The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-09-05


"a terest the American rural pop
: ~ ulati0n along financial, business
and social lines, as a means to
strengthen the position of the farmers,
increase their income and their produc-
ton and to lower the cost of food
stuffs to the consumers, has been an
nounced at Washington in u letter to
the governors of the states, to the
farmers organizations. agricultural in
situations and farmers Of America
from the American commission on ag-
ricultural cooperation, which recently
arrived from Europe.
A report is to be made later to the
governors Of the various states and the
farmers organizations, agricultural in
stitutions and farmers of America.
The letter just sent discussed the gen
eral form of rural organization in the
European countries visited by the com
mission.
Cooperation In Europe.
The commission found that Euro
pean agriculture was organized along
cooperative lines and also found that
the European farmers have apparent
" obtained Il financial, business and
social strength equal to that of the or
gained urban classes of capital and
labor
DR.. c. }. Owens of Maryland, direc-
tor general of the American commits
sion and managing director of the
southern commercial congress, said in
the letter:
THE commission is deeply impress
ed with the vital Importance Of thor
oughly organized and united rural pop
ulation. In this respect the countries
of Europe offer a lesson which may not
long be disregarded in America with
out serious 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
Farm Loans at Low Rates.
organizations for the provision of
credit facilities for European farmers
follow the natural division into short
time personal credit and long time land
mortgage credit. The organizations
for the provision of personal credit ia
cilities are as highly developed as are
the systems of commercial banking.
The prevailing rate of interest paid by
the farmers for short time loans is
from to 80 per cent. The terms of
fered European farmers are generally
better designed to meet the peculiar
requirements of agriculturists than are
the terms obtainable today by the
American farmers.
THE personal credit organizations
have the form of cooperative societies
Very often the members of these So
cieties assume unlimited liability for
the debts of the society, while in other
cases the societies take the form of
limited liability. AS a rule in Euro
pean countries the law makes little or
no provision for exemptions of any
kind These short time credit societies
furnish cheap, safe and elastic credit
to their members Dy FedSon VI CASlA
control by farmers and are organiza-
lions exclusively in the interest of
farmers, who operate them at nominal
cost and without seeking dividend
profit to such societies.
Lower Distribution Cost.
1.-THE organizations for production
and distribution of farm products fol-
low cooperative lines, Farm products
are sold by the producer at relatively
lower price because the cost of distrl-
button is considerably lowered by CO.
operative marketing, which results
also in improving the quality and uni
formity of farm products and in pro
noting more businesslike methods in
For,,,irtr pDnratioDS