The source of this uncorrected OCR text may be viewed in the DjVu format at: http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD2951xC776/co45 or http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/ugafax/HD2951xC776/co45 UNIVEßSITY ÔF GEORGIA GENERAL LÎBBA8Y ,...,_ ATHENS GA. CHIMQO 460« " IU modernize YOUR FRONTS YOUR DISPLAYS sa__^ i increase patronage and operating efficiency CO-OP STORE FRONT LETTERS Pride of ownership, increased volume, and effi cient operation result from attractuely designed service units. Approved uniform exterior sign units and nationally accepted Forest Green and l\ory colors developed by the National Cooperatives Equipment and Design Committee and a\ ailable through the regional cooperatives, provide modern attractrvenes= and coordinate your appeal to your patrons with the publicity of other cooperative^ over a wide area. This appeal as part of a national -yes international- -cooperative movement =timu- lates the feeling at the local level of being a part in this large and significant movement. Illustrated in the front above, these letters are well constructed of Tymstone with a highly durable painted surface. They are available in sizes to suit your particular need, and come with all necessary mounting accessories. CO-OP STANDARD DISPLAY SHELVING Manufactured to specifications prepared by the same committee, C< M >P Standard Display Shelv ing is the result of a thorough study made of the display needs of self-service food stores, farm sup ply stores and service =tatinns. In actual Use for some time by locals in a number oi regional co operative areas, these supports are pro\en for (I) easy shelf stocking, (2) heavier loading. C3) time sa\ing, (4) merchandise emphasis, (5) special cor ner problems. (6~) lo\\er cost, (7) adjustability, (8) convenient price marking. Skilled or unskilled carpenters can easily assem ble and erect shelving, cutting required time by 60 per cent ±rom ordinary wooden sheh es Lumber for shelf assemblies is purchased locallj, \\ hich re sults in lower shipping costs A. folder, Modernize Your Shelving." has been prepared by the \dvertising Department of National Cooperatives in collaboration with the Equipment and Design Committee which de=cribea and illus trates the variety of Shelf Support materials, and gives full instructions for assembly and use \lso available, in addition to the Shelving Equip ment and Exterior Sign Letters, are Merchandising Classification Signs for indexing commodity depart ments in store interiors. Address Inquiries to YOUR REGIONAL COOPERATIVE Wholesale for copies of this folder and for prices. Going P «c COOPERATIVE CENTENNIAL D E I T E M U L By CLAYTON W FOUN FAIN he hour is dark. The day harsh with death frum the sky falling, The year bitter with sorrow and the bluud on the land; But there is light on the face of the century Forward Irom Toad Lane, marching the arc oi the earth, The blue sweep oi the sea curving behind us, We have followed the trail of the free word. Building our brotherhood cleanly, our clasped hands reaching Over the walls erected by hate in the darkness. \ w, e have kept the taith lor a hundred years, Laying stone on stone upward true to the shape ol the vision That Rochdale raised to tower and touch the stars Yes, the light ot our brotherhood gleams on the laces ul peuple In this hundredth year oi our building; The glow of it marches across our time, Vs the sun strides over the grasses at dawn, Driving tear belore it at the shadow's edge. T, his is a strong light on the face of the century: The tuel tor it flows Irom the bottomless wells of our brotherhood: It is the light of Ireedom Freedom . words will not make you free . Nor bonds of blood . . . nor coins . . . nor a king's kindness Freedom . . . only the people can build it in brotherhood Cooperatively, by the free word and the love ot neighbor lor neighbor To shine warmly on the face of the century. in this issue: VOLUME I, NUMBER 1 JANUARY, 1945 COOP Journal of technical assistance and information for local cooperative officers, directors, employees, and committee members. An official organ of National Cooperatives, Inc , and The Cooperative League of the USA Editor, Gilman Calkins Associate Editors. Wallac» J. Campbell, Jnbii Caisull, Ellen Llliboii, C J McLaiiahan, J I I'locbbting Centennial, by Clayton W. Fountain The Looks o' Things Coming Events Co-ops Save on I~H1 Deliveries, by J. Warren Mathei Salute to Rochdale, by Percy Redfern Prepare for Postwar Now, b> Otto A. Nurkkala Merchandising Methods, by J. L. Proebsting Making Anniversaries Count, by C. J. McLanahan We OWN Our Stoics, by Mary K Warren Slunv Up the Goods, by Richard Leekley What Co-op Week Will Accomplish What the CO-OPS Did in 1Q44, by Wallace J. Campbell The Hottest Issue in America, by William E. Sanderson A Complete Local Publicity Program, by Geoige H Tichenor A Lung-Range Plan of Action Pertinent Books Democracy In Action, by Lacey F. Richey Lo-op Books in Every Library, by Glen n W Thompson Both Hope and Groceries, by Margedant Peters Women's Big Jobs, by Mrs. Aimer Aimstrong People Couperate Editorially .. .. ... 2 4 4 5 h 7 « 9 10 12 13 14 U) 18 19 19 20 21 22 24 24 .26 Picture Credits: Page 5, Wurts; page 6, C\\ S, Manchester, page ; page 14, Wurts; page IS, Wurts; page 18, ECW, New ._ or\ ii r_.-_. _ Picture Credits: Page 5, Wurts; page 6, C\\ S, t 10, Wurts; page 14, Wurts; page IS, Wurts; page York; page 20, Wurts. On the Cover: Forrest Walraven cleans windshield at Clinton County (Ohio) Farm Bureau Co-op service station in downtown Wilmington (Wurts photo). Regional Cooperatives Affiliated With The Cooperative League of the USA, National Cooperatives, and the National Cooperative Finance Assn. Contributing Editors : George Burcham, James Cummins,, Davis Doutlnl, Car! Eck, Ileibert k Evans, JTeibert Fledderjohn, Leonard Ilarman, Andi ew Hebb, Gai dner II eidrick, George Hough, Carl R. Hntcbinson. Erick Kendall, Madelyn Kilmoyrr, Anthony Lehner, Laurie Ï elitin, Tver Ï md, M. (j Mann, Jr, Donald S Maj, T. Warten Metzger, Merlin G Millci Robeit M. Mitcbell, Junes R. Moore, Robert Is eptune, Margedant Petei .->, Arnold Rahn, A W Ricker, George P. Sanden,on, E. F scha-f Robert i,. Smith, E A Syftestadi Glenn American Farmers Mutual Auto Insurance Co...............St. Paul, Minn. VV 1 hompson. ( leorgc J ichenoi, William A • . i /-* , • T r»ir*-ri*r-> /~*ii i /— i • r Toima rinar Ting«,, r A whitney, j F Associated Cooperatives, Inc.. ——815 Lydia St., Oakland, California Yaeger Central Cooperative Wholesale...... .——....— .......Superior, Wisconsin • Central States Cooperatives, Inc.—.......1535 S. Peoria St., Chicago 8, 111. Editorial Advisory Board. James Cummins, Consumers Cooperative Association.-318 E. 10th St., Kansas City, Mo. Davis Douthit, Caii « Hutchmsnn, Robert L. Consumers Cooperatives Associated-————Box 1150, Amarillo, Texas bmith Cuna Supply Cooperative—...—.-..............................Madison, Wisconsin ————————————————————— Eastern Cooperative League and Wholesale ...................................... Business Manager, Gilman Calkins ........................ .....................................44 W. 143l'd St., New York 30 co OP is published monthly by The Coopéra- Qhio Farm Bureau Cooperative Association................ ...——.......... tive League of the USA. Editorial and business ^ N JTJ , g rolumbus 16 OhJO offices, 343 South Dearhnrn Street, Chicago 4, ------- ........ ....^rO IN nign C5t., V^OIUITIDUS ID, V^IllO iiimois. Application made £01 entry a* second barm Bureau Mutual Auto Insurance Co................Columbus 16, Ohio class matter at the postoffice ai Chicago, Illinois, Farm Bureau Services.-——————221 N. Cedar St., Lansing, Michigan under the act of Ma.ch 3, 1879. Punted m the Farmers Cooperative Exchange.-......—.....---Raleigh, North Carolina Lite o^e^^^t.Xg^redTnTt farmers Union Central Exchange .......P. O. Box G, St. Paul, Minn. Patent Office and used by permission of Na- Indiana r1 arm Bureau Cooperative ASS n~ ——— ———————————————— tionai Cooperatives, inc. —————.