Give The source of this uncorrected OCR text may be viewed as a digital facsimile at: http://fax.libs.uga.edu/ BOOKS this Christmas In Special Christmas Wrappings Mailed with Your Personal Greeting Cooperatives in Action Cooperatives and Peace Cooperation — A Way of Peace, J. P. War- basse. Co-op Edition ...................................... .50 Cooperatives and Peace, Harold Fey ........ .05 Cooperatives and Peace Edition of Con sumers' Cooperation ........................................ .10 Great Britain Consumers Cooperation in Great Britain, Carr-Saunders and others .......................... 4.00 Cooperation, Official British Textbook (1835), Hall and Watkins ............................ 3.00 Cooperative Movement in Great Britain Potter-Webb (1SB1) ........................................ 1.10 English Cooperatives, Sydney Elliott ...... 3.00 Housewives Build a New World, Bmmy Freundlich .......................................................... l.GO John T. W. Mitchell, Percy Bedfern .......... 1.10 New History of Coop. Wholesale Soc. .... 3.00 The Peoples Yearbook (1030, English) Cloth 1.00, Paper ............................................ .03 Told in Brief, The History of CWS .......... .10 Toward a Cooperative Commonwealth, T. W. Mercer .................................................... 3.CO Scandinavia Cooperative Housing in Sweden, Ulla Aim Cooperation in Sweden, Axel GJores. Cloth 1.25, Paoer .......................................................... Cooperative Sweden, K. F. (Illustrated) Denmark, The Cooperative Way, Freder ic Howe ...........:..... ............................................ Education for Life, Noëlle Davis ................ Farmers and Consumers Cooperation, K.F. Finland, Nation of Cooperators, Thorsten Odhe (Cloth 1.50), Paper .......................... How Swedish Cooperatives Break Monop olies, Albin Johansson and others .......... Swedish Architecture, K. P. ............................ Swedish Consumers iu Cooperation, An ders Hedberg .................................................... Sweden, Land of Economic Democracy, E. R. Boweu .................................................... Sweden. The Middle Way, Marquis Childs Swedish Adult Education. Eaguor Lund .. The New Norway. O. B. Grim'ey (Ueviseil) .15 .00 .10 2.5(i 2.00 .10 1.00 .00 2.50 .15 2 50 .l.ï 1.30 United States The Annals. Special Cooperative Volume. 23 Articles on Co-ops .................................... 1.00 Consumer Cooperation in America, B. B. Fowler. Co-op Edition .................................. 1.00 Consumer Cooperation in the U.S., 1030, Parker, Dept. of Labor Statistics ............ .30 Cooperation: An American Way, John Daniels, Co-op Edition ................................ 1.50 Cooperatives in America, Ellis Cowling. Co-op Edition .................................................. 1.00 Cooperatives in the USA, A Balance Sheet, Maxwell Stewart .............................................. .111 Cuna Emerges (Credit Unions), Koy Ber- gengren (Cloth 1.50), Paper ...................... .75 Operating Results of Consumers Coop eratives. I!)o7. Harvard Study by Schmaiz ..................................................'..........'.. 1.00 Report of the Presidents Commission to Co-op Europe .................................................... .Ci Statistical Handbook of Fanner Coopera tives, R. II. Elsworth, Farm Credit Adm. .40 The Consumer Awakens, Harold V. Knight .25 The Cooperative League Yearbook (1038) .. 1.0(1 Nora Scotia Father Tompkins, Teacher of Fishermen .03 How St. F. X. Educates for Action ............ .20 Masters of Their Own Destiny, Dr. M. M. Coady, Co-op Edition ................................... 1.00 The Lord Helps Those, B. B. Fowler, Co-op Edition .................................................. LOG Tour of Nova Scotia Cooperatives .............. .21! Philosophies and Interpretations Can We Establish A Consumer Economy, Cecil Crews ........................................................ .1? Charles Gide and Cooperation. Karl Walter .................................................................... 2.50 Cooperation—A Philosophical Interpreta tion, David Sonquist .................................... .15 Cooperation — Middle Way for America, Paul Douglas .................................................... .lu Cooperation—The Dominant Idea of the Future. Henry A. Wallace ........................ .13 Cooperative Democracy. J. P. Warbasse (l'J3(i Edition), Co-op Edition .................... 1. ' Cooperative Enterprise, Jacob Baker .......... 2.00 Cooperative Ideals and Problems, Anders Gerne (Cloth 1.25). Paper ............................ .7J Cooperative Republic, E. Poisson .............. 1.8" Credo of a Co-op Editor, L. S. Herren .... ."> Decline and Rise of the Consumer, Dr. Horace Kallen .................................................. 2.7,"i Facing the Sunrise, Ellis Cowling (Youth) Foundations—Ethics and Economics in Cooperation, Hughes and Neal .................. .71 My Apprenticeship, Beatrice Webb, 2 Vols. .51 Mutual Aid, Prince Kropotkin .................... .25 National Being. George Russell, JE ............ 1.75 Speaking of Change, Edward A.. Filene .... .25 The Place of Cooperatives among other movements, Prof. V. Totomiantz ............ .2." The Spirit of Cooperation, Harold L.iski .15 Order from: THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE 167 WEST 12th STREET, NEW YORK CITY CONSUMERS' COOPERATION OFFICIAL ORGAN Of The Consumers' Cooperative Movement in the U. S. A. V*' VOLUME XXVI January—December 1940 111 ill Published by The Cooperative League of U. S. A. 167 West 12th Street, New York City 181 INDEX CONSUMERS' COOPERATION f* PAGE ABC of Cooperatives, The, a review ................................................................................................... Ill Accountant's Role in Cooperation, The ............................................................................................ 106 Accounting, Cooperative .............................................................................................................................. 211 Address of Welcome, 12th Biennial Congress .............................................................................. 169 Aiken, Governor .................................................................................................................................................. 29 All Join Hands, a review .............................................................................................................................. 80 Amalgamated Cooperative Apartments .........................!................................................................... 108 America's Strongest Defense ..................................................................................................................... 99 American Youth Hostels .............................................................................................................................. 72 Arnold, Mary E. .......................................................................................................................................... 12, 127 Art and Architecture, Cooperative ......................................................................................................... 211 Articles on Cooperation, Recent ....................................................................................... 30, 95, 158 Associated Cooperatives of Northern California ................................................... 14, 46, 141 Associated Cooperatives of Southern California ........................................................................ 14 Attacks on Cooperatives ............................................................................................................ 27, 75, 108 Austrian Cooperative Wholesale ............................................................................................................ 143 B Babson, Roger W. ...................................................^^^ 79 Baker, Jacob ............................................................................................................................................................ 159 Bakken, Henry H. .................................................................................................................................... 77, 150 Ballinger, Willis J. ............................................................................................................................................ 49 Banking, Cooperative ........................................................................................................................... 142, 190 Barclay, Wade Crawford ............................................................................................................................. 77 Basic Principles of the Cooperative Movement ........................................................................... 37 Benjamin, R. N. ....................................................................................................................................... 199, 217 Bogardus, Dr. Emory S. ..................................................................................................................... .37, 76 Book Reviews ................................................... 14, 32, 48, 60, 64, 76-80, 94, 109, 127, 159 Bowen, E. R. ........................................................................... 6, 19, 29, 51, 60, 78, 82, 75, 177 Bowman, LeRoy E. ................................................................................................................................. 76, 112 Brickbats and Boomerangs .......................................................................................................................... 75 Briggs, M. J. ........_............................-..........-............~ 201 Broadcast, Cooperative Congress ............................................................................................................ 217 Brookings Institution Report ..................................................................................................................... 131 Brophy, John .......................................... .............................................................................................................. 142 Bryan, Darwin .........................._...............................-.-..........-....-....-........................--.-....------..-•------ 22 Build Cooperative Capital ........................................................................................................................... 186 Building an Urban Cooperative ................._..................................—........................—.......-,-..-...-...- 42 Building Materials ............................................................................................................................................. 221 Building Rural-Urban Local Cooperatives ....................................................................................... 198 Bureau of Cooperative Medicine ........................................................................................................... H Burial Associations, Cooperative ............................................................................................................... 11 Buy for Cash .................................................^ 184 Calkins, Oilman ..........._.........................-................-.............-...............----.------.....-......---..-•--•••---.--—-- 8, 101 Camp Tinicum Recreation Conference ................................................................................................ 156 INDEX PAGE Camps, Co-op ......................................................................................................................................................... 92 Campbell, Wallace J. .............................................................................................................................. 10, 88 Campus Co-op Conference ........................................................................................................................... 191 Capital, Adequate ................................................................................................................................................ 223 Carpenter, J. Henry ................................................................................................................................. 77, 111 Carson, John ............................................................................................................................................. 126, 140 Catholic Central Verein ................................................................................................................................. 158 Central Cooperative Wholesale ............................................................ 12, 14, 29, 56, 75, 141 Centra] Finance Company ........................................................................................................................... 157 Character Building and Cooperatives ................................................................................................... 206 Chinese Industrial Cooperatives .............................................................................................................. 221 Church and Christian Society, The, a review ................................................................................. 77 Circle Pines Center ................................................................................................................................ 93, 142 Coady, Dr. M. M. ............................................................................................................................................. 40 College Cooperatives ..............................................................................12, 75, 191, 123, 214, 220 Columbus Consumers Cooperative ......................................................................................................... 15 Comparative Economic Systems, a review .......................................................................................... 32 Consumer Cooperatives, Report of the NBA, Committee on Co-ops, a review ... 109 Consumer Era is Here Says "Fortune" Magazine ..................................................................... 68 Consumer Expenditures in the United States, a review ......................................................... 60 Consumer Distribution Corporation .......................................................................................... 29, 157 Consumer is the Base of a Plenty Economy, The ..................................................................... 67 Consumers Book Cooperative ................................................................................................ 14, 29, 142 Consumers Cooperative Association .................................................................. 74, 88, 107, 156 Consumers Cooperatives Associated .......................................................................................... 14, 74 Consumers Cooperative Refineries, Ltd. ...................................................... 75, 107, 125, 141 Consumers—The Common Denominator of Farmers and Workers ........................... 3 Cooley, George ...................................................................................................................................................... 