The Raymer enterprise., 1914-04-02


farmer calls upon cooperation to sell
him his supplies. He asks 1t to mar
ket his eggs and his butter. 1t dis
tils alcohol out Of his potatoes and
makes wine for him out Of his fruit.
Everywhere in Germany you will find
cooperative elevators and warehouses
for storing grain, cooperative soci-
eties for improving the breed Of live
stock, cooperative banks for furnish
ing loans to members, cooperative in
surance companies for insuring
against every imaginable damage. Co
operative societies are formed to meet
the needs Of agriculture at every turn
producing the raw material, convert
ing the raw material into salable form,
and placing the finished product upon
the market.
Agricultural cooperative societies
have become SO numerous In Germany
as almost to jostle one another. There
are at the present time more than 26..
900 of them" These are the words Of
Henry Wolf, the great authority upon
agricultural cooperation, and we have
found his statement true. These 26,-
900 societies have nearly two and a
half million members. Over half Of
these societies are credit associations,
which have working capital Of over
$500, 100000. Moreover, the number
of societies and the number of men,
bers are constantly increasing. The
German farmer who in his way is an
individualist and as independent as is
the American farmer, has learned that
cooperation Is his salvation and be-
lieves In allying himself with his neigh
bors for the common economic de-
fense.
How German Farmer co.operates.
Everything the German farmer does
he does comparatively II he wishes
to purchase farm he gets a so or 60
year loan from a Landschaften bank.
When he finds 1t necessary to buy
implements or live stock, or seeds. he
uses money borrowed from a co-opera-
tive credit society, making short time
loans. He gets his equipment of CO
operative store which furnishes him
guaranteed article at the lowest pos
sible price. For when cooperation sells
to the farmer, everything from garden
seeds to threshing machines is guar
anteed. II he wishes to insure his
property he goes to cooperative in
surance company, which will insure
his crops against loss by hail or wind;
another cooperative insurance agency
insures his house against fire, while
another insures his live stock against
sickness, accident, or legal destruc-
ton, following the discovery of tuber-
culosis or other contagious disease.
His stock cattle come to him from a
cooperative breeding farm. From CO.
operative associations he gets his sci
entifici instructions as to the care Of
his cattle, as to the best feeds, as to
the cure of animal diseases, as to the
valuation of crops, as to fertilizers.
His milk and cream he takes to a CO.
operative creamery, from which 1t is
sold comparatively. His very hens
lay cooperative eggs which within an
hour after they are laid may bear the
stamp Of cooperative organization.
Even the farmers wife has a ten
dency toward cooperation and is az
alive to its advantages as is the farm
er himself. Everywhere we find the
women intelligent and conducting
their domestic affairs as scientifically
as do the men their farms.
Water Supply Companies.
] One form in which cooperation has
evinced its efficiency in Germany is
a rather unique one, and is one which
at least ID some parts Of the United
States is worthy Of careful study by
American farmers. Scattered through
out Germany there are many coopera-
tive societies for supplying water to
its members. There are In the prov
ince OF Hanover alone, for example, 35
such companies. Whether the commu-
nifty has been large or small these
supply companies have generally sue
ceeded.
The advantages of cooperation In
attacking the problem Of water supply
have been thus summarized: by CO.
operation sufficient sum Of money
can be raised to enable source Of wa.
ter to be tapped, unquestionable as to
purity. softness and quality; 2. Co