——... 47 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Indianapolis 9, Indiana Subscription Rates. One year, $2.50, th.ee Midland Cooperative Wholesale ............................ ...... ye-ii-, $6 smgie copy, 25 cents Mailed any- ——- - —— -- -739 Johnson St. N. E.. Minneapolis 13, Minnesota whcic without extra charge. Pacific Coast Student Co-op League.—-——— - ——Berkeley, California change of Address. Send old address label Pacific Supply Cooperative.———P. O. Box 1004, Walla Walla, Wash. with new address to circulation Manager, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Cooperative Ass n......—————....„ .. COOP, 343 s. Dearborn st, Chicago 4, in., —————...———.......————3607 S. Derry St., Harrisburg, Penna and allow 30 days for correction of listing Ad Saskatchewan Cooperative Wholesale Society...——.... — address3" ^*™*'™ -r, espondence to same .„_...._..„_„„.._...„._„.._..___„....__.„ .......... Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Manuscripts should be addressed to the Edi- United Farmers Cooperative Company.. ——....————... ~ ——........ tor, and must be submitted at the author'« risk ......., ............———.„ .. ...__.Duke and George StS., Toronto 2, Ontario and a™-ompanip^ hj retutn poctage c^^^te» 215 ___________»____________..^_____________________.___———______^,____ CO-OP—January, 1945 Rochdale Institute and U. S. Regional Cooperatives Offer 3 COURSES for MANAGERS Course for Farm Supply Managers Neil House, Columbus, Ohio January 15 to 26 Course for Petroleum Managers Kansas City, Missouri January 15 to 26 Course for Food Store Managers George Williams College, Chicago January 22 to February 2 Today trained men and women are needed as never before. Co operatives are expanding at an unprecedented pace. The extent to which they will be able to serve their members depends on the speed with which they can turn up trained personnel. This training can no longer be left to chance. ENROLL NOW! In the Course of If our Choice — Write Your Regional or ROCHDALE INSTITUTE 343 South Dearborn Street Chicago 4, Illinois Cooperation—or Else : Unless men decide to give up unjust profiteering and establish decent forms of co operation recognizing "love thj neighbor," the bureaucrats, unwill ingly, will have to dictate business —Paraphrased from Amen, Amen In S. A. Constantino. Ji. ("Harpers.") Democracy Failing?: In the last half-centurv. disillusionment ha,s set in among some sincere lovers ol de mocracy; demociacy is still on trial.— The Catholic World Federal Debt: Our mammoth fed eral debt will dominate oui business, our finance, our everyday live? in the years to come Those who expect to float to postwar prosperity on a billow ing sea of saving« mav become sadly disillusioned. — Roy B Simpson m Advertising & Selling. Culture. this \\ar has pro duced a dearth of music . "—Adver tising Age. Coming Events Dec. 19 Meeting, Board of Directors, Na tional Cooperative Finance Association, \lorn- •.011 Hotel, Chicago. Dec 20- Meeting, -Board of Directors. Na tional Cooperatives, Mornsorj Hotel, Chicago Dec 21—100th Anniversary, opening of Toad 1 ane Co-op store, Rochdale (England) Society of Equitable Pioneers Local Rochdale Birth daj Pal ties across the nation Dec 21—Special Broadcast, "The Challenge of the Second Centui} of Cooperatives," Colum bia Netwoik. Senator George D. Aiken, speaker. Dec 21 22—Meeting, Board of Directors, The Cooperative League, Mornson TTotel, Cln cago Jan S 13—Annual meeting, National Council of Farmer Coopeiatives, Kdgewatei Jîeach Hotel, Chicago Jan. 10-12—Winter Conferences, Iv ational Co operative Educators and Fditorb Committees, at Baker Hotel, St. Charles, 111. Jan. 12— Meeting, Board of Directors, ^\a tional Association of Cooperatives, at Chicago Jan. 15—Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual meeting at Regina, Saskatchewan. Jan. 15-27—Advanced Training Course for Farm Supply Managel», Rochdale Institute, at Columbus, Ohio. Jan. 15-27—Advanced Training Course foi Petroleum Managers, Rochdale Institute, at Kansas City and Cofïeyville, Kansas. Jan. 16-19—Second Delawaie Study Confet ence, by Depaitmeiit of International Justice and Goodwill of Federal Council of Chllrche-., at Cleveland, Ohio. Jan. 22-Feb 3—Advanced Training Course for Co op Food Store Managers Rochdale In stitllte, at Chicago. Free Press. Conservative Chicago Daily Nnvs, original sponsor of West- brook Pegler, has dropped him from its pages because "lie has allowed his feelings to overcome his reasoning powers." —o—n— World Community. \ou'\e heard of Barney Baruch He's a hard- headed businessman — an advisor tn many presidents Here is what he says : "The objective of a world com munity is not ,so academic a-, it -,eems. In fact, supplying anyone who needs it and who is willing to work (even including the Hottentots) with a quart of milk a day might prove an economic as well as a .social advantage. It might even be profitable. "I say this as an aside to those hard- headed men of business who seemingly scorn any touch of idealism, part of which may be only enlightened self- interest. Besides idealism ia the very core of the American spirit. Let the cvnics re-read the Declaration of Inde pendence. "Well fed, well clothed, well housed and well educated, then man is less in clined toward spoilation and bloodshed than is his ill-used brother "—Gordon Roth FUGT A. Soup to Nuts Many good cooks have traded their old jobs for new ones in ma chine shops of defense plants. —Exchange Letters Sirs : 1 want to congratulate the American Movement on its educational work and the excellent way in which you aie putting uver the Co-operative message ; in fact from American Co-operative papers I am getting the impression that you are even more interested in emphasizing the fundamentals of Co operation than our own people here at home. Would you be good enough to give my kindest regards and best wishes to all friends in the Co-operative League. With kindest regards and best wishes Yours truly, NEIL S. B EATON President, Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Societv CO-OP—January, 1945 How Some North Central Co-ops SAVE DIV OIL DELIVERIES CAREFUL and efficient operation of tank trucks not only con serves manpowei. gasoline, and rub ber, but it means lovvei delivei\ expense per unit and, therefoie, lower cost fuels to members of asso ciations that o\\ n their tank trucks To assist in making available in formation on efficient practices, the Division studied the experiences of 21 local cooperative oil associations affiliated with the Farmers, Union Central Exchange, St. Paul, Minne sota (during the summer of 1943). These were located in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Da kota, and Montana The following paiagraphs represent the summary of data and conclusions afforded by the stuclv 25% Improvement Records on a limited number of tank trucks indicated that delivery efficiency had been improved at least 25 percent in terms of "gallons de- liveied per mile driven" since the beginning of the war. One in 1943 showed an increase of 37 percent and two showed 50 percent increases o\er 1942. Some of the oil associa lions had always stiessed economical delivery practices and conservation of trucks, but all were eager to find new \vav-- of cutting mileage and stretching sei vice and manpower. Delivers record-, on 31 tank trucks for 8 months or more in 1*543 showed a range 111 ''gallons delivered per ./- By J. WARREN MATH ER Agricultural Economist, Cooperative Research and Service Division Farm Credit Administration mile driven" fiom 5.9 to 2U.6. Une- lourth delivered less than 11.0; one lourth exceeded 16.5; and the aver age was 13.5 gallon1- delivered per mile Opeiating costs of 6 tiucks averaged approximately 0.5 cents per gallon and 5 cents per mile Total delivery costs \aried from 1.0 to 1.5 cents pei gallon and from 12 to 15 cents per mile depending upon salaiies paid to truck operators Different Factors Help Because of the small sample, com parisons