The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1917-08-30

1t necessary that each man who
eceived one of the blanks send them
nto the county agents office NOW.
IL won't take but a minute. This is
doing your bit.
COOPERATIVE AND COMMUNITY
, SPIRIT.
address by A. D. Wilson, of the
Unive eity of Minnesota, before the
American Sociological Society,"
Cooperation or the spirit of mutual
helpfulness, holds large place in
AIne IA life. Not long ago, ones
feel ~ # obligation toward his com
nunity was illustrated by the old say
ing, i've and let live" Today the
attit, men toward one another is
bette Illustrated by a modification OF
that old saying to Live and help to
live" The change of attitude is not
due so much to a higher degree Of
civil zation IS it is 10 a growing feel
ing TIT each mans welfare is more or
less closely bound up in the welfare
of the people of the community. This
is especially true in agricultural com
munities. because most of the things
that make life worth while in the
country can be secured only thru co
operation, team work. or community
effort. The farmer is dependent on
his community for schools, roads. the
means of communication, means OF
entertainment, markets. sources o.
supplies. and to a considerable extent
even for the value of his property.
The realization of these facts has re
suited in very wide discussion OF
the possibilities, principles and de
tails of cooperative effort, and has
| brought about greater degree of or
ganiZation among farmers than was
deemed possible a few years ago.
One of the institutions in S;iich all
America is interested is the family
sized farm. This interest is due part
ly to the fact that the farm is the
source of supply for many of our ma
terial needs, but mainly to the gen.
eral belief that the farm home is one
OF the main sources from which strong
men and women come. 1t seems high.
ly desirable to maintain, so far as
possible, the family-sized farm, with
the land owned by those who work it.
1t is therefore well that agriculture
does not lend itself to the large capi-
talistic form of organization, it seems
extremely difficult to handle large
tracts of land under one management,
! due in large measure to the Difficult.
ties met in securing hired labor How
ever, there are many advantages in
the large farm, and many handicaps
in the small farm. In the matter of
production, the moderately small farm
that is, the family-sized farm-does
not seem to be so seriously handi-
capped. But in marketing and secur-
ing supplies, there is no doubt but
that the small farm is at a decided
disadvantage.
Doctor Carver has stated tEe situa-
ton as follows: "One thing which
J threatens the prosperity and even the
existence of the small, farmer is the
handicap under which he finds him.
self in buying and selling. The big
farmer. who can buy and sell in large
! quantities, and also employ expert
talent in buying and selling and in
securing credit has an advantage over
the small farmer, who must buy and
sell in small quantities, and give his
time and attention mainly to the
growing of crops rather than to selling
them. Much of the supposed economy
of large-scale production, even in mer.
chandising and manufacturing, Is
found. upon examination, to consist
wholly in an advantage in bargaining
that is. in buying and selling. WheI
1t comes to the work of growing farm
crops, as distinct from selling them
and buying raw materials, the one
family farm is the most efficient unit
that has yet been found. but the big
farmer can beat the individual small
farmer in buying and selling 1t would
seem desirable, from the standpoint
of national efficiency. TO preserve the
small farm as the productive unit. but
to organize number of small farms
into large units for buying and selling
Thus we would have the most eff.
cient units both in producing and in
buying and selling
A knowledge of the difficulties con-