The Detroit times., 1912-03-01
STALE EGG MEANS FIND
FOR DENMARK FARMER
Buyers Are Protected by Corpo-
ration Societies. Which

NOTENtAGEN, Mafcn IL ne
wise consumer in Denmark asks his
grocer for society" eggs.
The wise farmer In Denmark Is a
member OF the Dansk Andels-Aegex-
port-the Danish Cooperative Egg
Export society.
The farmer member is one of a
GSpup OF not less than 10. He is pro-
vided with a rubber stamp something
like this-"5-29-X"
50 is the district. "29" is the
group and TX" is the farmer.
The farmer delivers all his eggs to
the society, each egg stamped "5-29-
"" The eggs go to packing center.
and thence TO the cooperative retail
societies to be sold TO the consumers
A consumer complaints One of
the half-dozen eggs | bought yester-
day was bad. The stamp was
'5-29-X."
So" says the manager and refers
to little book
Then he writes TO group 20 in dis
= erict that X has passed of bad
egg. Group 20 looks up X, who can
not deny the testimony of the stamp
on the egg she'll
1T is your first offense, X" says
group 20; you must pay fine. Don't
let It happen again"
* Is more careful next time. The
second fine would be much heavier.
The third time he would be fired.
That is why the farmers OF Den
mark are practically all members OF
the cooperative societies and why
they very, very seldom sell rotten
Neggs. The public knows that so
ciety' eggs are fresh. The public
and the dealers alike are suspicious
OF the farmer who is not a society
man.
There are $50 OF these egg
groups" In Denmark. They do
trade amounting to about million
!dollars a year.
Hog-raising and bacon-curing are
almost entirely in the hands Of CO.
operative societies in Denmark. Pri-
vate traders have been unable to
compete with the societies for the
reason that the cooperative bacon
factories are in close touch with the
producers whom they help to pro-
cure the best breed of pigs.
Here is cooperation in its purest
form.
The public, themselves largely
members of the retail societies, have
come TO know that society" bacon
is the best.
The English, bacon lovers. have
made the same discovery. The CO.
operative buyers of England buy all
the bacon that Denmark does not
need.
There are "a cooperative bacon
factories In Denmark, with mem
bership OF $4,000 In these factories
about 100000 pigs are slaughtered
annually.
The first cooperative dairy was
70 Rel In RI, N n
fore that time the peasant farmer
could get but one price for his but
ter-the gentleman farmer" almost
'twice as much.
The gentlemen farmers" were or
gained; the peasants were not.
At first the cooperative societies
fought an uphill fight. There was a
popular but fallacious bunch among
butter-eaters that good butter could
not be produced from milk of un-
equa! quality.
But in 1888 at farmers congress
in Copenhagen a cooperative dairy
was awarded silver medal for but
ter. Again in 1900 at farmers con-
eress at Odense, go cooperative
dairies competed, and it was admit
ted that their butter was quite as
good as that of the gentlemen
farmers"
After that prices for second and
thirdrate butter were no longer
Quoted, because second and third
class butter were not sold.
Today there are 1925 OF these CO.
operative dairies. Their invested
capital amounts to about $5,00O,OOO.
They own 100000 of the 1.0S9,O73
cows in the country II is the VIC !
tory OF the peasant farmers over the
landed gentry.
The Danish farmers are probably |
the most thorough co-operators In
the world. Oddly enough. the move
ment has scarcely touched the towns,
the town-dwelling artisan in Den
mark being conservative, distrustful
of anything that might interfere with
his personal liberty, and less edu- |
Gated than the farmer
There are in Denmark 10000 dis
atributive societies-as distinct from !
productive and Wholesale societies
but of these only so are situated In
towns.
The members of the distributive !
societies pay an entrance fee of four
crowns (about 81, which goes In the
/. reserve fund Very few societies sell
TO non-members. Five per cent OF
the profits are placed in the reserve
p tiHid The balance is divided among |
members in proportion to their pur-
chases. In-the management each |
member has one vote.
The annual turnover OF the 1900
distributixe- societies is $13- SIS, 885.-
One wholesale society owns 10 fac |
tories and many warehouses in III |
towns. AS side line il carries on |
extensive scientific seed culture, I
making II possible for the small |
farmer TO procure first.class seeds.
NEW PRESIDENT