The Raymer enterprise., 1914-04-02
Operative Farm
Products Marketing
How 1t Is Done in Europe and May Be Done
In America to the Profit of Goth
Farmer and Consumer
nv q
COOPERATIVE GERMANY.
Farmer and Consumer
BY MATTHEW 9. pUpcEoN.


maintenance and management; 3. Co.
operation enables the smallest commu-
nifty to provide itself with a really
good water supply"
1t Is not impossible that there is in
this German experience a suggestion
for the irrigation companies in western
America, where mismanagement and
graft seem to have prevailed. Ger
tainly a truly cooperative association
ganized upon the one man one vote
plan. freed from all motives of Excess
sive or speculative profits. and man
aged with the efficiency that is tradi-
tional In cooperative concerns could
never have made shipwreck OF SO
many fair prospects as have some OF
the irrigation companies in the west.
ern states.
Flowing by Steam.
The owners OF the big wheat farms
In the northwestern parts of the United
States might sit up and take notice of
some Of the cooperative power plow
companies which are operating in Ger
many At present there are 46 such
societies. The entire power equipment
is owned by the society. and its men,
bers. even though they occupy COM
paratively small farms, are by this
means enabled to have the benefit of
the improved and cheaper work of the
power plow. Experience here shows
that the power plowing plant, consist
ing Of a set Of plows, tackle and steam
or electric power, cannot be main
tanned economically unless it has
something like 1000 acres upon which
to operate. The concerns are most care
fully managed. A good machinist is
always in charge OF the outfit. In ad-
dition to his salary he is allowed a
commission upon every acre plowed.
He has entire charge of the operations
and requires all members to remove
all distractions before work is under
taken. The rates are carefully graded
according to the soil, the depth and
the accessibility. In some cases, also,
a less charge is made for blowing dur
Ing the slack periods, the price being
raised as the demand for services of
the equipment increases.
Cooperative Automobiles.
1t is said that every well-to-do Amer
ican farmer has an automobile. In
Germany. where the acreage is small
and the farmer has less capital to in
vest in his equipment the farmer joins
with his neighbor to purchase an auto
mobile and large number of coop.
erative motor societies have been
formed. These machines, however,
are not the touring cars and runabouts
that are ordinarily used by the Ameri.
can farmer, but are the most prosaic
utilitarian motor trucks which can
move immense quantities of produce
over the hard level roads of the Ger
man provinces.
German scientists and inventors
have with great ingenuity produced
machinery that accomplishes with lit
tie effort almost everything which in
years past called for hard labor. The
demand for power is consequently
great and growing constantly. This
has led to the organization of elec-
trical supply works In connection with
other agricultural cooperative organ
iZations. OF these there are $40,
which are purely cooperative, al
though there are in Germany over
1000 companies which furnish more
or less electrical power to those inter-
ested in agricultural pursuits.
Cooperative Societies Federated.
The cooperative spirit has not
ceased when it has led the farmer to
cooperate with his neighbors to form
a local cooperative concern. The Ger
man genius for organization has led
to most elaborate system Of co-or-
dination between the various local CO.
operative associations. For example,
all cooperative dairies within a prov.
ince will be united together in cen
trail association which unifies and har-
monizes the work Of all the local or.
ganizations. These central provincial
societies are in turn in an empire
wide federation with headquarters at
Berlin. You will therefore in that
city find several central concerns,
each Of which is allied with hundreds
OF local societies. This Capitalization
scheme has many advantages. 1t pro-
vides for supervision. inspection, and