Norwich bulletin., 1911-03-11
COOPERATION AND ITS RESULTS!

Especially Written for The Bulletin.)
 come back pretty regularly to the subject of cooperation, as the little boy says, "just because" Ask him What made you throw stones at the hens?'' and he shifts uneasily from one foot to the other and abstracted- Iy murmurs. "Oh, because" Why don't you wash those dirty hands ?" -Oh, because" What makes you pull the cats tailT' "Oh, because" He can't tell why he does these things, but he knows there must be a because" So he gets that far and then stops.
 We're all moro or less like little boys. We can't always be sure of the reason for things, either external or within us. Those of us who are most dead sure of our own motives. We are such complicated mix-ups, such jum- bled hodse-podges of reason and un- reason, of god-like aspirations and bssst-1il1e down-pullings. that no fel- low can ever bo quite sure of himself. But I think 1 see in cooperation one open door through which the farmers of the land might enter into actual possession of the things which are theirs by right. know there are some others who think the same. I also know that in some cases select com- panies have entered this door and are today enjoying greater profits and an enlarged competence. I have myself shared in some of the advantages of cooperation. So you mustn't blame me If I keep banging away into the woods from my old-fashioned muzZle loader, with my very smoky powder. You see. there's always the chance l may hit something.
 We Now EnaIanders used to be ahead of all creation on most things. We got so into the habit of being thcre that good many Of us think we still are. But we aren't. In too many of the roads of progress weO tagging along 'steen miles behind the rearguard of the real army. In this matter of cooperation Europe is far ahead of anything in this country. But even in America, the west is giving us New Englanders its dust With vastly better farming country to work at western farmers have refused, in many cases. to sit down under the old toll-G1te system of business. They have revo1ted- and by cooperating in the buying of their supplies and the one acre do wf-at used to call for two, and have made one dollar worth as much as two used to be.
 In aome recent western farm papers I've found two or three interesting fects about some egg-selling associa- tfons. Two are in Minnesota several in Canada One, in Carlton county, Mfnn-, is run in connection with a creamery. When the farmers bring in their cream they also fetch their eggs. Each farmer has on hand a lot of cartons holding a dozen eggs each. They pack thesr eggs in these, keeping all tre extra small and extra large for home use, putting the white eggs in ono carton and the brown ones in an other. Their agent has an arrange rnent with a big store in a big city, whose customers want real eggs and are willing to pay real money for them, by which all these eggs are promptly paid for in cash at the price the agent sees fit to fix. Please note that last clause. The egg-man does not ask the grocer How much are you payin' for eggs today?" He ships in to said gro eer his carefully sorted. spotlessly clean, even sized, absolutely fresh eggs. and with them sends a bill for so many dozen eggs at so much a doz- en- And Mir. Grocer pays the bill with out winking, even when it is ten cents a dozen above the so-called market price" of common eggs.
 When this egg selling association vas started, three years ago, the farm CTS in the neighborhood were shipping just fifteen cases of eggs year. Now there are 125 farmers in the thing v cases a week. They began by getting two cents a dozen more than the reg uiar "store price" Now they are get ting. in cash, five cents a dozen more than the storekeepers pay, in trade
 Another is in Meeker county, Minn. This also uses the dozen carton re- suires the eggs to be of uniform shape size and color, and also that none shall be over seven days old when sold. Each egg is stamped-with a rubber stamp furnished by the association so that it bears the name of the asso- citation, and the number by which the individual farmer is registered Every package of eggs is guaranteed, to the last egg, with g. pledge to replace any sound bad in any way whatever. This cooperative body has an average membership of about seventy; it is paying it's members an average of five cents dozen over "store prices"- again in cash, mind you-and in the past eight months has handled 22,0O0 dozen eggs. That is, these farmers have. in eight months, got $1.100 more for their eggSin cash, than they would had they continued to leave them at the stores.
 It Is to be added that these particu- lar eggs have been sold ''at the mar ket." The consumer has not paid one cent more for them But, by eliminat- ing the speculator and the jobber and inc cold storage man, the farmers have got about 25 per cent. more.
 Up in Canada in at Ieast three eoun- ties arc similar cooperative organiza-