FUNCTIONS OF CENTRAL BODIES 321 



Centrale in constituting the ' General Union of Servian 

 Co-operative Agricultural Societies.' This general 

 union watches over the welfare of the whole movement, 

 appointing inspectors, holding conferences in various 

 parts of the country no fewer than forty-five different 

 localities having been visited in this way and publish- 

 ing fortnightly a periodical, called Rural Co-operation, 

 which, as a source of enlightenment and guidance, 

 fulfils a most useful purpose. Each local society con- 

 tributes 15 per cent, of its receipts to the funds of the 

 General Union. 



As regards the Caisse Centrale, I may add that each 

 co-operative agricultural society and each district union 

 is entitled to representation thereon, and it may be 

 joined also by honorary and corresponding members of 

 the General Union, though no one shareholder can hold 

 more than 100 shares or have more than a single vote. 



The objects of the Caisse Centrale are : To grant 

 loans to co-operative agricultural societies ; to provide 

 them with agricultural machines, seeds, live-stock, raw 

 materials for manufacture, etc. ; to sell produce for 

 members ; and to receive savings of members or non- 

 members, and pay interest on them. It advances by 

 way of loans to the different local societies about 

 16,000 a year; it buys for them agricultural machines 

 to the value of some 3,000 a year, and, under the 

 system of grouped orders, it provides them with seeds, 

 etc., to the value of 2,000 a year, a substantial saving 

 being thus effected as compared with what the indi- 

 vidual members, or even the individual societies, would 

 pay if left to their own resources. A certain make of 

 reaping-machine, for instance, which formerly cost 

 32, bought locally, is now obtained by the Caisse 

 Centrale direct from Holland at a cost, delivered in 

 Belgrade, of only 22. 



21 



