1490 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
December  8,  1923 
Responsibility  in  Co-operative  Work 
HE  PERSONAL  TOUCH.— There  are  two 
fundamental  principles  relating  to  the  en¬ 
terprise  of  co-operative  purchasing  of  sup¬ 
plies  and  marketing  farm  produce  which 
some  farmers  seem  to  have  difficulty  in 
comprehending.  These  have  to  do  with 
the  pooling  of  orders  for  supplies,  and  the  pooling 
of  produce  to  be  merchandized.  The  whole  purpose 
and  responsibility  for  effecting  these  pools  rests 
upon  the  desires  of  the  several  individual  members. 
A  few  men  seem  to  have  the  idea  that  their  re¬ 
sponsibility  ceases  with  the  act  of  joining,  and 
thereafter  their  association  should  be  in  position 
to  supply  upon  demand  their  requirements  for 
seeds,  feeds,  fertilizers,  etc.,  irrespective  of  any 
other  condition.  At  times  a  surprising  degree  of 
impatience  is  manifested,  and  the  member  becomes 
carpingly  critical  of  his  association.  He  feels  that 
the  burden  of  proof  of  service  is  entirely  upon  the 
association,  which  he  looks  upon  as  simply  another 
agency  through  which  he  can  buy  or  sell  at  will. 
are  going  to  need  for  the  season.  No  apology  needs 
to  be  offered  for  making  the  statement  that  a 
farmer  who  cannot  anticipate  his  season’s  require¬ 
ments  for  seeds,  feeds,  etc.,  four  months  in  ad¬ 
vance,  has  little  in  the  managerial  sense  of  which 
to  be  proud.  It  is  no  more  speculation  to  antibipate 
the  feed  requirements  for  the  dairy  herd  three 
months  in  advance  than  it  is  to  anticipate  that  a 
crop  of  potatoes  will  be  harvested  in  October  from 
plantings  made  in  June.  Successful  co-operative 
buying  will  depend  upon  each  member  giving  to 
his  agency  an  advance  estimate,  or  order,  of  the 
quantity  of  goods  he  expects  to  use  and  for  which 
he  is  prepared  to  pay  upon  delivery.  The  member 
should  not  have  the  privilege  of  changing  his  mind 
after  authorizing  his  agency  to  assume  this  respon¬ 
sibility.  Only  by  the  pooling  of  orders  for  future 
delivery  can  a  co-operative  go  into  the  markets  and 
intelligently  purchase  quality  goods  at  prices  ad¬ 
vantageous  to  the  members.  If  the  farmers  will 
get  this  idea  clearly  fixed  in  their  minds,  the  prob- 
that  bid  may  be  but  a  cent  or  two  higher  than  what- 
may  be  reasonably  expected  from  the  co-operative, 
the  irresponsible  member  (?)  sells  to  the  local 
dealer. 
WEAKENING  INFLUENCES— This  act  tends  to 
weaken  both  the  morale  and  strength  of  the  co¬ 
operative  and  makes  the  burden  heavier  for  the 
loyal  members.  Time  and  again  men  have  been 
heard  to  testify  that  were  it  not  for  the  existence 
of  the  co-operative,  they  (the  non-members)  would 
not  be  able  to  secure  the  prices  which  they  were 
paid,  and  still  they  selfishly  abstain  from  lending 
their  support  to  the  movement  by  taking  out  a 
membership.  Another  character  among  our  other¬ 
wise  enthusiastic  advocates  of  co-operative  market¬ 
ing  will  sell  part  of  his  crop — usually  the  best — to 
the  trade  and  ask  his  co-operative  to  market  his 
surplus.  This  man  sells  part  of  his  crop  as  an  in¬ 
dividual  producer.  The  price  he  is  paid  may  be 
low  but  in  a  measure  it  establishes  the  market  for 
all  produce.  There  is  still  another  type  who  is  an 
A  Row  of  Interested  Readers 
Fortunately  this  state  of  mind  is  not  held  by  any 
large  majority,  else  there  would  be  small  hope  for 
success  in  the  co-operative  purchasing  of  supplies. 
