TRENTINO 169 



work," it adds, "that is well deserving of emula- 

 tion " (degno i?wc?°o di essere cmulato). There 

 are in the district about 400,000 inhabitants, 

 mostly occupied with vine culture, and the first 

 Raiffeisen Bank was established among them in 

 1891. "The wretched condition, socially and 

 morally, of the population," says Pio Meyer in 

 // Movimento nel Trentino, " was the first factor 

 that led to the organization of agricultural asso- 

 ciations ; the second was the Christian love felt 

 towards his neighbour by the priest, Lorenzo 

 Guetti." The associations formed by this pioneer 

 became known as " co-operative families " (fam- 

 iglie cooperative). By the end of 1902 there 

 were in the district 131 Raiffeisen banks with 

 10,000 members, together with numerous agri- 

 cultural co-operative associations of various kinds. 

 In this same year the different bodies formed 

 a " Federation of Rural Banks and Co-operative 

 Associations." 



