FORTY-SECOND ANNUAL REPORT. 127 



METHODS AND BENEFITS OF OUR COOPERATIVE ASSOCIA- 

 TION. 



ROBERT THOMPSON, ST. CATHERINES, ONTARIO. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : I heard a story recently of 

 a man who died and presented himself at the pearly gates, was admitted, 

 and when he got there he was being shown through the different depart- 

 ments in order to choose one for himself. Finally he came into one 

 where there were a lot of chaps — they were not burning. Then he 

 asked who they were, and was told that they were a lot of fruit growers 

 that were too green to burn; they voted against reciprocity, and were 

 hung up to dry. 



Well, I don't happen to be one of those chaps, for I voted for reci- 

 procity. The benefits that it has been to our growers throughout the 

 district, and indirectly to the growers throughout the province, are the 

 same as they have been to our individual members. 



But after all, it all depends upon the men themselves that form the 

 association, and the men chosen as directors. No manager, no matter 

 who he is, will be able to handle an association unless it has good di- 

 rectors and good stockholders behind it. If they are not loyal and 

 do not do what is fair, his energy and ambition or whatever he may 

 have, or inducement or salarv, will soon lac:, if thev are not loval. 



The benefits that we have received have been more marked indirectly 

 than directly. No one knows this more than the directors, and those 

 who have been in close touch with us. 



Our association was possibly the first, although we are a joint stock 

 company, at the time it was formed sixteen years ago, we had no 

 law to allow us to become incorporated, but we are now running under 

 a cooperative system pure and simple. 



We have a central station for the province — corresponding to your 

 state. It is not yielding the benefit that it should for the reason that 

 there is only a few of the better associations that are willing to go in 

 heart and soul on a business basis to support it. For instance, we have 

 a lot of associations willing to take advantage of the Central station, 

 getting the lowest prices for supplies, willing to send in their orders on 

 that basis, and willing to wait and keep the central waiting for months 

 until they pay for their supplies. The same thing is true in our local. 

 These different associations throughout the province are framed in 

 a different way. Some have capital paid up, and having paid up that 

 will be there for years to come. As a rule, where fruit growing is on 

 a solid basis that is the better way — but in some cases if the majority 

 should not pay up very well, and thereby friction, and buyers from 

 the outside come in and pay more money for fruit than the association 

 can get, and in this way seek to injure the association, the members 

 have become discouraged and felt to throw the whole business 

 up. But when another season came around the results have been that 

 the plan was revised and started on a fair footing again — sometimes 



