Show co operative cooperative ar j nr at ve farm var products ar l A ducts ILI marketing M ho how w it Is done in europe and may be done dona in america to the profit of both farmer and consumer by MATTHEWS MATTHEW 8 DUDGEON copyright 1914 union WHEN FARMERS ARE BANKERS foynes county limerick ireland we have just been in the presence of the best board of bankers that we over saw they are all what the wall street clerk would call rubes they are hayseed hay seed they are farmers who as you kaow must not be confused with agriculturists when we think of american banks and bankers we think of the buildings which have the finest fronts in town and of the men who also put up the finest fronts we think of shrewd tellers who never tell anything of cashiers who are constantly upon the point of refusing cash to those who need it most of boards of directors who sit in softly carpeted rooms on upholstered chairs around polished walnut tables the irish bankers wo we have just seen wore mud bespattered cloth tes they sat in a plue pine floored room on ros roah chairs around a rough table upon which a smoking smelling kerosene lamp cast a dim light that was almost a shadow business before history in our search for all that Is good in rural organization we landed last night in limerick limerick la Is a mighty interesting city founded by the danes a thousand years ago a city which forces could not at enter until the plague and starvation had conquered the defenders who could not be conquered by the sword a city which in 1690 withstood a siege by king william who was bat bar fled because the women of the city fought with the men a city whence came the wild geese who flew from ireland to spain and other sothern sov hern lands so they might indulge their warlike tastes which could no longer bo be exercised in ireland dut just now more important than historic limerick is the modern modem village of foynes with its egg marketing society and its ita farm credit association so to foynes we came this afternoon through a driving rain over 30 miles of the fine irish roadways which a days heavy rainfall can only soften into slight slipperiness wo we are under the guidance of A M riddle an organizer and inspector ot at cooperative societies employed by the 1 rish irish agricultural organization so BO clety a bright eager energetic tactful irishman who after long study and years of hard work in cooperative societies throughout europe knows operation cooperation co from A to Z farmers who are bankers at seven on this rainy night we found six of the seven members of the loan committee assembled in the village clubhouse here are six shrewd but kindly irish gentlemen who know their business thoroughly some of them have driven miles through rain and wind all are ing without pay one to la the manager of a little sawmill previously a school teacher another Is an intelligent ex member of the royal irish constabulary one operates successfully a large tented rented farm one Is a ralser raiser of blood blooded d horses one Is a sharp tongued but at at heart good natured farmer who Is evidently a believer in discreet kindliness concealed under apparent harshness one lei ls a clerk in a mercantile establishment the secretary Is a retired school teacher with a good working knowledge of accounting and business methods they the inspector had previously looked over all the books and abild accounts and had made memoranda of transactions which needed explanation and of do de calling for comment some of the cases called will serve as illustrations of the character of the loans mado made as well as of the method of inspection employed they are illustrative also of the attitude at 0 the committee toward the borrower john obrien had taken four years in which to repay a loan of 12 pounds the books showed that immediately upon the repayment of ibis first loan another loan had been made to him to the inspector the second loan see seemed nicol a loan to enable the borrower to repay the previous loan and consequently unwise and contrary to the rules the committee showed however that the mans slowness in repaying the first loan was due to sickness an and d hard luck then the interesting fact app appeared Jared that the second loan was waa given to enable the borrower to end a bright fourteen year old son bon school for the purpose of better qualifying him hi in as a wage earner the plan had succeeded the boy had bad been at school eight months had done well had secured a position and waa aa now so BO situated that lie he could assist and was assisting in the repayment of the loan the inspector on understanding the purpose of the second loan indorsed endorsed Indor sed it as a perfectly legitimate one and sanctioned the action of the committee marrying money As to another case one of the members said hos hes all right he la is going to be married and its a fine girl lie he gets and a bit of money about 75 pounds shell bring him too and that will help to pull him through and make the payments of another delinquent a member said A sister was a long time ailing and after a long sickness she died poor child iles hes a alne boy honest banest as the day Is long lies hes a decent fellow wo we cant crowd him ile hes ia had a hard time iles hes doing all he can and will pay as sure as the sun rises buying pigs of another case the inspector said clero heros s a guard on the train who borrowed money monek from us tor for the purchase of pigs lie he time to tend hogs has he be back came the reply sure sere any of us that has a widean wife and cl a homo bome can keep pigs it if vb he wants to its as easy to keep pigs as it is to keep a homo home at all it app appeared gared however that no pigs had been bought by the train guard that a relative had bought pigs presumably with the money borrowed there was no danger at all as aa to the repayment of the loan the Bur sureties ettes being good 1 fraud had bad been practiced however and the committee were not at all complacent about their part in the matter feeling they had been too easy in making malilong the loan this particular brakeman would have a poor chance if he ever asked for another loan and so BO the committee proceeded sympathetically considering each individual case deciding each upon its own merits irrespective ot of what are considered in america to be general banking rules it must be borne in mind that the cases referred to were dwore a few de delinquents among a very largo large number which were promptly a settled W what hat money Is t used for many of the loans bad been for the purchase of seeds aud a ud manures in the previous spring some of tho the had bad purchased pigs some name timeka a cow was secured one had bad bought a horse boree one had bad built a cow shed on the whole the rule that loans could be made only tor for productive and economic use was well ob served one of the members bembe ah the trouble with us irish replied the in ejector ep ector but good