©74 
THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT. 
Part II. 
“The Consumer.” 
Mankind is first, last and all the time 
a consumer. By the word consumer is 
meant not only a consumer of food, but 
also of the various other things which 
make life pleasant and indeed possible. 
The three necessities of life, as they are 
called, food, clothing and shelter, are 
from this point of view commodities to 
be consumed. As this reads into the 
word a somewhat wider meaning than 
that usually given, it is to be understood 
in these articles in that wider sense. 
Taking the life of a man to average, 
say 60 years, assuming that at the age 
of 15 he starts working and he retires 
at 55, the producing years are limited 
to 40, but he is a consumer all his life, 
the whole 60 years, from which it fol¬ 
lows that his interest as a consumer is 
prior to his interest as a producer. This 
may be a new point, but that it is the 
view which is worked out in the co¬ 
operative movement in Great Britain 
is amply proved by the literature which 
is distributed, but the following quota¬ 
tion, taken from a paper read before the 
British Association at Leicester, Eng¬ 
land, in August, 1907, on the “Coopera¬ 
tion of Consumers,” by a leading Eng¬ 
lish cooperative authority, gives further 
proof in the same direction. 
“It is in man’s relationship to society 
as producer that he courts restriction, 
but as consumer he courts freedom. It 
is not difficult therefore to see in which 
of these two relationships he repre¬ 
sents the highest social interest. It is 
in that of consumer, because his interest 
in the prevalence of freedom and plenty 
is in accord with the general well-being 
and conforms to the general interest of 
the community. Society is fast losing 
faith in that principle of individualism 
upon which its social and industrial in¬ 
stitutions rest, and is looking more and 
more to that of association, in one or 
another of its numerous forms, as the 
only means of escape from the gather¬ 
ing evils of competitive capitalism.” 
Therefore man associates in this 
movement with his brother man primar¬ 
ily as a consumer. It is when he re¬ 
gards the needs of h’s neighbor as his 
own, and is willing and glad to be asso¬ 
ciated with him in having these common 
needs supplied, he then enters into an 
association or society to operate scienti¬ 
fically the buying and distributing, as 
each requires, or as a famous maxim 
of the real cooperator runs, “To each 
according to his needs, from each ac¬ 
cording to his ability.” Regarded then 
from this standpoint we get a glimpse 
of one great reason why this movement 
has grown so enormous'y, when its basis 
has been properly understood. It is only 
when that inherent right of every con¬ 
sumer to say how, by whom, his wants 
shall be supplied, and that right exer¬ 
cised by himself in combination with his 
neighbor, that we come to the solid 
foundation upon which the whole move¬ 
ment rests. 
The following figures relating to the 
present position of the cooperative 
movement in Great Britain are taken 
from the official figures supplied in the 
British Board of Trade. The Board of 
Trade in its turn issues an annual re¬ 
port dealing with this, and the figures 
relate to the year 1910. Summarized, 
the cooperative consumers total, in 
Great Britain, thirteen million persons. 
Taking the census returns for the fol¬ 
lowing States, New York, New Jersey, 
Rhode Island and Connecticut, we get 
a little over thirteen million total popu¬ 
lation. Just pause and consider that 
fact, that if the whole population of 
these States were all associated together 
to get their needs supplied in common, 
they would by so doing do away with 
the middlemen and all private profit and 
then it can be readily understood how 
fast the movement is growing. In busi¬ 
ness circles it is general lv stated “once 
a cooperator always a cooperator.” And 
when the “divi” which was returned to 
the consumer amounted to somewhere 
near eighty million dollars, the antag¬ 
onism to the movement by interested 
parties can be further understood. The 
next paper will deal with the point 
known cooperatively as the “divi,” or 
how divi comes about in this system 
of scientific distribution. E. T. 
THR RURAIs 
Boarding Farm Help; Cattle Questions. 
