COIyLECTIVE SALE OF CEREALS 



however, have a most important action in promoting the social and mater- 

 ial welfare, and, in spite of their Umited business, make no contemptible 

 profits. 



All this is seen of course much more in the country than in the thickly 

 inhabited centres, where, with a radical change of the general conditions 

 of economic and social life, competition becomes a necessity as in other 

 lands. 



So much premised, we pass to the detailed examination of the business 

 of certain of the most characteristic co-operative societies engaged in the 

 collective sale of cereals. 



§ 3. EXA^IPLES OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES FOR THE COLLECTIVE 

 SALE OP CEREALS. 



(A). Co-Operative Society of Toyochi. 



Toyochi is a little village of the province of Miye, with little more than 

 2,500 souls, in about 350 houses. These inhabitants, Hke the large major- 

 ity of the rural population of Japan, are occupied in agriculture and at the 

 same time carr>' on certain auxihary industries, such as silkworm rearing, 

 the collection of fuel, charcoal burning etc. 



The Toyochi co-operative society was founded on December, 27^., 

 1906 under the form of a limited liabihty co-operative credit, purchase and 

 sale society; at the end of 1909 it had 277 members, a very large number 

 in proportion to the small population. At the same date, the share 

 capital, consisting of 1,064 shares of 20 yen (i) each, amounted to 

 21,280 yen, (54,902 frs.) : the net credits amounted to 23,560 yen or 

 60,785 frs. The society possesses also storehouses for cereals and a com- 

 plete supply of implements and machinery for treating rice. The oper- 

 ations may be divided, as is natural in view of the nature of the society, 

 into three principal classes : credit, purchase and sale operations. 



The credit business done in the first three working years may be sum- 

 marised as under : 



X907 1908 1909 



Amounts Lent yen 47,003 53.552 56,75^ 



Savings » 10,656 13.948 8.369 



It follows that, on an average, in the year 1909, for example, each 

 member could have had a loan of about 205 yen (529 frs.), a respectable 



(i) I Yen = 2.58 fr. 



