The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1892-02-12
FARMERS CLUBS.
How They May Be Made Useful and
Instructive.

How They May Be Made Useful and
Instructive.
People generally are slow in learning
cooperation. I,he farmer especially is
wonderfully conservative in this lire,
we suppose for the reason that he is
more isolated than other men, and be-
cause naturally he is dependent ON his
own thought and ingenuity. If ques-
ton OF action or policy comes up in his
mind while plowing or pruning, he ar
CUES and discusses it with himself
Therefore, we find farmers as class
self-willed and selfrcliant.
He has studied out plans of doing
things by himself and for himself, and
he is more liable than others to think
his plan is best, if not really tine only
plan.
But his way of performing certain
work may have been based ON wrong
principles in the start, and be radically
wrong.
The history Of cooperation has been
in a great measure made up of misfor-
tunes and disaster, and in too many
cases rascality. The latter came about
naturally, from sharpers organizing CO.
operative stores, mills, banks and manu-
factories, for their own personal benefit
and ease, and not really to benefit any
one else.
Nearly every case of this kind of CO.
operative societies has ended in disaster
to all concerned, except the sharper who
initiated the organization. Therefore
farmers should be wary of all would
be organizers, except such men as they
know from the ground up as good,
honest business men of their own neigh
borhood. Unfortunately such are the
last to undertake such work. They are
successful and contented, and have
plenty to do in managing their own
affairs. Yet there are times and cases
when such are willing and anxious to
cooperate with their neighbors.
Freights may be too high, roads bad,
stock not properly fenced in, or they
may see that the Touring mills, store
keepers and produce buyers are robbing
them. Then such men are willing to
take hold with their neighbors and work
for the common good, but always to
work little bit harder for themselves.
Within the past few years co-opera-
tior has made successful strides. With
the experience of the past of both the
successful and unsuccessful ventures,
lessons have been taught which the
more recent ventures have learned, and
made successes. But it is necessary for
those newly venturing to have these
lessons.
Philadelphia has been builded up in
great part by cooperative societies.
The most perfect distribution of the i'm
mense fruit products east has been ac-
complished only by cooperation. The
stock men, bee men, poultry men, the
dairy interests, and others have reaped
great benefit by cooperative stores,
Touring mills, dairies, fruit driers, can
neries, and hundreds of manufactures
have been builded up by cooperation OF
| late, and are very successful. Every
little or <big neighborhood of farmers
| should start some kind of a club, with
the simplest organization possible, and
all meet, not one or two, but all, once
or twice month and discuss their every
day business affairs. And not only dis
cuss, but act. Such clubs and meetings
naturally do great good and lead up te
more perfect cooperation in greater
things. And thus can be learned the
correct business facts of cooperation
and by reading up the business manage
ment of successful experiments of which
there are now plenty of examples.