The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-03-14
TAFT SENDS FIRST
 MESSAGE ON HIGH
 COST OF LIVING
CONTINUED FROM PAGE D


 erative agricultural societies are aided hy the parent society in negotiations with railway companies, government depart ments and business houses They are or ganized in much the same manner as dis tributive societies. Supplies of all kinds are purchased jointly at wholesale. Farm produce is graded and distributed through means of depots maintained in neighbor- ing towns or through selling agents. Mar llets are visited by agents who inform the members as to the quality and price of produce.
 The Cooperative union located at Man chester has contributed greatly to the for nation and growth of cooperative socie- ties generally. The objects of the union are a diffusion of Information in regard to the movement and the assistance of .n- dividual societies. It maintain commit tees on education, joint propaganda, legis- laton, exhibitions. trades unionism, credit training and legal defense.
 Fair Development
 The development of cooperation in the United Kingdom is continuing at a fair rate, although not so rapidly as in the earlier years A study of the movement by localities shows that cooperation ilas aourished mainly in the industrial and manufacturing districts. An example of the growth of individual societies and the manner in which their activities have ex- banded is found in the account given of a cooperative society located at Leeds, which was founded in 1Si7 for the primary purpose of securing cheaper flour.
 British cooperation is affiliated with the International Cooperative alliance, which comprises the leading cooperative organ izations in the continental countries of Europe and holds international congresses triennialy.
 Opposition on the part of non-co-opera- tive tradesmen is now decidedly less in tense than in the earlier stages of the movements the consular officers report but widespread antagonism still exists among British shopkeepers and criticism is constant and searching. The claim Is made by opposing interests that co-opera- tive trading cannot compete with legiti- mate retail trading and in support of this contention figures are given of grocers prices and of co-opera tive society prices of various food products in which the gro cers' figures are less than those of the co- opera tive societies. It is noted in refer ence to critisism of this character that the cooperative societies do not undertake tC sell al lower than current prices, then aim being to give the purchaser the ben eft claimed for cooperative purchasers hy returning it in the form of a dividend. The estimate is made that for the Enitcd Kingdom as whole the dividends would average not far from 9 per cent of the purchase price paid by the cooperative purchasers. The critics of the co-operatiVs movement allege that these dividends are obtained by sacrificing the purity and tx- cellence of the merchandise furnished ur by an actual raising of prices to compen- sate for the amount of the dividends. The | majority of the consular reports seem .to infer that the dividends paid to purchas- Ling members do measure roughly real reduction in the prices of the commodities bought. --''