Dyar

This is an action by a real estate broker to recover a commission alleged to he due upon an exchange of a ranch of the respondent, situated in Fresno County, for an apartment house of one Winifred M. Whitney located in Los Angeles. The transaction was never completed by an actual interchange of these properties.

The facts as developed at the trial were substantially these: The plaintiff in the year 1911 was a real estate broker in Fresno. The defendant, also residing in Fresno, was the owner of a large ranch near Raisin City, with respect to which said plaintiff undertook to negotiate an exchange for the Whitney apartment house in Los Angeles. After apparently proceeding some length with this effort he obtained from Stone a writing in the following words:

Thereafter and on or about August 29, 1911, Stone went to Los Angeles, and was taken by a Mr. Boynton, the agent of Mrs. Whitney, to see her property. On September 25th Mrs. Whitney went with Boynton to Fresno to inspect the Stone Ranch. On the same day Stone made and signed a proposition for the exchange of properties, which proposition contained a number of conditions to be complied with by Mrs. Whitney, among which was the…