COOPERATIVE PURCHASING AND MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS. 27 
Table III. — Estimated volume of business and membership by kinds of organizations. 
> 
Number 
of organi- 
zations. 
Annual volume of 
business. 
Membership. 
Kind of organization. 
Estimated 
total. 
Average 
of organi- 
zations 
reporting. 
Estimated 
total. 
Average 
of organi- 
zations 
reporting. 
1,637 
1,708 
871 
213 
275 
43 
96 
581 
§234,529,716 
83, 360, 648 
140, 629, 918 
34, 392, 258 
14, 552, 725 
6, 746, 270 
9, 482, 592 
48, 214, 866 
§143,268 
48, 806 
161, 458 
161.465 
52', 919 
156, 890 
98, 777 
82, 986 
166, 974 
141,786 
108, 004 
18, 531 
60,500 
14,448 
13, 440 
134,211 
102 
83 
124 
87 
220 
336 
Live stock 
140 
231 
Total 
5,424 
i 625, 940, 448 
115,402 
i 661, 728 
]09 
i Total volume of business and total membership obtained by multiplying average reported by total 
number. 
FARMERS' GRAIN ELEVATORS AND WAREHOUSES. 
Number and location. — The 1,637 grain elevators and warehouses 
that reported are distributed among 23 States, as shown in Table I. 
North Dakota reports 264, Minnesota 241, Iowa 228, Illinois 192, 
Nebraska 183, Kansas 153, and South Dakota 135. (See also 
Chart 9.) In other words, over 85 per cent of the elevators reporting 
are located in these seven States of the grain belt. In Oregon, 
Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado practically all of the grain 
has been handled in sacks until recently; consequently the farmers 
in these States have operated warehouses instead of elevators. 
Terminal facilities are now being completed in the Pacific coast 
grain centers for handling grain in bulk, and many of the warehouse 
companies are preparing to construct elevators. When the practice 
of handling grain in bulk at the terminal markets becomes general 
the warehouses gradually will be replaced by elevators. One of the 
chief reasons for bringing about this change has been the high cost 
of grain sacks, the price of which has increased rapidly during the 
last two years. 
It is estimated that there are a few hundred farmers' grain market- 
ing organizations Irom which no reports have been received, but as 
the larger and more successful concerns appear to have been the 
most prompt in replying to the request for information, it is believed 
that the majority of those not replying are smaller organizations. 
Plan of organization. — One thousand and seventy-four elevators 
and warehouses report being organized as capital stock companies, 
and 496 as cooperative companies* It must be borne in mind that 
those in the latter group are also for the most part organized with 
capital stock. The first class consists of those concerns which manage 
their business and distribute their profits according to the method 
commonly followed by stock companies. Companies which had 
