PROVISION Oi 1 BORROWING FACILITIES. 403 



than do those urban societies of small tradesmen and artisans to 

 whom the Prussian Bank finds it safe to lend money when organised 

 in a registered co-operative society. 



As to the nature of the security obtainable by the society from 

 .tenant borrowers, it may be recalled that the aim of a co-operative 

 society is to furnish supplementary working capital on personal 

 security, that is, upon the security of the general standing of the 

 borrower and of his business reputation, supported, if necessary, by 

 sureties, the ultimate security implicitly involved being the realisable 

 value of the asses ts of the borrower or of those of both borrower 

 and sureties. In Germany this ultimate security consists mainly 

 in property, and in so far members are able to provide a better 

 underlying security. But tenants have leases, and cannot leave 

 at a moment's notice; they possess personal property, stock, 

 machines; their business capacity and character is known in their 

 neighbourhood ; and it is always open to them to provide sureties, 

 who need not be members of their society. As societies do not pretend 

 to furnish the entire or major part of members' working capital, but 

 merely to supplement it, the amount of credit which the members may 

 be allowed on these bases is likely to be in keeping with their needs as 

 well as within the limits of safety for the society. The supervision 

 automatically exercisable by reason of the narrow limits of the area of 

 rural societies minimises risk of loss, a risk which is further reduced by 

 the power, to be retained by the societies, to call in their loans at short 

 notice, when there is good evidence of their capital being endangered. 



It can hardly be anticipated that co-operative credit societies will 

 increase at first with great rapidity in England. But English farmers 

 are not alone in being highly conservative and distrustful of fresh 

 projects ; in Germany the success of the movement was largely the 

 result of the intensive propaganda carried on continuously from many 

 sides as well as of the effective assistance of the State. The same 

 persistent and penetrating propaganda work will be required in 

 England ; and progress will probably be slow, as in Germany. 

 There are now nearly 17,000 rural credit societies in that country ; but 

 twelve years after (1864) the first Raiffeisen bank was established 

 there were only about one hundred of that type in existence, and in 

 1890 nearly forty years after their total number was 1,729. 



Among the chief agencies which promoted the movement, apart 

 from the State (including the EMPERORS WILLIAM I and WILLIAM II., 



