The Raymer enterprise., 1914-01-22

GU nuu kuntdutcou db tucy never HeI6
before. 1t has lowered the price and
improved the quality Of tea, Indian
meal and sugar. In one case, for ex-
ample. where rival trader was charg.
ing $S.07 for seven stone OF -four wa
were, offering the same -four at $2.25
for the seven stone.
"You may be interested In knowing
about what an average family here
has for an income, where he gets 1t
and what he has to eat. have made
out a little statement so you could
figure that out. To begin with. every
farmer has his own potatoes and oats.
Besides this, his income is something
like this:
Eggs and poultry. per week. about
five shillings ($65 per year,.
Butter for about 1S or 20 weeks In
summer, one to two shillings ($7 per
year,.
Sale Of cattle possibly IL pounds
each year $3.50 per year,.
Sale Of sheep, one pound ($5 per
year,.
"A total of $137 per year.
Besides this, the women earn
little something by knitting sweaters
and making lace etc.
Marketing Eggs.
you will notice that eggs are our
staple product. The average poor
farm family around here gets each
year from IL to Is pounds out Of their
eggs. which is generally about half
of their entire money income. Before
we took hold. however, egg raising
was not at all profitable. There was
no steady market, the farmers did not
understand poultry. and no one had
any. ambition to learn anything about
1t. They didn't take care of their
eggs well and few were sold.
Previously the local price was two
or three pence less than the price
quoted in the nearest market in Straw
bane and Derry. Now the prices paid
are from one to two pence above the
prices quoted in these markets. In
other words, we have increased the
value Of dozen eggs from three to
four pence (six to eight cents). For
the entire district this amounts to
quite a sum. You must remember
also that while we purchased only
one-tenth Of the eggs sold in this par
ish, the fact that we at Dunglow are
paying the prices which we pay has
made 1t necessary for every other
buyer in the entire parish to pay the
same price.
Irish Lace and Knitted Goods.
Our cooperative company looks af.
ter a good many things besides sell
Ing eggs and butter. We are helping
the girls market their lace and knitted
work. Two years ago we asked the
government department to send us an
instructor to teach the girls to make
hand-knit sport coats (sweaters).
They sent man to look 1t up. He
talked with some Of the men here
who were not friendly to this coop
erative movement. Nothing was done.
Our girls were getting one shilling
six pence (36 cents) for knitting a
dozen pairs Of socks. using up from
three and a half to four pounds of
wool. These socks were purchased of
the women by an agent of a whole
sale trader. |
THE cooperative society decided
they could do better by the girls than
these buyers. Since they started buy
ing, the girls get seven shillings six
pence ($1.S7) from the society for
knitting sweater coat, using only two
pounds of wool and taking only one
half as long as dozen pair of socks.
Putting 1t another way. for the same
amount Of wool and the same time
spent in knitting, the girls get Is
shillings ($3.75) instead of one shil-
ling six pence t36 cents). That is. our
society Is paying them ten times what |
they used to get from the other buy |
ers for their knitting. Formerly the
girls who knit lace were bound by a
bargain under which If they sold to
any one privately they were boycott.
ted. The buyer told them unless they
sold him all he would buy nothing.
Now we are getting fairly good prices
for the lace, better than they got be-
fore and we. Of course. permit them to
sell wherever they can. They fire.
quently have oportunity to sell to
tourists and others who come through
here. While we get fairly good prices
for the lace, there is no steady market
for 1t. as there is for the knitted
goods.
Connected With Central Society.
Our little local society could not
stand alone and do what we are try.
ing to do. We are helped all the time
by Sir Horace Plunkett's organization
society and by the Cooperative While
sale society at Dublin. Each week
the wholesale society sends US fore
cast giving the figures that should be
obtained for eggs, butter and chick
ems, and stating whether or not there
Is to be demand for these products.
Each day we write to the wholesale
society, telling them what we have
On hand and what we will likely have.
Sometimes We telegraph. Then they