The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1913-08-07
A FARMERS PICNIC
Long Siding Live Stock and Produce
Company Gives Enjoyable Out.
ing in Uglem's Grove.
Judge Wilson of Saltwater Delivers
an Able Address on the Bene-
fits of Cooperation.

The Long Siding Live Stock &
Produce company gave picnic in
Uglem's grove on Saturday, but the
attendance of farmers was small in
consequence of the hay and rye har-
vest now in progress-the farmers
were taking advantage of the sun
shine between showers to rush their
work in the fields. However, there
was a goodly number of the farmers
wives and their attractive daughters
present, and the gathering was a
particularly happy one-good nature
reigned supreme. Judge Frank T.
Wilson, an able lecturer from the ex-
tension division of the state college
of agriculture, delivered a splendid
address on "Co-operation. The
gist of his talk was as follows:
Conditions in the cities lead to
considerable bad feeling between the
farmer and business man, each feel
ing that the other is trying to. get
the best of mutual dealing. The
agricultural department at Washing
ton gives the farmer to understand
that for every dollar the consumer
pays for his product he gets, on the
average, only so cents. This brings
up the question whether the farmer
cannot get his product to the con-
sumner SO that he may obtain a
greater portion Of this money. .<
The farmer has no reason for any
bad feeling against the merchant,
because he is proceeding according
to existing methods. On the other
hand, the merchant has no reason
to denounce the farmer if he at
tempts to market his product di-
rectly with the consumer.
The greatest difficulty in the way
of the farmer marketing his own
products is ignorance of the right
methods. Then there is the greed
of both producer and consumer-each
seeking to get as much from the
other as he possibly can. But the
great stumbling block is the. lack of
efficiency in management. The
matter of efficiency is the whole sum
and substance of cooperative enter
prise. It has two elements-organi-
Zation and education. The latest
and greatest scheme of organization
is corporation. 1t permeates every
kind of business in commercial
affairs. Corporation is an invention
wherein the united efforts of many
are made to act as an individual.
The ordinary corporation has the
following characteristics: Unlimited
ownership of shares; money dictates
its policy: it's profits are distributed
according to it's money interests: it
is ruled by few, being in fact an
oligarchy. On the other hand. the
cooperative corporation is distin-
guished from the ordinary corpora
ton by the following characteris-
| tics: The amount Of interest any
one person can have in a corpora
ton is limited: each member has a
vote regardless of the amount Of in
terest he holds; the profits of the
corpora ton are distributed among
the many instead of the few, in
Guiding patrons, Or customers, who
create the business Of the corpora
| tiOn: it is a commercial or industrial
democracy conducted for the benefit
Of all.
This cooperative method of doing
| business has progressed SO far in
Europe as to have revolutioniZed
commercial affairs in England, Ger
many, France, Denmark and Italy.
1t has transformed the kingdom of
Denmark from the poorest to the
richest country of Europe as
measured by the per capita wealth.
Human progress has gone through
three stages, monarchy, oligarchy,
and democracy in matters of govern
ent,-the same procedure taking
place in the commercial and indus
trial world. The fool is more detri-
mental to the realization of indepen-
dent democracy than the knave.
Blunders and mistakes, no matter
how we'll meaning, are just as dis
astrous to business as graft. Eff
fciency, resulting from education,
and supervision are of vital necessity
in the cooperative movement.
Finally, cooperation is the practical
embodiment of the christian religion
as defined in our Savior's declara-
tion, "Thou shalt love thy. neighbor
as myself, +" for in the cooperative
corporation the human being is
placed above the almighty dollar
the welfare of the members is the
first consideration.
Judge Wilson is secretary of the
ROOSterS' club of StiIlwator ond alco