The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931, 1914-02-05
Cooperative
CONTINUED from page L.

evitable. Nor we're the tired farmers
wives to be criticised for the poor re
suits obtained. They had no facilities
for keeping the milk and cream clear
and cool, no facilities for making but
ter, no facilities for keeping it.
Cooperation Lightens Labor.
What the woman on the farm most
needs is to be free from the burden OF
the endless handling of milk, cream
and butter, from skimming the milk,
and churning the cream and from salt
ing and working and molding the but
ter-from all the labor entailed in the
production of homemade, handmade
butter. She needs it if she is to have
any life outside the kitchen and the
milk room.
The laborious WEAKNESS of the un-
eventful existence Of the farmers wife
has produced many candidates for the
insane asylums. More than one worn
out unfortunate has been taken into
custody because her household duties
have chained her to a maddening
monotony unrelieved by opportunity
for intercourse, and have made impos-
sible any thought above the churn and
the cook stove One Wisconsin farm
er's wife was adjudicated by the coun-
ty judge to be afflicted with insanity.
When the judge announced the deci-
sion to the husband he was incredu-
lous. ut can't be she's got insanity
or anything else" he said. She's had
no chance to catch it. She hasn't set
foot off the farm for IA years and no
neighbor has stayed at our house long
enough to give her anything"
If cooperation in the production and
marketing of butter will take off even
small part of the burden of the farm
ers' wife, if it will give her time to
straighten up from her work at table
and tub and leave her free to remem
Der that she is human being with a
head and soul, if it will permit her
TO get off the farm oftener than once
in IA wears-if cooperation will do
this or help by ever so little to do it,
the woman on the farm Is for co-opera-
ton.
An UngaIIant lrishman.
We have found one man here in Ire
land who is opposed to cooperation.
Walking along a country road near
Omagh we came upon shrewd faced
lrishman who was very ready to talk
about cooperation. He was evidently
man of some intelligence and, judg
ing from his manner and address, a
man of some experience and success
in business. So we engaged him in
conversation about cooperation and
its effects.
Il am against it," he said. There
is no sense in it." And he gave us in
forcible and picturesque language the
story of how he had been personally
injured in his business by co-opera-
ton. 1t developed that he had been a
buyer of farm produce-a commission
in a small way "Now there
is no money in it." he said, "since the
margin between what the city man
pays and what the farmer receives is
cut down. The farmer sells through
the cooperative organization directly
to the city merchant" Reluctantly he
admitted that maybe it was better for
The farmer and better for the city con-
sumner who had little with which to
BUY food. But it's hard on us COM
mission men. It's putting us on the
'ocks. l am not buying butter at all
my more. The cooperative creamery
lere has run me out"
We asked him if cooperative butter |
making did not make the work of the
armer's wife and daughter easier c
OF course it does" he said. and lit S
lie good it is doing them. They don't t
lave to skim the milk and churn and |
mold and salt the butter now and so t
hey go galavanting over the roads on {
heir bicycles. They don't stay home Il
t all any more They're worse about |
adding than city women" and he a
hook his head with misgivings. h
So, if it be true, as our Irish friend t.
I his self pity proclaimed, that CO. e
perative butter making and butter o
is going to make it cost the is
less and net the farmer u
lore, we suggest that both maker and IL
ater will be for it, the ex-commission
erchant to the contrary notwith-
.anding. They will both in city and II
)untry be interested in seeing coop O,
alton accomplished Certainly the r
'untry woman who feels the burden hi
butter making will welcome a pro- p
'ss by which she is to get an oppor- CT
nifty to see something besides the in
p of the cook stove and the inside of fo
lie big churn. And we do not believe th
at the ordinary American farmer th
III object to cooperation even if it IT
res give his wife and daughter time a
get out upon the road in buggy or m
| bicycles. te
The Omagh Creamery. or
When we learned that the Omagh ii,
cooperative Creamery system of mar do
ting was cutting down the margin tn
price between farmer and consumer a
was both raising the price to the ca
'mer and lowering the price to the TT
lsumer we concluded that it was a pa
1cern worth considering. Even the ity
that made it possible for ali
! farmers wife and daughter to get
on their bicycles occasionally did
unduly prejudice us against it, The is,