OCR Text |
Show FEW YEARS OF C0-0PEBATI0R What the Southern Produce Compan) Members Have Accomplished-All Accomplished-All Work Together. Tbo great trouble with co-operatlv work among the tillers of the soli ti that they do not "stay" co-operate long enough. Almost as soon as an) kind of co-operative organisation u formed, the selfish Interests of Indl vlduals begin to crop out and mar Uu effectiveness and smootbneaa of tbt work. Therefore, 90 per cent, of the or ganlxatloua of the tillers of the soil continue for only a brief period write A. Jeffers In the frogrevalvf Farmer. The Southern Produce com pany was organised aa a "Grange away back In 1170, and baa evoluted through aeveral forms of organisation to lie present form. It baa done an Immense Im-mense amount of good not only to Its own 400 members, but to tillers of the soil In it sphere of Influence. Without With-out Its stockholders putting their bands Into their pockets for a dollar, excepting to pay tbo original cost of their stock, the company has built and equipped an experiment station worth today, with lis equipment, at least M0.-000. M0.-000. It has also built a splendid six-story six-story building In the city of Norfolk, for a permanent home for the organ ration, at a cost of fully f 12S.000. When 400 men organise to cooperate, coop-erate, and stay co-operated for 40 year, they accumulate experience sufficient to enable Uwu U muxm-fully muxm-fully meet the business world and secure their Juet and legitimate right. Tbla has been a contlnuoua organisation, organi-sation, working as such ever alncs 1870. At least a dosen of the" original origi-nal charter membera are atlll alive, among them at least two ladies, for the ladle have ben membera all along. The stock of thla company la limited to less than $15,000 and has paid a dividend of late years, never leea than 20 per cent Beside there haa been accumulated enough of surplus to build and equip the experiment ex-periment station and the other buddings. budd-ings. Bach and every member haa been greatly benefited every year. Tbe saving and the profit to each Individual In-dividual member haa been many times more than hi stock. It 1 simply sim-ply tbe "savings" through co-operative buying and aelltng. These men have been long enough In tbe co-operative work to get thor oughly Inoculated, acclimated, drilled and dhwlpllned. They can keep step, touch elbow, and go right along. They cannot be downed by Internal die-senelons, die-senelons, should they arise, nor by outside out-side presaure or attack, which I always al-ways liable to happen. These men buy together and save money; sail together to-gether and save; consult and save; and In thousand of caee have saved ""ijr "bacon" by working together. |