The Elk Mountain pilot., 1923-11-29
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THING IN EUROPE

The Locomotive Engineers Journal
1T is not the League of Nations French impearal-
istic designs Mussoni's swashbuckling The most
significant factor in Europe today Russian cooperation
which is quietly and unostentatousy building up a new
Russia of and prosperity Founded the
soil of socialized Republic, backed by sympathetic
government and guided by the genius of
great country Russian cooperation is the biggest
structive power on the European continent today.
AT the head of this vast consumers bust
is the ARussan Congress of Consumers Coopera-
tive Societies otherwise known the Centrosoyus Pro-
vncal Unions forming the rng in the cooperative
ladder, and below the provincial the con-
sumers' societies. Finally the primary
cooperatives both in the city and the country Besides
the provincial offices of the Centrooyus there
trct branches of the provincial unions
During the first half of 1922 the Moscow head office
of the Cenrosoyus alone had turnover of 81 million gold
rubes the second half of 1922 of 81 million gold rbles
in the first half of 1929 of 55 million gold
bes showing increase of 21s times in year On
the basis of this remarkable increase the Centrosoyus
Inmates that its total for 1928 will be 225 mil
lion gold rubles about S17000O0000 To realize the
mendous growth of the Cenrosoyus under the Soviet
regime it is only compare the 1928 figures
with those of 1914 which the greatest boom year be-
war; the co-operatives did business
million gold ruble Cooperation under the Soviet gov
ernment has grown 221a times larger
Limited financial resources alone have stood in the
of greater expansion To get around this diff
Guilty the cooperative organizations have extended good
credit" The Centrosoyus advances goods and money to
cooperative unions against definite orders for the
provision of and foodstufs Provincial,
gonal and district cooperative unions in their turn have
given credit the local cooperative societies In this
% provincial unions alone supplied goods credit
district societies to the amount of 35
million gold rbles and 5000 local cooperatves to the
million gold rubes Goods credit has thus
been extended throughout the whole cooperative system
become of the essential factors in the deve
opment of cooperative trade
Not only has the cooperative trade been enormously
extended but the of the coperaves have also
been built up At the first of the year, the total
of all co-operatives in Russia amounted 224
million gold rubes (Sll6, 100, ,O0OO0)
Standing back of this huge trade is the Al-Russan
Cooperative Bank in which s75 cooperative organiza
tions hold stock This bank had of than
237 million gold rubes the first of May this year The
bank is actively engaged in the establishment of
work of agricultural credit societies. in addition the
organization of credit for workers cooperative Already
it has made possible the organization of Is such societies
operating a business of 100 million gold rubes.
The tremendous achievement of cooperation under
favorable political and economic conditions has brought
Russia the very forefront of the powerful European
operative movement. What it holds for the future of
Russia only be imagined As President Harding
stated shortly before his death, cooperation is the
sound, dependable, economic system in Russia which is
rapidly rconstructing Russian industry