Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1911-09-15
HOW FARMERS MAY BENEFIT
Agricultural Cooperation Leads All
Other Lines of Mutual Business
In This Country.


extent and Importance of cooperation
among farmers in this as well as In
other countries. OF course, everybody
knows that the organization OF any
business depends upon cooperation
The necessary GOOD will between sell
er and buyer in order to transact a
bargain, the necessary harmony be-
tween employer and employed In or
der to produce and handle goods, is
cooperation as far as II goes.
Where cooperation begins to dimin-
ish Reorganization sets in, says a
writer In an exchange. But what has
been known as cooperation for 40
years. since the days of Robert Owen.
Is free cooperation. Free cooperation
is. of course, on the basis of mutual
aid and equal rights.
Agricultural cooperation of this
type leads all other lines of mutual
business in this country just as 1t
does in the rest of the civilized world.
Speaking more particularly. quarter
of all the cooperative societies in the
world among people of rs languages
are agricultural companies. France
leads. but the United States is making
steady progress in this department of
mutual enterprise.
Observations of the working of rural
cooperative societies throughout the
United States led President Roose-
velt's country life commission to one
Of their two chief conclusions, that
future economic betterment of the
rural population depended upon fur
Their development of cooperation.
Agricultural conditions the world over
are peculiarly adapted to this mutual
way Of doing business in buying and
selling. in banking and in some lines
OF production. as. for example. cheese
and butter making.
Cooperation In the United States is
traced historically to the influence of
Brook Farm. communistic expert
ment in the early forties at West Rox-
bury. by some literary people and re-
formers. Nathaniel Hawthorne, in
writing Of 1t, said: I'VE sought our
profit by mutual aid" And this ex-
preston of purpose was in the agree
ment Of members: ITO institute an
attractive, efficient and productive
system of industry"
Although that particular undertak-
ing failed. the principles there laid
down have been taken up by success
sive associations of all descriptions
from that day to this increasingly.
Among farmers there are very EN-
cient organizations for shipping. mar
keting and selling produce In many
special lines, as In the cases of the
powerful tobacco and fruit growers
associations in several parts of the
country; for buying seeds. fertilizers,
implements and farm supplies. and for
securing credit at low rates Of inter-
est
The object Of cooperation in selling
has been to eliminate the middleman,
who apart from the cost of transpor-
tation, usually absorbs half the cost
of goods to the consumer. Co-opera-
ton In this line, however, has result
ed In standardizing commodities at
better prices. The farmer has bene-
fitted by getting more money for finer
stun at the cost of the consumer, the
status of the middleman remaining
about the same. The country is
thought to Be greatly in need Of a
credit system available to farmers,
which our banking system does not
supply. The few cooperative agricul.
tural banks which we have are said
by the experts to Just I'LL the bill.
Some idea Of the extent Of the agri-
cultural cooperation already existing
in this country may be gathered from
some government statistics three or
four years old relating to the leading
mutual associations for rural better
ment. For irrigation enterprises alone
there we're at the time 10000 asso-
Citations. The rural insurance asso-
Citations took second place with some
10000 societies. Rural telephone serv-
ice had $1,000 cooperative associa-
tons; buying associations, 1000; SELL |
ing unions. 5000; educational, 1000;
production, including dairying and
fruit drying. rs; cooperative colonies, |
so. The grand total was $1,000 so |
cieties enrolling over 5000 900 persons. |
The principle and practice of mutual |
aid II was reported is steadily pene-
trating every branch of farming and |
into every part of the country.
The agricultural cooperative So |
cieties of the United States are in
groups centralized in sections of the
country: Creameries In the north |
central and western states, particular
ly In Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota:
fire insurance in New York, Pennsyi-
vania and the north central; irriga-
ton in the Rocky mountain and Pa
cific; fruit marketing In the west, par.
ticularly in California, where so per
cent. Of all the fruit is comparatively
graded. packed and sold; vegetable
selling In New Jersey. Ohio. Illinois,
Missouri. Texas. Louisiana, and to
some extent on the South Atlantic
coast; milk In New England and New
York; wheat in the northwest, and
farm supply buying IN Utah.
Altogether this is a showing for
agricultural cooperation which COM
mands respectful attention. especially
since there is every evidence OF steady
expansion and penetration year by
year into the vitals Of the nation.