Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1874-09-25
geltrteh Mistellang.
Cooperation.

WV P0A neAoA'
That the grangers of the country are
doing much to relieve themselves ofex-
horbitant charges, is evident to any
one who has seen the workings of their
cooperation. If they do not carry
this system too far, it will prove high
ly satisfactory. Some of them expect
too much. Surprising that the gran
gers do establish banks for the loaning
of money to the farmers, will it not be
necessary to place men at the head of
the institutions who understand bust
ness, and then will they not be bankers
as now? When they propose to do away
with middle men and abolish all COM
mission merchants, will not other more
legitimate businesses languish? If
they build their own fleets and rail-
roads, for the transportation of their
crops to market, and establish stores
for themselves exclusively, and carry
on hundred other kinds of business
now transacted by other parties, will
they not neglect business pertaining to
agriculture? And finally, when they
have established banks, built railroads
and fleets, established stores, organiz-
ed insurance companies, must not all
these kinds of business be entrusted
to skillful hands, who understand their
special business? And when once in
successful operation, will not the diff
ferent concerns lapse back into their
respective Municipalities and grow "a
way from the grangers? All these are
questions which must rise in the mind
of the unbiased observer who sees the
aim of this organization. Cooperation
in purely legitimate business has saved
to the grangers during the last year
about 100000. Life and fire insur-
ance companies among grangers seem
to be success. Buying farming i'm
plements from cooperative factory
or through county or State agent,
sending the dairy products to cheese
or butter factories, have given satisfac-
ton as far as tried. Within the last
six months about eighty elevators have
been built in the West by grangers.
The farmers ship their grain to these,
pay the actual cost of storage and save
a great amount of expense thereby.
They can then load cars and send their
grain to market and receive the high
est price. In this way they gain about
20 per cent. over the old method. CO.
operation has been introduced with ad-
vantage in grist-mills and packing
houses. The number of grange grist-
mills and packing houses is rapidly
increasing in the West. But the most
potentagentwhich has brought success
to grange cooperation has been the |
adjustment of the credit system. The |
cash system will work reformation in |
any business, carried on by grangers
or anybody else.
The great success Of the cooperative
stores in England is mainly due to the
adoption of the cash system. There
are in England and Wales TAG co-ope-
rative stores, and total share capital
of $13, 100000. The average taken by
TAG societies exceed $75, cooper annum.
These figures exhibit the success Of
cooperative societies in England and
Wales.
This system of cooperation is work
ing we'll in this country, not merely
because it is carried on by the gran
gers, because it is doing work which
had to be done, and which must have
been done, sooner or later, by some
agency. Circumstances demanded an
opening in this direction, and the
oranges have availed themselves of the
golden opportunity.-Aidland Far
7lleT.