Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-08-06
AID U.S.FARMERS
IN COOPERATION
American Commission on Agri-
culture Returns from It's
Trip to Europe.
MADE WIDE STUDY THERE
viii Start Campaign to Fully Inform
the Public as to the Result of
Its Observations

Washington, Aug. GA nationwide
movement to interest the American
rural population along financial, bust
ness and social lines, as a means to
strengthen the position of the farmers,
increase their income and their pro-
duction and to lower the cost of food
stuffs to the consumers is announced
here in a letter to the governors of
the states, the farmers organizations,
agricultural institutions and farmers
of America from the American COM
mission on agricultural cooperation
which arrived from Europe on the
steamship Cedric.
A report is to be made later to gov
errors and the farmers organizations,
agricultural institutions and farmers
of America. The letter sent out dis
cussed the general form of rural Or
ganization in the European countries
visited by the commission.
ARE WELL ORGANIZED.
The commission found that Euro
pean agriculture was organized along
cooperative lines, and also found that
the European farmers have apparent
ly secured financial, business and
social strength equal to that of the
organized urban classes of capital and
labor.
| The commission has effected an or
, ganization with headquarters in Wash
! ington, D. c.. with Senator Duncan U.
/ Fletcher as chairman.
! DR.. G. J. Owens of Maryland has
given out the following letter address
ed to the governors of the states, the
/ farmers organizations, agricultural in
! situations and the farmers of America.
THE American commission on ag-
. ricultural cooperation has completed
its tour of European countries and has
perfected plans to digest and compile
the information obtained with regard
to cooperation and the organization of
rural life in European countries along
financial. business and social lines.
Og VITAL IMPORTANCE.
The commission is deeply impress
cd with the vital Importance of thor
oughly organized rural population. In
this respect the countries of Europe
offer a lesson which may not long be
disregarded in America without ser
ious consequences.
The agricultural interests of most
of the European countries visited by
the commission are organized along
one or more of the following lines
Credit. production, distribution and So
cial organization for the betterment
Of country life.
Organizations for the provision OF
credit facilities for European farmers
follow the natural division into short
time personal credit and longtime land
mortgage credit. The organizations
for the provision of personal credit
facilities are as highly developed as
are the systems of the commercial
banking. The prevailing rate of in
terest paid by the farmers for short
time loans is from 4 to 51a per cent
The terms offered European farmer:
are generally better designed to NEE
the peculiar requirements of agricul
; turist; than are the terms obtainablt
today by the American farmers.
The personal credit organizations
. have the form of cooperative socie
ties. Very often the members of these
societies assume unlimited liability FOL
; the debts of the society, while in othel
cases the societies take the form o
limited liability.
COOPERATION is KEYNOTE.
, The organizations fo- production
and distribution of farm products fol
low cOODeratiye lines Farm product:
are sold by the producer at a relativel!
higher price and are bought by thu
consumer at a relatively lower price
because the cost of distribution is con
siderably lowered by cooperative mar
keting, which results. also, in improv
ing the quality and uniformity of farm
products and in promoting more bust
nesslike methods in farming opera
tons"