223 Cooley, Oscar ......................................................................................................................................................... 137 "CO-OP"—The Cooperative Movement's Greatest Commercial Asset .................. 4 Cooper, Madge Howarth .............................................................................................................................. 44 Cooperation and Nationality, a review ................................................................................................ 64 Cooperation Between Producers and Consumers, a review ................................................ 78 Cooperation Moves South ........................................................................................................................... 92 Cooperation to the Finnish, a review ................................................................................................... 76 Cooperation, The Answer of Free Men ............................................................................................. 105 Cooperative Distributors .............................................................................................................................. 14 Cooperative Housing Association, St. Paul .................................................................................... 142 Cooperative Insurance Services .................................................................................................................. 157 Cooperative Publishing Association ................................................................................................... 46 Cooperative Service, Minneapolis ............................................................................................. 42, 154 Cooperative Union, Recreation Committee .................................................................................... 91 Cooperative Wholesale, The ....................................................................................... 14, 74, 94, 141 Co-ops at Play ......................................................................................................................................................... 125 Cowden, Howard A. ........................................................................................................................... 196, 217 % D Decade of Cooperative Youth Progress, A ....................................................................................... 891 Democracy and Dictatorship ..................................................................................................................... 222 Discussion Groups in a Cooperative, Why ....................................................................................... 78. INDEX PAGE District Federation Plan ................................................................................................................................. 147 District of Columbia Cooperative Law ............................................................................................. 107 Dividends to Pay, a review ........................................................................................................................ 6 Do You Know Labor?, a review ............................................................................................................ 159 Don't Kill the Goose, a review ...................................:.............................................................................. 32 Eastern Cooperative League ............................................................................................................ 26, 93 Eastern Cooperative Wholesale ...............................................'.....I.......... 10, 29, 75, 108, 141 Economic Lessons of the War .................................................................................................................. 99 Economics for the Millions, a review ................................................................................................ 32 Education Program, A Comprehensive Cooperative ............................................................... 192 Edwards, Ellen ....................................................................................................1... 26, 72, 80, 125, 138 Electric Cooperative Movement, The ................................................................................................... 118 Employee Training ..................................................................................................................... 12, 29, 222 Erickson, Morris ................................................................................................................................................... 223 Erickson, Stanky ................................................................................................................................................... 42 Factories are Free for Cooperators ...................................................................................................... 196 Fairchild, Henry Pratt .................................................................................................................................... 32 Farm Bureau Cooperative Insurance Services ..................................................................... 10, 66 Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company ................................................................................................ 29 Fertilizer Production Lowers Price Level, Cooperative ...................................................... 101 Films, Cooperative ........................................................................................................................ 12, 62, 144 Finance Association, A National Cooperative .............................................................................. 188 Finance, Cooperative ....................................................................................................................................... 222 Financing a Cooperative Through Patron-Ownership ............................................................ 20 Finnish Cooperators, Those ........................................................................................................................ 150 Folly of Installment Buying, a review ................................................................................................ 79 Fortune Magazine ................................................................................................................................................ 68 Fox, Glenn S. ....................................................................................................................................................... 184 Frank, Harry ............................................................................................................................................................ 20 From Gettysburg to Phillipsburg ............................................................................................................ 88 Gateshead Community Funds Transferred to CWS Bank ................................................... 143 George, Henry ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Gold Nightmare, The ....................................................................................................................................... 19 Goslin, Ryllis and Omar ................................................................................................................................. 32 Graham, John, Jr. ................................................................................................................................................ Ill Grange Cooperative Wholesale ................................................................................................... 14, 75 Green, Perry L. ........................................................................................................................... 33, 116, 188 Group Discussions, Summary of ............................................................................................................ 216 Group Health Cooperative ........................................................................................................................... 126 Group Health Federation .............................................................................................................................. 46 Group Health Mutual and Group Health Association ............................................................ 47 Group Work Session, Mills College ................................................................................................... 91 INDEX H Halifax Consumers Society ................................................................................................................ Holmekangas, William .................................................................................................................................... Hall, Fred .................................................................................................................................................................. Halpern, Belle L. ...................................................................................................................................... 16, Hayes, A. J. ............................................................................................................................................................ Hedberg, Anders ........................................................................................................................... 47, 61, Highlights of Central Cooperative Wholesale's Education Program ........................ Highlights of 1939, Cooperative ............................................................................................................ Hiram Cooperative Folk School ............................................................................................................... Hoffman, Roy O. ................................................................................................................................................... Hoot, J. Weldon ...................................................................................................................... Houghman, George ............................................................................................................................................. Housing, Cooperative .......................................................................................... 12, 29, 74, 214, Housing in Scandinavia, a review ......................................................................................................... Howe, Frederic C. ............................................................................................................................................. Hull, I. H. ..........................................................^ Hutchinson, Carl .................................................................................................................................... 194, PAGE . 75 . 147 223 123 192 65 56 10 44 95 32 127 221 111 223 190 214 M. Importance of Action as Consumers ................................................................................................... 40 Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association ............................................................... 11, 94 Insurance Executives Broaden Attack on Cooperatives ...................................................... 27 Johansson, Albin ................................................................................................................................................ 34 . K Kendall, Erick .................................................................................................................................... 48, 79, 95 Kennedy, E. D. ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Konsum Cooperative Station ............................................................................................................ 94, 157 L Labor and Cooperatives ......................................................10, 108, 115, 158, 185, 220, 215 Landis, Benson Y. .................................................................................................................................... 48, 77 Learning Economic Responsibility at Skokie Jr. H.S. ......................................................... 84 Lehtin, Laurie ......................................................................................................................................................... 106 Let's Play, a review ............................................................................................................................................. 80 Let's Quit Starving the Cooperative Movement ........................................................................... 114 Ligutti, Msgr. Luigi .......................................................................................................................................... 206 Lincoln, Murray D. ................................................................................................................................. 78, 200 Little Red Hen and Her Cooperative, The, a review ............................................................... 15 Logan, S. R. ............................................................................................................................................................ 84 London Cooperative Society ........................................................................................................................ 160 Loucks, William N. .......................................................................................................................................... 32 Luikku, Jacob ......................................................................................................................................................... 169 Lund, Ragnar ............................................................................................................................................................ 78 M Manifesto on Rural Life, a review ......................................................................................................... 48 Manual on the Church and Cooperatives, a review .................................................................. 77 March of Fascism, The ................................................................................................................................ 207 INDEX PAGE March of Fascism, The, a review ............................................................................................................ 94 March of Monopoly, The .............................................................................................................................. 6 May, Henry J. ................................................................................................................................................ 9, 223 McLanahan, Jack ............................................................................................................ 18, 79, 155, 216 Medicine, cooperative ................................................................:.....,............................ 