The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1922-12-07
COOPERATIVE MAR
KETING ON SOUND
BASIS N OREGON
By r. A. WARD, President, Oregon
Cooperative Council, in Ore
gon Voter.


A group of the nations leading
business men who have recently been
lending their assistance to farmers
marketing activities in the South and
Middle West have termed this form
of marketing the greatest economic
advance of a century.
Cooperative marketing has made
substantial progress in Oregon. 1t
has its problems, the same as any
other type of business but these pro-
blems are being met as they arise. For
fear that your comment on coopera-
tive marketing in The Voter of Nov
ember II may raise doubts and fears
which are without foundation, we
desire to set forth a few facts con-
corning the marketing movement that
may be helpful in a discussion of this
important phase of agricultural en-
deavor.
Unfortunately, but comparatively
few of our business men are aware of
the real progress that has been made
or the fact that for the most part,
the c~ooperatives are being conducted
successfully along sound business
lines. 1t is only fair to state that the
statewide commodity cooperatives
now doing business in Oregon have,
through the channels open to them,
adopted distributing and accounting
systems which fit their needs fairly
well and which have been adopted
from older cooperatives and private
business with such improvements as
the ~exigencies of the local situation
required. There is an opin-
ion which should be corrected, to the
effect that the statewide farmers
cooperative organizations are not
conducted along sound business lines.
This has no doubt been gained from
the fact that one of the Oregon CO.
operatives did fail about a year ago,
perhaps for this reason, but there is
no more reason why this i~nsinuation
should be cast on cooperatives than
that we should conclude the banking
system in Oregon to be a failure be-
cause of the failure this past year
of several banks, one in particular
of long business experience. We know
certain banks who are only too fami-
liar with the failure or near failure
in very recent years Of several large
private concerns engaged in the cam
ing, numbering, wheat, wool, and live
stock loan business. From a perusal
of the record of business failures
during the past twelve months, it ap-
pears that the mortality in the ranks
Of private businesses is larger than
among cooperatives. On the whole,
the Oregon cooperatives have had as
low an operating expense for the
commodities handled as in the case
Of private concerns.
The Voters comment on credit
and finances being extended to coop
atives by banks on very liberal terms
with resultant loss to said banks
does not square with the facts as they
exist among the c~ooperatives doing
business in Oregon today. We are &C.
quainted with the financial career
of three successful cooperatives do
ing an annual business running into
the millions of dollars, and we have
been informed by leading Portland
bankers that not a cent has been lost
In extending these cooperatives cred
it facilities. As to that phase Of
financing dealing with the issuance
of commercial paper by cooperatives
in a form that will meet with the
standards required by banks from
private concerns, it should be stated
that the Portland Clearing House As
ISOLATION and its leading member
banks have formulated plans for fin
ancing which are being followed by
these cooperatives. The War Finance
Corporation and n of the leading
Portland banks have perfected a
form Of financing for one Of the coop
erative associations that is consider
ably better and Of a higher stand