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Show rr Thursday, February 7, 1945 OREM-GENEVA TIMES Anderson in Strong Talk For Co-ops Secretary of Agriculture Declares Purpose is Service. LEGAL RIGHT STRESSED News Moonlit A9 ake Asse rr HI 1 I ; IS ? - :a ! 1 4 111 4 - 1 5 -I It 4 It It! f 1 5 I 1? Bluntly upholding the present legal status and tax position posi-tion of cooperatives, Secretary of Agriculture Clinton P. Anderson, speaking at the annual meeting of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Chicago, January 9, de clared that large corporations probably would have taken over "as much of agriculture as they have of other parts of j our economy," if it had not been for the growth of coopera-1 tivea and government encouragement of family type farms Farmers and other small businessmen could compete against the economic "giants" only by becoming just as efficient effi-cient as the large operators and cooperatives were the farmers' best answer to large business. "Cooperatives," added Secretary Anderson "are the very essence of free enterprise. They are x groups of independent farmers banded band-ed together to do some Job that Is too big for them as individuals. "Thus, when you strip cooperation co-operation to its fundamental elements, the story Is a simple sim-ple one. It reveals at once the reason for the legal rights of cooperatives. It is this basic objective of farm cooperatives that has caused congress and the courts to recognize generally gen-erally and in specific legislation, legisla-tion, and to affirm repeatedly repeated-ly the right of farmers to organize or-ganize cooperatives, and the public welfare obligations of cooperatives. "Shorn of all technicalities, it is this basic purpose that frees cooperatives from income in-come taxes, if they return to members and patrons the savings sav-ings they may be able to make In the transaction of business, for their: members and patrons. pa-trons. Obviously, such returns are part of the income of the individual enterprise 'the farmer and as such are subject to taxes as part of his income. "Outstanding and simple as that fact Is, it has often been overlooked. It should be made clear that the.farmer In this respect i$ In exactly the same position as the Independent buslnessban or partner; he pays On his income including any savings he receives through cooperative action. "Also, it should be made entirely en-tirely clear that cooperatives are not entirely free from taxationthat tax-ationthat while they may not pay Income taxes they do pay their share of real estate, social security, and other taxes. Just as do most businesses which are operated for prom. Dramatic Story "I believe, too, that we In agriculture need to do a more aggressive Job of Informing the public of the many Improvements Improve-ments and benefits that have come to consumers through the formers cooperatives. That al so Is a simple story In Its essentialsbetter' es-sentialsbetter' food, brought to the American family at the lowest possible cost! It Is a dramatic story of new and better bet-ter products for the American dinner table of new processes quicker handling, fresher food, reduced costs and margins, It Is a part of the story of better nutrition and health for our families. "Diversified cooperative activity ac-tivity is by no means confined con-fined to 'agriculture alone. Business, too. has developed many forms of cooperation and many specific cooperatives cooperativ-es which operate almost xe-actly xe-actly like farmers' cooperatives cooperativ-es and which are taken for granted. There has been a strong trend running In small business to meet the competition compe-tition of big business by combining com-bining Into cooperative organ-Itationv organ-Itationv thus obtaining the advantages of massed buying power and mass-salesmethods while retaining Individual ownership. Thousands of In- . dependent retailers, wholesalers, whole-salers, . manufacturers, and service firms have formed purchasing, marketing, advertising ad-vertising or credit coopera tives. It Is Interesting to note. In passing, tnat tnese - cooperatives, returning their savings to the Individual enterpriser en-terpriser and to his custom-ers, custom-ers, have no income of their own, and hence are free of la ' come taxes, although they fare subject to other taxes common : to most types of business,." ... "You caa'see these business cooperatives all around you. Independent grocers, compet ing with the large chains, have their cooperative retail grocery chains which operate warehouses and represent their members In spending their pooled purchasing power, pow-er, obtaining carlot rates, and merchandise of high quality, beyond the ability of the individual retailer. There are many so-caiied mutual drug stores, which are owned by cooperating Independent druggists who have formed organisations to operate warehouses and to exercise definite standards la buying. We don't ordinarily think of It as such, but one of the most extensive of our news-gathering agencies, the Assoiated