business means good business although it Is hard to be harsh at all south of ireland temperaments were not altogether convinced that harshness was wisdom 1 and the answer carue came back did you ever know of harshness to be any good at all 11 some harshness necessary Nece scary i the inspector who in our previous conversation with him had seemed the most easy tempered young man developed a considerable severity when appearing before the committee ile he kept hept insisting that the delinquent debtors must be dealt with more harshly and in a more businesslike business like way in several cases he advised immediate legal proceedings unless something was done he told them that unless good business methods prevailed a new committee must be appointed or that the society would get into trouble and would bo be closed out a ut the attitude was more or less lees for effect upon the committee the man raised in this section of ireland to Is so softhearted soft hearted that he cannot be harsh in hla hie own matters and it Is indeed difficult for him to be businesslike when businesslike business like methods involve harshness the committee took the situation seriously to heart how bow ever and tho the words of the inspector had their effect for they promised that moro more bushness liko methods would pro vail in the future good methods tho the inspector had not only full knowledge of co concerns con corns but was evidently in addition a skilled skille 11 accountant arid and pointed out wily why the looks boks must bo be kept accord according li ig to the storm system of ac accounts counis becom dod dad by tho the irish agricultural or ilat society A must searching lne sawa audit of accounts is IH also to re anaila ner performed formed by either cither an om IQ a auditor appointed under bial y societies act or by per par the i gy tho the members at the sons eona everywhere as aa here bore i that good business wo we lia leavo vb fojut methods aro are em and reful audits are in played and I 1 om necessary aisted upon aitola cm go 90 societies it if to tho the success of tah tuk hose hebo there thera la is any look oft off v ro the bank eions antho y tho the I 1 A ors orb tho the lack is IB a and nu au 0 S through v diters kers y armra can 06 godl mft 13 bothwe came fig WO vo ara or a farmer could boa bankert bank crt ir go BO away convinced that the 1 it if assisted by good supervision am ax inspection caw cam bo be at once al a amod business man mail arid and a kindl kindle neighbor here in this foynes society la is a conn colna kittee of business men wha are ing to come together to consider loans of tho the most trivial amounts and to meet periodically and discuss moth meth oda ads of bringing more money into tho the little community to be loaned out to those needing it they aro are ready to go over all the potty troubles and trials and misfortunes of tho the unfortunate be borrower rr ow a r to discuss ways and means of helping tho weaker b brother a her pay his debt these men aro are in tact ct b bearing a aring t tho h a burd burdens ong of an an entire iro community so BO far as aa tho the e small mall business difficulties aro are couce concerned arned all are most anxious to seo sea every farmer able to buy good seed good manures good stock ara j improve tho the position of at himself aud alid family yet equally anxious to protect tho the funds funda of tho the batik bank it Is ia a question the board of directors of any big who alt in richly upholstered clalra around walnut tables every ever moro more efficiently discharged jhb duties of bank direct directors ois than have this abla group of mud bespattered farmers sitting bitting in cheap wooden chairs around this pine table one man ono one kotc this operative cooperative co banking as association ocla at ni froynes ynes Is underline unde r it ll 11 te 44 touts lutO control of tho the farmers hereabouts ore ii this control Is not centered lt a few rich members who have furnished the tha capital each member has 0 ono IQ vote irrespective of his investment there Is no massing of votes in the hands bands of those who have the most money in the concern hero here men carry tho the voting power not money the coop co op idea Is essentially democratic experience shows that no other system succeeds for one man to possess twice as much power as his neighbor renders anders an association no longer truly operative cooperative co before this principle was recognized when hen one or two members might outvote out vote voto members more than one co cooperative effort went to the average farmer m member ember to ie poor poo r ile he has baa never handled bandied money HIM ha may never have made a loan ho knows nothing of 0 banking forms forma of bank bookkeeping of the legal rights of borrowers or of lenders he Is an easygoing easy going good hearted irishman men of this type control and make up the loan committee which must pass on loans enforce collections and de aide on all minor questions relating to the polley of the how can such members be good bankers in america it takes shrewd well trained busi business neso men to make a bank succeed they know more of bank accounting than do accountants they know as much of at banking law as do lawyers they have by long study of their subject become familiar with every phase of it how then can these happy go lucky irish farmers become successful financiers the answer or the biggest part of the answer Is that the irish agricultural organization society has a beneficent supervision over them and furnishes them with the qualifications which they lack interview doctor mccarthy notwithstanding all that co opera tive credit has done tor for ireland it still has a lack says doctor mccarthy the small tenant farmer has baa had am pie provisions made for him by the tha government tor for the purchase of his bis home small farmers through credit associations have arable opportunities of obtaining small loans for productive C purposes what ireland most needs now however Is a system of loans by which the owners of the larger estates may secure funds with which to make their estate productive and profitable the owners of the big estates are all in need of money they are as poor in a sense as the poorest tenant farmers the worst farming in all ireland Is sometimes found upon the largest estates these farmers find it difficult to obtain a large loan at a low rate of interest on long time with privileges of amortization payments such as will enable them to use money for the gradual up building ot of the tha productiveness of the farm it if it were pop possible sible here to borrow money upon mortgages of this description as it Is in germany in france in italy and even in russia the rural portions of ireland would advance much more rapidly america can safely adopt t the irish system of short kimt al loans but we should have in adda tion something like the german land bauke banks for larger long time loans i |