MEMBERSHIP RELATIONS OF COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS 9 
“Do you think that farmers should organize and set prices on their 
products?” Table 5 shows the answers to these questions. 
TABLE 5.—Replies to questions as to probable achievements of cooperative 
associations in price control 
Question and reply Association 
Total 
Members reporting 
| 
| 
Number| Number| Number| Number| Number 
20 50 36 33 139 
Yes; if large per cent or majority is controlled____....----- 20 127 
| Eee Ee aE ee, 9h ee 62 105 
IEDR TURE = Ss 8 or ee ad eee ee ee Oe PP RS er PO a eee 14 
LEU Ta Pi oe Eee he en be ee any fy es eee Ol eae eae 10 
aa TST ee Ph fy See Se Cpe been Ag ol elem Sa Pere aed ine at A, been TE cee 3 
ee ee est os eee es 115| 398 
Will cooperatives ever get cost of production for the farmers? 
Lye ea in a a A Oe ee Se a oe 72 268 
ep re ee ie eee Se eee Fees 51 96 
ERED een A eee eee ee ees 6 Nene ne Be ae oe ae | 17 
SS gt eal ei ea 123 | 381 
Will cooperatives ever control acreage? 
ATT EL 2 E S S E  T  Oe  n  n e aed epiei t 29 102 
Le Se ee eee ese oe ee 7 84 226 
CDOTS TE pe ei i ees at Tee SR i a Ue Sg 2 ee i ees 29 
_. Sa: Sot | 113 | 357 
Should farmers organize and set prices on their products? 
pRonpe 8@Cd 2 7 oa ee ees 59 | 281 
anenn not sot prices . ... ! >= 422 ee eee op 45 | 88 
1 ee ey eens: es tte “St: py | 104 | 369 
1 Doubtful. 
The replies given in Table 5 indicate the prevalence of a belief 
that cooperative organizations can fix prices, if they have a suffi- 
cient volume of the product. But that as many as 105 members 
of the 403 reporting replied that organizations can not fix prices 
shows that this belief is far from being universal. The rephes of 
members of association 4 raised the total of negative answers. This 
was the one association in which the majority of the members 
interviewed expressed the opinion that organizations can not con- 
trol prices. The official publication of this association has given 
considerable space to the limitations of price control, and in all 
probability its views have had some effect on the ideas of the 
members. 
The belief that cost of production should be the basis for deter- 
mining prices has a strong foothold. A considerable majority 
realize, however, that an association can not control acreage. When 
it comes to an expression of whether farmers should be organized 
and set their own prices, a large majority reply in the affirmative. 
To get some idea of what the members considered as reasonable 
prices, the question was asked, “ What is a fair price for cotton or 
tobacco?” The answers are given in Table 6. 
25429° 97-2 
