INFORMATION RELATING TO CO-OPERATION AND ASSOCIATION 21 



ser\-es and of others for hatching eggs, as well as grants to social enterprises 

 and to the daughters of poor members for their instruction in domestic 

 economy. 



In their monthly meetings the town and countn,- members discuss 

 prices together, and thus for the first time townswomen are able to parti- 

 cipate in fixing prices. The shops of the associations have distinguished 

 themselves during the war by maintaining fair prices, often lower than 

 those which obtain in markets. 



ITALY. 



r. AGRICUI^TURAI, CO-OPERATION AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE OF PEASANTS.— 

 La Cooperazionc ItalianU; Milan, No. 1212, 6 October 1916. 



The Congregation of Charit> recently took important decisions in 

 favour of promoting agricultural co-operation in the management of the 

 lands owned by charitable institutions, and of ensuring to peasants habit- 

 ually emplo3'ed on the congregation's own farms a minimum of social assis- 

 tance correspondent to modern needs. The provisions in <]uestion are 

 courageous and are destined to produce the best results. The}' could eas- 

 ily be adopted by the administrators of all charitable institutions which 

 own rural land, and several congresses have already declared themselves 

 to this effect (i). We think therefore that it "nnll be intercbting to describe 

 them. 



Above all the council of the congregation affirmed the dut}' of pubhc 

 administrations owning rural property to endeavour to raise the level of 

 the intellectual, moral and enconomic life of the peasants working on their 

 land. The council was further of the opinion that the best means o* doing 



(i) In Bologna, on the 15th of last October in a meeting of the representatives of labour or- 

 ganizations, held to discuss the letting of rural lands owned by charitable institutions ar.d the 

 r Jations between agricultural and labom co-operative societies, an order of the day was approv- 

 ed, which affirmed thj power of the public administrators of the province to give a preference 

 in litting agreem nts to the co-operative societies, particularly to the local federation which 

 was th;ir b;st known nucL^us, and which invited the delegates of the public administrations of 

 the labour organizations to nominate a mixed technical commission charged a) to formulate 

 " general regulations for letting " which should legitimately" safeguard public interests and the 

 particular interests of the contracting parties ; 6) to act permaraentlj- in an arbitrating capac- 

 ity in order to prevent ditferences which might arise as to such leases. The congress further 

 expressed a desire that the provincial federation should oblige its adherent co-operative soci- 

 eties to become more and more doselj' connc-cted with the organizations exis'ing specificallj- 

 for collective pro\ isioning and sale of the articles and commodities necessary to agriculture 

 and derived from it (agricultural un'ons, autonomous commtmal 'nstitutions, co-opetative 

 consumers' societies, etc.), thus gradually eliminating the ustless niiddkmtnwho burden 

 production as much as consumption. See in this connection La Cooperazionc Itahana, Milan, 

 No. 1215, 27 October 1916. 