And  again,  if  the  association  is  organized  to  mar¬ 
ket  a  given  crop  there  are  those  who  complain  be¬ 
cause  sales  are  not  made  at  once  and  the  funds 
promptly  distributed.  Irrespective  to  the  problems 
of  assembling,  warehousing,  grading,  packing  and 
selling,  after  Which  only  can  accounts  be  figured, 
some  seem  to  think  that  the  task  of  handling  and 
marketing  a  large  pool  of  produce  is  not  much 
greater  than  the  details  of  marketing  a  load  of 
hay.  It  is  very  essential  that  those  who  wish  to 
co-operate  should  become  acquainted  with  the  dif¬ 
ferences  in  details  of  handling  and  marketing  a 
large  pool  of  farm  produce  as  compared  with  an 
individual  crop. 
MUTUAL  CONFIDENCE— Just  as  long  as  co¬ 
operative  marketing  prevails  in  its  true  sense  so 
long  will  the  success  and  responsibility  of  the  co¬ 
operative  venture  rest  upon  each  one  and  all  of  the 
farmers  who  participate.  The  members  must  ac¬ 
quire  at  least  two  new  points  of  view  concerning 
group  purchasing  and  selling.  The  first  is  that  in 
order  to  do  business  intelligently  and  economically, 
and  give  the  maximum  service  to  the  members,  a 
co-operative  agency  should  be  able  to  ascertain  the 
approximate  quantity  of  goods  that  the  members 
lem  of  co-operative  purchase  of  supplies  becomes  a 
very  simple  matter  of  customary  business  transac¬ 
tions.  Purchasing  supplies  on  the  expectation  that 
members  may  take  them  is  mere  speculation. 
SUPPORT  IN  MERCHANDISING. — Similarly  in 
the  matter  of  selling  agricultural  products — a  co¬ 
operative  marketing  agency  is  created  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  merchandising  in  considerable  quantities 
the  properly  graded  and  suitably  packed  products 
produced  by  the  members.  To  be  successful  the  un¬ 
dertaking  must  have  the  unanimous  support  and 
patronage  of  the  members.  If  there  is  any  serious 
desire  for  pennaneney  in  the  co-operative  move¬ 
ment,  it  should  not  be  necessary  to  argue  that  such 
an  enterprise  must  employ  experienced  men  to  han¬ 
dle  business,  equip  warehouses,  and  entail  certain 
organizations  expenses.  It  is  obviously  unsafe  for 
a  co-operative  to  obligate  its  officers  and  members 
before  it  has  the  assurance  of  a  dependable  mem¬ 
bership  and  a  definite  volume  of  business  in  sight. 
An  iron-strong  contract  between  the  members  seems 
to  promise  the  best  assurance  of  this  dependability. 
One  apparent  weakness  of  some  co-operatives  is  that 
farmers  are  permitted  to  make  use  of  them  or  not. 
just  about  as  they  please.  This  condition  encourages 
disloyalty,  and  the  association  is  often  used  simply 
as  a  lever  to  force  the  local  wool  buyer  or  fruit 
dealer  to  raise  his  bid  for  the  crop  and,  even  though 
intermittent  producer.  He  may  have  a  given  acre¬ 
age  one  year  and  none  the  following.  A  successful 
co-operative  must  have  each  year  a  definite  quantity 
of  produce  to  market  if  it  is  to  establish  permanent 
trade  relations.  Of  course  it  is  clear  that  an  un¬ 
favorable  season  may  wipe  out  all  plans  in  so  far  as 
crop  yields  are  concerned. 
ORDERLY  .MARKETING.— A  degree  of  impa¬ 
tience  has  been  exhibited  by  some  members  because 
of  what  they  feel  is  too  long  a  lapse  of  time  be¬ 
tween  the  date  of  delivery  of  their  crop  and  the  final 
returns.  In  this  connection  farmers  must  undei’- 
stand  that  in  development  of  co-operative  market¬ 
ing  they  are  taking  upon  themselves  the  responsi¬ 
bilities  and  risks  that  formerly  were  carried  by  the 
middlemen.  The  pooled  crop  of  a  co-operative  must 
first  be  assembled,  then  graded  and  packed,  and 
later  merchandised.  Settlement  of  accounts  with 
members  obviously  cannot  be  made  until  payment 
has  been  received  by  the  association.  If  the  pooled 
crop  is  dumped  into  the  market  faster  than  it  can 
be  absox-bed  a  glut  results,  with  corresponding  ad¬ 
verse  effects  on  values.  Orderly  marketing  means 
supplying  the  market  as  needed.  Since  a  pool  of 
apples  or  maple  syrup  often  represents  a  large 
volume,  its  merchandising  must  be  extended  over  a 
period  of  time,  and  payment  in  full  cannot  be  made 
to  members  until  all  of  the  pooled  crop  ha*s  been 
