Greenbelt cooperator., 1940-01-11
COOPERATIvES SHOW RECORD GROWTH IL 1899
BY Wallace j. Campbell


The American consumer cooperative movement can
List 1899 as its greatest year of progress. By the
end of the year than 2,ooo, 200 consumers we're
members Of cooperatives doing a total annual bus
mess estimated at $500, ,OOO, 900.
Among the accompli sfments of the year sever
al important steps into production; the expansion of
cooperative activities from farm general house
hold supplies; an increased support from Labor and
farm organizations; and vicious nationwide attack
the cooperative movement giving evidence of the
fact that private profit business is now taking the
cooperative movement seriously.
Among the factories and other production
its now in operation or planned for the next few
months are:
l. A $3.50, 900 petroleum refinery at Phillips
2. A $3.50, 900 refinery at Regina, Saskatchewan.
3. An oil topping and cracking plant at Mt. YER
non, Indiana.
l.. Flour mills at Auburn, Indiana, and Outlook,
$. Feed mills at Mannheim, Pennsylvania, and
perior, Wisconsin.
6. Commercial fertilizer factories and mixing
plants at Baltimore; Indianapolis; Alliance,
ohio; and Aaunee, Ohio.
Cooperative distribution of groceries found its
greatest growth In eastern cities when the Eastern
Cooperative Wholesale, serving 200 cooperaves from
Maine to Maryland, surpassed the s., ,ooo, 900 mark for
the first time. An unusual development in this
field was the creation of coop chain of grocery
stores in Southern Minnesota and Wis consin which
combine the efficiency chain store operation with
local Mnerh1p, democratic control, and di stribu-
tion of savings to members. American grocery coops
adopted uniform COOP label and pioneered in gov
errment ABC grade labelling of Commodities.
nStr1Out1on OF 1arm supplies, 11e1o IN WHICH
co-ops strongest, continued to grow. The Farm
Credit Admin stration estimated purchases at
$40, ,ooO, 600, eighth of all us. farm supply
purchases.
Cooperative insurance companies handling fare,
automobile and life insurance showed increases Of
from 1S to n per cent for the year. Cooperative
credit unions continued to grow throughout the year,
reporting 1880, 900 members and assets we'll over
$1oo, ,ooo, 600.
Continuing its series of farm, labor and coopera-
tive conferences, the Cooperative League arranged
institutes at Racine and Aaron during the year end
planned similar instit itutes in Kansas City and Cali
fornia early in 1870. The AFL and CIO, at their
nua1 conventions, renewed their endorsements of the
cooperative movement effective means of meet
ing the increasing costs of living. And the Nation
al Farmers Union, American Farm Bureau Fedora tion
and National Grange convention urged further epan-
sion of cooperatives.
Reassurng evidence of the fact that coopera tives
important part of American life has in
concerted national attack by private profit insurance
organi iZations. Insurance conventions In Boston,
oakland, indianapolis, Little Rock, White Sui phur
Springs, and other places passed resolutions
deming the cooperative movement because it
"aims to increase prices to producers" "to cut
prices to and "establish economic democ-
racy. In their rush to defend the profit move, the
insurance companies have given the cooper tives
free publicity than they have had for years.