The Raymer enterprise., 1911-11-23
BIG VALUE OF COOPERATION
There ls General Belief That Plan
Must Be Tried Out In This
Country Determinedly.

The value of cooperation is strik'
ingly shown in the report Of the co
operative stores which are operated
throughout Great Britain. Take tea,
for instance, Of which Great Britain
annually imports something over 30O.
100000 pounds. while the United
States imports a trife over 100000.
900 pounds. Great Britain leyies an
import duty on tea, which Is on the
free list for the United States. The
import value. plus the duty, is twenty
five cents pound in Great Britain.
as compared with only sixteen cents
In this country, but the average re-
tail price in Great Britain is only
thirty-six and one-half cents as COM
pared with an average retail price
in America of forty-nine and one-half
cents. This means that 1t costs nearly
twelve cents to distribute a pound of
tea in England whereas 1t costs near
ly thirty.four cents to distribute 1t in
America This disparity was brought
|. out recently before congressional
investigating committee which could
see little or no reason why 1t should
cost three times as much to get
common article, such as tea, from the
wholesaler to the consumer in the
United States as in Great Britain,
says the Homestead. The reason was
found to lie in the successful exist
ence OF the cooperative stores in
Great Britain. which dispense with the
middlemen and thus materially reduce
the cost OF living.
The extent to which cooperation is
being carried on abroad impresses all
observant travellers. Farm co-opera.
ton has been highly developed in
Denmark. especially, and thousands
OF cooperative societies exist through.
out the continent generally. It is a
determined belief that this co-opera.
tive policy must be adopted in the
United States, II the problem of liv.
Ing is to be solved shortly and salts.
factorily, that leads as eminent an
authority as President Waters of the
Kansas Agricultural college to come
out publicly and strongly In favor OF
cooperation among farmers. Speak
ing last week before the Missouri
Rural Life conference held at Kinks
vile. President Waters said:
Too many people are getting a liv
Ing out Of the transit of the food
from the farm to the consumers table.
When potatoes leave the farmers
railway station at thirty-five cents a
bushel and land in the consumers
kitchen at $1.50. there is too much
spread. The American farmer must
cooperate with his neighbor. Today
he is the only individual of large eco.
nomic Importance in this country who
is not compactly organized for his
own protection and progress. He
buys and sells and conducts all his
operations as an individual. He will
get his full share OF what the consum-
er pays only when he is compactly or.
ganized.
President Waters utterances are
simply In line with those of President
Yoakum Of the Frisco railway and
other notable men who have discussed
this subject recently. There is
general belief that cooperation must
! be tried out in this country eYten-
sively and determinedly. The failure
Of the plan in the past has almost
invariably been the result Of lack Of
enthusiasm and determination to
stand together. There Is no reason
why cooperation should not be as
successful in this country as in Eu-
rope and there is little prospect Of
the farmer ever being able to secure
the prices which he should receive
until organizatio-. and cooperation are
| brought about