in efficiency could not be made between the 16 cooperatives delivering only in response to "or ders" and the 3 opeiating on regu lar, scheduled routes, but wide vaii- ations in truck performances under each system indicated that delivery practices, equipment, farm storage, and other factors were more impor tant than the system used. Managers generally believed that tegular routes should be limited to areas with a high density of mechanized farms and with little seasonal varia tion in consumption of petroleum products Tank tiuck operatois took much better care of their trucks after the war began. Operators of the 52 regular tank trucks employed bv the associations drove slower and moie carefully, checked tires and mechan ical parts more frequently, and made repairs earlier to a^ oid seriou1- trouble. Two associations main- tained theii own repair shops and one kept two extia motors recondi tioned for emergency use. Larger Tanks Important Trucks equipped with tanks ovei 600 gallons in capacitv delivered about 12J/2 percent more fuel per mile of travel in 1943 than those with tanks under 600 gallons in ca pacity. Managers and truck oper ators in the rougher sections of Wisconsin usually recommended 600-gallon tanks while thuse in the Dakotas recommended 8UU-gallon tanks. A few in level areas of heavy tractor farming believed that 900- to 1,000-gallon tanks could be used if farm storage and other factors were adjusted toward improvement of efficiency. Managers and truck operators be lieved that efficiency could be im- (Contmited on Page 23) Pictured below are part of the service facilities of the Ellsworth County (Wis.) Farmers Union Co operative, one of the associations studied as a basis for the report on these pages. All Ellsworth trucks were equipped with either 500- or 600-gallon tanks and hand-pumps. Deliveries were made on "order." Manager attributes improvement (volume up 2.3%, delivery mileage down 21.5%) to better grouping of orders, "filling in" with new patrons, and fact that Co-op handles 60% of farm business in its area. .-r- **. J CO-OP—January, 1945 SÄLUTE TD ROCHDALE By PERCY REDFERN Cooperative Wholesale Society, Manchester, England TXT" H Y is it that the whole cooperative world has been honoring the year 1844, and the English town of Rochdale, set where its mills and houses rise from the narrow valley to the brown heights of the encircling moors ? Long befoie 1844, English toilers had felt that the poor were being plundered through unjust trade. Those simple, medieval folks knew nothing of lands beyond the Atlantic; but this they knew; and in the much- recited poem of Piers Plowman they said it. Centuries later, in 1760, British shipwrights at Woolwich and Chatham started their own mills, to be free of millers and bakers But even after Robert Owen's great co operative propaganda, almost every effort failed. Challenge and Reply Rochdale began again, and better. The town was just one of those out-of-the-way places to which the new factories had gone for water power, and for captitalistic freedom But freedom had been the reward of the hand workers and crofters for living in these bleak, wet valleys. By the ruthlessness of the new money-making, and the rise of individual money-makers, they felt them selves challenged. On both sides of these hills, and in industrial Scotland, men groped after a new system. Howarth, Cooper, Smithies, Ashworth—in Rochdale there lived a whole group of such forward spirits. And the stimulus of a group, adding to the tough, practical qualities of the hard, independent, yet hospitable hill side life, led to the new success. After 1844 progress had still to be labouied for, but was never in doubt. Do not think that all Rochdale was eager to trans form the new industry filling the Lancashire valley- with big and bigger power-driven mills ! The Lan cashire mind was muddled between things good and bad. The individual, upward enterprise was honourable, and sometimes magnificent. But dismally it was con fused with piofiting from the helplessness of poor work- Thoughts on the opportunities and challenge of the new Cooperative Century, written especially for CO-OP by the English cooperative education leader. ers coming in from agricultural England and Ireland The Rochdale group instinctively discriminated. So, to day, we celebrate two successes in one. We acclaim an advance from poverty now of material benefit to millions of individual members throughout the world. Still more we honour the business for its equity. Of and by and for the people, this enterprise is social. Larger Than Was Dreamed Two centuries ago, when John Woolman in New Jersey refused on principle to draft a conveyance of a negro, who sa\\ in the action its prophetic significance? Percy Redfern The Rochdale and the Manchester press in 1844 looked no deeper, for they gave not a single line to the mo mentous cooperative opening. There was, indeed, onlv a tiny, back-street shop, shut until evening, when a young, untrained salesman served by candlelight, for threepence an hour. Had any one foretold a coopera tive movement of sixty million people, in forty coun tries, doing business of a gold value of over three thou sand millions yearly, how ridiculous he would have seemed ! Principles Our Great Strength But other businesses have grown big More impres sive is the social contribution. In Britain I have seen the outward and visible difference between an area of un employment where cooperation is strong, and one where the movement is weak. Deeper in value is the proof of principles from which, if all else were destroyed to morrow, everything could be established again. The theory of labour being the source of all wealth is enormously powerful. But cooperation has shown that labour is not enough. It must be labour directed to the satisfaction of consumers' wants. Again, econ omists have taken it for granted that consumers must compete, and the rich, during scarcity, outbid the poor. In Britain, from 1914, the cooperative societies pio neered the rationing which is established to-day. Against the Parliamentary wisdom of the time, they showed that equitable supplies at limited prices were practicable, as well as just. Let the idea get abroad of a permanent alternative to consumers competing for others' profit, and much in our economic textbooks will have to be rewritten. Into the Future Like Columbus, the Rochdale Pioneers haidly knew what they had discovered. Coming later, the Rochdale genius, John Mitchell, was the first to see an open door to a world-wide republic of consumers. In Den- CO-OP—January. 1945 Local Cooperatives Should PREPARE FDH POSTWAR OST people believe in the adage, "be prepared," and it seems fitting to ask : How well have farm supply associations and urban cooperative stores in the United States and Canada laid their plans for the immediate and long range post-war periods. I refer particu larly to the services to be ren dered to members and patrons in electrical and mechanical products which industry is expected to pro duce in huge numbers in the ap proaching age of '"electronics" and mechanical wonders. Already some exciting things are in the blueprints and plans of pro duction engineers. In some cases products are now being field tested. Among the items for which your national and regional cooperatives are participating in testing and pro curement planning are : Home food freezers that will in time change the eating habits and nutritional standards of the na tion. Radios that will bring vision as well as sound. A little costly at the moment, perhaps, but mass production will make them rea sonable. New water systems for the farm home—quieter, more efficient, re liable. Automatic electric and gas wa ter heaters, to bring full city convenience to the remotest homestead. New home refrigerators, with more efficient, better arranged, protection for food. Milking machines that increase dairy herd production and elim inate a large share of tedious and back breaking work. Electiical dairv and milk-house Services Now equipment to maintain high pur ity standaids in milk production for increased return. By OTTO A. NURKKALA Coordinator Electrical and Appliance Division National Cooperatives, Inc. Innumerable other electrical and mechanical home gadgets that will relieve the burden of housekeeping. Scores of electrical and me chanical "hired hands'" for the farmer that work at ridiculously low costs. Regional cooperative (whole sales), coordinating their work through their national buying agen cy, National Cooperatives, are al ready manufacturing or preparing to manufacture some of these items. Others are being contracted for irnm independent fabricators as de mand develops. On November 28. 