1. What sort of money payment should 
be made to a foreman, who desires a sal¬ 
ary and house, fuel, vegetables, milk, etc., 
for the board and keep of the farm help 
when the price of board and room in the 
neighborhood is about $4 per week? 2. In a 
herd where the cows are sufficiently grained 
to produce their most healthful amount of 
milk—one pound of grain to three or four 
of milk—are the calves from such cows 
more likely to become cows giving a large 
amount of high-grade milk if their sire is 
heavily grained, or will the grain fed 
their mothers and themselves very largely 
determine their milking qualities? Would 
a calf produced by a tuberculous dam and 
taken away from her before she had fed it 
be likely to produce a cow which was free 
from tuberculosis, or is this disease trans- 
missable previous to birth ? E. A. b. 
Massachusetts. 
1. The question of payment for the 
board of hired help must be a matter 
of agreement between owner and fore¬ 
man, as other conditions which have a 
bearing upon the matter vary in differ¬ 
ent cases. If the salary of the foreman 
is considered to cover his own services 
only, it would seem to the writer that 
a fair price, based upon the prevailing 
rate for farm board in the neighbor¬ 
hood, should be agreed upon in consid¬ 
eration of the extra expense and labor 
falling upon the foreman’s family. 
Such a price in this vicinity would be 
from three to four dollars per week. 
2. Grain fed to the sire or dam of 
heifer calves will in no way affect the 
quality of the milk given by such calves 
after reaching maturity. Neither, for 
that matter, will grain fed to the calves 
themselves. The richness, or amount of 
butter fat, contained in a cow’s milk 
is solely a matter of individuality, and 
is determined largely by breed and 
strain. Contrary to the general belief, 
it is not affected by the feed given the 
cow. Neither would feed given the 
dam affect the quantity of milk pro¬ 
duced by her offspring, save in so far as 
it contributed to the full development 
and vigor of the calf. Bovine tuber¬ 
culosis is rarely, if ever, transmitted to 
a calf before birth. Calves from tuber¬ 
culous mothers may be safely raised if 
they are not fed upon the mother’s milk 
until such milk has been sterilized by 
heating it to 185 degrees Fahrenheit and 
maintaining that temperature for at 
least twenty minutes. This is the basis 
of the “Bang” method of reproducing a 
healthy herd from one known to be 
affected with tuberculosis, m. b. d. 
Revision of Express Rates. 
A. n. P., llulbcrton, K. Y .—I have no¬ 
ticed in a number of papers that the ex¬ 
press companies have been ordered to re¬ 
duce their rates, but the American Express 
agent in this vicinity says there has been 
no reduction made to his knowledge. I 
have been in hopes that when the peach 
season opened express rates would be lower. 
Can you give me any information ? 
Ans. —The facts are that the Inter¬ 
state Commerce Commission, after a 
long review of the express rates, is to 
order the express companies to cut down 
their charges on a definite scale. This 
is not to be done at once, for in order 
to give the express companies every 
opportunity, the commission gives the 
companies until October 9, 1912, to show 
cause why the proposed rates should not 
go into effect. That is customary in 
dealing with such corporations, and is 
a matter of legal form. On October 9, 
therefore, these companies must either 
prove that the proposed reductions in 
rates are not fair and should not be 
enforced, or else attempt to do and fail. 
It is not expected that they will be 
able to prove that the proposed reduc¬ 
tions are unfair, and probably shortly 
after this time they will be obliged to 
cut down their rates as required, but 
until October 9, as stated, the old rates 
will hold. 
Domestic Water Supplies for the 
Farm, by Myron L. Fuller, is a book an 
swering many farm problems. Mr. Fuller 
is a specialist formerly connected with the 
11. S. Department of Agriculture. He dis¬ 
cusses water sources and safety, types of 
wells, cost, methods of raising water, cis¬ 
terns and house tanks, farm waterworks, 
purification of water, and a variety of al¬ 
lied subjects, all in a very straightforward 
way, made still more instructive by a 
number of pictures. This book is a valu¬ 
able addition to the farm library, and will 
be found helpful wherever the water sup¬ 
ply is under consideration. Published by 
John Wiley & Sons, New York; ISO pages, 
65 illustrations. Price $1.50, postage 15 
cents additional. 
