The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-06-09
Where Fifty Thousand Belgian Peasants Cooperate.
EUROPE'S COOPERATIVE MESSAGE

Copenhagen, Denmark - Co-opera-
tive enterprises have revolutionized
agricultural Europe and now dominate
the rural life of the entire continent.
Without cooperation the Belgian
would not be the efficient agricultur-
ist which he is; Germany would not
have developed its agricultural posi-
bilities to the point where its home
grown food supply is so nearly self
sufficient: Denmark would not be ex-
porting sixty million dollars worth Of
the best dairy products in the world;
Ireland would not be facing the future
with hopefulness to which she has
been a stranger ever since her lands
were confiscated as a result of the
early wars
Belgium has 1900 rural organiza-
lions representing a membership OF
100000. At Luvaine we saw single
federation of cooperative farmers
league which represented q member
ship OF over $4,000 and did a business
mounting into the millions. In Ger
many it is estimated that there are
thirty odd thousand cooperative So
cieties of various kinds and every So
ciety, with true German thoroughness
OF organization federated, affiliated,
and associated until together they
form an industrial unit with a mem
bership of over five million. In Den
mark one out of every four inhabi-
tants belongs to a society engaged in
some cooperative activity One man
will belong to eight or ten different
cooperative societies, each society
performing some necessary function
in the economic life of the individual.
Permeates Danish Life.
To illustrate how cooperation per-
meates Danish rural life: At Freder-
ickssund while visiting the co-opera-
tive bacon factory we came in con-
tact with little group Of farmers and
their wives who were inspecting the
factory-the factory of which they
were part owners. Upon getting them
in conversation we discovered that in
that little group of Il persons, II diff
ferent cooperative organizations were
represented. These were a co-opera-
tive bacon factory, a cooperative egg
export organization, a cooperative
store, an organization for the cooper
alive purchase of fertilizers; a coop
erative fire insurance society," a CO.
operative life insurance society, a So
ciety for the insurance of animals,
another society for the insurance of
members against sickness, a co-opera-
tive credit society, farmers water
works company anC an electrical sup
ply company. All of these men and
women were from the farm and were
of the ordinary type of farmers, Meth
er rich nor poor but thoroughly rep
resentatiye group. 1t is probable.
judging from our inquiries, that in
any Mroup of a similar number would
have been found representatives OF
similar number of cooperative enter
prises.
In Ireland we found, that coopera-
ton, under the leadership of Sir Hor
ace Plunkett ably seconded by Rev.
Thomas A Finlay. George w. Rus
cell, and r. A. Anderson, has revolu-
sionized rural Ireland In fact cooper
alton and the opportunities which
have come from the new land tenure
laws have well nigh remoulded the
Irish race itself 1t is evident that in
many sections his economic welfare
mas been so well served that the Irish
man is even losing his pugnacity He
is no longer necessarily "agin the
government" but is becoming a well
contented citizen more intent upon his
economic situation than upon his po-
litical surroundings. He is losing his
interest in politics and we talked to
many who seemed loath even to dis
cuss so important a question as the
home rule bill which was then pending
and over which the politicians were
becoming excited The land tenure
law has made it possible for him to
secure a home; cooperation has made
st possible for him to secure home;
cooperation has made it possible for
him TO feed and clothe his family.
No one can make such a trip of in
vestigstion as we have made without
becoming convinced that into Ameri-
can rural life must come some form Of
cooperative enterprise If 1t costs as
much to take the farm produce from
the farm to the city consumer as it
does to produce it land this is an ad-
mitted fact) it necessarily follows that
Dur distributive system is wonderfully
wasteful How long, will the intelli-
gent American farmer tolerate a sys-
lem which nets him % to so per cent
Of the retail price of his farm product
after he knows that the Danish farmer
gets a s.ttle over ninety per cent OF