The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1914-06-25
Where Fifty Thousand seisisn Peasants Cooperate.
EUROPE'S COOPERATIVE MESSAGE

No n can make such a trip OF In
ve~stlgation as we have made without
becoming convinced that into Amerl.
can rural life must come some form Of
cooperative enterprise. II II costs as
much to take the farm produce from
the farm to the city consumer as II
does TO produce II land this Is an ad.
mitted fact) II necessarily follows that
u distributive system Is wonderfully
wasteful. How long will the intelli.
gent American farmer tolerate a sys-
TEN which nets him 20 to so per cent
OF the retail price OF his farm product
after he knows that the Danish farmer
gets n little over ninety per cent OF
what tho pays for his prod.
uct. As we investigate what Is done
abroad and what could be done In
America In the way Of efficient dis.
tribution the wonder grows that the
American farmer with his intelligence
and independence and initiative has
consented TO be a victim OF a distribu.
tive system which has put him abso-
lutely In the hands OF the commercial
'ciN'o NiiA ihh'iN'H' btNN 'tH illllotll
and the consumer. 1t is no less as.
consisting that the more busincssllke
and more commercialiZed city consum-
or should have so long consented TO
pay a price TO the distributor OF farm
products which Is over 100 per cent
above the producers price.
Cooperation Is coming TO America.
Whether Il will come in tho exact
form In which 1t evidences itself In
foreign lands or In some other differ.
eEt form Is immaterial. It may not
come Immediately but eventually and
inevitably the idea OF cooperation will
prevail Ia the future agricultural and
commercial organizations OF the Unit.
ed States.
Cooperative Lessons.
u Ia safe to that Ireland,
Belgium. Germany. and Denmark have
learned some lessons from their many
years OF cooperative ~endeayor. II Is
safe 10 assume that II certain princi-
Piles have been found to apply through.
out all these countries. then these prin.
ciples are at least worthy OF care
full consideration for future use In
America.
There are some points as TO which
oil cooperative societies abroad are
the same. There are some as to
which they differ. as Is but natural
when we consider the varying condi.
lions under which the various socie-
ties operate In the different countries.
We are OF course primarily Interested
In those fundamental characteristics
which are common to all.
Whenever u number OF American
an organization which has to do with
mercantile or other financial enter.
prise. 1t Is but natural to talk about
profits and dividends. Their idea OF
organization Is n joint stock corpora.
ton IN which each man invests such
money as ho can spare, In which each
yoteS In proportion TO the shares pur.
chased. and the main purpose OF which
Is To earn money and declare divi.
dends. 1t IL dlflcult for him to con.
ceive OF a commercial organization
whose chief function " not to squeeze
all the profit there Is out OF every &c.
tivity.
Truo cooperation Is impossible 80
long AZ this idea OF organization Is
retained.
The purpose OF the cooperative en-
terprise Is to handle tho product with
economy and efficiency 30 that there
will be no waste and no profits d.
verted from the producers pocket. II
such a oncer pays a large dividend
TO shareholders II Is rot evidence OF
success but a clear indication that
money which should have gone to the
producer has been taken from him
and given to the investor. THIS con.
ception has not yet reached the con.
sciousness OF the American farmer
who still expects n cooperative cor.
cerm to pay dividends.
The Irish Way.
In Ireland we found that nearly all
OF the elective cooperative o~rganiza.