1944. the Elec trical Appliance Committee of Na tional Cooperatives, consisting of the regional electrical department heads and buyers, authorized the purchase of thousands of CO-OP home refrigerators and home freezer units. Specifications for these have been under development for months Operation of sample field units un der close scrutiny of a Technical Refrigerator Committee, composed of the service managers of four major co-op wholesales, is part of the basis for determining good and bad features, and the best models. Data from state university labora tories and independent research in stitutions is being used to arrive at the ultimate design. Work is well enough advanced and manufactur ing facilities assured so that deliv eries can be started soon after re conversion is permitted. In general, arrangements are com pleted for supply or an intensive search is being made of the field for reliable manufacturers. This pertains to radios, washing ma chines, vacuum cleaners, feed grind ers, poultry equipment, pumps, mo tors, irons, toasters, stoves, heaters, furnaces, stokers, oil burners, bot tled gas equipment, and other items, fn the majority of cases, regionals will be in a position to serve the local retail cooperatives with at least a portion of their requirements right at the start, and up to com plete satisfaction as soon as indus try gears itself to full en ilian out put. A total of 2,550,000 tarm^ were electrified as of December 31, 1943. Extent of rural electrification prom ises to double within the first few years of post-war construction Urban homes, almost without ex ception, receive central electric serv ice This means a remarkable op portunity for cooperators to make a service and savings record by pro curing electrical and mechanical supplies through their o\vn business enterprises. Every type of busines^, of couise, (Continued on Page 25) mark and elsewhere others have demonstrated an added value, for the Rochdale system has proved just as ap plicable to production by masses of farmers and grow ers the world over A complete cooperative common wealth thus has become an aim both possible and necs- sary. The most apparent obstacle is, paradoxically, mate rial success. As societies prosper, the voluntary spirit can decline, and routine replace enterprise. Coopera tion then becomes little more than a supplementary kind of economic machinery. It may continue as a political tool or end as a state property. Against such a death, two living force= pre«pi^ e the inherent greatness. These are the spirit of free associa tion amongst mutually-stimulating members, and re sponsible, understanding devotion on the part of officials and staffs. Given this inner strength—and why should it fail?—and there is that which can drav, men and women of goodwill to richer prospects in every continent than any yet attain-ed. CO-OP—January, 1945 Cooperatives Should Have Unique MERCHANDISING METHODS By J. L. PROEBSTING Advertising Manager, National Cooperatives TPHERE are man} diffcient meth od' of distribution and many dif ferent meichandising plans for pro moting them. Cooperation itself is a method of distribution. Coopera- tnts should understand the meiits, disadvantages and costs of each so that thev can better plan theii own distribution and merchandising pro gram which should exploit to the full the advantages in the coopei - ativc iethod Methods Differ All «round us we see competing schemes for gaining distiibutive ad vantage One company uses exclu sively door-to-door canvassers to sell its goods The neighborhood pro duce peddler is a movable store that doec house-to-house canvassing. One of our large grocery chain5 original!) used such a plan on a systematic route basis to develop its business Anothei of the nation's most suc cessful merchandisers was started on his career seemingly by accident A young clerk in a New England store, desiring to clean up some antiquated merchandise heaped it all together in a barrel, attached a card reading "Your choice 10 cents," put it by the door and was amazed to find the entire contents sold the first day Subsequent trial«: encoun tered similar results, and later he brought his idea to the city and marie of it a tiemendous merchan dising -uccess. His name was Wool- worth This was a tremendous merchan dising success because the operations depended upon a merchandising idea. A fairly orthodox store layout, the usual windov, display, clerks to wait mi trade . but a different merchan- approach — aoods seyieyatcd as to price and all qoods adequately displayed Th.it was the dift'eience The difference is still enough to give real competition in some localities. The Mail Order Way Mail order merchandising calls Eor no stores, no clerks, no personal ser\ice but exquisite catalog«, and sometimes distres-anglv lo\v prices Irom the standpoint of its com petitors It is an efficient and ef fective merchandising plan. One advantage mail order merchandising enioys is that the publicized prices .ire without all distribution costs in cluded, the shipping charges aie added to the publicized price. Self-Service Perhaps the biggest recent change in merchandising- methods was the change Erom "service-neighborhood" t nod stores to self-service commu nity food-stores. Here the customer was asked to do more of the work of selection herself, an obligation that many pati ons seemingly prefei Of interest to cooperators, the self- service plan lowers distribution costs It is readily seen that this plan alters certain merchandising consid erations. With less store employees, obviously the label must furnish more infonnation—in fact all the infoi ma- lion the consumer is to receive. And the art of display must of necessity take the place of the sales person's spoken message Centrally prepared merchandis ing materials are integrated with the local progiam. We can expect this trend to continue when even larger va rieties of fond and household items ar< available at a single outlet. Farm Supplies In the farm supply field, mer chandising has been controlled in greater degree by local outlets These independent outlets usually do not have fast-acting, hard-hitting merchandising campaigns centially planned and prepared Because of this, the farm supply co-ops have had less aggressive competition, comparatively speaking. But tins is goinc/ to change.- If we cooperator« think that the big feed millers are going to stand idly by and watch the co-ops take their business away, because they have inefficient local outlets, we had bet ter think again—and think harder. Some parts of the United States are already 5piinkled with manufac turer-operated feed stores. And the large farm machinery manufactuiers are giving more and more help to their local dealers with the intent of making them more efficient and more aggressive These helps in clude — or usuallv emphasize — ef fective merchandising methods We are not realistic if we fail to pré paie for this- increasing aggressive competition, and this preparation must include and emphasize mer chandising plan? Urban Co-ops Face It Among retail cooperative man ager-, where conditions are most competitive, the need for merchan dising techniques i« most readih appreciated. At present this applies particularly to urban food stores. Liban petioleum station«- also face well-planned and aggressive mer chandising opposition Most rural food stores, gasoline outlets and farm supplv depot- do not seem to CO-OP—January, 1945 realize as >et just what s heading their way—but thev will ' Well along are the profit mer chants' plan toi one stop, small community shopping centers Here will be. available everything from feed seed and fertilizers to gas, garage, locker plants and home sup plies—with eating tacilities, and a place tc lea\e Junior for added con venience The implications of such aggre sive merchandising plans are great Will cooperatives anticipate this threat and offer comparable or bet ter plans? We aie uniquely in a position to do so. Add to the streamlined service center a co-op meeting hall and a clubroom for co-op youth groups, and the neigh bor!