NEW-YORKER 
Poison Ivy Again. —Regarding your item 
on poison ivy, page 896, the cure is worse 
than the disease. A very much simpler and 
satisfactory cure is a very simple preven¬ 
tive. If a person will cat a leaf or part of 
a leaf of poison ivy every time they come 
near it, it will never poison them; they 
may even handle it or climb fences covered 
with it. Of course moderation and common 
sense have to be used. If I am working iu 
it I only eat say two leaves or so in one 
day. People are afraid to try this preven¬ 
tive on account of the poison; let me say 
it never poisons me to eat it and 1 have 
never known any one who did eat it get 
poisoned by it. Det common sense be used; 
if one is afraid to eat a leaf eat one lobe, 
of a leaf. Iu California there is a shrub 
called poison bake, having just the same 
affect; the people there who work among it 
eat its leaves and it prevents them from 
being poisoned by it. s. a. carter. 
New Jersey. 
Cover Crops. —I read an article, or 
rather an aswer to an inquiry, some time 
ago in The It. N.-Y. This was in regard 
to sowing rye with buckwheat. To ex¬ 
periment in the matter I sowed buckwheat, 
wheat (had no rye) and globe turnips, 
sowed late in July, the buckwheat being 
for bee pasture. I have a fine stand of 
all, buckwheat coming in bloom. It looks 
as if I may get buckwheat, then a crop 
of turnips, and wheat to plow under in 
Spring. But in case there is no crop of 
buckwheat and turnips, I shall have a 
lot of stuff to plow under in Fall or 
Spring. We sow rye on all vacant ground 
until late, sometimes after November 1, 
and have good success. Much rain here, 
can scarcely work in ground at all, and 
still raining. Much grain spoiled on ac¬ 
count of rain ; no apples or peaches here. 
Kieffer pears a good crop. Sweet corn 
selling at 15 to 20 cents per dozen, retail. 
Tomatoes u failure so far. Much poor field 
corn. • E. B. 
Jeanecte, Pa. 
September 21, 
When you write advertisers mention Tiie 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
Alfalfa Seed 
should be sown during August and Sep¬ 
tember. We offer high-grade seed, and 
will send sample and price on request. 
Write for a copy of our Alfalfa Leaflet, 
free. 
Crimson Clover 
tiie great soil improver; also early green 
food, grazing and hay. Special circular, 
sample and price of seed on request. 
Winter Vetch 
(Vicia Villosa) 
Valuable as a winter cover crop and for 
green manure. Extremely hardy. Write 
for price. _ 
Dreer’s Autumn Catalog 
li'-ady early in September and mailed free to 
all applicants; offers Seeds, Plants and Bulbs 
for Full planting. Write for a copy. 
HENRY A. DREER 
-PHILADELPHIA, PA.—-- 
ALFALFA HAY 
The Wonderful, Milk- Producing Feed. 
BRIDGE & SOllTER, Pioneer Shippers, Canastota, N.Y. 
APPLE BARRELS—Car Lots or Less 
KOBT. Gil,I,IKS MEDINA, N. Y. 
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Best dealers everywhere. Address all inquiries to The Sherwin-Williams Co., 635Ganal Rd.,Cleveland,0 V 
APPLETON Fodder SAVING MACHINES 
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•WliiiHi; 
POOR 
ORCHARDS 
MADE 
GOOD 
Six years ago one-lialf the trees In the orchard of the Fairview Orchard Company, Keameysville, W. Va., were tagged by the 
Inspector, who reported it the worst scale-infected orchard he ever saw. After four years’ use of “Scalecide” exclusively as 
a "Winter wash, the same orchard is pronounced one of the cleanest in the State, and produced in 1910 over 11,000 barrels of 
apples, which sold for over $29,000. II the continued use of “Scalecide” brings an orchard that is half dead to life, is it 
reasonable to expect injury to a good orchard? “Scalecide” shows greater fungicidal properties than any other Winter 
wash. “Scalecide” has no substitute. A postal request to Dept. N will bring you by return mail, free, our book, “Modern 
Methods of Harvesting, Grading and Packing Apples,” and new booklet, “SCALECIDE, the Tree-Saver,” If your dealer 
cannot supply you with “SCALECIDE ” we will deliver it to any It R. Station in the U. S. east of the Mississippi and north 
of the Ohio Rivers on receipt of the price; 50-gal. bids., $25.00 ; 30-gal. bbls., $1G.00; 10-gal. cans. $6 76. 6-gal. cans. $3.75. 
Address. B. G. Pit ATT COMPANY. 50 Church Street. New York City. 
