American Agriculturist, December 1,1923 
373 
Is Cooperative Marketing Here to Stay? 
The Mythical Meetings of a Mythical Board of a Mythical Cooperative 
Editor’s Note: This is the second act in the By THE SILENT DIRECTOR 
cooperative play which we started in our No- ,< 
veviber 17 Assue. Tf you read) any of these acts, we request that you read 
them all, and watch, how the farmers’ business methods improve as they 
continue to work and do business together. / 
Act 2—THE SECOND MEETING OF THE BOARD. 
T HE time is February, 1923; the place, the office of the 
general manager; the characters the same as in the 
first meeting of the board. 
President: Come to order, gentlemen. Call the roll, 
Mr. Secretary. 
The secretary notes those in the room and reports all pres¬ 
ent except the always Absent Director and the Fat Director 
who is visiting with the telephone operator in the next room. 
The Director Who Doesn’t Smoke calls him. He comes in 
smiling, sits down in the corner, selects a fat cigar, lights 
it, and puts his feet up on a chair. 
President: The secretary will now 
read the minutes of our last meeting. 
The secretary rummages through 
a mass of papers and after a minute 
or too of frenzied search appeals to 
the stenographer who goes into the 
outer office and returns with the 
Minute Book. The secretary reads. 
President: You have heard the 
reading of the minutes. What is 
your pleasure, gentlemen? 
The Lean Director: With ref¬ 
erence to the authorization for the 
purchase of a tire for an auto¬ 
mobile, did we not specify a tube for 
a Ford automobile? 
President: You are right. 
Secretary, shielding the steno¬ 
grapher: My mistake, gentlemen. 
President: Do you accept the min¬ 
utes as corrected? 
The Hurried Director: I move 
that they be accepted. 
The Businesslike Director: I sec¬ 
ond the motion. 
The President: All in favor say 
Aye. Ayes have it. We will now 
receive the General Manager’s re¬ 
port. 
General Manager rises and passes 
around a typewritten report. The directors receive it and 
start looking through it as the General Manager begins to 
read. 
The Businesslike Director: Inasmuch as the General Man¬ 
ager has presented a written report, I move you that he be 
excused from the room and that the report be read by the 
secretary. 
The Hurried Director: Second the motion. 
President: Ahy discussion? If not, all in favor of the mo¬ 
tion, say Aye. 
The General Manager, recovering from his daze : Gentlemen, 
I believe you have done the right thing. If you desire any ex¬ 
planation of the report I will be glad to come in and give it. 
I hope you will give it your careful consideration. 
General Manager goes out. Stenographer wriggles in her 
chair and looks inquiringly at the president. * 
President: Miss Howe, we will excuse you too. 
Miss Howe goes out, undecided as to whether she is re¬ 
lieved or angry. 
President: Mr. Secretary, will you read our manager’s 
report. 
The Secretary reads: On the last page of the report is a 
budget for the operation of the organization for 1923. 
At this point the Fat Director begins to doze. The Suspicious 
Director gets out a pencil and begins to figure on the item for 
automobiles. The Hurried Director gets ready to make a 
motion. The director who plays politics whispers to the 
“Me-Too” Director. The other directors busy themselves 
with a three-cornered conversation on deer hunting. 
The Bussinepslike Director stands up: Mr. President, it 
seems to me that in the consideration of this budget this board 
has a most important task at hand. I believe that our General 
Manager is to be commended for having worked it out. It 
The Cast of Characters 
The Fat Director—Tells stories, reports executive 
sessions 
The Lean Director—Suspicious and parsimoni¬ 
ous; strong for executive sessions 
The Director Who Doesn’t Smoke—Grouchy; sec¬ 
onds motions 
The Hurried Director—Careless and restless; 
makes motions 
The Judicial Director 
The Director Who Plays Politics—Always whisp¬ 
ering in the corner 
The Silent Director 
The Always Absent Director 
The Nervous Director—Secretary 
The “Me-too” Director 
The Businesslike Director—Treasurer; analytical; 
constructive 
The Director Who Doesn’t Count—In over his head 
The General Manager—Nervous, aggressive, keen, 
very prone to quick decisions 
The Attorney—Founded on precedent 
The Stenographer—Young and pretty and efficient 
Time: February, 1923 
Place: Office of the General Manager 
strikes me as a most meritorious change 
from the haphazard way in which we 
have been doing business. Would it not be a good thing to call 
him in and go over the budget item by item. 
The Lean Director: Yes, I believe we should. The item 
for automobiles looks to me to be entirely too high. 
The Hurried Director: What’s the use? He’s probably fig¬ 
ured as close as he can. We don’t know anything about it. 
President: I believe that the suggestion is well made. If 
you have no objection gentlemen I will ask the General Man¬ 
ager to return and we will take the rest of the day for the 
consideration of his budget. 
The Nervous Director jumps up and goes in search of the 
manager, returning with him. At this point the telephone 
operator reports a telephone call for the Fat Director. He 
leaves the room beaming. 
President: Mr. Manager, the Board is very much pleased 
with your idea of budgeting our ex¬ 
penses for this year. There are a 
good many items which we do not 
understand and some which appear 
to us to be too high. Won’t you 
take all the time that is necessary 
and go over the entire budget with 
us, item by item? 
The General Manager: I shall be 
glad to do so. The first item is for di¬ 
rectors’ expenses; the second for 
expenses of the executive com¬ 
mittee; the third for the presi¬ 
dent’s salary. 
At this point the Fat Director re¬ 
turns. He appears somewhat crest¬ 
fallen. 
The Bussinesslike Director: What 
does your item for directors’ ex¬ 
penses include? 
The General Manager: It includes 
the average expense account per 
meeting of the directors and a per 
diem of $10 a day. 
The Businesslike Director: I am 
wondering, gentlemen, if a $10 per 
day is entirely satisfactory to all 
members of the Board. As far as I 
am concerned I am satisfied with it, 
but it represents a money sacrifice. 
The Lean Director: I don’t be¬ 
lieve the farmers would stand for any more. 
The Fat Director: Well, it’s enough anyway. 
The question is dropped. The president’s salary item is 
reached. The president seems embarrassed. The Business¬ 
like Director seems on the point of discussing it, notes the 
president’s embarrassment, and changes his mind. The Gen¬ 
eral Manager goes on down through the items. The salary 
for office help is reached. 
The Lean Director: Gentlemen, it seems to me that we are 
paying these girls entirely too much money and that they are 
not working long enough hours. 
The General Manager starts to speak. 
The Fat Director takes a questioning squint at the parsi¬ 
monious one. The “Me-Too” Director nods his head. The 
air is a bit tense. 
The Bussinesslike Director interrupts: Wait a minute. Lets 
get at the facts. What is the wage scale here? How do our 
wages compare with it? Are our working hours the same 
as in other offices here? Have we competent office help? It 
seems to me that these are points to be considered. 
The Fat Director nods his head. The “Me-Too” Director 
nods his. 
At this point the Director Who Doesn’t Smoke ejaculates: 
Thunder, why pick on the girls? For my part it looks to me 
as though they earn their money. 
The General Manager subsides. The president looks in 
quiringly around the room and then nods fio the manager to 
go on with the next item. The General Manager concludes. 
The Businesslike Director figures for a moment. He and 
the Suspicious Director are the only ones who have kept their 
budget constantly before them. Looking over his glasses, 
he begins: Gentlemen, take item No. 7: the matter of interest 
(Continued on page 379) 
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