Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 May 1874 — CO-OPERATION. [ARTICLE]

CO-OPERATION.

JUaulta Already fleeured by the Grange Mwement-Interesting Statistics. Bia now something over seven years since the Order of Patrons of Husbandry first began to attract attention in the West, but it is only within the past two years that It has assumed proportions ao vast as to make it practically identical with the fanning populaHon of the States of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, lowa, Kansas, and Minnesota, •while in Nebraska, Ohio, on the Pacific coast ■nd in some of the Southern States the Granges exert no inconsiderable influence. The causes which led to the formation of the Order need only to be briefly enumerated. It was at first purely a social and educational organisation, having for its objects the discusdon of improved methods of agriculture, and the cultivation of the mind as well as the soil. Among the many ills to which the farmer is subject, that of railway monopoly and extortionate charges for the transportation of farm products gave the Grangers, something to complain of, and think and talk about. With this naturally came other economic questions for consideration, and the more they considered them the more firmly persuaded became the farmers that it was within their power to help themselves by united action. Early in 1878, the first co-operative clubs were formed for the purpose of buying plows, cultivators, etc., at the manufactory, and by shippings car-load at a time and dealing direct with the manufacturer to effect a saving on the freight and also to avoid the payment of a profit to the agent or middleman. They met with a rebuff at the outset The manufacturers returned their orders and declined to fill them, saying that they must buy farm implements of the agents, or not at all. Twentyone plow-makers met in convention and passed a resolution to sell to farmers at retail prices only, but advising their agents to sell to members of Granges at a small profit for cash. The Patrons grew indignant, and the result of a discussion in the Granges was a firm resolve to use no plow made by the men who had refused to sell to them at manufacturers’ prices. This gave the movement the purpose and an intensity which it needed to succeed, and from that time forth the plan of co-opera-tive action began to receive the attention of the Granges, bow greatly Increased in membership and strength. It was an appeal to every man’s pocket to promise him upon a plow the difference between sl3 and $7.70; upon a tanning-mill, $35 and sl7; upon a cultivator, $36 and $18; upon a wheat-drill, SBS and S6O; upon a wagon, SIOO and $64; upon a threshing-machine, S7OO and $530; upon a sewing-machine, $75 and $37.50, —while in the matter of household supplies and the staple necessaries of life there should be a reduction of from 10 to2o per cent, in cost. It was an appeal which no man could resist, and it was answered by a co-operative mania in various forms. The progress made during the past year by the Granges has been extraordinary, and it Is the purpose of this article briefly to sketch these economic and industrial developments. STATISTICS. The purchase of the Warner patent harvester right and the manufacture of the harvester by the lowa State Grange were the first important steps toward co-operative manufacturing. In spite of the scandal which the purchase occasioned, and the charges that some of the State officials had managed the thing to their own advantage, it is an important fact that the harvester which used to sell for nearly S3OO is now bought for $l4O, and the business increased so enormously that the concern closed its order-book on the 15th of March, being unable to do more than fill the orders already on hand. With this success as an exciting cause the manufacturing fever has spread rapidly and wildly. The small amounts, $lO to $25, which almost every farmer could raise in cash, when massed together by the Pattons of an entire county, readily and quickly produced a working capital which an indig vidual would have found difficulty in raising. In some cases manufactories were bought out, but, as a rule, the farmers have erected new buildings, with new machinery, and superintendents' and mechanics of their own choosing. The enthusiasm was not limited to the manufacture of agricultural implements. Gristmills, grain elevators, warehouses, packinghouses, cheese factories, etc., were planned or built; insurance and transportation companies were formed and put in operation, and, in short, everything susceptible of treatment