Agricultural Finance & Co-operation. 248 



[September, 1911, 



Credit Banks of the various districts, in 

 accordance with the law of December 

 29th, 1906. These loans are granted for 

 a maximum period of 25 years up to 

 double the amount of the paid-up capital, 

 at an interest not exceeding 2 %. 



In 1910 as many as eleven co-operative 

 oil-works had received low-interest loans 

 for sums varying from 4,000 to 45,000 tr., 

 the total sum advanced being 170,000 fr. 



The co-operative oil-works have as a 

 rule an average of about a hundred 

 members, each extract annually from 

 40 to 150 double decalitres ot olive oil. 

 Several systems of plant aie used : some 

 societies buy or rent an old olive mill 

 and bring it up-to-date, others buy 

 suitable premises or have them built, 

 and furnish them with a complete plant, 

 while others have the necessary premises 

 presented to them by the Commune, an 

 association or some private benefactor. 



In the first ease, it is estimated that 

 the sum required for the installation 

 and working of a small model oil-works 

 varies between 20,000 and 30,000 fr., that 

 is, 12,000 fr. for the building, from 8,000 

 to 10,000 for the machinery, and from 

 300 to 5,000 for the various expenses and 

 the initial circulation fund. 



The Co-operative Oil-works of Grasse 

 (Maritime Alps), which has at the present 

 day a capital of 18,700 fr., has acquired 

 a large oil-works furnished with the 

 apparatus for the extraction of the oil 

 from the husks and worked by hydraulic 



Fower ; the entire plant cost 47,000 fr. 

 n order to meet this expenditure, the 

 society obtained a loan of 30,00C f r. from 

 the Regional Bank of Mentone at the 

 rate of 2 % and repayable in twenty 

 years. 



Among the more important co-oper- 

 ative oil-works we may mention the 

 "Travailleuse" of Cotignac (Var), which 

 has a capital of 10,625 fr. divided in 25 fr. 

 shares yielding an interest of 3*60 %. 

 This society had a loan of 25,250 fr. for 

 twenty years at the rate of 1'50 %. Its 

 steam plant cost 45,350 f r. and can treat 

 sixty double decalitres of olives per hour. 



According to recent information, the 

 movement appears to be extending to 

 Algiers. 



Considerable advantage has already 

 been obtained from co-operation in this 

 branch of industry, both from the 

 technical and economic point of view. 

 The double decalitre of olives which now 

 produces an average of 2*3 to 2 6 litres of 

 oil, that is, from 3 fr. to 3-25 fr., gives a 

 return of from 50 centimes to 75 centimes 

 more than formerly, and by utilising 

 the secondary products it has been found 



possible not only to cover the expenses 

 ot manufacture, but also to pay the 

 interest on the loan. 



We are not wrong therefore in feeling 

 sure that co-operation will contribute 

 largely to the resuscitation of the oil 

 industry on the Mediterranean coast of 

 France. 



(Summarised from the Bulletin of the 

 Bureau of Economic and Social Intelli- 

 gences of the International Institute of 

 Agriculture, 2nd Year, No. 6.) 



ITALY. 



Facilities Accorded to the Co-oper- 

 ative Distributive Societies. 



The Italian Government, rightly think- 

 ing that the co-operative distributive 

 societies might do much to lessen the 

 increasing rise in the price of food, pre- 

 sented a Bill to the Chamber of Deputies 

 on March 9th, 1911, which contains spe- 

 cial provisions for the benefit of these 

 co-operative societies. 



The principal provision of this Bill 

 (which was examined in the last number 

 of the Bulletin of Economic and Social 

 Intelligence, published in June, 1911, by 

 the International Institute of Agri- 

 culture) is that exempting the dividends 

 which the co-operative distributive 

 societies pay to their customers in pro- 

 portion to the purchases made from the 

 tax on personal property, these divi- 

 dends being considered as the customers' 

 automatic savings. 



The dividends relinquished by the 

 persons who have a right to them, that 

 is, the sums which are not withdrawn or 

 left on deposit with the society for the 

 purchase of new shares, and which 

 therefore become the property of the 

 society, do not benefit by this provision. 



Another important concession is the 

 reduction of the stamp duty to two- 

 thirds of the present amount, that is, to 

 20 centimes for each share certificate 

 or other document representing value 

 issued by the society for an amount not 

 exceeding 100 fr. 



The first provision satisfies an old 

 desire of the co-operative society, whose 

 body of members and customers will 

 undoubtedly increase as a result of this 

 benefit, thus enabling the society to 

 give larger dividends or to sell at a lower 

 price. 



(Summarised from the Bulletin of the 

 Bureau of Economic and Social Intelli- 

 gence of the International Institute of 

 Agriculture, 2nd Year, No, 6.) 