11, 46, 126, 213 Memorials .................................................................................................................................................................. 223 Metzger, T. Warren ............................................................................................................................................. 78 Midland Cooperative Wholesale ........................................................................... 10, 46, 92, 127 Midwest Federation of Campus Co-ops ............................................................................................. 75 Modernization of Co-op Stores ...........................................................'....................................................... 223 Morningside Consumers Cooperative Society ................................................................................. 15 Morris, William ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Mutual Aid Fund ....................................................................................................................................... 143 My Story, Paddy the Cope, a review ................................................................................................... 79 Myers, James ................................................................................................................................................ 77, 159 N National Cooperatives ........................................................................................................................... 11, 63 National Cooperative Recreation School ............................................. 47, 93, 97, 102, 104 National Cooperative Recreation School Regional Conference ....................................... 156 National Education Association Committee on Cooperatives .......................................... 130 National Publicity and Education Conference ..................................................................... 93, 105 National Recreation Association ............................................................................................................ 155 National vs. Regional Insurance ............................................................................................................... 71 New Homes for Old, a review .................................................................................................................. 76 New Jersey Federation of Cooperatives Institute ........................................................................ 93 New Members, New Co-ops, New Ideas .......................................................................................... 123 New Trails in Cooperative Recreation ................................................................................................ 72 Norris Bill Hearings .......................................................................................................................................... 140 Northern States Cooperative Youth League ........................................................................... 14, 89 Northern States Women's Cooperative Guild ......................................................... 14, 48, 109 Nolt, Elmer ............................................................................................................................................................ 66 o Ohio Builds 1940 Program Thru Cooperative Discussion ................................................... 8 Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Association ............................................................... 8, 46, 126 Oil well, Cooperative ....................................................................................................................................... 156 Organized Labor and Consumer Cooperative Conference ................................................... 108 P Pacific Supply Cooperative ............................................................................................................... 14, 74 Palestine Cooperatives ....................................................................................................................................... 143 Peace, Cooperatives and ................................................................................................................................. 202 Peace and Cooperation, Discussion Questions on ........................................................................ 132 Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Association ............................................................ 75 People's Year Book, The, a review ......................................................................................................... 64 Perkins, Lionel ...................................................................................................................................................... 212 Planks for Political Platforms, Cooperative .................................................................................... 81 Plauche, Jacqueline .................................................................................................................................... 80, 104 Play Cooperatively Too .................................................................................................................................... 97 Play Co-op, The ................................................................................................................................. 15, 73, 91 INDEX PAGE 82 Prepare for Peace ................................................................................................................................................ o± President's Address, Twelfth Biennial Congress ........................................................................ 170 Principles of a Cooperative Economy ................................................................................................... 69 Producer, Political and Purchasing Approach to Economic Problems ..................... 200 Program of the Twelfth Biennial Congress .................................................................................... 134 Publicity and Education Committee ...................................................................................................... 211 118 R Rail, Udo ....................................................................................................................................... us Range Cooperative Federation of Virginia ....................................................................................... 147 Rauschenbush, Stephen ........................................................................................................................ 94, 207 Reading Clubs, Cooperative ........................................................................................................................ 137 Recreation, Cooperative ................................................ 15, 26, 73, 91, 125, 155, 214, 222 Recreation Institute .............................................................................................................................. 125, 155 Recreation Leadership Conference ......................................................................................................... 26 Recreation Program for a Cooperative, A .......................................................................................... 138 Recreation Program, A Comprehensive Cooperative ............................................................... 194 Recreation School, Cooperative ............................................................................................................... 92 Reed, William V. and Elizabeth Ogg ................................................................................................ 76 Refinery, Cooperative .................................................................................................................. 29, 88, 107, Refugees ........................................................................................................................_......................................... 222 Relations with Other Groups ..................................................................................................................... 115 Religion and Consumer Cooperation Conference ............................................................ 47, 183 Resolutions, Congress ....................................................................................................................................... 220 Richardson, Gerald ............................................................................................................................................. Ill Roberts, Dr. Kingsley ....................................................................................................................................... 213 Rochdale Institute ................................................................................................................................. 142, 212 Rochdale Stores ...................................................................................................................................................... 35 Rural Electrification Administration ...................................................................................................... 12 Russell, George W. (AE) ......................................................................................................... 5, 34, 64 Sales Management ............................................................................................................................................. Sanda, Miriam ......................................................................................................................................................... Schmalz, Carl N. ................................................................................................................................................ Secretary's Report and Recommendations ....................................................................................... Self-Help vs. State Help ................................................................................................................................. Selvig, Emil ............................................................................................................................................................ Siegler, CarJton G. ............................................................................................................................................. Skillin, Edward Jr. ............................................................................................................................................. Smaby, A. J. ............................_...................................................._ 53, Smith, Robert L. ................................................................................................................................................ Southeastern Cooperative Education Association ........................................................................ Southern Wisconsin Cooperative Youth League ........................................................................ Spiritual Values of Cooperation ............................................................................................................... St. F. X. University ............................................................................................................................................. Stookey, Charley .................................................................................................................................................. Story of Tompkinsville, a review ............................................................................................................ Summer Activities ................................................................................................................................................ Swedish Adult Education, a review ......................................................................................................... Swedish Cooperative Savings ..................................................................................................................... 94 89 141 177 5 211 16 128 186 211 92 15 221 47 217 127 93 78 143 INDEX I PAGE Taber, L. J. .......................................................................................__^ 33 Teaching of Cooperation .............................................................................................................................. 221 Tenth Anniversary Album, a review ................................................................................................... 48 The More We Get Together ..............................................'.......................................................................... 18 Thompson, Glenn ................................................................................................................................................ 105 Tichenor, George ................................................................................................................................................ 64 Timmins Consumers Cooperative Society .......................................................................................... 91 To the Men Who Built the First Co-op Refinery in the U. S. .......................................... 51 Torma, William .......................................................... 211 Tomlinson, Bob ................................................................................................................................................... 15 Tour of Nova Scotia Cooperatives, Annual ................................................... 12, 46, 93, 107 Tribute to Dr. J. P. Warbasse .................................................................................................................. 222 Twelfth Biennial Congress of the Cooperative League .......................................... 113, 129 Twenty Years After, a review .................................................................................................................. 160 Twin City League of Unions and Cooperatives ........................................................................... 44 Training for Cooperative Play .................................................................................................................. 104 U United Cooperatives .....<.................................................................................................................................... 141 United Federal Workers of America ................................................................................................... 158 Unity and Action Keynotes of 12th Biennial Congress ......................................................... 162 Uphoff, Mary Jo ...................................................................._..__ 25 V Viita, Mrs. Maiju ................................................................................................................................................ 213 W Warbasse, James P. .............................................................................................................................. 