Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1913-08-15
THE GRANGE
Conducted by
J. W. BARROW. Chatham. N. r.,
Editor Of the Ne,o York State Grange
ReUfeiU
COOPERATION.
This Is the Great Problem of the
Day For the Farmer.

Some Instances Where Co. operation ls
Highly Profitable-Statistics of Great
Cooperative Enterprises That Are
Worthy Careful Perusal-Good BUSH
ness Management the Secret.
In these days of much talked of pro-
posed cooperative enterprises it is
we'll to consider some OF the enter
prises that are already proving their
right to existence. There are many
of them. A few only will be consider
ed here. The figures given for these
various enterprises are the latest OBJ
tainable and deal mostly with trans
actions for 1872
The Farmers Cooperative society Of
Rockwell Ia, is in the twenty-ffth
year of its existence. OF it 1t is said
that success has characterized its op-
erations from the beginning. This So
ciety blazed the way for the farmers
Of Iowa toward the goal of freedom
to handle their grain and other prod
uce, to buy their machinery and other
articles as they chose and where and
Of whom. regardless Of the wealth
which has been combined against
them. Note some of their larger trans
actions last year. Sdes-Oats, $780,
500 bushels; corn, 142,200 bushels;
bran and middlings. $4,000 pounds;
oilmeal. 94.50O pounds; barbed wire and
nails, 56540 pounds; Irvine. $4,000
pounds; timothy seed, $4,000 pounds;
salt, 264,900 pounds; -four, 3.941 sacks;
coal, 3,735 tons; lumber, 750SO0 feet;
shingles, 975,0O0; clothing in amount,
$2S,6S6, or a total business in sales Of
all goods and articles of $685. 1872 A.
And this total amount Of business was
done at an expense Of only SS,O5S for
the year The total net assets Jan. l,
1918, were S27.47613 OF the society
local paper says. 1T is doing finely
and rings up a good dividend every
year for its stockholders"
Coming back east to New Jersey, we
find the Monmouth On. j. County
Farmers Exchange, organized FIVE
years ago with a paid up capital of
$1,000. Its capital stock today amounts
to $4,000. upon which a per cent
dividend was declared at the end of
the year. Capital and surplus now
amount to S101.734.26. Potatoes are
the principal crop handled by the ex-
change. and last year it was short. but
there were 2,S91 carloads handled,
worth S941,1G5 at that In 1911 it
amounted to S1.4OO.0OO In the FIVE
years the exchange has done a total
hCcinacc Of 900 Thara I OO7
members of the exchange. They are
satisfied with results. In Burlington
county, n. j., is located the Burling-
ton County Farmers Exchange. or
ganiZed three years ago, which sold
during the season Of 1912 over 1000
cars Of potatoes and other produce to
! the amount of S515, 900 and bought sup
/ plies to the amount Of 100000.
On Long Island is located another
, prosperous cooperative association. 1t
is the Long Island Potato Exchange.
which did a business during the FIVE
months from August to Dec 81, 1912,
of $151, S64.7l. on which it made a
gross profit of S6,S15.66, or net earn
lngs Of more than $1,000 over the cor
: responding period of the previous year.
, The gross amount Of potatoes sold was
sos, 749.5S; grain. S27,251.24; miscel-
laneous. S15.S63S9. making the total
indicated above of 1851 SCOT in the
short period of FIVE months. Taking
the figures for the previous full year,
we have the following record of sales:
Potatoes S9O447.4O, fertilizer $751;
= 164. so, feed So6, 1904. seed potatoes
E3,724.s2, -four S5.75641 chemicals
: S6,070.37. barrels and sacks S3,775.
seed S2.214.05, oil and gasoline 81 400,
miscellaneous S2,01952 The grain
business increased last year over SILL
600 On the single item of paris
green there was a large saving 1t
cost the potato growers from % to 35
cents a pound before the exchange was
esta blished, but since then they have
never paid over II cents. On fertilizer
the saving was very large. About
10000 tons are used yearly in the ex-
changes territory, and on this amount
there has been a saving Of at least SO
on a ton or 100000 a year, and in the
three years up to the completion Of
the above report total OF S1S0,O00
has been left in the pockets of its COO
members.
down in Maine" we find another
profitable cooperative organization, the
Turner Center Dairying association.
> 1t sold butter during the past year to
5 the value of 5000 $50 90; cream and
e milk, S1.1S1. 3G133; eggs, S75. 1902;
l general trade in its stores, $173,1O3 %,
and miscellaneous making a total in
come Of G4,O3977, which, with a
I balance Jan. l. 1912, gives the grand
total of Sl,73O s22.7s. The expenses
were such as to leave a balance on
= hand Jan. l, 1913, of $s357S.22. The
$ assets of the association are $751;.
! t9l.12, its capital stock 100000.
! In view of the constant agitation
/ about cooperation among farmers and
4 the passing Of laws looking to that de-
= sirable end would 1t not be well to look
4 a.