OCR Text |
Show 'VITAL INTERESTS INVOLVED I Each Individual of Co-Operative Organization Or-ganization Must Make Interests of Company His Own. (By B. H. H1BBARD.) It is evident from the facts of cooperation co-operation now in effect that farmers will co-operate in matters in which they are deeply interested, and will refuse, re-fuse, or fail, to co-operate in matters in which they have but a secondary interest. in-terest. For example, the orange growers grow-ers of California run a remarkably successful suc-cessful co-operative company. The dairy farmers of the upper Mississippi valley have a great number of successful success-ful creameries and cheese factories. On the contrary, the farmers of the Middle West grow a great deal of fruit, but they do not in many insufcees cooperate co-operate in its marketing. Likewise, the farmers of southern Iowa, of Missouri, Mis-souri, and of Kansas, milk many cows, but in these sections co-operative dairy organizations do not flourish. To be a good member of a co-operative company com-pany each individual must feel that his interests are those of the company and its interests his. Otherwise the cooperative co-operative company will be given but little attention. He must think in terms of the association. An apple grower knows apples and gets his living by selling them. It is of vital concern to him whether he gets a dollar or a dollar and a quarter a box for his crop, while to the average aver-age Iowa or Illinois farmer the price of apples is of little moment. However, How-ever, a margin of five cents a bushel on grain to them often makes the difference dif-ference between profit and loss. There are abundant exceptions to this general proposition so far as mere ; numbers of associations go. For example, ex-ample, the co-operative telephones and the mutual insurance companies are numerous. These companies involve so little farm finance however, that they can and are run without much attention from the average farmer. They are good things, but enter very little into the ups and downs of farming. farm-ing. Thus it might almost be said that the business which lends itself to cooperative co-operative action is either that in which the farmer has the greatest concern, or that in which his concern is constant but very slight, and which can be run ( with little or no attention from the -majority of farmers involved. |