on the co-operative plan was included in the general scramble for cheaper articles. Appended will be found a list of the co-operative enterprises projected and completed by the Granges and Clubs throughout the West and South. The list has been compiled from all sorts of sources, and is necessarily incomplete, though accurate so far as it goes, and of great value as a basis upon which to estimate the extent to which the co-operative system is being carried. The list is as follows: INSURANCE. Farmers' Insurance Company, of Minnesota; controlled by Grange. -iInsurance Company for farm property only, Kendallville, Ill.; to be organized. Insurance Comnany, Fond du Lac County, Wis.; organized. ELEVATORS AND GRAIN WAREHOUSES. At Laporte City, Iowa; in operation; took in 18,000 bushels of wheat in six weeks. At Northfield, Minn.; capacity. 60,000 bushels; attached to Grange; mill already in operation. In Howard County, Iowa; contracted for; to hold 60,000 bushels; capital, SIO,OOO. At Marengo, Iowa; building. At Ladora, Iowa; building. ' At Mason City, Iowa; two In operation. At Leroy, Minn.; completed; capacity, 25,000 bushels. , At Bell Creek, Neb.; building; cost $20,000. At Lyle. Minn,: to be built. “ J 1 At Mount Vernon, Iowa; warehouse made such profits that an elevator Is to be built. At Atlantic, Iowa; to Cost $5,000; contracted for. . ' At Oakdale, Mower County, Minn.; in operation; capacity,3s,ooo bushels. At Albion, Iowa; forwarded 150 cars of wheat since Sept. 1,1873. At Spring Valley, Minn., to be run by steam; capacity, 70,000 bushels; to be built At Belvoir, Kan.; to be built. At Osage Mission, Kan.; to be built; 30x40 feet; four stories; capacity, 70,000 to 100,000 bushels. In Harrison County, Iowa; two in operation. At Clifton, Ill.; to build a warehouse. At Eyota, Minn. ; to build a warehouse this summer. ----- MANUTACTUBING ESTABLISHMENTS. Sewing-machine factory in Indiana; planning a linseed-oil factory at Red Oak, Iowa; Patrons ready to furnish capital to a practical man; ship 50,000 bushels of flaxseed. Agricultural implement factory; same place; same proposition; annual business, $250,000. Paper mill; same place, same proposition. Plow factory, Lawrence, Kan.; capital, $100,000; established. Agricultural implement factory; Kirkville, Ill.; established by Granges of Knox County, Mo., and Adams' agricultural implement factory, Plattsmouth, Neb., turning ont fifty cultivators a day. Tannery; to be built in Marion County, lowa. Plow and wagon factory at Edina, HI. Warner Harvester; patent purchased and factory operated by State Grange of Iowa; so mtmytordeiß received that order book was closed Agricultural implement factory, Boone County. Mo.; capital, $60,000; projected. Agricultural implement factory Montgomery County, Hl., will build one; Hillsboro offers site and buildings. Factory to manufacture McKeeson harvester; meditated by Nebraska Patrons. Beet sugar factory; Dayton, W. T.; in operation. Manufacturing company; Grand Rapids, Mich.; propose to buy and operate. Hireßhing-machine factory; to be established at Fond du Lac, Wis. Boot and shoe factory; to be built at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. t ’ Cheese factory; Green Mountain, lowa, building. Brick yard; Council Bluffs, Iowa; established; to turn out 2,ooo,ooobricks this summer. Tannery; Caßfornia,_Mo.; building. Cheese factory; Majfitton, Mo.; to be built. : Agricultural implement factory; to be built this Co nt lwent ?’ lwo Granges in Montgomery Agricultural implement factory; Greencastle. Ind.; capital, $100,000; to be built at once. Row factory to be built this summer in Dakota Co., Neb. ----- Agricultural implement factory; Cass Co., Ind ■ to be built this spring. ’ '’ Cheese and butter factory; to be built in Montgomery Co., HL GRIST MILLS. National Mills, O«4ge Mission, Kan,; bought by Grangers of Neosho County. Northfield. Minn.; made first shipment of flour, 800 barrels, March 12. Blue Earth County, Minn.; seeking water Durand, Wis.; building. FairibairiL Minn. ; to be built this summer; Station, Wis.; to be built this sumOmm Mission,Kan.; commenced “oneof the best mills in Kansas.” Harrison County, Iowa; steam mill to be built. FORK-PACKING ROUSES. At Peoria, Ill.; in operation. At Bloomington, III; planned. At Muscatine, Iowa; in operation. CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS. Cal.; half of stocktaken; capital, Cuming County, Neb.; capital, $00,000; objects —Shipping of produce, and purchase of all mst to* B * 1 lamber ,od fuel, to b® 80,(1 Moultrie Hl.; bought out a grain-dealer MAnhw, mid wlUbenceftrfltrtiip direct.

