38 ITAI,Y - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



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2. — Some statistics of the catholic co-operative federations. — 

 The importance of the Cathohc movement in the field of co-operation, 

 especially of co-operative credit, is well known and we have more than 

 once had occasion to refer to it, especially when dealing with the Report 

 published by the Labour Office {Ufflcio di Lavoro) in 191 1, on the Inquiry 

 into the Catholic Workmen's Organizations in Italy (i). We saw then that 

 an essential part of the programme of the Catholics in regard to co-oper- 

 ative societies was their union in diocesan or provincial federations, 

 adhering, through the medium of special organizations to the Unione 

 Economico-Sociale fra i cattolici italiani (Economic and Social Union of 

 Italian Catholics), which has its head quarters at Bergamo, the great 

 centre for the co-ordination and direction of Italian Cathohc institutions. 

 In agreement with the principles of this union, in recent years numerous 

 federations have been, in fact, formed, with regard to some of which we 

 have the following information : 



(a) Federazione delle casse rurali e popolari della Provincia di Bergamo 

 (Federation of the Rural and People's Banks of the Province of Bergamo). 

 — The rural and people's banks existing in this province first of all took 

 the form of unlimited societies of collective title, regulated by the com- 

 mercial code, except that two adopted the form of societies in ci\'il law. 



The rural banks and people's banks differ in this : that the members 

 of the rural banks are free in regard to their savings deposits, while those 

 of the people's banks are bound to deposit a minimum, amount per week, 

 fixed in their rules or regulations. 



The former are constituted in agricultural centres, the latter in places 

 where industry is more important and commerce more active. 



The federal executive body has two inspectors, whose duty it is at 

 least once a year to inspect all the federated institutes, and, if need be, 

 to assist them in the compilation of their monthly statements of accounts 

 and annual balance sheets. In order to train good accountants and 

 managing directors, the Federation also often organizes special courses of 

 legal and technical education. 



The rural banks, 63 in number, showed the following total figures on 

 March 31st., 1913. 



Members 8.504 



Capital Frs. 190,780.32 



Deposits » 5,330,603.90 



Loans » 4,256,404.25 



(i) See Bulletin of Economic and Social Intellij,ence, August ami September, 1912, pp. 27 

 and 45 respectively. 