170, 202 Washington Information and Research Office .................................................................. 63, 140 What Cooperation Means ........................................................................................................................... 2 What to do With Cooperative Savings ............................................................................................. 53 White, William Alien .................................................................................................................................... 33 Whitney, E. A. ..................................................................................._ 56, 217 Whom Should America Fight .................................................................................................................. 36 Wisconsin Cooperative Housing Association .............................................................................. 74 Wisconsin Cooperative Week ..................................................................................................................... 29 Wolfe, Justice J. ..................................................._ 108 Women's Guilds ...................................................................................^ 213, 222 Woodcock, L. E. ......................._................................................................................._...................................... 198 World Conditions and America's Relationship to Them ...................................................... 116 Workbook on Consumer Cooperatives, a review ......................................................................... 16 Wyker, James ....................................................................................................................................................._ 45 Y Youth and Cooperatives ............................................................................................................ 22, 89, 213 Youth Anti-War Congress ........................................................................................................................... 2 5 Youth Councils of Ohio, Cooperative ................................................................................................ 22 Youth Conferences, Cooperative ............................................................................................................ 91 The Common Denominator of Farmers and Workers Self-Help vs. State Help The March of Monopoly George W. Russell Ohio Builds 1940 Program Thru Cooperative Discussion Henry J. May: A Tribute E. R. Bowen Gilman Calkins Cooperative Highlights of 1939 Wallace J. Campbell January 1940 THE BEST CURRENT BOOK ON CONSUMERS' COOPERATION ' I 'HE twelve issues of the national J- magazine "Consumers Coopera tion" taken together contain the best interpretations of the Consumers' Co operative Movement during the year. They include original articles covering every major phase of the movement. They summarize the outstanding co operative events. They review the cur rent cooperative pamphlets and books. For only $1 you get this gold-mine of cooperative information—up-to-date each month. No cooperative leader or prospective leader can really afford to be without it. Subscribe NOW. Send your subscription to: THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE 167 West 12th Street New York City, New York 608 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois COMING EVENTS Co-op Recreation Conference sponsored by the Eastern Cooperative League, Saddle River, New Jersey, January 13 and 14. Editors Field Day, First Cooperative Re finery in U.S., Phillipsburg, Kansas, January 24. Midland Cooperative Wholesale, Em ployee Training School, Camp Idahopi, Minnesota, January 29 to February 24. Farmers Union Cooperative Education Service Institute, Jamestown, North Da kota, 41 weeks beginning January 29. Management Training Institute sponsored by Rochdale Institute, Consumer Distri- bution Corp., Eastern Co-op Wholesale, New York City, February 5 to May 27. Rochdale Institute, New York City, Spring Term, February 5 to May 27. Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Associa tion, Annual Membership Meeting. Columbus, Ohio, February 13. THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE 167 West 12th Street, New York City- 608 South Dearborn, Chicago DIVISIONS: Auditing Bureau, 167 West 12 St., N. Y. C. Design Service, 167 West 12 St., N. Y. C. AFFILIATED REGIONAL COOPERATIVES Medical Bureau, 5 E. 57 St., N. Y. C. Rochdale Institute, 167 West 12 St., N. Y. C. Name Central Cooperative Wholesale Consumers' Cooperatives Associated Consumers Cooperative Association Consumers Book Cooperative Cooperative Distributors Cooperative Recreation Service Cooperative Wholesale, Inc. Hastern Cooperative Wholesale Farm Bureau Cooperative Ass'n Address Superior, Wisconsin Amarillo, Texas N. Kansas City, Mo. 118 E. 28St.,N. Y. 116E. 16 St., N.Y. Delaware, Ohio 2301 S. Millard, Chicago 135 Kent Ave., Bklyn Columbus, Ohio Farm Bureau Mutual Auto Insurance Co. Columbus, Ohio Farm Bureau Services Farmers' Union Central Exchange Grange Cooperative Wholesale Indiana Farm Bureau Coop. Association Midland Cooperative Wholesale National Cooperatives, Inc. Pacific Supply Cooperative Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Coop. Ass'n United Cooperatives, Inc. Workmen's Mutual Fire Ins. Society Lansing, Michigan St. Paul, Minn. Seattle, Washington Indianapolis, Ind. Minneapolis, Minn. Chicago, 111. Walla Walla, Wash. Harrisburg, Penn. Indianapolis, Ind. 227 E. 84th St., N. Y. Publication Cooperative Builder The Producer-Consumer Cooperative Consumer Readers Observer Consumers Defender The Recreation Kit E.C.L. Cooperator Ohio Farm Bureau News Ohio Farm Bureau News Michigan Farm News Farmers' Union Herald Grange Cooperative News Hoosier Farmer Midland Cooperator Pacific N.W. Cooperator Penn. Co-op Review DISTRICT LEAGUES Central States Cooperative League Eastern Cooperative League Associated Cooperatives, So. Cal. Associated Cooperatives, N. Cal. National Cooperative Women's Guild FRATERNAL MEMBERS Credit Union National Association Madison, Wisconsin 2301 South Millard Ave., Chicago, Illinois 135 Kent Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. 4043 W. 60 Street, Los Angeles, Cal. 1715 University Ave., Berkeley, Cal. Box 1000, Superior, Wisconsin The Bridge CONSUMERS' COOPERATION OFFICIAL NATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CONSUMERS' COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT PEACE • PLENTY • DEMOCRACY Volume XXVI. No. I JANUARY, 1940 Ten Cents The American Cooperative Movement Needs the Strongest Leaders in the World Certainly it would be no reflection upon the great leaders of the Cooperative Movement in other countries to say that, because of the background of the United States and other circumstances, America needs even stronger leaders than any where else. The primary reason is that they have the greatest opportunity of all. The background of America is more strongly democratic from its beginnings in the political, religious and educational phases of its organization than any other country. This means that the challenge to cooperative leaders is also greater to develop economic democracy in this country. The resources of America are the greatest of any country in the world. This means that we have the most natural wealth to distribute. The size of America makes it necessary that local cooperatives must join regionals and regionals must join the national, rather than locals joining the national direct without intermediate regionals. The problems of adjusting rela tionships between regional leaders seem to be greater than between local leaders. Regionals can more easily conclude that they are sufficient unto themselves, than can locals. We repeat, as we have done before, the challenge which Albin Johansson, the great Swedish leader, threw out to American cooperative leaders when he left our soil, "WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY!" Will American cooperative leaders be able and humble enough to rise to their great opportunity ? They can only do so if cooperators everywhere in America likewise become great. As Dr. Tompkins of Nova Scotia rightly declared, "It takes a great people to throw up great leaders. The primary problem is how the people can themselves become great." An organ to spread the knowledge of the Consumers' Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, purchase and produce for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St., N. Y. City. E. R. Bowen, Editor, Wallace J. Campbell, Associate Editor. Contributing Editors: Editors of Cooperative Journals and Educational Directors of Regional Cooperative Associations. Entered as Second Class Matter, December 19, 1917. at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Price $1.00 a year. . I 11 How Should Cooperators Describe Capitalism? We have been inclined to follow the rule "speak gently about the dying" in discussing the present capitalistic economic system. Yet we sometimes wonder if we should not express our true feelings and use harsher words in indicting a system that has produced so much poverty, unemployment, tenancy, crime and war. Should we ue such expressions as one writer did in the NATION, "Capitalism is no longer able to make the rich rich enough so that the poor can get fat from the garbage." Should we follow the example of William Alien White and describe those who are the flower of capitalism in language like this, "If you ask us, we know a better word than 'titan' for old Charley Schwab. It is a three letter word beginning with h and ending with g and meaning something that afterward de velops into sausage and bacon and football covers." It's all a question of what is the language which will move people to cooperate rapidly in an evolutionary way, and not react violently and throw us into Fascism or Communism. We still believe, in spite of such illustrations, which we are all occasionally inclined to use, that violent language only produces violent action, and that the language of peace is the most powerful method of persuasion. WHAT COOPERATION MEANS Cooperation is both an economic system and a way of life. The two are closely intertwined. In fact, it is reasonably accurate to say that the commercial system and the cultural methods which prevail must correspond, for they are both the outcome of the thinking of the same people at any one stage in their development. Hence it follows that Cooperation should be considered and presented both as to its com mercial and cultural meanings. Here are what we consider the major meanings of Cooperation : Commercially Culturally 1. Cooperation means honest quality products. Consumers have no reason to adulterate the products they process and distribute to themselves. It would be the utmost of folly for them to fool themselves by misrepresenting the qual ity of such products to themselves. 2. Cooperation means economy of dis tribution and production. The waste in duplication of production and distri bution facilities would be eliminated under Cooperation. Wastes of time would also be eliminated with the re sult of shortening working hours. 3. Cooperation means economic secur ity for all. Competition results in a few becoming owners. Cooperation elim inates poverty, unemployment and ten- ! ancy by equitably distributing purchas ing power. 1. Cooperation means economic as well as religious, educational and po litical democracy. Everyone becomes an active participant in the economic pro cesses of control with consequent per sonal development of confidence, ini tiative and group-individuality. 2. Cooperation means educational op portunities for all. Participation in democratic processes requires as a fun damental the constant education of adults as well as youth. Cooperation demands education for life. 3. Cooperation means recreational re lease. No longer will opportunities for development in music, art, etc. be con fined to the few. No longer will recrea tion be destructive, but upbuilding in every way. Cooperation is a new order of society. Our present competitive order is bank- Consumers' Cooperation rupt both commercially and culturally. We are in the midst of a dying competitive order and a dawning cooperative order which will give birth to a new commerce and a new culture. CONSUMERS—The Common Denominator of Farmers and Workers There is a widespread mistaken theory in America among both farmers and workers that they can "go it alone". And just so long as this theory is maintained, just so long will farmers and workers be divided and conquered. It would not seem so strange if this theory were held only by finance and industry, but for farmers and workers themselves to hold to this false theory is indeed a tragedy. In Europe, farmers and workers have long ago gotten beyond this stage in their development of purchasing cooperatives. There they accept that they are all consumers and join together to purchase cooperatively. They do not try to isolate farmer purchasing cooperatives from worker purchasing cooperatives. They practice the first Rochdale principle of "Open Membership," which is the true foundation of cooperative purchasing—open membership to all users of the product handled irrespective of occupation or residence. To present this fact accurately we have written to the various European coun tries to get statistics relative to their division of membership and have the following replies: Division of Membership Farm Urban Finland (SOK) .............................. 62% 38% Sweden (,KF) .................................... 29% 71% Norway (NKL) .............................. 26% 74% France (Nancy) .............................. 