Part I: Co-operation and Association 



GERMANY. 



MlSCELIvANEOUS NEWS. 



I. — State aid to agrictjltural co-operation in the grand duchy 

 OF HESSE. — To help the agricultural co-operative societies struggling against 

 difficulties originating in the circumstances already dealt with by Dr. Gra- 

 bein in the December number of the Bulletin of Economic and Social Intel- 

 ligence, the Government of the Grand Duchy of Hesse has placed at their 

 disposal a rather considerable amount of money. A Government BiU, by 

 which the State grants the Central Bank of the Agricultural Co-operative 

 Societies of the Grand Duchy of Hesse {Zentralkasse der Jiessischen 

 landwirtschaftlichen Genossenschaften), recently founded at Darmstadt, a 

 loan of a million marks at 3 ^ %, redeemable in 20 years, has passed 

 through both Chambers of the Diet. Besides this, the State is opening 

 a credit to the above bank, of 2,000,000 marks at a rate of i % below 

 the rate of discount of the Imperial Bank, the minimum being fixed 

 at 4 %. 



This loan is intended in the first instance for the assistance of co-oper- 

 ative societies in financial difficulties in consequence of the failure of the former 

 Agricultural Central Bank [Landwirtschaftliche Genossenschaftsbank) . but 

 with still enough vitaUty to be able to prosper, if sufficiently supported. 

 The loan must also serve to facilitate payment by the poorer members of 

 the additional calls on their shares, necessitated by losses due to the failure 

 of the Central Bank. The balance of the loan in this and future years will 

 be used to increase the working capital of the new Central Bank. Thus, all 

 the societies affiliated to the Central Bank will be benefited in some degree by 

 a reduction of the rate of interest. 



As to the special conditions to which the grant of this State assistance 

 is subject, and above all with regard to the seciu^ity for the loan, an 



