Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-03-27


In cooperation 1t is not cure-all
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, great believer In CO.
operation, says in an article in the
Constructive Quarterly, THAT 1t has
been productive of much material
good to those who employed its meth
ods with Intelligence and energy, is
beyond question; that it has been
barren of useful results where those
qualities were wanting is equally url-
deniable..
Cooperative marketing succeeds in
ireland because it stands for three
things: "a Good business methods
and intelligent management; (2) A
uniformly high quality Of product:
90 justice, equality and loyalty
among members. without these char
acteristics cooperation fails in Ire
land and fails everywhere. These are
the lessons that Ireland has to teach
America. No group which does not in
sist upon running it's cooperative con-
cern along these lines can succeed.
TO tolerate poor business methods, lax
iiy as to quality, or disloyalty and in
justice to each other is 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 It
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. It 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
is simply good, common sense and eff
cient business. There is nothing mys-
terious about it. AS we have said,
there is in 1t no magic The good
cooperative marketing concerns over
here succeed because they are well
organized, well managed, intelligently
governed, carefully supervised; be-
cause they are simply. efficient busi-
ness organizations in which 100 or
1000 men with common occupation
and a common interest. get together
for a united, harmonious effort in
which every man does his full share.
Must Be Purely Democratic.
Over here it is always zone man
one vote. One lesson that Ireland
has for America is that no man and
no small group of men can be permit
ted to control any cooperative organ
ization. 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. SIS. Men, not prop
erty VOTE is another expression
used here. Under this system no man
can use the cooperative society for his
own selfish ends. The poorest farmers
attend the meetings. and if they show
ability, go upon committees and be
come officers The organization is
most essentially democratic.
Here in Ireland, as in America, tht
poor men who have joined co-opera
tive concerns in which richer mer
have the controlling vote, have re
gretted it. Always the motives O
those In control are questioned ant
discord and discomfort have ensued
1t is one man one vote or failure
Sometimes the richer man objects, Il
/ put in more money / ought to hay,
more to say bow it Is managed" Bu
there is nothing in this contention
Human experience teaches us tina
there is no danger that the man o
property will be disfranchised. HI
never was In political fields wher
the rich man has no more voting pow
er than the poor man. the rich mai
has too much influence, rather thai
not enough. In cooperative societie
the rich man has as little to CON
plain of as in politics The man VIII
is wise and successful in his ow
business has proved the leader in tn
affairs Of the association by his wis
dom and the prestige of his success
Property has not been unduly di
franchised in cooperative societies
The struggle is always rather to kee
its power within reasonable limits.
/.
All Profits to the Producer.
The purpose back of co-operatiy
organization differs from that bac
of commercial enterprise. 1t seeb
not to make dividends for the ma
who invests his money, but to pr
vide that the producer shall receiy
the largest possible percentage of th
price paid by the. consumer IreIan
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EVIL EFFECTS OF MOON RAY