43% 57% What difference does it make that farmers are the largest percentage of the membership of SOK in Finland, and that workers are the largest percentage of the membership of KF in Sweden ? No difference whatever—because they are all con sumers, whether farmers or workers. How can farmers and workers interests clash by being members of the same purchasing cooperative which deals in products they both use as consumers ? It's high time that all the leaders and members of coopera tive purchasing associations in America took a leaf out of the lesson from European cooperative purchasing development and accepted and practiced the first basic coop erative principle of "Open Membership." This is far more than a simple matter of theoretical philosophizing. It is not a matter of cooperative orthodoxy. It is not a matter of "take it or leave it." It is fundamentally a matter of economic law. In time it will be accepted generally that cooperatives cannot successfully compete with private dealers unless they follow the basic economic law of serving all potential purchasers of the commodities they handle and handling all the commodities which their members desire in economic quantities. Fortunately for the future of the cooperative purchasing movement in Amer ica, two-thirds of the large purchasing wholesales have already accepted the fact that they are Consumers' Cooperatives and have joined together in the Cooperative League and National Cooperatives, which are the national educational and economic organizations of the Consumers' Cooperative Movement. All restrictions on mem bership are bound to be broken down in time both as a matter of cooperative prin ciple and a matter of "economic efficiency. Our Movement will grow in strength as farmers and workers learn that they are both consumers and that they cannot go it alone. January, 1940 3 Pioneers in the Struggle Against Poverty The centennial of the birth of Henry George, who wrote the famous book "Progress and Poverty" which was the first introduction to real economic thinking for many—even though they may not have been able to agree with his conclu sions—has resulted in many articles about his life and writings. Henry George taught the simple truth that "POVERTY Is SLAVERY." Once men were slaves to Masters, which was called "Slavery." Then they became slaves to Land, which was called "Feudalism." Now they are slaves to Machines, which is called "Capitalism." But whether called Slavery, Feudalism or Capitalism, it is still SLAVERY, and some day will be admitted by all to be. It is just as necessary for Cooperation to succeed Capitalism, in order for men to be FREE, as it was for Capitalism to succeed Feudalism and for Feudalism' to succeed Slavery, as steps along the road towards freedom. The world is indebted to Henry George for helping humanity to open its eyes a little wider to the truth and to react against the anomaly of Poverty in the midst of Plenty. In Henry George's day also lived William Morris, who wrote what George Bernard Shaw calls the "greatest of the Utopias" under the name, "News From Nowhere." He also called his and future generations to action with stirring appeals. He declared that when humanity threw off its former yokes it thought it would be free, only to find itself in a new and wider prison house. But now, he said, when we throw off our present yoke of private-profits, 'We shall be FREE INDEED." Such men were true servants of humanity. We need to develop more of them today. The Cooperative Movement's Greatest Commercial Asset—"CO-OP" The old Persian saying is true that the most precious thing a maker or distribu tor has is his reputation. The trademark "CO-OP" is the most valuable commercial possession of the National Cooperative Movement in the United States. On it the reputation of the movement depends. On it the future success or failure will be built. It should be treated as an inviolate evidence of quality. It should be an un questionable guarantee of the truthfulness of the description of the contents of any package or product on which it is placed. It should be enough for any purchaser to say, "Give me the CO-OP brand," without any necessary comparison with others. Not only should this quality distributed under the "CO-OP" trademark be the highest in its grade, but this trademark, owned by National Cooperatives, Inc., should be handled in such a way as to build up the resources of the national move ment so that an increasing number of products can be produced cooperatively as well as distributed cooperatively. While regional cooperatives can do some manu facturing and inter-regional cooperatives still more, yet there can be comparatively little produced today except on a national scale. This means that the Cooperative Movement should take a leaf out of the book of private business and license the use of this trademark only on condition that a percentage be paid to National Coop eratives covering the quantity of every product distributed under the "CO-OP" label. Right now we are almost starving the national movement. Very little more is being saved by the national movement than barely enough to cover the operating expenses of purchasing. We do not even permit the national movement to save enough now on its joint purchases to finance a minimum national publicity, educational and leg islative program. The "CO-OP" trademark should represent unquestionable quality to purchasers and be used as the means of accumulating the funds necessary for the building of national production facilities to guarantee the quality as well as to finance education and legislation. 4 Consumers' Cooperation SELF-HELP vs. STATE HELP (EDITOR'S NOTE: Few men have foreseen com ing events as dearly as George W. Russell, the great Irish poet-cooperator. In an out-of- print book, "Cooperation and Nationality" written in 1912, he appealed to his fellow Irishmen to develop voluntary organizations for "self-help" rather than to depend upon "state- help". We have assembled and are quoting be low some of his outstanding statements which are even more timely today for Americans than when he wrote them over a quarter century ago. ) WHEN a man becomes imbecile his friends place him in an asylum. When a people grow decadent and im becile they place themselves in the hands of the State. ^c ^c ^c It is the tragedy of the decline and fall of the human will in the people we are witnessing, a far worse tragedy than the emigration which is deplored so much. The will is growing powerless to act with out partnership with its fetish or idol the State. $i $£ $£ Every eye was fixed on Westminster, with the natural consequence that the powers and possibilities of the State as sumed monstrous and unnatural propor tions, in men's minds, and what a man or country could do for itself without State aid dwindled to insignificance. All these appeals to the State would not have done so much harm if the mouth pieces of popular sentiment had not felt it incumbent on them to discourage any non-political efforts to promote prosperity. These were described as "drawing a red herring across the track." If Self-help had been fostered as industriously as State-aid we might have arrived at something. But politicians would not admit that it was either possible or desirable that Ireland should help itself until what they wanted done was done first. Irish misery and pov erty were valuable assets in the campaign. The net result in the psychology of the Irish people was that they grew less and January, 1940 George W. Russell (PÊ.) less self-reliant. The State treated Ireland as the great big incapable baby it was represented to be. The country became like a gigantic creche with a whole army of officials guiding, controlling, or spoon feeding it. Ireland, in spite of professed hatred of the State, has never been nearer to complete dependence on it than at the present moment. ^i ^t ^t It is not what the State has done or can do which inspires, but the infinitely nobler possibilities which arise through the vol untary cooperation of men to wring from nature and life the utmost they can give. $f, sjî sjî The Servile State, whose swift coming Mr. Hilaire Belloc deplores, seems to be the objective of the ruling and official classes. I hold that the whole salvation of Ire land depends on what Irish people can do for themselves. I think the worst enemies Ireland has today are those who are for ever supplicating State aid on her behalf. ïjî $£ 3t I would a thousand times rather dwell on what men and women working togeth er may do than on what may result from majorities at Westminster. The beauty of great civilizations has been built up far more by the people working together than by any corporate action of the State. In these socialistic days we grow pessimistic about our own efforts and optimistic about the working of the legislature. I think we do right to expect great things from the State, but we ought to expect still greater things from ourselves. We ought to know full well that, if the State did twice as much as it does, we shall never rise out of mediocrity among the nations unless we have unlimited faith in the power of our personal efforts to raise and transform Ireland and unless we translate the faith into works. The State can give a man an economic holding, but only the man him- self can make it into an Earthly Paradise, and it is a dull business, unworthy of be ing made in the image of God, to grind away at work without some noble end to be served, some glowing ideal to be at tained. $£ 3t $£ Every people get the kind of govern ment they deserve. A nation can exhibit no greater political wisdom in the mass than it generates in its units. It is the pregnant idealism of the multitude which gives power to the makers of great na tions, otherwise the prophets of civiliza tion are helpless as preachers in the desert and solitary places. So I have always preached Self-help above all other kinds of help, knowing that if we strove pas sionately after this righteousness all other kinds of help would be at our service. So, too, I would brush aside the officious in terférer in our cooperative affairs, who would offer on behalf of the State to do for us what we should, and could, do far better ourselves. We can build up a rural civilization in Ireland, shaping it to our hearts' desires, warming it with life, buc our rulers and officials can never be warm er than a stepfather, and have no "large, divine, and comfortable words" for us; they tinker at the body when it is the soul which requires to be healed and made whole. THE MARCH OF MONOPOLY E. R. Bowen """THE present economic system was mor- 1 ally indicted in the Catholic En cyclical "Reconstructing the Social Order" in 1931 in these simple words, "Free competition is dead—economic dictator ship has taken its place." We have had many statistical studies confirming such moral condemnations since monopoly began its great march, which have shown the results in terms of individuals in increasing unemployment, poverty and tenancy. But it has been left to E. D. Kennedy in "Dividends to Pay" (Reynal and Hitchcock, New York, $2.50) to show the results statistically in terms of corporations. Just as rich indi viduals are getting richer and poor indi- vidulas are getting poorer, he also shows that large corporations are getting richer and small corporations are getting poorer. Profits and Losses 960 Corps. 1926................................. $3,665,000,000 Profit 1927 ................................. 3,290,000,000 1928 ................................. 4,100,000,000 1929 ................................. 4,740,000,000 1926-29 ........................ $15,795,000,000 1930 ................................. $2,920,000,000 1,370,000,000 363,000,000 1,000,000,000 1,410,000,000 1,970,000,000 $9,033,000,000 1931 .....-- 1932 ......... 1933 ......... 1934 ........ 1935 ........ 1930-35 ..... 450,000 Corps. $3,835,000,000 Profit 3,220,000,000 4,130,000,000 4,000,000,000 $15,185,000,000 $1,370,000,000 Loss 4,660,000,000 6,000,000,000 3,550,000,000 1,310,000,000 270,000,000 $17,160,000,000 Consumers' Cooperation His conclusions are summarized thus, "a handful of tremendously profitable corporations are getting a strangle-hold on the profits of industry as a whole . . . the rich companies are making money at the expense of the other companies." The- statistics he presents, which are taken from the U.S. Treasury Depart ment's Statistics of Income and from a compilation by the Standard Statistics Co., strongly support his conclusions. Pyramiding Wealth From 1926 to 1929, or the four years before the collapse, 960 corporations (2 out of every 1,000) made $15,795,000,- 000 which was about the same amount as the other 450,000 corporations (998 out of every 1,000) made of $15,185,000,000. But from 1930 to 1935, or the six years after the collapse, the 960 corporations continued to make profits of $9,033,000,- 000, while the 450,000 corporations lost $17,160,000,000. "The earning power of American industry has become concen trated in the hands of less than 1,000 of our corporations." (BJ-960 CORPORATIONS (PROFIT) — BILLIONS (LOSS) (A)-45QOOO , CORPORATIONS 1926 '27 '28 29 30 31 32'33 '34'35 But this is not the whole story of the March of Monopoly. Out of the 960 cor porations, 24 or the "aristocrats among January, 1940 the aristocrats," made 47% or nearly half of what the 960 made in 1937. "All of which," says Kennedy, "brings us back to our major proposition that a few companies make most of the money, and still fewer companies make most of the money that the few companies make." And how has monopoly gotten this strangle-hold on us? By adopting the "principle of dividends before wages . . . by liquidating labor instead of liquidating capital." The monopoly method is to gain control and then hold prices up and pay rolls down and thus squeeze dividends out of consumers and workers. What's ahead of us? Well, the author offers little early hope. "I see no reason why the 1940's should be any better than the 1930's. There is, indeed, every reason to believe that they may be considerably worse." What is the Answer? Unfortunately, as so many such statis tical studies fail to do, the author himself suggests no way out. He only declares definitely that the answer is not to go back from monopoly-capitalism to com petitive-capitalism. In one sentence he does offer a clue to the solution, "The in dustrialist (along with most orthodox economists) thinks in terms of production only. He must learn to think in terms of consumption as well." But it is only wishful thinking to even suggest that the owners and managers of our monopoly corporations might lead the way out to abundance for all. That is where cooperators come into the picture. It's our job to graphically present such statistical studies to others and convince them of the fact that monopoly is making the rich richer and the poor poorer—both as individuals and as corporations—and that the only way out is for the people as a whole to take over industry through or ganizing cooperatives which will raise pay and lower prices and thus eliminate pov erty, unemployment and tenancy. (Those who like statistics will find that this book reads like a novel. It can be ordered through the Cooperative League. ) OHIO BUILDS 1940 PROGRAM THRU COOPERATIVE DISCUSSION h I (EDITOR'S NOTE: It's one thing for a coop erative to have a program. It's another thing to build a program cooperatively. The combina tion of the two is what counts. Ohio decided to try building their 1940 cooperative program by cooperative methods. Here is the story in brief. We submit it as one of those "go thou and do likewise" suggestions for the considera tion of cooperatives everywhere.) MANY an organization in America is democratic to the extent that some leaders in it draw up a plan of action and submit it to the membership for a. "yes" or "no", and it confronts those members in such a void of alternatives and counter suggestions that "yes" is at once automatic and "the only sensible thing." Without any experience of sharing the responsibility for facing problems and developing solu tions, the members soon become accus tomed to expecting the plans from the leaders, and the simple practice of peri odically selecting those leaders and then letting them do the work becomes to them a perfect concept and expression of de mocracy. Even in cooperative organizations this convention too often prevails as the re sult of the overflowing zeal and hard work of the pioneers who leave nothing to be done by the rank and file but to belong. When the novelty of things has worn off, when the myriad details of ex panded services become drudgery for the few, and when the many members fail to demonstrate a proportionate loyalty and willingness to sacrifice for the future ob jective, the leaders often are still unable to appreciate that necessary interest and faith and enthusiasm can come only from experience—widespread participation by the members, familiarity with operating problems, habitual sharing of responsibil ity, group thinking and development of plans and methods, and the vision that all of this kindles. Ohio Cooperatives