ELECTRIC POWER i'OR COUNTRY DISTRICTS II 



the large central societies, in which often amounts of 3,000,000, 4,000,000 

 or 5,000,000 marks are invested, the importance of the business is too 

 great, and its economic interest too considerable to be left to the hasard 

 of party contest in an unruly general meeting or to be decided in accord- 

 ance vnth personal or local interests, " 



It is very interesting to find here practical experience giving weight to 

 the objections we have already advanced, from a theoretical stand point, 

 against the use of the legal form of co-operative societies, almost in our 

 own words and with our own arguments. On the other hand, it must 

 be noted that up to the present, notwithstanding the difficulties in the 

 way, it has been possible to maintain the central co-operative societies 

 of the Province of Saxony in vigour. As Dr. Rabe was able to show, 

 all those undertakings formed without previous delimitation of the field 

 of their action, without a competent technical advisory office and without 

 sufficient capital of their own, have had, it is true, serious crises to pass 

 through in their growth ; but after these were successfully passed and they 

 were able to consolidate their position especially by means of increased con- 

 tributions from their members, the results have been satisfactory. For 

 the greater part of these also the period when their accounts used to 

 close with a loss is now passed, while all the other central societies more 

 recently formed with due precautions can show good results. Already 

 in their first working years, after payment of interest and the regular 

 repayment of the amounts they had borrowed, they have covered their 

 expenditure, if, indeed, naturally, they have not been able to obtain in- 

 terest on their share capital. The hope, therefore, seems justified that 

 the consumption of current may increase in the future and that then a 

 sufiiciently lucrative period for their business must ensue. 



It is especially interesting to note that although electric power has 

 only been comparatively recently introduced, the consumption of it has 

 made considerable congress. It was often feared that the use made of 

 electric power in country districts would be insignificant. The idea was 

 that agriculture would make large use of electric power only in the 

 threshing season. But, in the Provinces of Saxony, it happens that the 

 central society has been able to show an excellent utilisation of power as 

 compared with that of the urban electric workshops. 



According to statistics published by the Union of German Electric 

 Workshops {Vereinigung Deutscher Elektrizitdtsiverke) , the maximum 

 utilisation of power for city workshops lasts from 2,000 to 3,000 hours. 

 They never know of a utilisation of more than 4,000 hours. The power 

 supplied by the central co-operative societies recently founded in the Pro- 

 vince of Saxony is little less. There the maximum utilisation lasted be- 

 tween 1,500 and 2,000 hours and even reached 2,500. Such an indubit- 

 ably good result is explained especially by the fact that the consumption 

 of electric power for agricultural purposes, when extended over large 

 areas, balances itself. Especially at threshing time, the machine threshers 

 are not utilised everywhere at the same moment. 



