The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-05-09
RESuLTe OF THE COOPERATIVE
UNIONS IN EUROPEAN
COUNTRIES.
EXPERT ADVICE is AN AID
Pre-. dent Transmits to Congress the
Second nstalIment, Which Covers
France, Belgium, the Meth
Crlanos and Denmark.

Washington, D. C-The president
transmitted 10 congress the sec
ono lustallmcnt OF the reports of con.
sular officers on cooperation and the
cost Of living which are the result Of
tn Investigation he some time ago
directed should be made The coun-
tries included In this installment are
France" Belgium, the Netherlands and
Denmark The reports are accom-.
panied by a letter from Huntington
Wilson, acting secretary OF state.
Il appears from the information col.
lo"'"d the acting secretary says, that
~" rising cost Of living has directed
attention TO and augmented the mem
b"r-hip Of the cooperative societies,
NOR. especially in France and Bel.
gium The French cooperative asso-
Citations are In the main arranged
upon the same system as those in the
United Kingdom. The tendency is to-
ward small societies and the great
majority Of the associations represent
groceries and bakeries. The most sue
cossful distributive societies are in the
manufacturing cities Of northeastern
and central France. Among these So
ciorics relief funds are administered
and insurance against Illness and
forced unemployment is supplied.
Arrangements are made with dentists,
doctors and artisans for their services
by members on a commission basis.
The operation OF the agricultural So
cicties has been especially successful
IN southern France The French gov
eminent has given encouragement to
these societies by furnishing expert
advice, granting subventons and per.
hitting long term loans by agricul-
tural credit associations The general
buying is done principally through dis.
trict unions High.Crade farm machin.
cry such as Ia beyond the reach OF
many individual members ia pur
chased from the SURPRISES or Is loaned
Eratuitously or upon the payment OF
nominal fees,
Government employees are to a large
extent organized into cooperative no
eieties. Many OF the associations are
affiliated with labor unions that re.
strict their membership 10 persons en-
gagged in a given occupation.
/ In regard 10 industrial cooperative
/ production, It appears that plants
owned and operated by the operatives
/ are not uncommon In France.
The consular reports state that the
| French cooperative societies usually
sell at prices which are neither higher
| nor lower than those OF private stores
and that they have a tendency TO keep
prices throughout the district where
they are located down to fair level
as well az TO enhance the purity and
quality OF the goods. The degree OF
reduction in the cost Of living is al
most wholly contingent upon the capa.
bility and the altruism OF the manage.
ment of the respective districts.
In Belgium, the consular reports
state, large proportion of the co.
operative societies sell at prices lower
than those Of the regular markets, al
lowing only members to purchase, and
have only nominal profits 10 die
tribute Many societies guarantee a
per cent dividend on all purchases
and distribute all remaining profits to
various funds for insurance, pensions,
strike relief indemnities for injuries
and the like.
In the Netherlands the cooperative
associations include domestic supplies
agricultural supplies, creameries
farmers loan banks and savings
banks A cash basis is strictly main
tanned. In Denmark sales are confined
to members Of the cooperative socie'
ties unless the latter wish to subject
themselves TO taxation The Joint as.
ISOLATION Of Danish cooperative soci
cites operates numerous factories and
warehouses throughout Denmark