} persona! touch which helps Count build loyalty and undei standing and vou make of the project a real com munity affair and a natuial coopera tive development The real reason, of course, for studying the different distribution and merchandising plans is to en able us to expand our services and to lower distribution costs Per haps the auditors could pitch in here and help out by segregating more completely distribution and promo tional costs. The surprising thing about the cooperatives is that over a wide geographical area, they are attempt ing to do so nearly the same thing. The amazing thing is how different ly they are doing it. These different methods must vary considerably in cost. Our collective job i,s tu find out which ones are most efficient and employ those methods more ex tensively Part of Series The above article on Co-op Merchandising Methods is one of a series to be provided by Mr. Proebsting on the dis tribution challenge and oppor tunities facing cooperatives to day Watch foi subsequent subjects. By C. J. McLANAHAN Educational Director The Cooperative League T N Fond du Lac Countv it hap pened that the tenth anniversary of the oil co-op and the 100th anni- versarv of cooperation came to gether. The alert educational com mittee reasoned this way • Whv not a celebration, hue the ballroom at the hotel, put on a banquet, gel out a pamphlet telling what the cooperative has accomplished? A= they went to work on the pamphlet their ideas expanded Why not tell the stoly of all t lu co-ops in the county, why not have a meeting 01 representatives from these cooperatives — in addition to the banquet — and plan together to make the efforts of all more eft'ec tive. The anniversary plans grew thus into a sizable project The commit tee worked hard. On Wednesday night the doors of the ballroom were thrown open. The room wa= decorated with postei = and banners the tables covered with roses sent by congratulating organizations. Four hundred and fifty ptople bought tickets before capacity level was reached. Felix Rondeau, managet of co operative insurance services in Wis consin toastmastered, leaders from several cooperatives spoke brieflv , and C. J. McLanahan, Educational Director, The Cooperative League addressed the banquet crowd. The Swiss Family Frauenfelder provided music for the dinner and a concert afterward. At eleven fifteen the tables were pushed back and the rest of the evening — till one-fifteen -was devoted to dancing. Next day representatives from many of the 50 cooperatives in the trade area met to discuss ways in which they might unite to huild still stronger cooperative action. At the end of the afternoon unanimous and enthusiastic support was voted for a committee with a representa tive from each cooperative — both consumer and producer groups — to formulate plans for an area-wide co operative council. Those were two red-letter days in Fond du Lac, planned and carried out by a zealous educational com mittee They published a pamphlet, organized a banquet and confeience progiam. sold tickets and celebrated theii tenth anniversary in grand style. Ï our educational committee, too, could v\ ell plan such a program ; a banquet a lively, inviting, well-bal anced program and some specific problem or project to be considered and launched that \\ ill take vour co-op farther up the ladder. Sergeant Burnham TTERE is Mastei Sergeant El- -*- •*• bridge Burnham, formerly of Los Angeles, first subscriber for CO-OP. Sgt Burnham is now in structor in meteorology at the AAF Convalescent Hospital at Fort Lo- gan. Colorado Organizer of a number of co operative groups, some urban, some agricultural, he has served as his torian with the California Coopera tive Council, was Eoi two years a cooperative specialist for FSA for one year a cooperative and re- employment adviser to the Cali fornia State Relief Administration. He toured parts of the country, studying and lecturing, in 1940 Lobbying in Sacramento during the 1941 legislature Sgt Buinham was instrumental in obtaining the California Cooperative law. Just prior to his entrance into the Army Air Corps, he was a member of the Cooperative Housing Committee of the California Housing and Plan ning Association. Sgt. Burnham includes among his writings chapters in "Consumers' Cooperative Adventure'" (1936) and studies for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (1937) CO-OP—January, 1945 We OWN Dur Stores How Cooperative Consumers of New Haven (Conn.) Capitalize Their Business Beyond Par By MARY K. WARREN Fasfern Cooperative Wholesale CINCE September, 1936, Coopeia- tive Consumers of New Haven has had the policy of quotas for capital stock at the rate of $5.00 for each year, until $50.00 shall have been reached. Five dollars, or one share makes a family a member, and the maximum investment allowed is $200.00. Have Tested Formula The minimum investment figure was arrived at in this way: We in quired and learned that A & P plans on investing- $30.00 for each family they expect to serve Good, said we; we will make a quota of $30.00. But, said the far-sighted, do we wish to restrict ourselves to be ing rivals of A & P ? No was the answer; on the contrary, we are sure there will be other projects that we will wish to finance our selves. Therefore, we agreed, let us make it $50.00 as a minimum before one is entitled to "rest on his laurels.' Let us urge those who car to put more than this into owner ship of the means of distribution, but let us also put on a restriction, lest our society go the way of others where one member has "bought out'' the others Certain realists felt that it would be difficult to collect such funds from people who need a cooperative most. The answer was that, of course, there would be people who could not come up to quota, but every year there have also been many members who have been able to apply their purchase refunds to their capital stock accounts until these are up to quota. Said someone with clerical experi ence, won't we need a terrific amount of bookkeeping? Just think of all the stock certificates we will use! Luckily, there was a lawyer among us, and he suggested that we use passbooks, such as are used in credit unions, and reserve stock certificates to issue on demand. There has been no such demand, since our best legal advice indicates no advantage to the holder of a certificate. Statements Mailed Yearly, when we have computed net savings, we mail to each mem ber by first class mail a statement of the amount of his purchase re funds, broken down for each type of purchase, whether store, dairy, or contract purchases, and the amount -CREDl UNION ,*-.» r » :. é that is available for credit to capital, with the quota balance due from the member. A time limit is set for the receipt of complaints on the amounts of the purchase refunds, and for the with drawal by the member of any pur chase savings remaining over his quota if it has been met. If it ha<= not been met, the office is not au thorized to make payment, but cred its the refund to capital. If, on the other hand, the member has the maximum ($200 00) in capital, a check is drawn paying the purchase savings to him. Many Complete Quotas How does it work? Normally, we try to get at least the initial $5 00 from each new member. Then, the following March, he receives pur chase refunds of, say $3.10. In a surprising number of instances, the member will come in "with the $1.