Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-04-11
AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION
A Vital Force for a Century IN
Germany.
Rapid Development in Recent Yensa--
The Farmers Power to Denl with
COn,hin ations and TRUSTS
Lonns mt Low Hates,


Of cooperation. says Dean II. C. Price,
Columbus, Ohio, In the Tribune Farmer.
1t permeates every field o, activity, bu,
n 40 place Is 1t as generally used as In
agriculture. In fact. 1t has proved to be
the key to success for the German farmer.
For hundred years the cooperative
principle Of "one for all and all for one
has been used In Germany But 1t first
became general about fifty years ago,
turing the distressing times from 1850
to 1870. when the German farmers were
on the verge Of financial ruin. BY organ
ling into co-opera tive credit associations
they were able to secure looms at reason
able rates OF interest to tide them over
until more prosperous times came
Within the last ten to fifteen years CO.
operation has developed especially fast.
end has taken an important position in
the Industrial life. At the present time
there are over &c, 900 cooperative organ
';ations IN Germany. Of which $4,000 are
agricultural organizations. So important
has cooperation become that last year
the government established special
courses in the University Of Halle to train
Young men Cor business careers In CO.
operative organizations.
FIELDS OF ACTIVITY.
Tho most important line of work thus
far for the agricultural cooperative So
cieties has been agricultural credit OF
the M.O00 societies now in existence two
thirds Of them are credit associations.
These serve both as means of securing
loans on favorable terms at low rates Of
interest and as savings banks for tho
farmers BY organizing. the German
farmers are able to get loans at as low
rates Of interest as any other industry,
and four per cent is about the average at
the present time on farm loans. This low
rate is not because interest rates in se.,-
eral are lower. for as a mater Of fact
they are higher Through their co-opera-
tive societies the farmers have succeeded
In making themselves practically indie
pendent Of the city banks. and have es-
abl1shed a system Of credits that fur
nishes money when 1t Is needed and at
II low rate of interest and in q way that
il convenient for them to get It.
Next to the credit associations in i'm
portance come the purchase and sale as
socdations. and there are about 800 of
these. These associations accomplish two
things for the farmer--thev buy his sup
ter quality by requiring a guarantee
which they see is fulfilled. This Is par
ticularly true of commercial fertilizers
and feeding stuffs, of which large quaint
ties are handled. In the sale of prod
ucts they eQualize distribution and
avoid gluts in the markets. as well as
shipping in carload lots and thus reduc-
ing the cost OF transportation and COM
mission for selling.
In dairying there are 800 cooperative
butter factories and 100 cooperative So
cieties for the sale Of milk. Community
breeding in which the bulls arc owned by
cooperative associations are commonly
found
WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED
The greatest result of cooperation has
been the power it has given the individual
farmer TO deal with the combinations and
trusts of the manufacturing and nlercan-
tile world. Cooperation in agriculture
has proved to be the antidote for cor
poratiOns in the business world. Take In
the case of cooperative purchase So
c!eties; tho individual farmer purchasing
few tons OF feed or fertilizer, was
powerless to make any terms in regard to
delivery. Of payment or guarantee of con-
tent but when the Individual farmers
formed a local purchasing association and
the local association Joined the district
society and the district the central. an
organization was formed that any corpor-
alton was glad to make terms with. This 7!
+ the general plan Of the purchasing So |
ciet1ee. and all Of the centra! organiza-
lions are in communication with one an
other. so that a very perfect. solid or |
ganazation has been formed that extends
down to the small farmer with only a |
few acres OF land
The most recent statistics show that |
one-s1xth CT the commercial feeds con- |
sumed In German agriculture Is purchased
through these cooperative purchasing or
Ger!zations. But II must also be remenl-
bered that not only the price and quality
OF Tho goods purchased through these as
sociadons Is affected. bat all other goods /
sold privately must compete with them. /
In this way the price is reduced and the
quality Is improved in all the goods sold |
10 tho farmAr.
Tho purchasing societies are not large |
as rule; the average membership Is Il
Sittle over one hundred and the avera re
business per society about sl25OO A Ger
nan who has made thorough study OF
the system recently said: "Experiencc
has shown that tho cooperative purchase
societies in any case arc n prcr!ons 49,. !