MARKETING FRUITS 
improvement of society or divided equit- 
ably among the investors. The Roch- 
dale system provided that after five per 
cent on the invested capital was paid, all 
profits should be allotted to the purchas- 
ing members, in proportion to their pur- 
chases until their purchases amounted to 
five pounds. Thus each member found it 
to his interest to purchase at his own 
store and introduce new purchasers, be- 
cause the profits on purchases by those 
not members went to the holders of stock 
or of membership certificates. 
The modern co-operative societies also 
do a banking business and lend money 
to their members to buy cottages. It is 
because small amounts are contributed 
and owned by so many persons that in 
the aggregate the wealth is great. The 
management is democratic, each member 
having one vote, and not, as in most 
stock corporations, a voting power in 
proportion to the stock owned. 
Financing a Co-operative Movement 
It has been considered that the fruit 
business is not as safe an industry on 
which to advance money as the growing 
of such products as wheat, corn, oats, 
cotton, hay and other staple commodi- 
ties, for which there is a constant de- 
mand in something like fixed quantities. 
While it is true that the staple crops 
fluctuate more or less, yet if wheat for 
instance, is high priced on account of a 
shortage in the supply or for any other 
reason, the tendency would be to sub- 
stitute some other food such as corn, 
potatoes, rye, etc., to supply the deficit 
in wheat, and the tendency would be to- 
ward an equilibrium. With fruit, it is 
argued that there is less demand, that it 
is not a staple like wheat, but is more of 
a luxury, and that therefore the fluctua- 
tions are greater. Further, the danger 
from frosts and other climatic conditions 
is greater to fruit than to other crops. 
Therefore bankers hesitate to lend money 
on fruit. 
Bankers are not to blame for this be- 
cause they are handling trust funds ‘and 
are hedged about with laws which if 
violated would in case of panic imperil 
them. In case, however, the fruit grow- 
2-——39 
1265 
er can not get such accommodations as 
he desires, it is possible for him to 
finance himself. 
How to Finance Himself 
Suppose the farmer considers that he 
is taking the risk because he owns the 
fruit. He joins a strong co-operative 
association and signs a contract to de- 
liver his fruit to the association. Sup- 
pose then that in the local community 
there are 300 members of the association 
and that they agree to start a small bank 
of their own. This can be done in a 
small way without much added expense 
of office rent, clerk hire, or furniture. 
Suppose the average deposit of the 3800 
members is $300 each. This would 
make an aggregate amount of $90,000, on 
deposit. The presumption is, that 25 per 
cent of this amount must be kept on 
hand for the use of depositors, but that 
75 per cent may be used as working capi- 
tal. This would leave $65,500 for work- 
ing capital to be used by members of the 
association. 
The risk is not increased materially by 
the farmers making their own deposits 
in their own banks. They assume no 
risks they would not assume in the ordi- 
nary way of banking. 
This plan is not new but has been tried 
in many farming communities in the 
United States and in Europe and found 
to be practicable. 
GRANVILLE LOWTHER 
The Fundamentals of Co-operation 
H. C. ATWELL 
Forest Grove, Oregon 
All co-operative undertakings 
the same basic principles. 
Organized co-operation may be limited 
to a single community, or it may em- 
brace several communities as units of a 
wider co-operative system. 
involve 
I. Confidence 
There is one fundamental, however, 
which is vital to success of any co-opera- 
tive undertaking whether local or general. 
No matter how narrow or how wide the 
scope of your co-operative system, it will 
fail if its members have not confidence in 
one another. Lack of confidence has been 
