10 GERMANY - CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 



All co-operative societies belonging to the General Raiffeisen Federa- 

 tion are admitted as shareholding members, as are individuals in the case 

 of a special permission. On 31 December 1915 the seven co-operative 

 stores numbered altogether 2,575 members; 2,397 of these being rural 

 banks, eighty-five of them non-credit co-operative societies, and ninety- 

 three of them individuals. As compared with 1914 the increase was 

 one of 151 members. 



The co-operative stores buy and sell merchandise oh behalf of their 

 members, and on behalf of all the co-operative societies constituting the 

 General Raiffeisen Federation, even if these be not members. 



The activity of the co-operative stores and of the sections of the Cen- 

 tral Bank which deal in merchandise extended before the war over the 

 following field : 



1. The sale of merchandise in the market on behalf of the co-opera- 

 tive societies. 



2. The purchase of merchandise in the market on behalf of the co- 

 operative societies. 



3. The purchase of merchandise from the co-operative societies and 

 the sale thereof to them. 



Beyond such business the sale in the market of merchandise bought 

 there is effected from time to time, but only in the case of a stores having 

 miscalculated the demand and the supph- of co-operative societies. 



Since the beginning of the war changes have been introduced into the 

 business of co-operative stores : a) their trade on their own account, that 

 is their sale in the market of merchandise bought there, has increased ; 

 b) trading commissioned by the State and the communes has been intro- 

 duced. The activity of the co-operative stores and of the sections deal- 

 ing in merchandise has, as we shall see, increased during the war, and con- 

 sequently it has been necessary to increase the capital in shares. The five 

 co-operative stores have increased their capital in shares as follows : 



Berlin from 800,000 marks to i, 00c, 000 maiks of which 941,000 marks is paid up 



Breslau " i,ooc,ooo " '' 1,500,000 " " " 1,200,000 " " " " 



Dantzig " 1,500,000 " " 1,800,000 " " " i,8co,ooo " " " " 



Erfurt ■' 1,000,000 " " 1, 500, ceo " " " 1,013,750 " " " " 



Cassel " 500,000 " " 1,000,000 " " " 612,750 " " " " 



At the same time the working capital has been increased from 

 21,527,240 marks to 31,093,246 marks. 



The Central Bank has similarly increased the capital employed in its 

 commercial sections from 4,700,000 marks to 8,500,000 marks. 



The trade of the co-operative stores and the commercial sections has 

 noticeably increased, as is shown by the following table. 



