Montana labor news., 1937-09-30
SIX AMERICANS TOUR
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
STUDYING THE (0-0pS.
Continued from Page p


types which are difficult of classifi-
cation.
As in this country, Europe can
point to cooperative organization
among both city and country people.
Outstanding in the farm cooperative
movement are the Danes, whose
producer c~ooperatives control IS per
cent of the export of bacon, 40 per
cent of the export of butter, 80 per
cent of the import of fertilizer. Co
operative marketing of agricultural
products in Czechoslovakia amounts
to S72,000,000 annually. Farmers of
Finland, through their cooperative
diaries, manufacture about 95 per
cent of the country's butter supply.
Agricultural c%ooperatives in France
operate diaries, cheese and other
food factories, insurance, and credit
societies. In England they are less
developed; in Ireland farm coopera-
tives are relatively important in the
country's economy. Swedish farm
ers are well organized comparatively.
In Swiss agriculture, cooperative
diaries control 80 per cent of the
country's milk production. Wine
growers and cattle breeders have
their c%ooperatives.
Consumer cooperatives in their
role as distributors of goods and
services range over all possible types
of business enterprise; as neighbor-
hood buying clubs, independent city
stores, city, regional, or national
chains. Annual business of con-
sumner cooperatives in Czechoslo-
vakia amounts to nearly 500, GOO, 900,
not quite 3 per cent of the total
national retail trade. In Denmark
retail trade of consumer cooperative
societies comes to about $63, 900, 900
annually. Between Is and 80 per
cent of the retail trade of Finland is
done by consumer co-ops. Annual
retail sales of French consumer CO.
operatives total some $233, 900, 900, of
Norwegian co-ops $4,000, 900, of
Swedish nearly $104, 600, 900. Swiss
consumer cooperators handle from
10 to IL per cent of the national re-
tail trade. Tops among the Euro
pean consumer c%ooperatives in vol
ume of business r the British,
whose annual turnover Of more
than 1000, 000, 900 is said to account
for about Il per cent of the national
retail trade.
Both consumer and agricultural
cooperative movements in most
countries push behind the function
Of selling into the field of produc-
ton. Farm cooperators, in pursuit
of bigger incomes for their members,
in many countries process the COM
modities which their members pro-
duce. Consumer-owned cooperatives,
in their pursuit of lower living costs
for their members, acquire and oper-
ate factories to produce some of the
goods which will later be sold in
their coop stores. Cooperative util-
tiles, usually owned by consumers,
build and operate telephone and
power lines, generating part or all of
the power they sell in their own
plants. Some of the housing coop
eratives build as well as finance
houses and apartments for their
members. In France, England, and
Czechoslovakia are found workers
productive societies, groups of work.
men who own their own factories.
Major attention of the Commits
sion studying European cooperative
business went to consumer enter
prises. Racial temperament and To-
cal conditions dictate different ways
of working toward the consumer CO.
operative goal-a better standard of
living for their members-however
much co-ops agree on fundamental
principles.
British and Scottish c%ooperators,
developing a distributive system in
a period when private retailing was
not efficient, have extended their ac-
Invites until now they are in compe-
tition with most types of economic
activity. Swedish cooperators have
placed their emphasis on developing
businesses that will serve as price
yardsticks." In their attack on pri-
vate monopoly they have looked to
the cooperative rather than to anti
trust laws. Already they have
checkmated monopoly in many in
stances, notably in the case Of ga
loshes, an item that looms large in
farmers budgets. By establishing
their own factory, cooperators forced
the four Swedish factories with
monopoly control of galosh produc-
ton to reduce price from $2.27 to SO
cents a pair. Result: The doubling
of the use of galoshes. Finnish CO.
ops dealt a similar death blow to
price fixing in matches, margarine,
flour and fertilizer manufacture.
Achievements chalked up in the
name of cooperatives make an i'm
pressive showing to the Commission.
Consumer co-ops, they report, usual
ly pay higher than prevailing wages,
require shorter hours, pension work
ers, give generous vacations and sick
leaves. They often employ union