Winnebago County, Wis.; organised; capital, SIO,OOO. * Tolono, Ill.; shipping grain; capital,’sloo,ooo. Martinsville. HL; thirty-one Granges built a house for the display of sample machines. Branch County, Mich.; for the sale of produce; working capital, $2,000. Newton County, Ind.; Deposit and Loan Association. OBANOB STORES. At Dixon, Solano County, Cal.; planned. At New Harmony, Ind.; starting. At Kokomo, Ind.: competition-was so keen that the best and largest houses had to sell out and move to Danville, ill. j, At Lyle, Minn.; planned. . At Grinnell, Iowa; in operation. * ' At Davenport, Iowa; in operation. •> At Danville, Iowa; in operation. At Osage Mission, Kan.; for agricultural Imple ments and machinery; to be built. At Triumph, Iowa; In operation. At Delaware Center, Iowa; for implements and machinery; in operation. At Butler, Ala.; plans sought for special building. At New Palestine, Mo.; co-operative plans sought. ' At Falls City. Neb.; to be started. At Jacksonville, 111., in successful operation. In Monroe County, Iowa; in operation. At Milton, Iowa; in successful operation. HALLS. Greenville, Wis.; 96x54 feet; cost $1,000; built. Winnebago, Fond du Lac, and Green Lake Counties, Wis.; plans for seven or eight accepted. Saltillo, Ill.; built in connection with Good Templars. Mount Vernon, lowa.; built Flat Branch, Shelby County, Ill.; building. Butler, Ala.; 100x40 feet; two stories; to be built; plans advertised for. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. Livingston County, Ill.; at one small way station, left by one train, three consignments of groceries, direct to Granges; value, $1,000; savJ'&utagamie County, Wis.; Grange bought sixty tons of plaster at one purchase; cost, $672; saving on old price SBIB. Galesburg, Ill.; Patrons agreeing not to pay more than sls per month for help. Nevada, Iowa; arranged to supply Patrons with coal. Bourbon, Ind.; Patrons get 50 per cent, discount onsfewing machines. y GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. From this it will be safe to estimate that a cash investment of nearly $5,000,000 is represented here, while the total amount thus far invested by the Grangers in their various enterprises,, chiefly industrial, cannot fall far short of $12,000,000. If this feature of the economical development of the order of Patrons of Husbandry can be relied on, it works a saving of 40 per cent, of the annual expenditure for agricultural implements and farm machinery and apparatus—estimated to cost S4OO per annum for the average run of the large farms which are peculiar to the West; if, as is confidently believed, this vast saving can be effected, it is certain before many years to result in a total revolution of the old system of doing business. In the matter of insurance alone economy is easily compassed. A policy of $5,000 will cost the farmer not more than seven dollars to twelve dollars yearly, and, as the company is made up of his neighbors in two or three townships, it is solvent, sound and inexpensive. The Executive Committee of the Wisconsin State Grange recently held a meeting, at which it was ascertained that the whole number of subordinate Granges in the State is now 340, all but 100 of which have been organized since the let of March. 1873. These have an average membership of 46 each, making 19,780 Grangers in the State. Under these, 41 County Councils have been organized to attend to the purchasing of supplies for the different Granges and to manage the co-opera-tive stores, factories and mills already begun. A law has also been passed enabling them to incorporate local fire insurance companies, of which 29 are already doing business. They Usually include about four civil townships within their assigned territory, give the offices of President and Secretary to some of the local town officers, and charge from 1 to 2 mills on the dollar, besides a policy and survey fee of $1.50 for carrying risks, and as yet there has not been a failure to meet a liability. Several of them are carrying from $400,000 to SBOO,OOO each in risks, and, while the insurance is cheap, the satisfaction given is universal, so far as reported to the State Executive Committee. The farmers’ implements are bought for cash at the co-operative factory or through the county or State purchasing agent; the dairy products go to his own cheese or butter factory; the necessaries of lite cost him from IQ to 15 percent, less than formerly; a Grange elevator receives his wheat or core, which is shipped through his own agent and sold in Chicago by his own commission merchant, who sells at once and remits the money, thus saving the profit of the übiquitous wheat-buyer at the railroad station and also the high rate of elevator tariff. Co-operation with a hundred of his neighbors has reduced his expenses to the lowest point, and has secured for him the higest price for his farm products. “ Reduced rates to Patrons” has now become a familiar display line in the advertising columns of the newspapers chiefly circulated among the farmers; while the “ Grange store” is getting to be a feature common to nearly, every country village. Only a few of these are managed directly by the Patrons on the co-operative plan, which is. not regarded with entire favor as applied to the retailing of groceries, dry goods, etc. Moye frequently an arrangement is made with the country merchant, who sells to members of the Grange at a discount of from sto 15 percent, frorn his regular prices. Still another, and probably the best mode of all, is that of purchasing direct from wholesale dealers. Once a month the Secretary of