A friend of mine owns a thousand-acre farm in the Shenandoah Valley, where he raised this year 10,000 baskets of peaches. He decided to seek one buyer, and he found him in the person of a Baltimore canner, who went down to Virginia, inspected the crop, and contracted for the lot on a basis of $1 for firsts, 70 cents for seconds, and 40 cents for thirds, delivered at Baltimore. Shortly after, the market was flooded with peaches from Georgia, and the Baltimore man, seeing that the crop would be plentiful, promptly “welched” on his trade, basing his action on the absurd contention that “firsts” should be three inches in diameter, although as every one knows peaches of this size are almost never to be had. This action threw all the grower’s peaches into third class, which delivered at Baltimore would have netted him about 10 cents a basket. In desperation he looked elsewhere, West, North, and South, only to hear the same monotonous answer from commission men, “we won’t buy, but we will handle your crop on a commission of 10 per cent.” Meantime the crop was ripening. To make matters worse the railroad levied a prohibitive price, and refrigerator cars were not to be had. Finally there was nothing left but to ship by express and trust to the commission men to treat him honestly. The final accounting showed that on his first shipment he netted 5½ cents a basket, and on his second, 15 cents, not counting the expense of picking, packing, and hauling. So much for the producer. The consumer fared no better, for he had to pay $1.25 per basket for this fruit; one of this producer’s friends actually purchasing a portion of this very consignment at that rate. The difference therefore between 15 cents and $1.25 contributes some food for thought as to the cost of living.[5] Now contrast this experience of a grower having no exchange facilities with that of the Western farmer who deals directly with a Grain Exchange. The farmer can sell his crop, even though it has not been planted. Whenever he sells, and under whatever conditions, he enjoys the authoritative establishment of a price, fixed as clearly as matters are fixed in law. Moreover, the price at which he elects to sell is the best price, the fairest price, and the most scientific price that human agencies can arrive at, because it is made by world-wide competitive bidding at the hands of skilled men in Chicago, in New York, in Liverpool, in Berlin, in Odessa, and in the Argentine, all competing by cable and telegraph. Think of the confidence he enjoys, and the liberty of action; think, too, what it means to him to know that the Exchange through which he deals is a body of honorable men, governed by rules, bidding publicly under one roof.