Arizona republican., 1913-06-17
HowEveryF Farmer s Dol lar Is Made To Do the w ork of Twelve Creating Capital From Honesty and Thrift.

~ HE German farmers have mas Al tered the business of farming.
 Their systems for financing their
 ~ agricultural undertakings. for purchasing materials and for distrib- uting and selling their produce have served as models for Europe. Adapta- uons of the German agricultural credit systens today flourish in Egypt and in India. Beginnings are being made even in Japan and China. Mexico has adopted the principle of agricultural credit and Canada has entered upon the task. Besides this nearly every country of Europe harbors farmers banks of the German type. Phe Idea has travelled around the world Only in the great Anglo-Saxon countries. Tn England and the United States, has it Tailed thus far to flourish Is there racial characteristic peculiar to the tanners of the English-speaking races that opposes the principle of co-opera- uonE That IS 9 question for the study or the American commission on Agri- cultural cooperation which is now visiting Europe under the auspices of the Southern Commercial Congress.
 The true value of the German CO., operative systems is not readily ap- parent to the American traveller He IS impressed rather with the great 1 Germany and conditions in his own country. This has been true of every European country thus far visited by the Commission. The number of peo- pie required to secure a livelihood out or a few acres of land the presence CT women in the fields. the drudgery and lack of diversion in their lives, the exceeding thrift of these people these are the impressions which first seize upon the travellers mind Uu- doubtedly much of the truth is lost 10 the members of the American Com mission by lack of an opportunity to compare the conditions of commun ities before and after the appearance of the cooperative banks and other mutual aid societies But history and the statements of others must be , depended upon for that.
 But for all this, the lesson is clear in the amounts of money secured to agriculture through these systems and the benefcent purposes to which these sums applied. Go into Si1esia among the iHiterate Polish farm la , borers. The cooperative credit sys- tenn has a strong hold there Even those Polish laborers are bankers D. plications for the loans. And from such community these banks spread up to such institutions as the Agri- cultural Credit Association of Augs burg boosting some 14OOO members and placing from six to seven millions of dollars of loans each year. Of various types there are some 17.O00 cooperative banks spread throuphou+ Germany. At the close of 1907 these banks held in savings deposits as much money as the comm ercial or big banks of the Empire. During the financial panics. 1866 and 1870. when the safety of other German banking Institutions was being severely strain sed by the wholesale withdrawal of funds, these cooperative banks. these banks 'of the people" were consfd cred so safe that they were actually embarrassed with offers of deposits which the depositors were willing should be taken without interest Sucb is the safety. such the strength of these institutions. Taking the stat.s- tics returned in 1909 and 1910 the cooperative banks annually handle about s4,o0o. .oO0.0 900 in outgoing and incoming funds. Collectively thev lend over billion dollars a year to their members.
 And what are the units that compose this system which counts it's business and loans in billions of dollars?
 The fundamental principle of CO., operative banking is that number of people bind themselves into a society holding themselves liable for the debts incurred by that society and upon the strength of that joint liability conduct banking or money lending busi- ness.
 Thus we have the organization of these banks. the farmers or farmers and tradesmen of a community join society and tell the world You may depend upon us to pay you back what you lend this society. If we don't you can sell us out or sue us" Following this announcement, the banks open up offices and bid for de-