the Grange makes up an order for good's, which are shipped in bulk, in their original packages, and are then divided up and distributed among the various families, In this way a saving of from 10 to 20 per eent. is effected, according to the kind of goods. As the cash is paid in advance, the wholesale dealer ships the invoice direct to the Secretary of the ■ Grange,, who pays for it before taking it from the cars. Not only is the cost greatly reduced by this method, but the farmer is the gainer in getting a better quality’than country merchants are in the habit of keeping. His sugar is all sugar, the tea is what it purports to be, and the ground coffee closely resembles the flavor of the original berry. A wholesale grocery house in Chicago now numbers as regular customers 1,200 different Granges throughout the West. A considerable item in the co-operative economy lies in the direction of close dealing between producer and consumer, and the shipping of natural products in a concentrated form. Here a great reform is already well under way. Within the past few mouths it is estimated that eighty elevators and grain warehouses have been built by the Grangers in the Western States. To these the farmer hauls his grain, leaving it there until he is ready to ship it. He pays only the actual cost of the storage, and saves the very considerable loss by shortage, so apt to occur in these dishonest days. At any rate, if the thing fails to come out right, he knows whom to blame, and how to get redress. He is not now compelled to accept the bid of the grain-buyer, who insists upon his profit of from 10 to 15 per cent, but can now take his warehouse receipts to the bank and obtain money for his pressing needs. If he desires to sell at once and directly in the chief marke the loads acar and ships his grain to the Grange selling agent in Chicago, who returns him the freight bill, the inspection certificate, the number of the warehouse receipt, aud a draft for the amount realized by the sale, less a moderate commission. The Chicago agent sends his Grange customers, as well as all others, the daily market report, so that the farmer may know that hie interests have been carefully and honestly IbokedT after. The husine& is hot so complicated but that every farmer can understand it easily. Here is a gain of from 15 to 20 per cent, over the old mode of disposing of wheat or corn. The same benefit is realized with respect to all sorts of farm produce. A Grange agent at the Union Stock Yards receives and sells or forwards live stock on the same plan, and the fanner saves the drover’s intermediate profit. If, in return for his grain or cattle, the farmer desires an equivalent in groceries, dry goods, clothing, hardware, etc., the Chicago agent will attend to their purchase and ' shipment without charge. He deals only with first-class houses, and the Granger may be certain of getting his goods at the lowest market rates, as he has obtained the highest for his farm produce. In his dealings with the railroad companies the farmer may claim and receive facilities and accommodations equal to those enjoyed by the heavier shippers, but he must also submit to the conditions imposed upon them. When he has ordered acar to receive his grain or live stock at the station on a certain day, he must be ready to receive and use the car on that day or else pay for its disuse. It may take a little time to get the shipping system iu perfect working order, but there need be no fear that it will not be eventually adjusted satisfactorily. The shipping of farm products in a concentrated form is already receiving attention from the Granges. Here co-operation is introduced with advantage in grist-mills and packinghouses. ;The experiment of making and ship-

ping flour has been successfully tried by the Grange milts near Northfield, Minn., ana the killing and curing of hogs has received much attention during the past winter in the Grange packing-houses. It has proved satisfactory, and the number of these establishments will be greatly increased this fall and winter. There is the packer's profit in this transaction, enhanced by cheaper labor and lower rentaln the country,, and the saving of time and freight, besides the buyer’s profit saved upon the packing. The Bureau of Agriculture has roughly estimated the saving to the Western farmer through the economic features of the Grange to be from $6,000,000 to $7,000,000; and this is but a beginning of the immense advantages derived from the practice of superior economy, the abandonment of the vicious credit system, and the fostering of a sharp competition in trade. Grange experiments, like those in ordinary business methods, are not always successful. The shipment of cotton direct t,o London by a Mississippi Grange resulted in a loss, as did also a corn shipment from Savoy, Hl., to New York. Then, too, it is charged that purchasing agents are not invariably honest, and that they are sometimes prone to pocket a commission, of which no report is made to the Grange. Manufacturers are “ carrying the war into Africa" by underselling the agents at a loss to themselves, determined to break down the system, and Patrons, blind to their own interests, have been known to take advantage of this, though they do it at the peril of embarrassing their own purchasing agents. Grange enterprises will fail through bad management or abuse of trust, just as common business ventures fail. But all this must not obscure the fact that the Grange is an enormous power already, and seems destined to work out a great good In Its proper and legitimate domain.—Chicago Tribune.