28 Cooperation in Agriculture 



In the cooperative association, the controlling factor is 

 men; in the other, money. The "one man, one vote" 

 principle of organization is best suited when the interest 

 of each member in the association is approximately equal 

 to that of every other one. Under these conditions, each 

 member contributes equally to the investment necessary 

 for operation, each has an equal voice in the management 

 of the business, and all share pro rata in the advantages 

 and the risks. The object of the organization is to serve 

 the members and to distribute the earnings on the basis 

 of the member's business. 



The "one man, one vote" principle, however, is not 

 always adapted to industries in which the amount of the 

 product contributed by the members varies widely. In 

 this case, the voting power, property rights, and interests 

 of its members may be unequal and the members may 

 contribute to the investment in the proportion that the 

 product of each member bears to the total product handled 

 by the association, or in proportion to the acreage of each 

 member. Under these conditions, the voting power, 

 property rights, and interest of each member may be in 

 proportion to such contribution, or in the proportion that 

 the acreage of each member bears to the total acreage 

 which contributes to the association, or proportionally 

 in other ways. Among many earnest advocates of the 

 cooperative method, the "one man, one vote" idea is 

 held as a sacred fundamental principle to which there 

 should be no exception. It is an application of ideal demo- 

 cratic principles to business transactions. This is the usual 

 method in the foreign cooperative societies, and as a general 

 principle, it should usually be adopted in America. This 



