Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-07-15
HERRICK TALKS
OF RURAL CREDITS
Ambassador Says Farmers Must
Build Cooperative Buying and
Selling System.
CITES EXPERIENCE OF EUROPE

HOT SPRINGS, Va, July 14.-In
an address on THE Need OF Rural
Credits" before the National Fertil-
izer association convention here to-
day Myron T. Herrick, former am
bassador to France. urged as a rem
edy for whatever trouble exists in
rural communities the establishment
of cooperative measures. He as
serted that not one of the successful
systems In operation in this country
or in Europe owed its existence to
the Intervention OF the government
and that agricultural progress was
not keeping pace with the expansion
of industry and population. A CO.
operative system, to be successful,
according to Mr.. Herrick, must be
built up by the farmers themselves
without assistance.
Mr.. Herrick began his address by de-
claring that the American farmers, hav-
ing awaited themselves of information
and experience had become the most
capable in the world but that in spite of
this agricultural progress here is not
keeping pace with the expansion of in
dustry and the growth of population.
Organized Buying and selling.
1.-THE causes of these shortcomings" he
continued, ARE manifold. Tho want Of
good roads is one and the absence OF
social pleasures is another cause. But
the greatest of all is, in my opinion, the
lack of organized selling and purchasing
power.
Organized selling and purchasing
power Is best attained through co-opera-
ton. Cooperative organization Of farm
ers was so remarkably successful from
its start over fifty years ago in Germany
that bankers, merchants statesmen and
students soon acknowledged its wonderful
benefits.
Cooperation must be built up by the
farmers themselves by starting at the
grass roots and depending on their own
resources and efforts. first assembled and
combined in basic units or local co-op-
erative banks of credit societies.
"A rural cooperative bank takes the
place to some extent of the country
ers, but delinits its area, restricts its
operations tc agricultural projects, con-
fines ITS credit facilities to members and
borrows, il possible, only from OF
through the system to which It belongs.
Thus 1t devetes its resources exclusively
to the agricultural good OF its immediate
neighborhood and-provided laws are
properly drawn-it is protected from
M ataer
excessively a debtor to the outside world.
or a pure association like a savings bank.
Works for Benefit of All.
THE rural cooperative bank works
for the individual good through the COM
mon good of its members. The main use
of the funds is to buy farm supplies In
bulk at Wholesale to retail to members
at a lower price. or on better ternt
than they could obtain for themselves Il
each were standing alone.
Tho rural cooperative bank exacti
fair interest for its loans or credit; also
it exacts adequate prices and compensa,
ton for the supplies It sells and the ser
vice 1t renders
Government aid is the rock against
which the rural credits movement has
been dashed Particularly is this the
case with land credits. The bills which
have received the most attention in con.
gress provide for state aid. tax exemp-
tons and special privilege to such 6
pronounced degree that If any of then
become a law it would set farmers apart
as class by themselves to be pampereG
and spoonfed at public expense and as g
consequence It would bring down upor
them the enn1ity Of ell other classes"