Press. Is nothing more or less than a cooperative of newspapers news-papers bringing to its members mem-bers news that no Individual publication could gather by lis own effort. "There is no doubt about it. the cooperative technique is a part of the American 'way of life. It is as much a part of agri culture as is the family type of farm, and the two are dependent depen-dent on each other. Impersonal Ownership "We definitely don't want our farms to become soul-less factor- lea, owned by Impersonal stockholders and operated by hired managers and hired work ers, with success or failure measured entirely by dollars and cents figures In company ledgers. To allow our machines and our Impetus toward bigness big-ness to bring that about would be to take the American spirit out of farming; it would ii.ean relinquishing the solid values of farm life that we have prized highly since the first settlers put the plow to the fresh soil of the continent "The farm cooperative must play an increasingly important part in farm life and farm bus! ness, if we are to maintain and improve the family farm, if we are to adapt it to the high-pow ered economy into which we are speeding. "Fanners' cooperatives have been la the forefront la experimenting ex-perimenting with and ea couraging better grading, packing, and other means of assuring the housewife that she Is getting her money's worth when she buys groceries. grocer-ies. In the purchasing field cooperatives have led the way toward known standards, efficient ef-ficient products for the farm er at the lowest possible cost, and In many cases the methods meth-ods they have developed have spread, like ripples from a stone thrown la a pool, throughout our merchandising merch-andising system. Such things as open formula feeds where the buyer knows exactly ex-actly what he is buying high analysis fertiliser, and seeds of known origin and germination, have been pioneered pio-neered by cooperatives. Eliminate Abuses "Cooperatives have fought without letup to eliminate marketing abuses, to break down monopoly, and to implement im-plement the public's right to know what it is buying. Cooperative Coop-erative organizations have sought to spread useful informa tion; they have worked closely! with the research staffs of the Land Grant Colleges and the U. S. Department of Agriculture Agricul-ture to bring to their patrons and members the benefits of the latest scientific discoveries and the most up-to-date specifications. speci-fications. And finally, farm cooperatives can look back with honest pride on the service they gave to the farmers and to the public during the war, when they played an important import-ant part In processing and marketing the capacity production produc-tion of our farms, and In finding find-ing and distributing fertilizer, feed, fuel, machinery and other supplies so essential for continued con-tinued high production. That was service, not just to their j members, but to the United States In time of war.1' 1 WHAT IS A FARM? WHAT IS MOUNT A' LAKE ? DOES MOUNA A' LAKE PAY TAXES? WHAT IS A FARM? "What a silly question," someone will say, "Everybody "Every-body knows what a farm is." But, do they? Definitions of a farm run all the way from "a place where a man can make a living when he can't make one anywhere else" to the modern conception that "a farm, is a factory for the production of food and other products." pro-ducts." It is the last mentioned definition we want to talk about. A farm is a factory for production of food and "" other products. How simple that statement la but how few people really think of a farm as such and realize its economic implications. But, it is just that. It is not just a trade or an occupation, oc-cupation, as some people, including many farmers, think. It ismuch more than that. A farm requires a combination of capital, brawn and brains, with particular parti-cular emphasis on brains, if the farmer is to be successful. suc-cessful. Elements of land, air and water, mixed with, sunshine sun-shine are brought together with the skill and labor of the farmer and his employees and the output is food or other raw materials for clothing and other articles used by modern man. The farm factory is mother earth. The farmer is the manager and at times he is the only employee in addition to members of his family. He has a large investment in land, water, raw materials and equipment, many times larger in many instances, than most business houses in his community. com-munity. Many farmers also employ large numbers of employees. em-ployees. In every sense of the word, a farm is an industrial in-dustrial business. It is a big business in the midst of the 'world's biggest enterprises. It is trite but true, that without the farm factories, the world could not live at all. While a farm is actually a food factory, most farmers have ' not adopted one sound business policy that factories in other lines have been compelled to adopt to survive. That is one of the reasons who so many farmers have failed. And that very important policy is: All factories factor-ies and industries buy their raw materials, in fact, supplies of all kinds, at wholesale prices. Farmers, for the most part, have been buying their supplies at retail, little dabs here and there. On the other hand, like all factories, farmers sell their output at wholesale. Retail buying and wholesale selling just don't spell success in any language or in any business, - not in this modern world of intense competition. com-petition. Such a policy is ruinous. This fact is just beginning to dawn upon farmers, they have been asking themselves this question, "What factory could possibly succeed if it had to go to a retail re-tail store to buy the tools with which to operate. For instance, would the Purity Biscuit Company of Salt Lake go to a retail grocery store on Main Street to buy sugar, salt, flour and other ingredients, needed to produce pro-duce its biscuits? Or would a candy factory buy its sugar, cream, flavors, packages, etc. at a retail store? These questions answer themselves. Industries do not buy and have not bought their supplies at retail. Industries have wholesale markets at their command and where they are small they have been wise enough to combine their purchasing power with like industries in purchasing organizations, and thus take advantage of mass buying. Remember it's volume that counts. You must have it to get lower costs. To succeed, farm factories must adopt the same principle. That fact is looming larger than ever in the farmers' plans for the future. WHAT IS MOUNT A' LAKE? This question naturally follows the first discus-. discus-. sion. Mount A' Lake is an association organized by farmers in the Sharon area to buy supplies for their farm factories. It is the purchasing department of these farm factories. Members of this association have found in past depression years that they were unable, because of the limited amount of their purchases, pur-chases, to buy at as low a price as they should in order to make their business a financial success, consequently consequent-ly their move to combine their mass buying power in one unit, which is in effect the purchasing agent for all of these farms. Therefore they organized Mount A' Lake. With its big volume of business the Association naturally gets wholesale prices, and the bigger the volume the lower the prices. It, of course, has the expense ex-pense of doing business which must be paid by those for whose benefit it is operated. This expense is charged against the members of the Association. Anything saved over and above this expense is the property of the individual members of the Association. This saving sav-ing never at any time belongs to the association. This is provided for in the articles of incorporation which is the contract between the members individually and the Association. If the association attempted to claim these savings . as it's own it would be violating its contract with its members. This saving could be returned to the members at the time the purchases are made and would mean an immediate lower price. But, in order to be sure that enough expense is taken out, and also as a matter of convenience, the savings made in the purchases are held until certain stated times at which times they are turned over to the members as patronage savings, which means, in effect, lower prices to the member. This type of organization also has power to act as a selling agency for farmers. Farmers have found that they should not compete among themselves for markets which are limited and hence they have organized organ-ized selling agencies for the joint output of their farms. Examples of this type of organization are Utah Poultry Producers Association, Weber County Dairy Association, Utah Celery Growers Association, Tim-panogos Tim-panogos Market Association, Orem Peach Growers, Orem Berry Growers and many others. Some of these organizations also act as buying agencies on the same basis exactly as Mount A' Lake operates. For instance, the Utah Poultry Producers Association As-sociation does a big volume of buying of supplies for its members. Mount A' Lake was organized to. render service in the Sharon area and is so organized that it can operate oper-ate both as a buying and selling agency, with emphasis, at the present time, on buying. And, by the way, with an organization of this kind, the farmer is placing himself in the same position that many factory owners and other business men occupy. Because business men are engaged in business they can purchase at wholesale prices, not only factory supplies, but also supplies for their homes on the same basis. Wholesale organizations recognize them as eligible buyers buy-ers for other items at wholesale prices because they are manufacturers or dealers. Is there any good reason why the farm factory operator shouldn't have the same privileges? DOES MOUNT A LAKE PAY TAXES? We have been asked the above question. The answer is an emphatic yes. Mount A' Lake pays the same taxes that any other person, firm, partnership or corporation pays, and at the same