<30" to make up his capital quota Mary K. Warren, who tells about the New Haven co-op's capitaliza tion methods on this page, is shown at the desk in this picture of her co-op's office. She became a member of the New Haven Cooperative Club in 1935, its secretary soon after, a credit union member in 1936, an incorporates of the Co operative Consumers of New Haven in 1937, assistant bookkeeper in 1940—after six years of volunteer work. She served for four years as a director of the Eastern Coopera tive League, has visited and studied many cooperatives, recently joined the staff of Eastern Cooperative League and Wholesale, at New York City. 10 CO-OP—January, 1945 GENERAL INFORMATION CAPITAL PASSBOOK This passbook is issued as a receipt for the amount of your investment in the association and shows how it has accu mulated Your passbook will be kept up to date if \ou present it for posting periodicall). Issuance ot this payback indicates acceptance of your membership applica tion. Only applicants with one or more shares of stock arc entitled to full mem- beiship privileges For details on tiansfer or sale of shares, interest on shares, joint membership, etc., please refer to the b> -laws. Federal siamp taxes on stock issuance, sale, or transfer are payable by the member. Please report loss of passbook in writing Kindly notifv us of any change in address promptly Date Joined- Non Assessable Common Stock Par Value $5 00 Registered, Transfer Res t nc ted COOPERATIVE CONSUMERS OF NEW HAVEN INCORPORATED Under the Consumer Cooperative Laws of the State of Connecticut i Shown above are outside and inside of New Haven Co-op's passbook. for the year Others, because the need tor capital is kept constantly before them, come in at different times during the year to make de posits to their capital accounts In the last seven years we have expanded seven times. Each expan sion involved the use of consider able new capital. We have had to borrow to meet these expansions, and we have done this usually from individuals, though we have had one credit union loan and one bank loan. We issue bonds, which are mostly held by people who have reached the maximum for member capital, and are able to help further. The borrowings are necessitated bv the expansion moves because the member capital tends to come in fairly regularly, while the need for it is spasmodic In every case, how ever, the steady influx of capital has speedily liquidated the loan, and, as this is written, with the exception of the bonds referred to, we owe nobody; our capital quota with our regional cooperative ("Eastern Co operative Wholesale) is paid in full, and we own every piece nf equip ment in our three stores. Swedish Co-ops to Expand Production Operations XT ILS THADIN, member of the staff of Kooperativa Forbundet, Sweden, reports that expansion of production and distribution of household appliances will be the first postwar objective of Sweden's consumer cooperatives. A motion picture educational campaign is al ready underway to educate Swedish housewives in the use of household appliances. Production of farm supplies and machinery will be the second point of expansion. Swedish co-ops now operate two farm machinery and implement factories, are building a large fertilizer factory, have com pleted plans for construction of a nitrate factory. Third expansion program will be in the field of build ing supplies. Every item of supply for the building of the home—lum ber, bricks, cement, glass, bathroom fixtures—is planned for coopera tive production and distribution. How New Haven Co-op Builds Capital 40,000 Patronage 8,000 Member Capital 35,000 7,000 Average Weekly Patronage (6 month periods) 30,000 5k ^* Expansion Projects 25,000 Co-operative Consumers of New Haven (Conn.), Inc ,20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3J)00 2.000 LOOO 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 CO-OP—January, 1945 II Let's SHOW UP THE GOODS /CONSUMERS — whether they ^ shop in the Co-op or anywhere else—dig for their wallets under two impulses Either they come with their minds set on a definite pur chase, or they see something which they want to buy but didn't know it. That's where display comes in. Proper display puts before the consumei a useful commodity in its best light. The display makes vivid what the commodity is, what it does, and how much it costs. It is a snappy, friendly, reminder of articles which patrons may have forgotten they wanted. The profit store (,or warehouse or station) exists to sell the largest amount of good ; at the greatest pos sible profit. All else is incidental. But the Co-op has a different reason for display and for the "salesman ship" which good display demands. The reason is service, making it as easy and as satisfying as possible for the patron to meet his or her needs. And one fact further : in the Co-op the idea we offer is on dis play likewise, so that if we can create an impiession that the Co-op, its merchandise, its personnel are at hand for the purpose of service, first and always, we may feel assured that our display will click. These suggestions are taken large ly from an excellent booklet issued recently b\ the Farm Bureau Co- With Good Displays By RICHARD LEEKLEY Executive Assistant, Council for Cooperative Development operative Association, Columbus, Ohio, entitled "Display in a Farm Bureau Co-op," and prepared by Ray Stew art and Bill Sheppard of the Ohio Co-op's promotion de- pai tment Here are some of its top-notch "how-to-do-it" suggestions : • The simplicity and directness of purpose of Co-op display require that it be kept plain and functional. No need for fancy equipment, elab orate lighting ur staging. • Everything is on display—walls, windows, floors, shelves, merchan dise, and certainly employees. The attitudes and appearance of the per sonnel are part of a good display, and can either spoil 01 increase its effect. • A sign is a must, but too many signs in and around the display will hurt, not help And for the extra cost, it pays to have signs made pro fessionally. Thev should be kept simple in style and information. • Merchandise to be taken from display should be easy to reach, and Island Displays Island shelving accommodates mass displays either at ends or in the cen ter. They may be conveniently made in two sections to achieve versatility. that means eas> foi neat little ladies to reach- not 6-footers. Out of bounds—which means higher than four or five feet, lower than three— merchandise is not able to serve as a reminder, hence is not on display at all. • Commodities on display in mass or jumble style (both effective; should always have a "starting gap" —a point which seems to say "pick here." Perfect, symmetrical display seems to cry, "don't touch me " • The less seen of the mechanics of the display the better, because not it but the merchandise is there to be seen and studied. Thus simple islands (as shown on this page), simple, clean colors, plain, informa tive signs and (if necessary) litera ture, become the rules More Tips And here are further tips to spark the presentation of the Co-op and what it has to offer : Displays should be changed fre quently. In the case of foods, once a week is effective ; automotive sup plies, hardware and dress clothing need not be changed so frequently unless demand runs heavy and we are dealing with several hundred people weekly. A skimpv display gives an effect opposite to plenty and adequate service. One still sees Co-op dis plays in which the goods are pre sented as though they were fine jewels, each resting on its velvet pad, each crying aloud, "You'll have to fight to win me." Let the patrons guide the making of better display. If many questions are asked, if there is hesitance and reluctance to pick from a display, something may be wrong. A handy notebook for display criticism and suggestions will prove its value. All employees should be encouraged to use the notebook