The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931, 1914-02-12
Cooperative
CONTINUED from page ID

death mad bought the ldnQ under the
imperial land tenure act providing for
an arbitrated value as between land,
lord and tenant. The value once fixed
the government pays for the land, and
then permits the tenant who becomes
purchaser to repay the purchase price
in sixty odd years, each year keeping
up the interest at two and three
fourths per cent. and paying in add.
ton small installment upon the
principal He tells how his father paid
as rent alone, IS pounds per year,
while he himself in buying the farm is
now paying, including both interest
and annual installments on principal
only IA pounds per year. Quite nat
urally he has a keen appreciation of
the land tenure laws which enabled
him gradually to obtain the farm by
the payment of less money each year
than originally went for rent alone
This is not to him the important
thing, however. His father had pre-
viously been tenant. A new thatch
on the barn, a new slate on the roof,
or new shed for the COW, could not
be obtained in any way from the land
lord. 1t must be contributed by the
Prevented Improvements.
tenant, who knew that within thirty
days thereafter he might be put off the
place. The natural result was to pre-
vent all repairs and all permanent i'm
provements. In this entire region we
have not been able to discover a sin
i Iol IL
prior to the acquisition of the land by
the tenant purchasers. In fact there
are no mature fruit trees here. Where
we have seen new farm building or
any permanent repairs on old build
ings or any other farm improvement
inquiry invariably has revealed that it
had been added since the farm went
into the hands of purcasing tenant.
In other words, Meeghan and other
tenant purchasers feel now that in
making repairs or improvements they
are working for themselves, adding
value to their own property, where for
merly any improvements made we're
for the benefit of the landlord for
whom they had no particular liking.
Farmers Views on Cooperation.
We asked him what he thought of
the cooperative society and what use
he had made of it. Before the coop
erative society was organized" he
said, "it was difficult to procure fer
tilizers. While the department of ag-
riculture analysed the soils and
taught the farmers, by bulletin and
otherwise, the elements which must
enter into fertilizers it was absolutely
impossible for the tenant to procure
of the dealers fertilizer containing
these elements In proper proportion.
Fertilizers were high too"
Now, as he explained, the co-opera-
tive societies buy the elements going
into the fertilizers and themselves
mix them in the proper proportions.
The cooperative association not only
guarantees the quality of the fertilizers
furnished to their members, but sells
them at greatly reduced price. That
they are better than the manures pur-
chased of the regular traders is evil
denced by the actual effects upon the
crops.
Cooperative Credit.
1t was evident that in Meeghan's es-
-imation the greatest benefit to the
members of the local organization is
rom the credit society branch of it.
The farmers in this vicinity had been
we'll taught and were anxious to i'm
prove their stock to get better imple-
nents, to use commercial fertilizers
properly compounded, to plant better
leeds. Before the cooperative credit
association was organized they were
Unable to do anything of this sort.
since the cooperative organization
las been in operation, however, it is
asy to get from the society small
Dan for any of these purposes and the ;
armers were in consequence steadily I
their property. In other {
lords he seemed to think that the inn j
rovements in rural agricultural meth
DIS which we see everywhere would
ave been absolutely impossible with
ut this little local credit society. /
1eeghan himself through loans Sc
ured of the cooperative credit society
ad been enabled to purchase blooded t
lock and had bought improved imp1e- /
rents and tested seeds.
We found upon our return to the vii a
Ige that school was just closing and t
uinn went with us to his home, which
though modest, was as trim and COM {
'rtable as any village home which we C
ave ever been privileged to visit in 0
merica. He talked freely of the af- I
irs of the society, showed us the b
,oks and records and explained the "
ethods and practices employed in the p
cooperative conduct Of the business. h
A Simple Organization. U
The cooperative society has no u
and consequently has no ls
mt to pay. The home of the secre- 81
ry is the Office of the society. There d
e banking business as well as the q
her affairs of the society are con- &
cted by him out of school hours. The "
tie society has 500 members, each I'd
smber having one share upon which
has advanced about sixty cents y
lie credit society, q branch of the co. III
eratiye association, has 161 mem. ID
RS. ~