COOPERATIVE GRAIK MARKETING. 21 
more important markets, it can readily be seen that conditions in 
this section of the United States may not yield to the same kind of 
marketing methods that are found desirable in other sections of the 
United States and in Canada. 
The line-house method of operating country elevators has a num- 
ber of economical advantages over the single-unit type of farmers' 
elevator which may not be overlooked. For example, it allows 
standardized construction and machinery. Thus certain repair parts 
may be kept in stock at a central point, from which they may be 
shipped quickly where needed. In case of crop failure in restricted 
areas because of hail or drought which has not affected other sec- 
tions, it is possible to close the elevators in the affected area during 
the emergency. Also, elevators may be closed during the dull periods 
without the losses which are attendant to the single-unit elevator 
under similar conditions. The advantage of centralized accounting 
and the opportunity for departmentalization and specialization is 
apparent. 
Favoring the local single-unit form of cooperative elevators is a 
degree of community pride which usually centers around these or- 
ganizations, quite independent of the services rendered. Local gov- 
ernment carries a special appeal to the average American citizen. 
This to some extent must be lessened, if not entirely lost, where con- 
trol is vested in a body of directors and a management distantly 
situated. In many sections there is a prejudice against centralized 
authority which is not easily overcome. 
In cooperative marketing it is more essential that the system be 
suited to local conditions and practical need than it is that the system 
itself shall have been successfully applied in other fields. The local 
farmers' elevators, typical of the middle western section of the 
United States, were established primarily to solve marketing prob- 
lems of local character. That they have not extended their activities 
to the terminal markets does not in any way reflect upon their success 
as marketing institutions. Eather it indicates a conservativeness too 
often lacking in movements of this kind. 
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