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20 BULLETIN 1392,.U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
have contributed much to standardizing and increasing the efficiency 
of operating units in the several associations. Some of its most im- 
portant work has been of an intangible nature, but not less valuable 
because of inability to measure it accurately in dollars and cents. 
All of the group of cooperatives shown in Table 1, page 1, with 
the exception of the Staple Cotton Cooperative Association and the 
Farmers’ Union association in Arkansas, are members of the ex- 
change, each becoming a member immediately after organization by 
ratification of the original agreement.* In the 1924-25 season the 
member associations had over 275,000 grower members and handled 
almost 1,000,000 bales of cotton. 
PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES 
THE ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT 
During the organization of each association cotton growers were 
asked to sign both an association agreement and a marketing con- 
tract. In some States these were separate documents, and in others 
both were included in the same document, but under their respective 
headings. | aay 
The agreement described the proposed association, its purposes, 
principles, the plan of organization, the plan of operation, requisites 
for membership, etc. In other words, it was an agreement setting 
forth the facts and conditions under which the growers became 
members and under which their signatures became binding. One of 
the conditions was that a certain minimum number of bales would 
be under contract by a definitely named date. In the event that con- 
tracts signed on or before the date specified did not equal or exceed 
this minimum, based on the previous production of the signers, the 
signatures would not be binding. If, however, the minimum number 
of bales should be obtained within the time limit, as determined by 
the organization committee, it provided that the “agreement shall 
be binding upon all the subscribers in all its terms when so secured, 
and there shall be no right of withdrawal whatsoever.” 
THE CONTRACT 
A uniform contract, called “the marketing agreement,” describes 
in considerable detail the obligations of the contracting parties, their 
rights and privileges, and the general procedure agreed upon in car- 
rying out its terms. It was designed to assure a definite volume of 
business, to provide a basis for financing, to prevent disruption 
caused by the desertion of disloyal members, and to give stability 
and permanency to the organization. 
The contract is between the individual member and the associa- 
tion, with the understanding that each individual contract “is one 
of a series generally similar in terms, comprising with all such 
agreements, signed by individual growers, or otherwise, one single | 
contract between the association and the said growers, mutually and — 
individually obligated under all the terms thereof.” It specifically 
transfers title in a purchase-and-sale clause and provides for deliv- 
®The Illinois association is not directly represented on the board of trustees of the 
exchange, but is indirectly connected with the exchange through its marketing agreement 
with the Arkansas association, 
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