Arizona republican., 1913-05-24

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 turally than the Unitedt States. The
 ccompl1shn4en of the Rta1ian tI'rIral
 banks when athey are corkrastedj with
 their humbles beginning .iseastoEading-
 AboutthirtyANears ago4Dr. Leon Vol
 Iemborg. moved by the sgpeat gburden
 placed upon the poor faumers of his
 home in the~venetian parrish ofLoreg-
 g1e, decided %otcopy the 4GerIsan idea
 of co-opera tNe banks. The farners
 among whom \heAstartHtfaf1is task were
 paupers even tl a poor sland. Secur-
 ing some thircyAu en berstfor%i1 bank
 ing society, pr. Woueuborg, who was
 a man of private means, contributed
 s4o0 himself and screped together
 within the first half year of the rex
 istence of hisssocAety S1, 400 mora the
 most of which he contributed himself.
 This money was loaned among the
 members Of the society and later
 further loan wasY secured from a say
 ings bank. All ofsthis was paid back. 1
 Today the savings banks are willing
 to lend at anytime to theo rural bank
 ing societies. They have never lost
 a cent from funds entrusted to them.
 pr. WolIemborf;s original bank>ts stin
 in existence. Ittno longer has to de-
 pend upon his loans or charity from
 any source to secure funds. It has
 reserve and has become a fixed institution in the community. And from this initial investment of s2.ooo has sprung a system of banking Eo- c1eties that covers nearly all Italy.
 The Commission has seen and Is beginning to comprehend the prin- ciples and the methods by which these Individually poor peasants are com bined to create, through their own ef- fort alone. a tremendous power. And it Is beginning also to dawn upon them that if such power is given these farm CTS, a relatively greater power can be given the American farmers whom na-
 ture has so generously endowed. Az riculturaE operation Is simply ap plication of unionism among farmers,
 but an unionisrn based upon business
 principles. employing business meth ods and seeking business results. Tho one argument raised against the adop- ton of cooperation in the United States is that the farmers are too in telligent that they cannot be handled" like the peasant farmers of
 Europe Now the mmisstoners are asking themselves whether lack Of in
 telligence Is a qualification for success in such business undertakings as they see these cooperative societies to be. Moreover. the very basis of a6ricultu- ral cooperation in it's best forms in Europe is that the farmers shall not be handled" but be perfectly able to handle" themsel These points are being borne home upon the Con1rais- sioners even at the start of theLr trip.
 But to appreciate the impression made upon them by heir studies in the first European country visited. a word is necessary regarding the peculiar con- ditions of agricultural Italy. Italy is primarily an agricultural country and certainly not a wealthy one. The poverty of the peasant farmers and farm laborers of inc
 South is extreme. but conditions i'm prove steadily as the traveller goes north. The South of Italy has not yet shaken off the curse of big landed estates owned by lazy land lords who dissipate their lives in pleasure the year round at Naples, Rome, or some other. distant city or watering place. while the tillers of the soil are forced to labor for a rniserab ble daily wage There can emo develop ment worthy of the name, there can be no conservation of the resources of land where there is no owner to- live upon 1t. to love it and give it the labor of love. The problem: of ,absen- tee ownership is not yet serious one in the United Statss. but signs Of dts ] approach in certain districts ares eVen3 now noticeable. The-aweaIthy fafmerj retires and moves Ito town and rents his farm, orthires a. tenant to work it. That tenant twSa lSnexer4e1ve to the land the care that'1t wouid.reo eiyet fir orn an owners .sSouth Italy has at IsaSt this l 1 lesson for Americans. that @ farmers land IS like woman---he must wed it ] and love 1t if hafwouid receiyaJ the utrn ost from it.> ~l ,7 I In the central pr rovinces the peasant l faYmer-the :. Contadino, as he is3 1 called-dOes- not, as g general rule, l own his land, but there obtains ,pe- 1 ouiiar system of tenure that apparent 1 Iy serves an almost perfect substi- l ute. The owner of large estate in | Central Italy divides his lands into a | number of small holdings of about l from twenty-five to thirty-five acres. l Each holding is called a podere.- The Contadini work these small holdings on a share basis. {. A-Deasant farmer the Mezzadrp. as the head ot 1.-the peas-