Try Cooperative Program Planning Members of Farm Bureau cooperative 8 Oilman Calkins Assistant Editor Ohio Farm Bureau News groups in Ohio have held a lot of con ferences the last few years in which they have studied the meaning of cooperative principles and methods, and they have come to the conclusion that there is still more to be gotten out of cooperation than they hav,e so far achieved. Sometime, somewhere, in the discus sions last summer, the suggestion came that the membership develop its own pro gram for the coming year. The organiza tion department of the Ohio Farm Bureau welcomed the idea and tossed it right back to the members. "How," they were asked, "should membership be developed in 1940 ? How should a County Farm Bureau be worked out and executed? In what ways, if any, should cooperative services be expanded in the near future ?" Discussion Process Put to Work During the last week in September and the first week in October, five groups of representative members assembled, one in each of the Farm Bureau "field districts" into which the state is divided. Each group included representatives from each coun ty association, chosen by the counties, who had some understanding of local prob lems, the common problems of all farm ers, the objectives of Farm Bureau and the cooperative movement. Each group spent an entire day to gether. State organization representatives recited vital statistics on the farmer's plight, the economic picture, organization achievements to date. Delegates reported on local problems and needs. Small dis cussion groups were formed. Suggestions poured forth; some were accepted, some rejected. Group secretaries reported con clusions to the reassembled conference group, and on the blackboard a final pro gram was outlined. Each district meeting chose several of its number to form, with those of the other districts, a statewide "Committee of Consumers' Cooperation 30," which met at Columbus for two days during October, received the district re ports, and repeated the same group dis cussion and selection of suggestions pro cess. The Committee of 30 then submitted its final report to a special meeting of the board of trustees of the Ohio Farm Bu reau, and the board approved it in entirety and recommended it formally to the coun ties for their adoption. Counties Get Program Back for Approval and Action Already, it is reported, many of the county groups are at work on various parts of the recommended program, which is too extensive to include here in full. Some of its "planks", for example, are: Employ full-time county organization manager. Each county conduct its own membership plan under organization man ager. Divide county into small units. Have program-planning meeting. Invite all members. Publish county program. Con tact legislators aggressively. Expand Ad visory Council program; include non- Farm Bureau members. Work on financial needs; reduce accounts receivable. In crease efforts for legislation to include ur ban membership in farm co-ops. Manufac ture more commodities. Add groceries, clothing. Start medical projects. Undertake cooperative banking. Develop credit unions. Set up more service points. State organization set up training system for co-op employees. Where will Ohio go in 1940? They don't expect to make a perfect record on this program in one year. But there is a keen consciousness among the members that the program is one of their own making. There is a lot of new interest in reaching the goals. And the odds are high er than ever for anyone who wants to bet they won't succeed ! 1939 Index % An index of Consumers' Cooperation for 1939 will be sent to subscribers free on request. HENRY J. MAY Resolution of the Board of Direc tors of The Cooperative League of the U.S.A. at its meeting held in Chicago, December 5th, 2939- In the death of Henry J. May, on November 19th, 1939, the Interna tional Cooperative Alliance lost its General Secretary who had served it faithfully and effectively in that capacity since 1913. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE OF THE U.S.A. hereby pay tribute to the un tiring energy, the sympathetic un derstanding, the wide knowledge, and the high degree of efficiency and sincerity with which Mr. May pro moted the cause of international co operation. In view of these facts, and in recog nition that it was his mastery of in ternational cooperative affairs and his organizing genius that held the International Alliance together dur ing the World War and preserved the Alliance as the only internation al organization which did not break down during those trying years; it is hereby RESOLVED by this Board that our expressions of appreciation of Mr. May's services be spread upon our minutes, that they be published in the official organ of The Coopera tive League, that they be transmitted to the press, and that a copy be sent to the International Cooperative Al liance and to the family of Mr. May. Dr. James P. Warbasse, president, said in transmitting the resolution, "Henry May proved that fidelity to a great cause could hold men to gether in the face of forces that would render them asunder. He not only proved the brotherhood of man, he made it come true." January, 1940 COOPERATIVE HIGHLIGHTS OF 1939 Wallace J. Campbell THE American consumer cooperative movement can list 1939 as its greatest year of progress. By the end of the year more than 2,000,000 consumers were I', members of cooperatives doing a total an- ï nual business estimated at $600,000,000. Among the accomplishments of the year are several important steps into pro duction ; the expansion of cooperative ac tivities from farm to general household supplies ; an increased support from labor and farm organizations ; and a vicious na tion-wide attack on the cooperative move ment, giving evidence of the fact that pri vate profit business is now taking the co operative movement seriously. Among the new factories and other pro duction units now in operation or planned for the next few months are: 1. A $750,000 petroleum refinery at Phillipsburg, Kansas. 2. A $250,000 refinery at Regina, Sask. 3. An oil topping and cracking plant at Mt. Vernon, Ind. 4. Flour mills at Auburn, Ind., and Outlook, Sask. 5. Feed mills at Manheim, Pa., and Superior, Wis. 6. Commercial fertilizer factories and mixing plants at Baltimore; India napolis; Alliance, Ohio; and Mau- nee, Ohio. Cooperative distribution of groceries found its greatest growth in eastern cities when the Eastern Cooperative Wholesale, serving 200 cooperatives from Maine to Maryland became the first urban coopera tive wholesale to surpass the $1,000,000 mark. An unusual development in this field was the creation of a co-op chain of grocery stores in southern Minnesota and - Wisconsin sponsored by Midland Coop erative Wholesale and its affiliated retail cooperatives which combine the efficiency of chain store operation with local owner ship, democratic control, and distribution of savings to members. American grocery 10 co-ops adopted a uniform CO-OP label and pioneered in government ABC grade labeling of commodities. Distribution of farm supplies, a field in which co-ops are strongest, continued to grow. The Farm Credit Administration estimates co-op purchases at $440,000,- 000, one-eighth of all U.S. farm supply purchases. The Farm Bureau Mutual Cooperative insurance companies handling fire, auto mobile and life insurance showed in creases of from 18 to 27% for the year. Cooperative credit unions continued to grow throughout the year, reporting 2,250,000 members and assets well over $100,000,000. Continuing its series of farm, labor and cooperative conferences, the Cooperative League arranged institutes at Racine and Akron during the year and planned sim ilar institutes in Kansas City and Cali fornia early in 1940. The AFL and CIO, at their annual conventions, renewed their endorsements of the cooperative move ment as an effective means of meeting the increasing costs of living. And the Na tional Farmers Union, American Farm Bureau Federation and National Grange conventions urged further expansion of cooperatives. Reassuring evidence of the fact that cooperatives are an important part of American life has come in a concerted na tional attack by private profit insurants organizations. Insurance conventions in Boston, Oakland, Indianapolis, Little Rock, White Sulphur Springs, and other places passed resolutions condemning the consumer cooperative movement because it "aims to increase prices to producers" "to cut prices to consumers" and "es tablish economic democracy." In their rush to defend the profit motive, the in surance companies have given the coop eratives more free publicity than they have had for years. Consumers' Cooperation National Cooperative Organization Even more important than the physical advances which the movement made dur ing the year are the steps toward coordina tion of the movement. With growing co operation among cooperatives, the move ment is in better shape than ever before to build soundly in the cooperative decade ahead of us. Among the milestones of the year are: The Cooperative League's first year of operation based on uniform dues of 5c. per year per individual member. Completion of twenty-five years of con tinuous publication of the national maga zine Consumers' Cooperation (formerly Cooperation). Opening of joint executive offices with National Cooperatives in Chicago center ing executive activities in the heart of America. Closer coordination of educational and business activities through concurrent quarterly meetings of the board of direc tors of The Cooperative League and Na tional Cooperatives. Many of the directors serve on both boards, bringing to both a breadth of cooperative experience. National Cooperatives demonstrated its effectiveness as coordinating agency for national co-op buying by acting as the agency through which the grocery co-op wholesales worked out a program of uni form national CO-OP labeling, use of Government ABC grade labeling, and a national purchasing program. National Cooperatives also continued its program of joint buying of tires, binder twine and electrical appliances, closing the year op erating in the black on the savings made through large-scale purchasing. The first national cooperative legislative program was launched in the spring of 1939 with plans under way for the estab lishment of a permanent Washington of fice in the early months of 1940. The bank owned and operated by co operatives was acquired ,by the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association in cooperation with local cooperatives and credit unions in the state. The Citizens January, 1940 State Bank at Beech Grove, Indiana is the first U.S. co-op bank. Basic in a program of cooperative ex pansion has been the greater acceptance by farm purchasing and marketing co operative leaders of the fact that the con sumers cooperative movement includes the purchase of both farm and home supplies. This fact, plus a growing realization on the part of organized labor that it must organize as consumers as well as pro ducers in order to raise real wages opens the gateway to the greatest organizational expansion in American cooperative his tory, if the cooperative movement will take advantage of its opportunity. Cooperative Medicine New progress in cooperative medicine included extensions of both building and service at the Cooperative Hospital, Elk City, Oklahoma; the launching of the Group Health Mutual and Group Health Association in St. Paul; the Cooperative Health Association, Superior, Wisconsin; extension of service of the Group Health Association in Washington, D. C., in the face of a bitter attack from the American Medical Association; experimental work in cooperative health by the Group Health Association of New York with somewhat similar cooperative programs under way in Akron, Ohio; Greenbelt, Maryland; and San Diego, California. The Bureau of Cooperative Medicine sponsored a national conference of group health associations in New York City in July. The Group Health Federation of America which grew out of the July conference will hold its first annual meet ing in Chicago, February 1, 2, and 3. Other Cooperative Services Cooperative burial associations, already strong in Iowa, Minnesota and Wiscon sin began to develop in other sections of the country as an answer to the problem of the high cost of dying. E. R. Bowen, general secretary of The Cooperative League, was invited to address the Na tional Association of Selected Morticians at their annual convention on the growth 11 and function of cooperative burial asso ciations. Cooperative housing, developing slowly because of the large investment required, saw the development of the Cooperative Housing Council in New York City where co-op housing has been strongest to date. More than thirty cooperative apartment projects with a total assessed value of ten million dollars are in operation in New York. Just outside of Madison, Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Cooperative Housing As sociation has completed 22 houses (aver aging in value from $3000 to $5000) in its first co-op housing project. Pioneering in low-cost cooperative housing, Mary Arnold, formerly a director of The Cooperative League, supervised the construction of the Tompkinsville co operative housing project, just outside Re serve Mines, Nova Scotia. Doing much of the work on their own houses, the miners in Tompkinsville have cut their housing costs to $11 to $12 per month for six room modern houses with baths. Follow ing the success of the Tompkinsville pro ject two other housing co-ops started construction this summer and at last re ports were nearing completion. Having launched the work in Nova Scotia, Miss Arnold has gone on to Newfoundland to direct cooperative housing work there. "The Story of Tompkinsville" will be told in a booklet by that name, by Mary Arnold, which will be published by The Cooperative League soon. Cooperative Rural Electrification One-quarter of the country's farms were enjoying high line electric service as the New Year opened. This is more than double the 743,000 farms (10.9% of the total) which were electrified when the Rural Electrification Administration pro gram began in 1935. The great part cooperatives played in this program was revealed in the fact that 88.4% of the projects sponsored by the REA are run by cooperatives. Twenty-one REA cooperatives have grown to million 12 dollar size. The largest has an investment of more than two million dollars ; another has 3,600 consumer-owners; and a third has 1700 miles of line in operation. The average size co-op has an investment of $400,000 and serves 1,200 members from 400' miles of line. During the year 225,000 rural consum ers were brought central-system power for the first time. College Cooperatives Students at American universities took things into their own hands during the year and organized federations of campus co-ops covering the Pacific Coast and the Midwestern states. The Pacific Coast Stu dent Cooperative League was formed in Berkeley, June 13 to 15 by representatives from co-ops on ten campuses. The Mid west Student Cooperative Federation grew out of a meeting in Chicago in May which drew together student co-op leaders from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. These federations will strengthen existing co-ops, spread the co-op idea to other compuses and keep real cooperation in action on campuses where new generations of students might lose the cooperative idea. More than 200 co-ops are in opera tion on 160 campuses according to the Na tional Committee on Student Cooperatives. Cooperative Education Education-by-participation through study circles had its greatest growth during the year. The Maritime provinces, from whence the present drive came, continued to expand their education in spite of the war. Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperatives had 800 study clubs going at year's end and planned for the organization of 500 more in 1940. Eastern Cooperative League, launching its study club advisory council program in September had 156 units in action at the close of the fall ABC Cam paign- Central Cooperative Wholesale includ ed study clubs in its four-fold educational program this fall and plans to have 250 going by April. Consumers Cooperative Association and Midland are continuing Consumers' Cooperation Neighbor Night and Advisory Council programs which began last year. The Farmers Union Cooperative Education Service also pushed study clubs as a basic part of its education program. In Cali fornia, co-op study clubs blossomed forth as Fireside Forums. The Cooperative League conducted its Third Annual Conference Tour of Nova Scotia in August. More than one hundred cooperative, church and educational lead ers took part in the tour which began wtih the Rural and Industrial Conference in Antigonish. Employee education gained momentum as the new year dawned with management training schools planned by CCA, Mid land, Farmers Union, Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Association and by the Coun cil for Cooperative Business Training composed of Rochdale Institute, Consum er Distribution Corporation and Eastern Cooperative Wholesale. Central Coopera tive Wholesale held its managers' training course in the fall and Rochdale Institute trained two groups of prospective co-op employees during the year. The National Cooperative Publicity and Education Conference at Milltown, Wis consin, in June, drew together the co-op educational directors and editors from all of the regional cooperative associations and a number of local cooperatives and district federations. This was followed im mediately by the Fourth Annual National Cooperative Recreation School. Much of the credit for the rapidly growing interest in cooperative recreation can be traced to the success of the recreation school. Motion Pictures Motion pictures played a larger role than ever in cooperative education in 1939. "The Lord Helps Those Who Help Each Other," a 16 mm. three-reel, silent motion picture on cooperatives and adult education in Nova Scotia, produced by the Harmon Foundation in cooperation with The Cooperative League was shown to more than a quarter of a million people during the year and is in constant demand. January, 1940 "The House Without a Landlord," a 21/2 -reel picture of the Amalgamated Co operative Houses and the many co-op ser vices in America's largest housing coop erative has been very popular. Three other pictures "Clasping Hands," "When Mankind is Willing," and "A Day with Kagawa," were also used for co-op edu cation during the year. A new three-reel movie of the Swedish Cooperatives photographed in color just before the war began is being edited and will be available soon. The picture is be ing produced by the Harmon Foundation and The Cooperative League. New Cooperative Literature Among the new books on the coopera tive movement published during the year were: "Masters of Their Own Destiny," the story of adult education and cooperation in Nova Scotia, by Dr. M. M. Coady. "The Consumers Cooperative As a Distribu tive Agency," the first college text book on the consumers cooperative movement, by Orin Burley. "Cooperation: A Way of Peace," by Dr. James P. Warbasse. "A Doctor For the People," an autobiogra phy and the story of the first cooperative hospital in the U.S.A., by Dr. Michael Shadid. "Careers in Consumers Cooperation," a study of cooperative employment in the Central Cooperative Wholesale territory, by Clarence Failor. "Speaking of Change," a collection of ad dresses and papers, by Edward A. Filene. "The Consumer Awakens: the Challenge of Cooperation," a popular description of the need for and accomplishments of the cooperative movement, by Harold V. Knight. "Operating Results of Consumers' Coopera tives, 1937," a detailed study of operating efficiency of cooperatives made by Dr. Al bert N. Schmalz of the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. "The New History of the C.W.S.," a sev enty-five year history of the great British Cooperative Wholesale Society, by Percy Redfern. "The Cooperative League Year Book, 1939," edited by Cecil Crews. Government Publications on coopera tives included: 13 I "Consumers' Cooperation in the U.S., 1936," based on a survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and other agencies, edited by Florence Parker. "Statistical Handbook of Farmers Coopera tives," based on the first official detailed census of the farm cooperative movement, by the Farm Credit Administration, edited by R. H. Elsworth. New Pamphlets include: "Cooperatives in the U.S.A.: A Balance Sheet," by Maxwell Stewart. "Cooperation and Religion," by Dr. M. M. Coady. "Father Tompkins, Teacher of Fishermen by the Sea," by Benson Y. Landis. "Cog or Collaborator," by Herman Stolpe. "Discussion Guide on Consumers Coopera tion," by Harry Frank. "What Every Cooperator Ought to Know," by Anthony Lehner. "Co-op Burial Associations," a packet. "In Business For Service," by James Myers. "Cooperative Housing in Sweden," by Ulla Aim. "Swedish Adult Education," by Ragnor Lund. "How to Organize a Cooperative Club," Eastern Co-op Wholesale. "Organized Labor—Organize as Consumers." Progress in the Far West Grange Cooperative Wholesale and Pa cific Supply Cooperative in the Northwest reported continued progress and Pacific Supply launched an auditing service for its member co-ops. In California the Cooperative Educa tion Association and Associated Coopera tives amalgamated to form the Associated Cooperatives of Southern California; and the Northern California Cooperative Council and the Northern California Co operative Wholesale joined forces as As sociated Cooperatives of Northern Cali fornia. With education and business func tions unified, the California co-ops staged their first state-wide cooperative institute. Consumers Cooperatives Associated, with headquarters in Amarilla, Texas, un der the guidance of its new manager, F. E. Hobgood, reported constantly rising business volume and a rapid growth in the use of CO-OP label goods. Co-ops on the March The Cooperative Book Club, youngest member of The Cooperative League, 14 changed its charter and became the Con sumers Book Cooperative, a membership rather than a stock cooperative, as the new year began. During the year it inaugurated a wholesale department to serve libraries, cooperatives and other non-profit organi zations. The Cooperative Wholesale, Chicago, reported its most successful year and steps were taken toward the amalgamation of the wholesale and the Central States Co operative league. The Northern States Cooperative League, after 18 years of pio neer work in cooperative education, voted to suspend activities in October since co-op wholesales in its area had built up effec tive education departments. Cooperative Distributors, national mail order cooperative, added a wholesale de partment to supply drugs and cosmetics to retail cooperatives—a move which proved highly successful. The Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperatives created a mail order depart ment to serve their members. Borrowing a leaf from the book of Swedish cooperatives the Central Coopera tive Wholesale set up an architectural ser vice for its member cooperatives to in crease the beauty and efficiency of co-op stores, an important step in the direction of cooperative leadership. Farmers Union Central Exchange closed its first ten months of 1939 with a volume of $4,433,000 becoming a leading factor in Farmers Union activities. Still leading the movement in women's and youth action, the Northern States Women's Cooperative Guild completed its 10th year of educational work and pub lished a "Tenth Anniversary Album" de scribing its activities. The Northern States Cooperative Youth League passed its goal of 1000 members well before the close of the year. Although 1939 ushered in three new wars and completed a decade of unem ployment, tenancy and poverty, for the consumers cooperative movement in the United States it was a year which may be marked as the most significant in its his tory. Consumers' Cooperation COOPERATIVE PLAY The Southern Wisconsin Co-op Youth League was organized last summer at the dose of a week of cooperative camping at Lake Ripley, Wisconsin. The seventy- four boys and girls who had enjoyed a week of play and study went home and talked with their friends and local co-op managers about organizing a local Co-op Youth Club. By the first of December, three months after organizing, there were eight local co-op youth clubs with a mem bership of over two hundred. Each local club plans its own activities but the general program for the clubs is very similar. They discuss current prob lems, plan debates, have dramatic activ ities, play games, dance, both folk and modern, and a great many other things. The executive board edits a monthly newspaper, The Co-op Crier. The news is sent in by the Co-op Clubs or by their reporters and it also includes feature ar ticles, ideas, suggestions, and other help ful articles. A mid-winter conference of all the dubs is being planned at which everyone will have an opportunity for a full-day of cooperative study, play and dancing. BOB TOMLINSON Rex Corfman, Ohio State Cooperator and Gwendolyn Goodrich, Columbus Co operative worker, led the fortnightly recreation group of the Columbus Con sumers Cooperative in a couple of hours of folk dancing and singing at a recent meeting. There was no lack of spice and variety in the evening's program, for there were dances of every style and of widely diver gent origin. "The Meadow Green Waltz" from Bohemian soil three-stepped its way into the midst of the long-way set inspired by the "Noble Duke of York." The "Eng lish Circassion Circle" dissolved into an old-fashioned American Square when the dancers tried their agility at "Divide the Ring." All in all the members who January, 1940 frolicked that night were spirit-light and limb-sore when they said good-night. From THE CO-OP TIMES An evening of games and dancing un der the direction of the Play Co-op wound up a special three-evening program spon sored by the Educational Center of the Morningside Consumers Cooperative in New York City late in December. In ad dition to singing games and square dances, the group presented a number of charades. It is planned to have a group meeting regularly for recreational activ ities starting the first of the year. BOOK REVIEWS THE LITTLE RED HEN and Her Cooperative, Antioch Bookplate Company, Yellow Springs, Ohio, 1939, 10 cents. Available through The Cooperative League. ONCE UPON A TIME there was a little hen, And a very wise chicken was she, And thence follows in verse, a tale of the barnyard cooperator who believed and practiced a philosophy of cooperation, and who also pa tiently but hopefully, finally converted her less cooperative and aloof barnyard companions to ways of working together for the common good. Her name was Henny-penny and she was the mother of three little chicks. One day as she was searching for food she came across a little pile of wheat. Henny-penny had vision. She knew that if she planted the wheat there would be a sufficient quantity for a lot of tasty, wholesome bread. Henny-penny was also we- minded and lost no time in seeking the coop eration of her neighbors the Rat and the Cat, the Pig and the Dog, in a bread-making ven ture. Even the Rat, heretofore a none too use ful member of society was welcomed into mem bership in the little red hen's cooperative. // all will work together, It won't be hard for any And we each can have a share of wheat, Said little Henny-penny. But when Mistress Henny proposed a coop erative to her friends she met with the common resistances of the less visionary and unbeliev ing animals. So she planted her wheat alone, tended it, and then baked tasty, brown loaves of bread. All this time she attempted to enlist her companions' aid in a cooperative enterprise but she met only with rebuffs. When she and her brood were finally feasting on the fruits of her labor, the four non-believers stood by, 15 *- / il ii weeping, ant! most regretful of the indifferent attitude they had taken. Unselfish Henny-penny shared her bread with them, happy at last that they saw the evils of their old way of doing things, and in this spirit they formed a bread- making cooperative in which each was to share in the work, giving his most natural contribu tion. The following year found them with the fruits of their cooperative efforts. So great was their satisfaction that they gleefully burst into a song and dance. In this keynote of joy, the poem is brought to a close. THE LITTLE RED HEN and Her Cooperative was written by Kate Bradford Stockton, a farm er's wife and active cooperator. She originally wrote the parable for her own grandchildren. It is ably illustrated by Anne Parker, and the music, included also, was composed by Eliza beth Morgan. Here is a bit of rhyme which should pervade every nursery and grace the bookshelf of every cooperator or believer in the cooperative spirit as a fundamental parr of character. True, it is the stoiy of cooperatives, the obstacles which beset them, and the vision and fire of deter mination which finally finds the rainbow flag waving victoriously—but it is mirrored in the poetry of the nursery and its characters are the lovable animals familiar to every child. It is a poem with a message well told and can be classified as having real educational value. Simple and refreshing in its presentation, perti nent in its lesson, grown-ups and children alike will find it pleasureable reading. A first venture into the realm of cooperative literature for chil dren, the story should inspire further attempts into this field for the thousands upon thousands of juveniles who cannot learn too early to prac tice, the cooperative way of doing things. BELLE HALPERN A WORKBOOK ON CONSUMER COOPERATIVES —Carlton J. Siegler, The Cooperative League, 167 West 12th Street, New York, 25 pages, lOc. Designed primarily for use in secondaiy schools this Workbook answers a real need for good material to be used in consumer educa tion courses. It is divided into three units— Consumer Marketing, Consumer Cooperatives, and Consumer Education. Each unit has a bibli ography, specific topics for discussion, question naires, research projects, etc. The material has been collected during the past three years and has gone through the test of practical applica tion in a number of schools. The author, Mr. Siegler, is a teacher in New- town High School, Elmhurst, New York; Ex ecutive Secretary of the Consumer Education Association and author of several books and articles in the field of consumer education. Teachers, pupils, and study group leaders will find this Workbook a thorough and stimu lating study guide. 