22 AUSTRIA - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



F. — The Industrial Agricultural Syndicate. 



When the Federation had organized a central credit institute for the 

 co-operative societies, provision was made for their organization for purposes 

 of purchase. The Federation itself originally worked as an agency and occup- 

 ied a middle position between buyers and sellers, renouncing all pecuniary 

 profit in favour of the former, but the business reached a point when the 

 need was felt for an institution to relieve the federal office of the dif- 

 ficult v.ork of supplying goods for the account of the co-operative 

 societies ; in this way the Federation would be able to occupy itself prin- 

 cipally with inspections in accordance with its rules. The new institute 

 would be better able to deal with the business of supplying goods, obtain 

 immediate advantages for the associated societies and serve as a central 

 institution for the commercial business of the co-operative societies for dis- 

 tribution and production. 



It was with this intention, the Industrial Agricultural Syndicate was 

 founded. 



It is a limited liability economic consortium, coming under the provisions 

 of law No. 70 of April 9th., 1873 ; it accepts as members only economic 

 consortiums and kindred associations, with individual members Hmited to 

 the number of officers required. Its object is to facilitate for the co-oper- 

 ative societies and generally for the associated consortiums the collective pur- 

 chase of goods, machinery and other material necessary, as well as the collect- 

 ive sale of the produce of the associated consortiums and their members ; it 

 attains its object by means of a purchase and sale agency, the erection of col- 

 lective warehouses and the installation of industrial workshops. The capital 

 of the society consists of the shares {actions) subscribed by the members, 

 of the value of 50 crowns each, the reserve fund and the guarantee fund 

 equal to five times the amount of the shares. By its rules the Institution 

 must not seek profits, so that the credit balance — after deduction of a por- 

 tion for the reserve fund against losses — is divided among the members 

 in proportion to the purchases made and the contributions paid up ; in this 

 way the consortiums profit directly and indirectly. Founded on Novem- 

 ber 23rd., 1899, the Industrial Agricultural Syndicate was registered on 

 December 13th. of the same year and began working at the beginning 

 of 1900. The tables XI, XII, XIII, here given, showing the situation for the 

 various working years and the total business done, make evident by 

 figures the progress of the institute from the first years following its 

 foundation up to 1912. 



The members (consortiums) from 134 in 1900 increased to 320 in 1912; the 

 share capital (paid up and not paid up) increased from 19,100 crs. to 

 85,550 crs.; the guarantee fund from 95,500 crs. to 427,750 crs.; the amount 

 of the sales from 886,838 crs. to 7,684,905 crs. 



On the commercial market of the Trent District, the Industrial Agricul- 

 tural Syndicate has to regulate both the prices and the quafity of the 

 goods. 



