The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1911-09-16

4p ~ a reputation depended uuon fur.
.ner development of oo-onera+io,
agricultural conditions Tho war1d anar
are peculiarly adapted to this mutua;
Wy oi DONG business in buying and
sezllng. IN banking and in some lines
Of production, as, for examine cheese
and butter making. oeeo
co-operation in the United States Is
Traced historically to the influence of
oiook farm, a communist;c exneri-
men, ment IN the early forties at West Roy
oury' by some literary peonle and "a.
FORMERS. Nathaniel Hawthorne IN
writing of it, said: I'VE sought our
pront oy mutual aid" And this ex.
PRESTON OF purpose was in the agree.
men6 of members: "To institute an
attractive, efficient and productive
system of industry"
Although that particular updertah
ing tailed, the principles there laid
down have been taken I'D by success
slVe associations Of all descriptions
from that day to this increasingly
1hSle are very ef1-
Client organizations for shipping, mar
ketlng 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.
Inc object OF cooperation in selling
has been to eliminate the middleman.
who apart from the cost of transnor
tation, usually absorbs half the cost
OF goods to the consumer. Co-opera
tlon In this line, however, has result
ed in standardizfng commodities at
better prices. The farmer has bene
hted by getting more money for finer
stuff 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
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 fill the bill.
Some idea of the extent of the agr3.
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 were at the time 10000 asso-
Citations. The rural insurance asso
Citations took second place with some
10000 societies. Rural telephone sery-
Ice had $4,000 cooperative associa.
tons; buying associations, 1900; sell
ing unions. 5000; educational, 1000;
production. including dairying and
fruit drying, IS; cooperative colonies,
so. The grand total was $4,000 so
cieties enrolling over 100000 persons.
The principle and practice of mutual
aid 1t 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, Pennsyl.
vania and the north central; irriga-
ton in the Rocky mountain and Pa
cific; fruit marketing in the west, par
ticularly in California, where 80 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 showing for
agricultural cooperation which COM
mands respectful attention, especially
since there i6 every evidence of steady
expansion and penetration year by
year into the vitals of the nation.