to record fresh ideas. A word about equipment for is lands and floor and wall displays. Both the Ohio Farm Bureau Co op's promotion department and the National Co-op Equipment and De sign Committee have facilities to meet specific problems. The first named group, with offices at 246 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio, can either deal with your questions on equipment or route them to your own regional information source. The E and D Committee in colla boration with National Coopera- 12 CO-OP—January, 1945 tives' advertising department has prepared a booklet on displav equipment which you will \vant to see. Send foi youi copy today ; address the Committee at .M3 S Dearborn St., Chicago 4, [11. The new booklet deals mainly with steel-bracket type wall and is land equipment which answers the requirements of plain, Functional layouts available at reasonable cost. These new layouts also have the ad vantage of offering a standard pat tern for Co-ops everywhere. Appearance Improving The trend toward standardization of appearance of the Co-ops has been stepped up much during the Centennial Year ; is, in fact, one of its highlights. This is all to the good. Our friends who have not yet come to use the Co-ops—our own members and patrons, when they seek the Co-op in some strange cross-roads—will appreciate the value of standard appearance. The Co-op that is easy to find, because it looks like a Co-op, has the advan tage in terms of patronage. Standardization o f appearance comes through the common use of the national Co-op colors—ivory and forest green, through the com mon use of the widely recognized brand CO-OP in exterior signs and advertising, through the use of standard interior equipment. Advice Co-op Shelving Supports These sup ports come in various sizes for different purposes. Type illustrated at left is for use against wall. Illustration at right shows how supports may be backed up for island construc- tion. Unskilled persons can easily con struct shelves with this equip ment. &" ~4 j and help on these points is available through your regional Cooperative or the National E and D Commit tee. Finally, on the use of color. The Ohio booklet thoughtfully lists colors in terms of their values thus warm colors are red, orange, yellow, brown, gold; cool color? are blue, green, white, silver, and gray. For strong legibility, try these color combinations : the national colors —dark green on ivory, black on yel low , red on white, blue on white. The color of a display must he kept simple (unless you are plan ning a trick layout) with one color ( such as green i dominant Too little color is a much sounder rule than too much And in color, in design, in infor mation, in all the factors of display, the best job will be done by those who remember that it is service we are offering—service to the con sumer — service which anticipates and meets his needs. What Co-op Week Will Accomplish *TpHE following report, published in -^ the November, 1944, issue o1 the Vermont Farm Bureau News, speaks eloquently on the value of promoting Co-op Week in your state : "Cooperative Week, October 15 to 21, in observance of the centennial vear of cooperation, in Vermont pro duced the following results : "1 Three 15-minute radio broad casts including Governor Wills' state government program. "2. Six two-minute ladio coopera tive messages, one each day. '3. Cooperative speakers at North- field. Newport, Waterbury, Morris- ville, Chester, St. Johnsbury, and prob ably some other Rotary Clubs. "4. Open house inspection of seven United Farmers plants with a card from the head office to ten to fifteen thousand members calling attention to the \\eek. ''5. An intensive drive to acquaint more people with the benefits of co operative insurance "6 Open house at Plainfield Con- sumei Cooperative. "7 \Tembership meetings on a neighborhood basis in Burlington Con sumer Cooperative. "8 News items about Vermont co operatives and the celebration in many state daily, weekly, and in National cooperative newspapers and maga- /iues " Safety First The woman autoist posed for a snapshot in front of the fallen pil lars of an ancient temple in Greece. "Don't get the car in the picture," she warned, "or my husband will think I ran into the place." —Cooperation CO-OP—January. 1945 13 i s, •> W/iof f/ie CD-DPS Did In 1944 By WALLACE J. CAMPBELL W'H S° down as a year ol crisis. But, as Eastern Co operative League's Bob Smith de scribed it, each crisis has been a "crisis of îuccess " Pioblems have grown out of: (1) lack of man power to meet expanding coopera tive business, (2) lack of goods to meet the over-abundant demands ; ^3; lack of time on the part of co- operators to take advantage of the opportunities which have grown out of this year's development. Co-op Drive Into Production This was undeitaken several years ago to meet competition. It has be come intensified by necessity to as sure source of supply. Among the new production facil ities purchased or built during the year were the National Refining Company'^ $4,000,000 refinery at Coffeyville, Kansas, plus a thousand miles of pipe line and 276 oil wells; a new feed mill in Texas; a new chick hatchery in Ohio ; a quarter million dollar red cedar shingle mill in British Columbia; a new half million dollar feed mill at Scherer- ville, Indiana; soy bean processing plants in Indiana and at Coffeyville: and a half interest in a coal mine in Kentucky purchased by the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperatives Canadian cooperatives purchased a farm implement factory, a new flour mill, a compounding plant and a lumber kiln. The coffee roaster installed bv Eastern Cooperative Wholesale a year ago was reported to have paid for itself in its first year of opera tion. The feed mill purchased by At right is an exterior view of the new soy bean extraction plant constructed at Danville, Indiana, by the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Assn. dur ing 1944. The plant uses the chemical reduction method of processing. 14 Pennsylvania, Ohio and Southein States cooperatives at Reading, Ohio, paid for itself in 17 months. Pennsylvania and Southern States cooperatives have launched a dust production program for plant pro tection. Texas cooperatives started a capital drive to buj an oil refinery. Ohio cooperatives purchased a fer tilizer and desidulation plant. Sev eral other regionals undertook new production activities or are on the verge of developing new facilities. Buildings Midland Cooperative Wholesale, faced with a bottleneck at headquai ters, purchased a $200,000 ware house in Minneapolis CCA bought a two-story office building in Des Moines for its Iowa headquarters and a five-story office building m the heart of Kansas City to head quarter its growing activities. Sei eral regionals increased their warp houses and distribution facilities Ohio Farm Bureau Coopeiathe Association, for example, opened 18 new service points to take more adequate care of its $20,000,000 busi ness. Insurance The Farm Bureau cooperative in surance gioup extended its service to include hospitahVation, health and accident insurance and several other service policies. Coverage vol ume hit a new high in spite of the fact that the taking of many autos from the toad brought a reduction of need for auto insurance. Five co-op insurance companies in Minnesota and Wisconsin undertook "combined operations" and headed for new record business. Group Health Mutual in St. Paul, Group Health Cooperative in New York, and Group Health Association in Wash ington reported their largest opera tions. City Co-ops Expand Co-op food stoics blossomed in the face of the general trend of private profit business to close up retail outlets. New York City's finest co-op foud store was opened in Greenwich Village and was ex pected to do a $7,000-a-week busi ness by the close of '44. Two new food stores were opened in Wash ington, D. C. and three moie are planned as soon as store locations are found. Chicago area co-ops and Detroit cooperatives reported sev eral new openings. In CCA terri tory 17 self-seivice stores were opened • 23 new co-op stores were opened in ECW territory in the first 8 months of 1944 Central States Cooperatives report 11 new \ CO-OP—January. 