The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1915-03-18
Outline of a Method for Securing
Community Cooperation in Bust.
ness and Social Affairs.

mlttees. In addition there rs 10 be a
central or executive committee com
posed Of the president of the organic
alton, its secretary, its treasurer and
the chairman of the 10 other commit
tees. This central body is to direct
the general policy Of the organization,
raise all funds and control their ex-
penditures. The committees that are
TO deal with the business interests of
the community are as follows:
/. Committee on farm production.
3 Committee on marketing.
3. Committee on securing farm sup
plies.
A. Committee on farm finance and
accounting.
5. Committee on communication
and transportation.
Similarly, the five committees that
attend to the community's social in
terests will deal with
/. Education.
2. Sanitation.
3. Recreation.
4. Identification.
5. Household economics.
The work of most of these commit
tees is indicated sufficiently clearly by
their titles. For example, the commit
tee on production can do much good
by improving the breeds of live stock
in a community through cooperative
purchases of pure-bred males. 1t can
encourage the formation of corn,
poultry, pig, cattle, canning, and
gardening clubs, which have already
demonstrated their value in the sec
tons where they have been establish
ed, and it can carry on useful studies
of the type Of agriculture best fitted
to local conditions.
In the same way the committee on
marketing can secure the Scandinavian
ton of the community's products, and
thus obtain better prices than are pos
sible when nondescript goods are dump
ed upon the market. The committee
can also search out the best markets,
make contracts on large scale which
will be more favorable than any indi-
vidual can secure for himself, and in
many other way economic in the sell
ing Of the community's goods. Even
il cooperative marketing is not actu-
ally resorted to, the information
which the committee collects can hard
ly fail to be of great assistance TO the
individual shippers,
Just as the committee on marketing
can facilitate selling, the committee on
farm supplies can economic in buy
ing. Farmers are warned, however,
not to underestimate the cost Of run
ming a store or commercial agency,
and not to overestimate the saving
which this can effect. The co-opera-
tive society, of course does away with
the necessity of the stores making a
profit, but somebody must manage the
store and that somebody must be paid
for his time. His salary, therefore,
corresponds in way to the ordinary
stores profit, and it is not always pos
sible to secure good man for less
than he would be able to make in bust
ness for himself There are, however,
several methods of purchasing farm
supplies -operatively which will be
found to be Of advantage. The simpl-
est is the joint order, in which a
group of farmers can buy given ar
ticle in large quantities, thereby
a considerable saving in the
expense of handling, commissions, etc.
Sometimes when this method is adopt
ed warehouse is added, which is
owned or rented comparatively, and in
which the goods are stored until the
associated purchasers need them.
If these two methods have been
tried and found successful, it may be
desirable to carry them out to their
logical development and conduct a CO.
operative store which renders the
same service to its customers that
private enterprise would. This, how
sver, inevitably leads TO complications
and should only be undertaken after
some experience with simpler methods
If cooperation.
With the committee on farm finance
md accounting the first duty is TO 4,
lscertain what farm enterprises can
iafely be financed. This is only pos
,ible when accurate accounts are kept I
md carefully analysed After this !
las been done, the next step is TO !
ecure the most favorable terms for C
proper and sound enterpris- 2
S. This is frequently not difficult If c
he committee has thoroughly master Z
d the subject and is able TO put il e
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