Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1943-01-14
Cooperatives In A
Postwar World

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Agricultural experts, in dis
cussing postwar problems as
pertaining to their particular
field, have pointed to the COOP
erativeS as the most practical
and speedy method of reviving
old-world agriculture following
the present conflict. Going fur
Their, the cooperative movement
as whole is expected to play a
leading part in bringing order
out of chaos and helping to sta
Billie postwar economics.
E. DiXwell Chase discusses this
phase of postwar planning in the
following article from Worldover
Press:
Last month saw several outstand-
ing pronouncementS on postwar or
ganiZation and planning by world
leaders. One of them was the Pope's
Christmas message, carrying to the
four corners Of the world the Catho-
lie church's concept of the principles
which should guide nations in order
ing their domestic affairs so as to
foster international peace and good
will. Another was Herbert Hoovers
mere specific proposal for ways and
means of meeting the concrete prob
lens that will confront the nations
at the end of hostilities. A third was
Henry Wallace's address of December
%, giving what has been construed
to be the attitude of the U. S. Ad-
ministration on postwar objectives.
All three announcements shared a
broad common denomination. of agree
ment with many previous plans that
have been put forward by various
bodies in the United States and else
where. Behind this area of agree
ment there appears to lie the COM
mon yearning for an era of fair play,
cooperation and mutual respect
among nations. But the question re-
mains whether the outline of prin-
ciples which seems to be emerging
is coming from wide enough base
of popular discussion, or whether it
represents only the meeting of rela-
lively few minds who will later find
that they have gone too far ahead
of the people to have their plan
adopted by popular consent.
Herbert Hoover was on solid
ground when he warned against try
ing to create a new heaven and earth
in few months around a Versailles
table. Broad, animating principles
can be agreed upon by all concerned
in advance. Concrete application has
to be carried out by the people them
selves, with the help of experts
trained in the ways of assisting the
organic growth of new economic,
social and political methods. I'M
posed from above, the new order
won't stick. Encouraged to grow
from the ground up, it can and will
It is true that such an approach
will seem tediously slow, unpredict-
able, and unsafe to those who favor
what they believe to be the quicker
and safer expedient of imposing the
American century, of mailing down
peace with bayonets in all parts of
the world. But given half chance,
the average man will quickly see the
fallacy of such a course.
One of the most hopeful channels
for encouraging the desired organic
growth of international collaboration
on a popular plane appears to lie
through the cooperative movement.
Cooperatives offer many advantages
to postwar reconstruction that are
hard to find elsewhere. Although
many of them have been liquidated
in Europe, there are still millions of
Europeans who were once members
of a coop and who know we'll what
cooperation is. 1t should not be hard
to assist the liquidated societies to
reorganize There at once would be
many democratic nuclei through
which relief could be channelled dur
ing the earlier months of peace, and
which could start almost at once on
the job of organizing the exchange
of goods on the basis of need rather
than profit.
Back in March, 1912, the British
Association for the Advancement of
Science held conference in London
on the problems of reconstruction
for European agriculture. Almost
without exception the many distin-
guished agricultural experts pointed
to cooperatives as the most practical
and speedy way of getting European
agriculture going again. In other
fields of enterprise too, cooperatives
may prove to be the quickest means
of getting Europe off of a dole
which will certainly be as distasteful
to the recipients as to the givers-
and onto its own democratic feet.