Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-06-07
UNITING FORCES.
Instances of Successful Cooper
alive Enterprises.


Store and Grist Mill Handle a $780,
856 Business-Farm Insurance Com
pany Carries $500 Policies and In
sures $15,234,ooo Worth of Property.
There are hundreds of successful
cooperative farmers organizations
throughout the country. In the west
they are operated on a larger scale
than in the east
The Summer Fruit Growers associa.
ton of Puyallup, Wash, has 700 mem.
bers, who shipped last year $4,000
crates of red raspberries and about 3D.
600 crates of blackberries. its own can
ming plant using besides 10000 crates
of the former and 1900 of the latter
The total sales were over 100000
crates of all fruits. This association
was organized with Il capital of $1,000
in 200 shares. In Olathc, Kan, is Il
farmers cooperative bank, whore
stock is held at $500 per share. 1t pays
dividend of 80 per cent per annum
y farmers fire ana tornado insurance
company in the same place carries $40,
100000 in risks, and the cost Of insur
ance is s. per 81 600 In Upland, Kan,
three mutual companies have head
Quarters-a mercantile corporation,
telephone company and an insurance
organization. The company has $500
members The store is so profitable
that shares are quoted at $50. The
telephone company serves 1000 per
sons mostly farmers. y large ware
house has been erected at Ravena, o.,
at cost of $4,000. The owner is to
get per cent for the use of the build
ing, and he pays the taxes. The nem.
bership of the corporation has been
limited to 400 actual farmers, each one
of whom owns $50 worth of stock,
which entities him to one vote. He
may own more shares, but he cannot
have but one vote. He may sell his
share to another farmer, but only on
the majority vote of the company. The
concern pays no dividends. There are
no salaries or commissions except the
storekecper, manager and helper, who
draw small pay. The executive com
mittee is also board of auditors and
meets each week. All goods are sup
piled members at actual cost, and ali
sales made return to the farmer the
full amount. 1t is the way stOckhOld
ers get their dividends, buying at re
duced cost and selling at full marke,
prices. The produce of the farmers is
marketed without cost or expense save
the overhead charges.
In the east there are many cO-opera-
tive enterprises, and they are mostly
among the oranges Massachusetts
Patrons organized a cooperative as
ISOLATION, with a capital stock of So
600 In less than Il year they handled
100 carloads of grain, - carloads of
flour, 800 tons Of fertilizer, for which
they paid altogether over 100000,
and in so doing saved over $4,000 on
the purchases. At Turner Center,
Me-, is a cooperative dairying associa-
ton. Here are some figures of its
operations for thirteen months: Total
receipts from sale of butter, cream,
milk, ETC., 81 49,, 225.62. Eggs, trade
and miscellaneous brought up the to-
tai to S1,65O 434.66. The total ex-
penditures were S1,645, 625.25. The
creamery paid farmers for cream de-
livered in the month of December,
1910, $7O,91590. The assets of the
company are S303,S73.72. In Houlton,
Me-, the grange store and grst mill
did business Of $166,S56S0 in a year.
The cost of operating the plant was
S4,35231. The three grange insurance
companies of the state carry S2O,OOO,-
600 in policies on farm buildings. The
Duchess and Columbia Patrons Fire
Relief association in New York state
carries 2.T53 policies, all on farm prop
erty, the total risks being $G,S42 600
1t cost S1,656.74 to run this organiZa-
ton in 1910 apart from the losses
paid. The average annual assessment
for twelve years past has been sligo
per 81 1000. The secret of the success
of this kind of farm insurance is the
slight expense for operating the bust
ness. Other similar insurance cOmpa
MES in New York are those in Wayne
county, carrying $S,7G5S27 In insur
ance; the Herkimer County associa
ton, S4,173,429, and Steuben and Liv
ingston Patrons Fire Relief assocla
ton, $4O35,OO0. The Jefferson and
Lewis Patrons Relief association Is
the greatest grange cooperative fire
insurance company in the United
States. 1t carries over G,SOO policies
covering insurance to the amount OF
S15,234,73G, and has over 100000 II
its treasury. 1t has written nearly
10000 policies and insured over $53,
100000 of farm property