rates. In fact we believe it can be truthfully said that Mount A' Lake and its owners pay more taxes than all other business houses, except utilities, in Orem combined, pay. Let us illustrate: Mount A' Lake pays an Orem City license fee. Mount A' Lake pays state, county, school district and city taxes on any stock it may have in its tanks or on its shelves when the county assessor makes his assessment. assess-ment. Mount A' Lake pays rent to its landlords. Included in that rent are the taxes which are assessed against the land and buildings. Our landlords properly made the rent high enough to include the taxes and some profit for themselves besides. Mount A' Lake, as has already been explained, is the purchasing department or agency for farm factories, factor-ies, at the present time nearly 200 of them. It is owned own-ed by these individuals as a large partnership and is as much a part of their setup as is any other department of these farm enterprizes. Any saving made by this purchasing department belongs to these owners and is taxed against them as part of their income. These 200 members will pay more income taxes for 1945, not to mention all their property taxes, we venture to say, than all other vners of other so-called business houses in Orem, except utilities, combined, will pay. Note: There are no incorporated businesses m Orem, other than utilities, except possibly three corporations, two of wMch only operate branches here. The business houses are mostly individually owned. The business doesn't pay the tax, but the owner in his individual capacity does. For instance to use ficticious names, the XYZ Service Station doesn't pay a tax but the owner James Brown doesv MOUNT A' LAKE HAS SECURED MORE FRUIT TREES Mount A' Lake has been able to get an additional addi-tional supply of peach and apple trees from the famous Porter-Walton mountain grown stock. We have several sizes of early, standard and red EI-bertas, EI-bertas, also some Golden Jubilee and Hale Havens. In apples, we have several sizes of Jonathan, Rome Beauty and improved Red Delicious. To place the orders see J. Morris Bird or leave orders at the Mount A' Lake Service Station just opposite the Scera Theater. :::i::::i::n:ns::: neither does the Twin Mountain Cafe, but the owner own-er Mr. Y does. In other words being privately owned, own-ed, whether by one person, two persons, or 200 and no matter under what name the business operates, owners of the business pay the taxes of all kinds. And without saying so in the spirit of boasting we think we can say it simply as a statement of fact Mount A' Lake owners are one of the heaviest tax paying pay-ing groups in Orem City. But that isn't all of it. The buying these members have done in the past from others has not only helped pay the other fellows taxes but helped establish them economically as welL Yes, Mount A' Lake and its owners pay taxes-plenty taxes-plenty of them. They are not shirking any public tax burdens. They are carrying their fair share of the load and at the same time saving themselves some good money by their massed buying power. And friends, that's why Mount A' Lake is growing. It's owners stand for the greatest good to the largest number. They have no feeling of enmity, or ill will against any person or firm. They wish all of them well, but at the same time reserve their American right to either choose their buying agent or to organize one of their own. Coop Representatives In Arkansas A telephone message was received today from President Pre-sident John B. Stratton, CMaston Wentz and Charles H. Poulsen by the Mount A' Lake management from a station sta-tion in Arkansas announceing that the three representatives representa-tives of Mount A' Lake and allied cooperatives are hav-- hav-- ing a very successful trip. They expect to be in Kansas City this week where they will confer with the President and Management of the National Cooperative Association as well as the heads of supply organizations which manufacture products pro-ducts for cooperatives. These gentlemen are expected home the latter part of next week. :::::::u:::::u::: Each Member To Enroll At Least Two More Members The membership contest is going merrily on. It is difficult to say who will get the radio offered by the Utah Cooperative Wholesale. No one knows the answer. There are quite a number of members in; the running in this contest. With all the employees, em-ployees, officers and directors of the Association barred from this contest, any lay member has a good chance of winning. A suggestion was made by one of the members mem-bers that each member of the Association make himself responsible for getting two more members. If this should be done there would be no doubt whatever that the 300 mark would be reached by March 1st, the deadline. Manager Bird requests that all members of the Association accept this suggestion and get at least the two members by March 1st. :m::n::::::n::::::::ffi:nn::::sn::K::s::s:;!;:an:s!::R;uB:i!:!;:: Mount A' Lalio Association (Mount A Lata Association paM |