14 INFORMATION RELATING TO CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



all co-operative and mutual societies in Italy indiscriminately ; 2) the 

 co-ordination of co-operative production and labour under the guidance 

 and direction of the Co-operative National Committee of lyabour (i) ; 3) the 

 consolidation of co-operative consumption around its federal organization, 

 the Italian Consortium of Co-operative Consumers' Societies, which has for 

 years existed at Milan and which ought to modify its by-laws in order to 

 be able to admit to its membership the associated consumers and the 

 victualling institutions which, owing to the necessities of the time, have 

 arisen for the defence of consumers ; 4) the constitution of federations of 

 co-operative agricultural societies, having both united and individual go- 

 vernment, for acquiring, exchanging and selling the material necessary 

 to agriculture and agricultural produce. 



The directing council of the league and the three commissions mention- 

 ed also decided to present to the President of the Council of Ministers, 

 and the Ministers of Agriculture, Industry, Commerce and Labour, Public 

 Works, the Treasury and Finance a cpmplete memorial as to the desires 

 of co-operative organizations. This will support the urgency of a) a re- 

 vision of all legislation on co-operative societies which, it is recognized, 

 no longer responds to the development of the co-operation of the Central 

 Commission of Co-operative Associations at the Ministry of Industry, Com- 

 merce and Labour ; b) the establishment of forms of land settlement by 

 means of collective leases of lands to be improved, large estates and the 

 domanial^ands of communes, religious bodies, etc. ; c) the grant to co-oper- 

 ative societies of production and labour of means of carrying out public 

 works which wiU better respond to national interests ; d) the adoption by 

 the State of a wide policy. of helping and supporting co-operative organiz- 

 ation, and an adequate provision in budgets for the training of the tech- 

 nical, administrative and book-keeping staffs of co-operative societies and 

 for the Chairs of Co-operation and Thrift. 



* 

 * * 



3. COLIvECTIVE FARMS IN THE PROVINCE OF PARMA. — Federazione delle cooperative 

 di Parma e provincia, Movimento cooperativo (Federation of the Cooperative Societies 

 of Parma and the Province. Co-operative Movement), No. 4, i November 191 7. 



Of recent years there have been in the province of Parma a marked 

 diminution of public works and consequently unemployement among the 

 workpeople. To remedj^ this state of affairs the provincial co-operative 

 societies of consumption and labour have initiated a movement towards 

 agricultural co-operation, creating new organizations which aim at leasing 

 lands and cultivating them on their own account. The agricultural co- 

 operative societies— collective farms — now active are not numerous, 



(i) See our issue for November 191 5, page 34. 



