Evening star., 1936-06-25
BY ELMER w. PETERSON.
Associated Press FOREIGN staff.


LONDON, June 25.-The Swedish
cooperative movement, which has at
tracted the. eye Of President Roose-
welt, has had q sensational develop
ment since its inception in 1899. with
last years estimated turnover approx
imately 100000.
It's chief expression is the "Ko-oper-
ative Forbundet," or Cooperative
Union, production and distribution
agency for nearly $50 member socie-
ties.
The movement encountered vigorous
opposition through the years, but its
volume Of business grew rapidly. Its
supporters assert it competed success
fully with what co-operatives consid-
cred monopolies, such as the flour,
margarine, rubber and electric lamp
industries.
"Co-operation," its advocates con-
tend, brought lower prices.
against the Socialist viewpoint the
conservatives and business interests
have loosed a barrage of arguments, in
which death of private initiative Is
warned against. Present government
management of business is accused of
gross inefflciency)
Large Factories Operated.
The Ko-operative Forbundet now
operates large factories. with distri-
button to network of stores and shops
throughout Sweden. There are 400 in
hn Cfnrkhnlvao o10y1n
The union. Just like larger member
of the societies, has managing coun-
Gil, elected from the 13 districts in
which the country is divided, and
the council is charged with all highly
important decisions.
A departmental executive in the
council puts into practice the policies
or programs decided upon by the
council or the congress of the union.
Each member, or the smaller retail
societies, is self-governing. 1t draws
its members from the general public.
Members purchases are carefully re-
corded and they receive an annual
dividend averaging about per cent
Of the total amount of the purchases.
Executives are Proved"
Through the various committees,
etc, the individual members have
the possibility of some voice in the
management of the union, while paid
executives are chosen from those of
proved business abilities.
Due credit, observers agree, must be
given the fact the Swedish public
takes for granted there is to be no
graft and that the consumers in
terests are paramount.
Advocates of the system assert prog
ress also has been made lately in CO.
operative housing, and the new agra
rian government of Premier Axel
Pehrsson is expected further to boost
agricultural cooperative attempts.
The co-operatives estimate they are
doing at least fifth of the retail and
wholesale trade and tenth of the
manufacturing.
AdherentS also contend ventures into
insurance and the department store
fields are proving successful, while
one Of the latest experiments is an
oSSNAAAPS W OASoAlAIC 41lOQStl 4cS
and workshops on a cooperative basis
for sale of products abroad.
Per Albin Hanson, former premier,
has declared during his tenure that
Sweden's government program for
the socialization Of industry and
business Is not intended to "elimi-
nate private profit" but to keep pri-
vate profit making from leading into
speculation, which is detrimental to
the good of the peopel as whole"
Government Monopolies.
The Swedish government already
has working monopolies in liquor, to-
bacco, postal and telegraph service
and competes with private enterprise
in timber and hydroelectric products.
The greater share of the Swedish
railways are government owned and
operated.
Ernst Wigfors, Swedish minister
of finance, a year ago urged that free
and unrestricted competition be
looked on as a thing of the past. He
said:
The choice now stands between