16 CO-OP LITERATURE • Student Cooperatives Co-ops on the Campus, Bertram B. Fowler .03 Campus Co-ops, William Moore .................... .05 Handbook on Student Co-ops, Based On the Findings of the Pacific Coast Con ference of Student Cooperatives .............. .10 • Novels Fresh Furrow: Burris Jeiikins (Special) .50 The Brave Years: Win. Heyllger .................. 1.5(1 • Textbooks on Cooperation Consumer Cooperative Adventures, Kan- dall and Dagjg'ett, Case Studies, Special .511 Consumers' 'Cooperatives, Julia E. John son, Debate Handbook .................................. .8(1 When You Buy, Trilling, Eberhart and Nicholas, High school and college, two chapters on consumer cooperatives ........ 1.80 Cooperation, Hall and Watkins, Official British Textbook .............................................. 3.011 The Consumers Cooperative as a Distribu tive Agency, Orin E. Burley ...................... 3.00 Windows on the AVorld, Kenneth Gould, high school text, one chapter ou coop eratives ................................................................ 3.0(1 • Cooperative Recreation The Consumer Consumed, Josephine Johnson, a Puppet Play ................................ .03 Cooperative Becreation, Carl Hutchinson, reprinted from The Annals.. ...................... .05 Two One Act Plays, Ellis Cowling .............. .15 The Answer, 3-act play, Ellis Cowling ...... .2(1 The Spider Web, 3-act play, Ellis Cowling .23 Education Through Recreation, L. 1*. Jacks .................................................................... 1.50 List of recreational materials, songs, dances, games, available from Cooperative Kecreation Service, Delaware, Ohio. FILMS "The Lord Helps Those — Who Help fiucli Other," « new 3 reel, 16 mm. film of the Nova Scoti« adult education and cooperative pro gram, produced by the Harmon Foundation. Excellent photography. $4.50 per day, $2.2ii additional showings, $13.50 per week. "A House Without n Landlord," a new 2% reel, Jfi mm. silent film on the Amalgamated Cooperative Houses in New York City. "Clasplnx Hands," 10 mm. silent, two reel filiii. showing how cooperation is taught in the schools of France. Won the Grand Prize ill the International Exposition, Paris, 1837. "When Mankind is Willing." a 10 mm. sileni three-reel film, with English titles, of coop erative stores, wholesales and factories in France. A Day With Kagavva, 3 reel, silent, 16 mm. Kagawa and his co-ops in Japan. Rental: Each of three above $3 per day, $1.5(1 for each additional showing or $10 per week. . POSTEBS Organize Cooperatives, 19"x28" Green, 5 for $1 ...................................... Cooperative Principles, 19"x28" Blue, 5 for $1 .......................................... Cooperative Ownership. 19"x28" Mulberry, 5 for $1 .......................................... .20 Consumer Ownership—Of, By and For the People, 19"x28", Eed-White-and- Blue, 5 for $1 .................................................... .211 À The More We Get Together The Gold Nightmare Financing a'Cooperative Through Patron-Ownership Cooperative Youth Councils of Ohio Jack McLanahan E. R. Bowen Harry Frank Darwin Bryan Youth Anti-War Congress Mary Jo Uphoff Recreation Leadership Conference Ellen Edwards Insurance Executives Attack Co-ops February 1940 Consumers' Cooperation j ^NATIONAL MAGAZINE FOR COOPERATIVE LEADERS HAVE YOU SUBSCRIBED? Last year Consumers' Cooperation- gave its readers two score original feature articles about American and European co operatives, about national cooperative or ganization, cooperative finance, operating methods, new educational techniques, co operative education, legislation, medicine and peace. Each an article especially pre pared for Consumers' Cooperation by an authority in the field. What led to the drives for cash policy,1 uniform accounting methods, larger re serves and smaller inventories to meet economic crises, the study club as an edu cational method, recreation as an essential feature in the life and growth of a coop erative? These and many other programs got their first stimulus in Consumers' Co opération. $1 per year; 27 months for $2. THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE 167 West 12th Street, New York City COMING EVENTS WISCONSIN COOPERATIVE WEEK, pro claimed by Governor Heil, to be ob served February 26 to March 2. Dedication, First Co-op Refinery in the United States; Phillipsburg, Kansas, May 4. Board of ' Directors, The Cooperative League, Quarterly Meeting, Hotel Mor- rison, Chicago, March 18 to 19- Board of Directors, National Coopera tives, Quarterly Meeting, Hotel Morri- son, Chicago, March 20. THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE 167 West 12th Street, New York City 608 South Dearborn, Chicago DIVISIONS: Auditing Bureau, 107 West 12 St., N. Y. C- Medical Bureau, 5 E. 57_St., N. Y. C. Design Service,. 167 West 12 St., N. Y. C. Rochdale Institute, 167 West 12 St., N. Y. C. AFFILIATED REGIONAL COOPERATIVES Naine Central Cooperative Wholesale Consumers' Cooperatives Associated Consumers Cooperative Association Consumers Book Cooperative Cooperative Distributors Cooperative Recreation Service Cooperative Wholesale, Inc. Rastern Cooperative Wholesale Farm Bureau Cooperative Ass'n Address Superior, Wisconsin Amarillo, Texas N. Kansas City, Mo. 118 E. 28 St., N.Y. 116E. 16 St., N.Y. Delaware, Ohio 2301 S. Millard, Chicago 135 Kent Ave., Bklyn Columbus, Ohio Farm Bureau Mutual Auto Insurance Co. Columbus, Ohio Farm Bureau Services Farmers' Union Central Exchange Grange Cooperative Wholesale Indiana Farm Bureau Coop. Association Midland Cooperative Wholesale National Cooperatives, Inc. Pacific Supply Cooperative Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Coop. Ass'n United Cooperatives, Inc. Workmen's Mutual Fire Ins. Society Lansing, Michigan St. Paul, Minn. Seattle, Washington Indianapolis, Ind. Minneapolis, Minn. Chicago, 111. Walla Walla, Wash. Harrisburg, Penn. Indianapolis, Ind. 227 E. 84th St., N. Y. Publication Cooperative Builder The Producer-Consumer Cooperative Consumer Readers Observer- Consumers Defender The Recreation Kit E.C.L. Cooperator Ohio Farm Bureau News Ohio Farm Bureau News Michigan Farm News Farmers' Union Herald Grange Cooperative News Hoosier Farmer Midland Cooperator Pacific N.W. Cooperator Penn. Co-op Review DISTRICT LEAGUES Central States Cooperative League Eastern Cooperative League Associated Cooperatives, So. Cal. Associated Cooperatives, N. Cal. National Cooperative Women's Guild 2301 South Millard Ave., Chicago, Illinois 135 Kent Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. 4043 W. 60 Street, Los Angeles, Cal. 1715 University Ave., Berkeley, Cal. Box 1000, Superior, Wisconsin FRATERNAL MEMBERS Credit Union National Association Madison, Wisconsin The Bridge CONSUMERS' COOPERATION OFFICIAL NATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CONSUMERS1 COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT Volume XXVI. No. 2 PEACE • PLENTY • DEMOCRACY FEBRUARY, 1940 Ten Cents GOLD, RECREATION, WAR AND RED HERRINGS "I wanted the gold and I got it" is as dangerous for Uncle Sam as it was for Dangerous Dan McGrew. With seventy per cent of the world's gold supply lying in American vaults, we are embarrassed with too much "wealth." True, to most of us the only gold problem is to get our hands on the yellow staff—only to get arrested for having it. But for every consumer the gold problem is vitally important because it may break the back of our economic system and throw us into another crisis which would make 1929 pale by comparison. Whether you realize you have a gold prob lem or not, read E. R. Bowen's article, "The Gold Nightmare" in this issue. ***** Want to solve the gold problem ? Go form a youth group and start singing and folk dancing. Or go directly to your membership and put your co-op on a sound financial basis. ***** The logic of these answers may be obscure but without organization effective enough to change the current of today's flow of gold our most immediate step toward a solution lies in building and strengthening our cooperatives. Jack McLana- han, Darwin Bryan, Ellen Edwards, Harry Frank and Mary Jo Uphoff, writing in this issue, tell of effective methods of accomplishing that result. To make our cooperative answer completely effective we must build interna tional cooperative trade based on use not profit. We must build an economy which will not tremble and shake when one nation, playing the rest, corners the world's blue chips. An organ to spread the knowledge of the Consumers' Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, purchase and produce for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St., N. Y. City. E. R. Bowen, Editor, Wallace J. Campbell, Associate Editor. Contributing Editors: Editors of Cooperative Journals ancf Educational Directors of Regional Cooperative Associations. Entered as Second Class Matter, December 19, 1917. at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Price $1.00 a year. Before the opening of the world-wide economic siege we call a war, steps were being made through the International Cooperative Wholesale Society and the newly formed International Cooperative Agency to build more rapidly the cooperative trade of the world. With the war in progress, many of those activities have been destroyed. Today we need more than ever to build our own democratic institutions at home, so that when and if the great siege is over democracy can be put to work again. If we are to preserve our own beginnings in democracy we must Keep Amer ica Out of War. For the blue prints are drawn for the elimination of democracy here on the day -war is declared. If we need more encouragement we will find it in the first nation-wide attack on the co-ops, launched for profit, by the executives and agents of the stock insur ance companies who are resorting to what one of theif own number calls "dragging international red herrings" into the picture as selling points for private profit in surance. Those who want to make a profit on insurance are trying to keep people from insuring themselves. The attack, stupid in its resort to name-calling and red-baiting, has brought the cooperatives more publicity than they have had in a long time. Guest Editorial "The More We Get Together" Jack McLanahan Education Department Midland Cooperative Wholesale I ^HE more we get together, together, together . . . the more we get . . ." was •A running through my mind as I turned the old Plymouth out of the yard and headed for Minneapolis. One of two club members had already gone, others were still in the house saying goodbye, and two were still picking out tunes on the piano. It had been a great evening together and with a good lunch to finish it off every one was in high spirits. For a new club the discussion went nicely, projects were planned and the recreation period was real fun. At the end of the evening we teamed up for a number of games and then sang—everyone of the 20 odd there. The sec retary knew most of the tunes and did a bang-up job at the piano. Almost all in the little red book—even a couple in German—were gone over before our voices were worn thin—and, by George, I believe that's all that ever did bring the meeting to a close. "The Happier We'll Be" As I settled down for the hour's run in, my mind kept turning to the words of that song—"the more we get together"—yes, more, we haven't been getting together much, haye we? Maybe that's the cause of a lot of our troubles—"the happier we'll be"—well, that sure was a happy group tonight ; a demonstration of the truth of the idea. I couldn't stop the tune, it just seemed to sum up the meaning of the whole co-op plan. "The more we work together"—discuss, plan, stand shoulder to shoulder, organ ize—"the more power have we"—yes, that's the secret . . . power when we stand together. The secret of our future. Simple, isn't it ? I suppose that's why we've been so long in finding it. Get together—work together—nothing else is needed. With the experience of that evening and others in the last weeks I am convinced that every club ought to open and end with group singing. Once you try it you won't have to "ought to," but you'll "want to." More and more of the clubs are; it's lots of fun.—Reprinted from "Together," Midland Neighborhood Cooperative Clubs 18 Consumers' Cooperation The Gold Nightmare E. R. Bowen ANSWER for yourself this question. The world has 25 billions in gold. The United States has 18 billion out of the 25. The government bought last year 31/2 billion. At this rate we will have all the gold in the world in two years more. What then are we going to take from other countries to balance our exports against our imports? This is the nightmare that is troubling the business and banking world. It is not often mentioned in print. It is too awful to talk about even in whispers. E. A. Goldenweiser, Federal Reserve Board research chief, finally spoke out in the January Reserve Bulletin and warned that the United States cannot halt gold buying or we will have chaos in international finances and serious dislocation of domestic business. Then Winthrop W. Aldrich, chairman of the Chase National Bank, followed by devoting a large part of his annual message to stockholders to the gold problem, indicating our dangerous position. We were personally partici pants in a nationwide discussion group of prominent bankers and business men with farmers and workers recently when the United States was repeatedly described as a "gold sucker." What are the dangers? Well, the first is the danger of inflation with such huge gold reserves. The second is the danger of our shortly being unable to continue even our present low amount of export shipments because of our un willingness to again be fooled by accepting I.O.U.'s, because of the fact that other countries are running out of gold to balance our excess exports with our imports, and finally because of our inability to import goods and services in equal amounts to offset our exports of goods and services. The third danger is that gold is likely to become valueless as money. The crux of the whole gold matter is that the United States is unable to dis tribute at home to our own people the goods we can ourselves produce. Since we cannot distribute our own domestically produced products, we also cannot dis tribute foreign goods for which we exchange a part of our domestic production. The present economic system is fast winding up to a high tension and the gold mainspring is likely to break. After the crash of 1920 we started the wheels of industry going again by loans to foreign countries and by installment selling. The crash of 1929 inevitably followed when we became scared over the possi bility of collecting these foreign and installment debts. After the 1929 crash we again started the wheels of industry rolling by debt. This time by domestic gov ernment loans instead of foreign loans, by another orgy of installment selling, and by gold purchasing. Gold purchasing was only an alternative to foreign loans. In the end the gold may be worth no more than the I.O.U.'s were. What are we going to do when the gold gives out? This is not a scarehead but a real question which every cooperator should be thinking about and dis cussing. The solution will have an effect upon all business, cooperative as well as private. February, 1940 19 i'! Of course, there's only one final answer and that is to develop cooperatives faster so as to distribute purchasing power widely and thus balance production with consumption—or s