Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1914-03-18

Dublin, Ireland.-There is no magic
In cooperation. It is not q 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 ap-
piled to farm marketing. This Is the
biggest and most important lesson to
be learned in Ireland. AS Rev. Fa-
Their Finley, a 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
DDS with intelligence and energy, is
beyond question; that it has been
barren of useful results where those
qualities were wanting is equally un-
deniable"
Cooperative marketing succeeds In
Ireland because it stands for three
things: (1) Good business methods
and intelligent management; (2) A
uniformly high quality of product;
(3) 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 its cooperative con-
Germ along these lines can succeed.
To tolerate poor business methods, lax
ity 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 a 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
Gent business. There is nothing mys-
ferrous about it. AS we have said,
there is In it no magic. The good
cooperative marketing concerns over
here succeed because they are we'll
organized, we'll managed, fntellisently
governed, carefully supervised; be.
Cd, cRio a.;
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
Over here it is always zone man
one VOTE" One lesson that Ireland
has for America is that no man anG
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 hal
invested only S.. Men, not prop
erty vote," Is another expression
used here. Under this system no mar
can use the cooperative society for hi
own selfish ends. The poorest farmer'
attend the meetings, and If they show
ability, go upon committees and be
come officers. The organization II
most essentially democratic.
Al Profits to the Producer.
The purpose back Of cooperative
organization differs from that bacl
of a commercial enterprise. 1t SEEK
not to make dividends for the MAJ
who invests his money, but to PFC
vide that the producer shall receiv'
the largest possible percentage Of tn
price paid by the consumer. Irelan,
has found by experience that wher
large profits are paid to the investor
the real purposes of cooperation ar
not served. One case is recorde
where American fruit growers organ
1zer a so-called cooperative concer.
upon the joint stock plan. They II
weighed into the venture a large nun
Der of smaller growers who had lttl
money to invest, but in the aggregat
a very considerable amount Of fru1
to market. The ones who investe
largely were in control and proceed
ed to make large profits for then