UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
BULLETIN No. 394 
Contribution from Office of Markets and Rural Organization 
CHARLES J. BRAND, Chief 
Washington, D. C. 
November 3, 1916 
A SURVEY OF TYPICAL COOPERATIVE STORES IN 
THE UNITED STATES. 
By J. A. Besell, Dean, School of Commerce, Oregon Agricultural College; 
Hectok Macpherson, Director, Bureau of Markets, Oregon Agricultural Col- 
lege; and W. H. Kerb, Investigator in Market Business Practice, Office of 
Markets and Rural Organization, United States Department of Agriculture. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. 
Purpose, scope, and method of the survey . 
Origin of the stores 
General organization 
Operating organization 
Finance 
Credit 
Selling 
Accounting, reports, and auditing 
Equipment 
The balance sheet 
Operating expenses 
Observations and conclusions 
Page. 
14 
16 
20 
20 
21 
Purchasing , 13 Appendix. 
30 
THE PURPOSE, SCOPE, AND METHOD OF THE SURVEY. 
The financial success of the Rochdale Cooperative Store in Great 
Britain, as well as in several other European countries, notably 
Denmark and Switzerland, has aroused a widespread interest in that 
type of cooperation in the United States. This interest has resulted 
in the establishment of stores in all parts of the country, until it is 
estimated that there are now approximately 400 in the United States, 
distributed mainly in the North Central States and on the Pacific 
coast. 
The movement has probably been stimulated by investigations 
carried on by the governments of various cities and States which 
have emphasized the cost of distribution as the chief factor in the 
high cost of living. The Department of Agriculture, as well as the 
various universities, agricultural colleges, and departments of state 
have received appeals for information regarding the feasibility of 
the cooperative store as a remedy for the great expense of distribution 
and the resulting high cost of living. 
With a view to obtaining some definite information on this subject, 
the Office of Markets and Rural Organization, in cooperation with 
the School of Commerce of the Oregon Agricultural College, during 
Note.— This bulletin should be of interest to cooperative stores and to producers and 
consumers generally. 
47614" — Bull, 394—16 1 
