Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-06-12

consumer. There can. in a truly CO.
operative enterprise, be no antagonis-
tic interests The interests of all are
identical. Each is seeking to accom-
plish the same purpose.
The richer member does not feel
himself disfranchised. What is good
for him is good for the poorer member
and he seems to have been always
able to make the poorer member see
it and vote with him. Everywhere it
is one man one vote. There is abso-
lutely no dissent from the principle
ireland, Belgium, Denmark, and Ger
many, all agree that this is absolutely
the only method of management.
DisIoyalty of Members.
One of the great stumbling blocks
in cooperative success in America has
been the disloyalty of the members
themselves AS soon as a cooperative
marketing concern is organized a pri-
vately owned company is likely to Of
fer an advanced price-one consider
ably above that which the cooperative
concern is offering and possibly one
much higher than the condition of the
market will justify. In America hui
man nature, like human nature in
general, is selfish and it is difficult for
the farmer to see why he should sacri-
flee five cents bushel upon his grain
out of mere sentiment of loyalty to
the cooperative enterprise. AS re-
suit he almost inevitably takes his
grain to the privately owned concern.
His neighbors do the same and soon
the cooperative concern is on the
rocks and is abandoned. No observer
of American commercial methods
needs to be told the next step. The
privately owned concern Immediately
lowers the price, the farmer Is where
he was before but by his own disloyal-
ty he has made it practically impossi-
BILE for any other cooperative con
Germ ever to be organized in the COM
munity.
European cooperation has had the
same experience. 1t was originally
hard for the European farmer to real
ize that he should sacrifice limited
demonstrate his loyalty to the con-
Germ and to secure ultimate success.
The situation, however, no longer
arises where cooperation has become
fairly established.
In the very beginning of the organi-
zation a frank statement is made and
| prospective members are informed
that the competition of privately
owned buyers will be such that they
4 will be offered larger profits than the
cooperative concern can offer them
and that unless they are ready to go
into the cooperative enterprises and
to agree to bring all their products to
| it irrespective of the price which it is
| offering no organization can be sue
cessful. The fact that the high prices
which will be offered them in compe-
tition are but temporary is fully ex-
/ planned and experience shows that
when the farmer understands what
! the situation is likely to be lie is very
ready to enter into an agreement to
market all of his produce through the
| cooperative concern,
Quality and Control.
1 Another Characteristic common to
all cooperative organizations which
1 we visited in these four countries is
that where the society is marketing
concern it insists upon the highest
quality and in order to get it exercises
absolute control over the acts of its
members so far as these acts contrib
ute to the quality of the product. Such
| successful dairying institution as the
4 Trifolium dairy of Denmark has most
1 rigid rules to which all members must
subscribe. There must be monthly
inspection by the veterinarians repre-
senting the society; COW found to be
unhealthy or defective must be with.
drawn; the slightest illness on the
part of the COW must be reported and
the milk kept separate; detailed re
quirements as to ventilation, cleanli
ness, handling of milk and milk cans
must be observed; the milk of cows
which have not been inspected must
not be mingled with those which
have; milk must be cooled within one
hour after it is milked in order thai
meteorological growth may cease;
cans must be cleaned in a certain
way; In fact everything is done which
can be done to improve the quality o.
the milk and the butter and Other
products handled by the Trifoliun
dairy
Central Association Needed.
Experience in these foreign coun
tries has also demonstrated that M
local cooperative concern is sufficien
unto itself. The manager of co
operative egg marketing institution IL
northwestern Ireland may know al
about poultry raising and egg produc
ton, may be skilled in the art of pack
). ing his eggs, and know something il
general about marketing. 1t is impos
sible for him, isolated as he is, tt
! know from day to day where there is
! demand for his product. AS result i
, is found necessary in Ireland to havt
these cooperative concerns afiliatet
with the Irish Wholesale Society, will
: Headquarters at Dublin.
? The same principle exists in Ger
!. many but is worked out in anothe
way. The necessity of federation il
brecognized, however, in all countries
although the way in which the loca
organizations are affiliated into cen
, trail organization varies under the con
' ditions of the various countries
) Europe's Unanimous Verdict.
; Europes cooperative message /
3 briefly to this effect
|, L. Cooperative societies cannot b
r dividend paying concerns. All profit
3 must go to the producers as additiona
+ price for goods delivered.
) 2. Each member must vote ono
3 and only once regardless of his finar
t cial investment.
e 3. Each member must make cor
: tract to deal exclusively with the &C
e operative concern and must refuse t
take advantage of unfair competition
on the part of the cooperative socie