Polk County news-gazette. (Benton, Tenn.) 190?-191?, 1914-04-02

audit which leads to good accounting
systems and good business methods
The central ONCE serves as a bureau
Of information and advice. In case OF
marketing the central society, by rea-
son OF its size and financial resources,
gets into markets which would be al
together inaccessible to the little 10
cal concern. Without Capitalization
German cooperation would be much
less effective than il is.
Increased Quantity.
Here I'm Germany, as elsewhere, Co
operation has not only enabled the
farmer to make the most out Of what
he produces, but has increased the
quantity and improved the quality Of
the product itself. This has been true
in every line where cooperative or
CARNATIONS have become active. The
results in dairying are fairly repre-
sentative. In Bradenburg tests we're
made in 1903 which covered the pro
duction of over 1000 cows. The av-
erage yield of milk per COW was found
to be 1861 Kilograms, producing 80 xiii
ograms of butter and netting pront
of 10S.06 marks per COW. In 1910 the
average yield had increased to 1855
Kilograms of milk, producing 1O1 kilo-
grams of butter, and netting 1880
marks profit for each COW, an increase
of 2459 marks per COW, matter OF
$4,000 on the 1000 cows.
German Cooperation Democratic.
German cooperation is, to para
phrase the recognized formula for
democracy 'of the members, by the
members, and for the members" NO
body thinks of a German cooperative
society as organized for the purpose
of declaring dividends. The utmost
returns that those who hold shares
receive is a five or six per cent. prott.
If a creamery, for example, hnds IL
self with undivided profits it does not
distribute them to the members IN pro-
portion to the shares they hold, but
to the members who as patrons bring
in the milk and cream and they go to
them in proportion to the quantity ana
quality furnished by each. These
profits constitute as it were an add
tional price, which the patrons receive
for their product. All, TOO, are man.
aged upon the Zone man one vote
plan. The member who holds only one
share and brings in the milk OF only
one COW has the same voting power as
the farmer with thousand shares and
a thousand COWS. Cooperation is most@
emphatically democratic.
Good Quality and Good Business.
German cooperators themselves
ascribe the success of their societies
largely to good quality and good bust
ness methods. The societies pride
themselves upon the fact that their
OUTPUT is better than that of privately
owned plants. Their goods are in e.
mand, they say, not because they are
cooperative goods, but because they
are good goods. The societies almost
without exception have required that
managers shall be skilled men with
both experience and training. Thfe
positions pay good salaries, and IN
didates spend time and money quail
flying themselves to hold them. AS
a result these concerns are aacst husts-
nesslike in every particular. TIE
plants are' efficient, the employers
competent, and most excellent ae-
counting systems are in vogue.
Cooperative Credit.
It is noticeable that in Germany
there are more cooperative credit so
cieties than marketing societies. More
over, the average German enthusiast