Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1915-01-28

00nEAs if@idn0.s~~Iu mere II NO magic
III cooperation. 1t liz not cura-all
for economic ills. Cooperative com
Germs succeed because they employ
good business methods, In fact CO.
operative marketing Iii good business
and good sense and intelligence APP.
piled To farm marketing This 10 the
biggest aud most important lesson to
be learned In ireland. As Rev. Ed.
ther Finley, great believer In co
operation, says hi an article In the
Constructive Quarterly. Thai IL has
boon productive OF much material
good til those who employed ita meth.
ode with intelligence and energy, is
beyond question. that II has been
barren OF useful results where those
qualities we're wanting Ii equally I'm.
deniable.s
Cooperative marketing succeeds In
ireland because Ii stands for three
things: t1l Coed business methods
and intelligent management; t2l A
uniformly high quality III product:
cd iusfics. equality and loyalty
among members Without these char.
aeteristics cooperation falls IN Ire.
land ard fails everywhere. These are
the lessons that ireland has to teach
America. No group which does not In.
aist upon running its cooperative con.
Germ aiong these lines can succeed.
TO tolerate poor business methods, lax.
ify as 40 quality, or disloyalty and In.
/ Justice 10 each other In 10 fall.
These are some things Americana
will not be required 20 experiment
upon. because the Irish have already
tried them out.
Simply Good Business.
1 Irish cooperation makes money for
farmer and city consumer alike. n
haa succeeded In bringing the producer
and consumer nearer together, The
farm products 90 directly To the city
consumer. The product arrives In
good shape. II brings only reason
able price The result liz THAI city
man and farmer profit BY the more
economical method at distribution
But cooperative marketing after all
Ii simply good. common sense and Ell
Client business. There Ii nothing mya
terious about II. An we have said
there Ia In II no magic. The good
Il cooperative marketing concerns over
!. here succeed because they are well
organized. we'll managed. inselligentiy
governed. carefully supervised: be
cause they are simply efficient busi
ness organizations lii which 100 oi
1000 men with d common occupation
and common interest get together
For united. harmonious effort II
which every man does his fun share
Over here 1t Ii always lone mar
one vote One lesson that Irelans
J. has Ter America Is that no man ant
no smals group OF men can be permit
ted to contrui any cooperative organ
ixation The principal or one man on,
vote must prevail The man who hal
invested $4,000 must have no NOR,
voting power than the man who hal
/ Invested only ss. Men. not prop
erty vote, ID another expression
used here. Under this system no maj
can use the cooperative society for bill
I own selfish ends, The poorest farmer
4 M&kNMI k6& lANN@sM&Ns Mkla "a &hG4 mha0s
ability, 10 upon committees and b.
J come officers. The organization i
| most essentially democratic.
All Prctsss 10 she Producer.
The purpose back OF ee-operativ
organization differs from that hacl
: OF d commercial enterprise, II seek
not ID mako dividends for the mal
who invests his money. but to prs
vide that the producer shall receiy
! the latgest possible percentage of th
price paid BY the consumer irelan
has fnand by experience that whar
large profits are paid to the investor
the real purposes OF cooperation ar
not served One case Ii recorde
where American fruit growers organ
iser Il socalled cooperative concer
upon the Joint stock plan. They Il
weighed into the venture d large nun
Der on smaller growers who had iissl
money To invest, but In the agsragat
very considerable amount III frai
I to market, The ones who investe
largely were In contrel and procses
i ed to make large profits for then