimin-
ated and there Is no restraint placed
ON production. the saving is shared /
by producer and consumer
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