farmers to deal at home, they must see that farmers are inter- 

 ested and represented in all movements that make for general 

 community betterment. 



The local merchant has the right to claim the farmer's 

 trade for the reason that he sells to the farmer on credit and 

 should have his cash trade. The local merchant shows his 

 goods before purchase and delivers them instantly, an advan- 

 tage to a buyer. He often makes an effort to handle the pro- 

 ducts of the farm that may not be needed badly at the time in 

 order to give the farmer a home market. A further reason 

 for the support of the local merchant is that the price of farms 

 is increased by thriving towns. The argument so often used 

 by local merchants, that the man who deals with a mail order 

 house sends his money away from home, is fallacious. The 

 local merchant sends the money away from home just as the 

 farmer does. The only part of the money which he does not 

 send away is the profit he makes. 



Cooperation. By cooperation is meant the working to- 

 gether of a number of individuals to secure a common good. 

 In former days rural people cooperated in the exchange of la- 

 bor during the harvest and threshing seasons, "exchanged 

 work" they said. This form of cooperation is dying out. The 

 threshing machine now carries its own crew in many sections. 

 In place of cooperation through labor exchange there is coming 

 business cooperation. Cooperation has made remarkable pro- 

 gress within recent years. There are now cooperative so- 

 cieties to furnish insurance; to build and maintain grain ele- 

 vators, warehouses, creameries ; to sell fruit, stock, and other 

 farm products ; to make local improvements ; to build telephone 

 lines; to improve the grade of corn, cattle, sheep, hogs and 

 horses.. 



A Typical Cooperative Movement. A cow testing asso- 

 ciation usually consists of less than 25 members owning not 

 fewer than 400 cows, and preferably five hundred or six hun- 

 dred. The present method in Wisconsin is to charge $1.00 per 

 year for each cow. This sum is paid to the treasurer of the 

 association who in turn pays it to the man who tests the cow. 



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