The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1914-04-03

audit which leads to good accounting
systems and good business methods.
The central Office serves as a bureau
of information and advice. In case Of
marketing the central society, by rea-
son of its size and financial resources,
gets into markets which would be al
together inaccessible to theA little 10
cal concern. Without Capitalization
German cooperation would be much
less effective than it is.
Increased Quantity.
Here in Germany, as elsewhere, CO.
operation has not only enabled the
farmer to make the most out of what
he produces, but has increased the
quantity and improved the quality of
the product itself. This has been true
in every line where cooperative or
ganizations have become active. The
results in dairying are fairly repre-
sentative. In Bradenburg tests were
made in 1908 which covered the pro
duction of over 1000 cows The av-
erage yield Of milk per COW was found
to be 1861 Kilograms, producing 95 kill
ograms of butter, and netting profit
of 1896 marks per COW. In 1910 the
average yield had increased to 1885
Kilograms of milk, producing 101 kilo-
grams of butter, and netting 1895
marks profit for each cow, an increase
of 24.59 marks per COW, a matter Of
$4,000 on the 1000 cows.
German Cooperation Democratic.
German cooperation is, to para
phrase the recognized formula for
democracy .,of the members, by the
members. and for the members" No
body thinks of a German cooperative
society as organized for the purpose
of declaring dividends. The utmost
returns that those who hold shares
receive is a five or six per cent. profit.
If a creamery, for example, finds it.
self with undivided profits it does not
distribute them to the members in pro-
portion to the shares they hold, but
to the members who as patrons bring
in the milk and cream, and they go to
them in proportion to the quantity and
quality furnished by each. These
profits constitute as it were an addi-
tional price, which the patrons receive
for their product. All, too, are man
aged upon the zone man one vote"
plan. The member who holds only one
share and brings in the milk Of only
one COW has the same voting power as
the farmer with thousand shares and
thousand cows. Cooperation is most
emphatically democratic.
Good Quality and Good Business.
German co-operators themselves
ascribe the success Of their societies
largely to good quality and good bust
ness methods. The societies pride
themselves upon the fact that their
output is better than that of privately
owned plants. Their goods are in de-
mand, they say, not because they are
cooperative goods, but because they
are good goods. The societies almost
without exception have required that
managers shall be skilled men with
both experience and training. These
positions pay good salaries, and can
didates spend time and money quail
flying themselves to hold them. AS
a result these concerns are most bust
nesslike in every particular. The
plants are efficient, the employers
competent, and most excellent ac-
counting systems are in vogue.
Cooperative Credit.
It is noticeable that in Germany
there are more cooperative credit So
cieties than marketing societies. More
over, the average German enthusiast