The Harrison times., 1914-03-21

Dublin, and.-There is no magic
In cooperation. It Is not a cureall
for economic Ills. Cooperative con-
Germs succeed because they employ
good business methods, In fact CO.
operative marketing Is good business
and good sense and intelligence APP
piled to farm marketing, This is the
biggest and most important lesson to
be learned in Ireland, AS Rev Fa'
ther Finley, a great believer In CO.
operation, says in an article in the
Constructive Quarterly, THAT II has
been productive Of much material
good to those who employed its meth.
DDS with intelligence and energy is
beyond question; that It has been
barren Of useful results where those
qualities were wanting is equally un'
denlable"
Cooperative marketing succeeds In
Ireland because II stands for three
things; Q) Good business methods
and intelligent management; (2) A
uniformly high quality Of product;
(3) Justice, equality and loyalty
among members, Without these char.
actersticB cooperation fails in Ire
land and fails everywhere, These are
the lessons that Ireland has to teach
America, No group which does not In
slst upon running It's cooperative con-
oern along these lines can succeed
TO tolerate poor business methods, lax
ity ~ to quality, or dIsloyaty and In.
justice to each other IN to fail,
These are some things Americans
will not be required to experiment
upon, because the Irish have already
tried them out,
Simply Good Business,
Irish cooperation makes money for
farmer and city consumer alike, II
has succeeded In bringing the producer
and consumer nearer together The
farm products go directly to the city
consumer The product arrives In
good shape, II brings only reason
able price The result is that city
man and farmer profit by the more
economical method Of distribution,
but cooperative marketing after all
IL simply good, common sense and olll'
Client business There In nothing mys'
terIous about it, Az we have said,
there In In Il no magic, The good
cooperative marketing concerns over
hero succeed because they are well
organized, woll managed lntellgently
governed, carefully supervised, be-
cause thoy are simply oillolont bual'
ness organizations In which 100 or
1000 men with u common occupation
and q common interest get together
for a united, harmonious effort In
which every man does his full share,
ovor hero II Ia always "ono man
one vote" ono losson that Ireland
has for America Ia that no man and
no small group OF men can be permit
ted to control any cooperative organ
iSation The principal OF one man one
vote must prevail, The man who has
invested $1,000 must have no more
voting power than the man who has
Invested only 81, Men, not prop
erty vote" Ia another expression
used here, Under this system no man
can use the cooperative society for hln
own selfish ends Tho poorest farmers
attend the meetings, and II they ahow
ability, 20 upon committees and be'
come officers The organization "
most essentially democratic,
All Profts 20 tho Producer
Tho purpose back OF cooperative
organization differs from that baek
of commercial enterprise, II seeks
not to make dividends for the man
who invests his money, but TO pro-
vide that the producer shall receive
the largest possible percentage OF the
price paid by the consumer Ireland
has found by experience that whore
large profits are paid TO tho Investors
the real purposes Of cooperation are
not served one case In recorded
whore American fruit growers organ
iser eo.oalled cooperative concern
upon the Joint stock plan. They In
yegled into the venture n large mum
ber Of smaller growers who had little
money TO invest, but In the aggregate
very considerable amount OF fruit
60 market, The ones who invested
lnraely were IN control aud proceed.