Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1947-09-12
Washington
LaborReport

The day that A. S. Mac
Intyre, managing director of
the Nova Scotia Cooperative
Society, talked to me about CO.
operatives as the sensible al.
tentative to totalitarianism
the Halifax Herald was filled
with symptoms of the worlds
economic sickness.
The Canadian government
had advised the Nova Scotia
Apple Marketing Board that
it would support the price for
the 1947 apple crop of about
100000 barrels. Why? Be-
cause Britain, tightening its
belt again, would not take its
usual 75% of the Nova Scotia
apple crop. The draining of
British funds, speeded up by
a 40% price initiation in the
u. S. A. since price controls
were wiped out, was striking
at Nova Scotia farmers. The
Canadian government, already
facing an unfavorable trade
balance with the u. S. A., of
! billion dollars of imports
over exports, had further to
drain its own funds to protect
its farmers.
Another story told, country
by country, of famine crop
conditions in Europe, exclusive
of Russia, where harvests
are reported good enough for
export.
An Ottawa dispatch said
Canada would probably be
asked for another loan to
Britain and, if so, would make
it,,
DAD NEWS
A Geneva cable said the
Food & Agriculture Organiza-
ton would urge the setting
up of a World Food Council
"to advise governments" on
food needs and supplies-in.
stead of Director General
Orr's original suggestion of
a World Food Board with real
power to treat food as some
thing to eat.
Against such news, typical
of the worlds daily diet of
sound and fury, MacIntyre's
quiet words about the value
of the cooperative movement
indicated the hard, demo-
cratic way to economic sanity
and health.
"The cooperative move
ment," he said, would be
greatly embarrassed if labor
unionists we're to walk into it
without understanding its
principles - and before the
movement itself was prepared
to offer the services these
new members might expect.
"Labor's new and strength
ened interest In cooperatives
is encouraging. 1t shows that
officials and members are real.
izing that production and dis
tribution do not establish the
prices which wage-earners had
farmers are asked to pay. Only
local co.ops, coop WHOLESALERS
and, ultimately, factories own
ed by such cooperatives, can
establish fair prices. Fair
prices are essential to give
meaning to wages.
THE NEED
Much education will be
needed TO build a strong CO.
operative movement among
wage-earners, assisted by the
unions but set up distinct
from them.
Without such study, the
worker may join a coopera-
tive, but he will not look on
1t as HIS credit union, HIS
cooperative story, HIS whole
sale, HIS business. Such MEM
ber participation is vital.
In giving more attention to
co-ops than ever before, the
AFL and CIO 1947 conven.
tions might do worse than ask
such men as MacIntyre to sit
with their coop committees
and TO address the delegates.
There are many union mem
bers with the knowledge gain
ed by experience in setting up
study clubs, credit unions, To-
cal and wholesale co-ops.
Next week, / will have some
examples of how these Nova
Scotia cooperators have scrap
ped the middlemen's Tets
you and him fight" formula,
replacing II with friendship
and very practical coopera-
tion in such emergencies as
strikes and shortages of fer
tilizers.