STATE POMOLOGICAI. SOCIETY. 2/ 



this association, acceptable to the members of the committee. 

 Now possibly that is enough, on account of the limits of time, 

 as a general description of this so-called Raiffeisen system. I 

 may say that these associations average about ninety-five people 

 in number. They are purely local. They accept deposits from 

 members and also from non members. The average loan, as 

 possibly I have stated a few minutes ago, is about $150. The 

 average borrower makes a loan of about $150. The average 

 deposit is about $300. And when I say that all the funds at 

 the disposal of these local credit associations run up into the 

 billions of marks in terms of German m.oney. and that by far 

 the greatest part of these funds is furnished by members them- 

 selves who are not at a given time in need of money and who 

 may happen to have a little surplus of their own, it gives a 

 better idea of the economic and valuable character of these 

 associations. 



The local associations are combined into federated 

 groups. At the head of each group is a bank, itself cooperative 

 in character, made up not necessarily of the members of the 

 local Raiffeisen associations, though usually so made up. Now 

 these banks are sort of equalizing agencies that in times when 

 the local associations may have surplus funds on hand, loan 

 these funds in the great commercial centers of the country, or 

 at least distribute them there to other rural credit associations; 

 and, on the other hand, when a given local association may 

 have need of more funds to lend than it has at its disposal 

 these federated banks furnish such association with the funds 

 needed. Still above these federated banks is a great central 

 bank which carries on substantially, except on a larger scale, 

 tlie same activities that the federated banks carry on. 



Over all this combined activity is exercised the very 

 careful supervision of the German government. I mention in 

 connection with these Raiffeisen associations which exist to 

 the number of several thousand throughout Germany, that in 

 the entire history of them in the sixty or seventy years they 

 have been in operation, not a single man, not a single member 

 who is legally responsible to an unlimited extent for anv failure 

 of a local association, has ever been obliged to contribute a 

 penny to make up a deficit as a consequence of failure. They 

 have been conducted with the highest degree of success. 



