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

that is clean, fresh and untainted, pas
teurize all milk and cream, churn the
cream at a temperature not to exceed
4S degrees F.. and affix the control la
bel to no butter that exceeds the 16
per cent limit of moisture.
The enforcement of such rules as
this tending to result in high grade
products is what is meant by con
troll" 1t is another of the big lessons
that Ireland has to impart to pros
pective co-operators. And remember
this: No stock company or private
creamery ever yet was able to control
the quality of butter by controlling
every step back to the feed before the
COW eats it. Consequently, no private
ly owned creamery can make such but
ter as cooperative butter
Why Even College Experts Fail.
There is certain state agricul-
tural college where there are the
highest grade experts in charge of
butter making. The college creamery
equipment is as perfect as experience,
science and money can make it. Yet
out Of this creamery cannot be depend
ed upon to be always even fairly good
butter. Sometimes it Is downright
poor. The college people are not to
be blamed, for this creamery is COM
PEELED to use milk and cream brought
in by surrounding farmers who are
not always under control as to the way
the COW is fed and cared for as to
the way the stable is kept, the cows
milked, and the milk cooled, handled,
and cared for and delivered.
Brands Must Be Used.
It is not enough that the inherent
quality is high. The quality must be
evidenced in some way readily recog-
nizable by the public. Consequently
q system of brands and labels has
been devised for all products. By an
educational process covering years the
public as well as dealers have been
taught that the brand of cooperation
stands for quality. Consumers are
taught to demand this brand as an
evidence of quality. Retailers find that
the brand sells the product without
advertising. 1t is therefore the pol
icy of Irish cooperation to have a
brand. The afixing of the brand GER
titles quality and makes the article
transferable at fixed figure, just as
the impress which the gold disk re-
ceiyes In the mint makes 1t a SOW
ereign which passes current from hand
to hand.
An attorney, whose business has
been largely to investigate American
bankrupt concerns makes the state
ment that he never knew a bad COM
mercial failure where there was not
either dishonesty or lack of bookkeep-
ing methods. Bad failures come Only
where no one Is fully informed as to
the exact condition of the business.
The Irish co-operators fully recognize
this principle. Certain standard forms
of bookkeeping have been worked out
and largely adopted; the best methods
of keeping the books, and of making
summaries and reports for audit,
have been also established, SO that
the exact condition may be brought to
the attention of the members of the
concern AT any time. AS a result we
find everywhere throughout the coop
erative enterprises of Ireland surpris-
| ingly efficient methods of accounting.
The ]. a. o. 8. and it's supervisory sys-
! ter are largely responsible for this
situation.
Onef of the greatest difficulties en-
countsred was that of obtaining skill.
ed managers for the various co-opera
tive concerns. But skilled and intel
ligenk they must be in order to in
sure success. For example, it is
nec&ssary that the man at the head
of a. creamery must not only be a