1945 stores, and Midland and Central Co operative Wholesales reported new openings as city co-ops started to "go to town " Burkhardt Village Most spectacular co-op step in the year as far as the general public was concerned was the $29,000 pur chase of the property constituting the remainder of the village of Burkhardt in Wisconsin. Midland Cooperative \Vholesale had pui- chased the Burkhardt mill in 1943 when Burkhardt was threatened with becoming a "ghost town." With increased production, the mill needed space for its employees and as a result of negotiations with the Burkhart family purchased the re mainder of the town. Newspapers from New Guinea to Normandy made feature stories of the project. In the Public Eye The Washington Conference on International Cooperative Recon struction brought together repre sentatives of 22 nations who drafted a 14-point program for reconstruc tion including the proposed estab lishment of an International Co operative Trading and Manufactur ing Association, close cooperation with UNRRA. and endorsement of a Freedom Fund for cooperative reconstruction. The Cooperative Centennial Con gress, biggest and best in coopera tive history, brought nearly 1500 delegates and visitors to Chicago to review accomplishments and plan for the second century of coopera tion. Three Cooperative Missions from abroad were in the United States at one time this fall. The Bolivarian Cooperative Union sent Dr. Antonio J. Guzman. Dr. Francisco Luis Jiminez, Dr. J. M. Perez Machado and Prof. A. Fabra Ribas The Eng lish cooperatives sent over Mr. A. Davies, Mr. J. McFadyen and Mr. P. Robinson A Scottish deputation was made up of Messrs. Hewitt, McPhail and Lindsay. Finance Association As historj is written perhaps the most notable event of the year will be the incorporation and establish ment of the National Cooperative Finance Association, designed to pool credit and capital resources, and to serve as a keystone of a co operative finance structure Credit Unions, ahead} serving nearly four million members staged CO-OP—January. 1945 two international drives for new membership during the year. New Recognitions President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a letter to the Conference on International Reconstruction in which he pointed out that The cooperative movement, which belongs to no one nation but has its roots in the traditions of all democratic peoples, is there fore one of the appropriate instru ments to be used in this task (re lief and reconstruction). "I look forward to the success of your conference and to the contribution that the cooperative organizations throughout the world will make to the years of peace that lie ahead." T he New York Times declared in a lead editorial (January 18), that "the cooperative idea may play a vital part in reconstructing the world after the war and in prevent ing future wars." The governors of \Visconsin, Minnesota and Vermont, issued proclamations setting aside state wide Cooperative Weeks during the year. The International Labor Office renewed its endorsement of co operatives. Many labor and re ligious organizations also passed enthusiastic resolutions. The White House Conference on Rural Edu cation invited Cooperative League President Murray D. Lincoln to speak at its Conference in October. A special Catholic Cooperative Centennial Committee was estab lished and held two nation-wide rallies during the year. Benson Landis of the Federal Council of This is a view of the self-serve super market opened hi Greenwich Village, New York City, by Consumers Co operative Services last year. Volume just reached $7,000 weekly. Churches wrote a striking booklet. "Bethlehem and Rochdale," which was published during the year. Utility Battle The biggest co-op battle with the electric light and power companies to date was fought over the pur chase of the Ohio-Midland Power Company. Cooperatives won a three year battle for the right to buy it and immediately dropped connection charges from $300 to $5 Tax Fight The National Tax Equality Asso ciation intensified its battle against the cooperatives and hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised from small business to be used in the attack. Cooperatives set up sev eral state wide associations and a National Association of Coopera tives to carry the counter attack. Meanwhile cooperatives won the Midland Rate case on oil transport, thereby saving hundreds of thou sands of dollars to mid-west con sumers The United States Court of Tax Appeals decided in favor of United Cooperatives in a case at which the right to pay patronage dividends was at stake. Employees The latest survey of cooperative employees indicates that we have now 21,722 full time employees in the cooperatives in the United States affiliated with National Co- (Contimted on Page 17) 15 THE HOTTEST ISSUE Before the American People Today* By WILLIAM E. SANDERSON President, Wisconsin Association of Cooperatives D ECENTLY A gentleman called at our offices to discuss mat ters pertaining to our cooperative operations. This gentleman \va.s from the .staff of a nationally known magazine, sent out on an extended tour of the U. S., to make a com plete examination of the coopera tive movement, which was to he the basis of a feature article foi that publication. Allow me to quote a .significant statement he made to our managei and his associates. "THE HOTTEST ISSUE BE FORE THE AMERICAN PEO PLE TODAY, WITH THE EX CEPTION OF THE PRESIDEN TIAL ELECTION, IS THE NA- TIONAI ATTACK DIRECTED AGAINST THE COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT." Inasmuch as [ have spent much of my time the past ten years in the National Capital, and have had every opportunity to learn what is going on in a national way, [ can vouch for the accuracy of the state ment. Time to Be Calm This is no time to lose tempers. 1 know how it feels to be held up to public lidicule for working for a cause you believe right. I know how many of you must feel, to be suddenly referred to as Com munists, anarchists, Socialists, tax dodgers, destroyers of "The Ameri can way of life," opponents of "free enterprise," and what not. That's what you're being called; and if you don't know it yet you will. And that goes for any and every director, officer, employee or patron of every nonprofit business under taking, whether their association happens to be a creamery, cheese factory, elevator association, oil sta tion, feed and farm supply co-op, credit union, insurance co-op, or mutual, REA co-op, grocery store "Excerpts from an address by Mr Sander- son to the first annual meeting: of Wisconsin Association of Cooperatives, at Milwaukee, No vember 3, 1944. Mr Sanderson is also Sec retary of the Farmers Union Central Exchange, St. Paul, Minn. or what have you The attack is clear across the board. This challenge must be met in telligently Don't blame people for misjudging v ou and your movement when they know nothing about it. It has taken an attack of this na ture to sake us up According to mv cooperative philosophy, the objective oi the co operative movement isn't to put our private competitors out of business. All we are trying to do is to estab- Action at the Local Level Counts \\7E CHOSE the accompany - ing paragraphs from Mr. Sanderson's address because of the suggestions they contain for procedure on the part of local co-op leaders. It is important to answer the arguments of all who "work" for the NT E A objectives, and your legional is providing literature with w Inch to do this. It is also yerv important to spread the understanding of co op objectives and methods amongst all possible members and leaders of your community The more friends for the co operatives, the thinner the ice for the opposition. REMEMBER Co-ops are recognized as "the only way out" by thousands of economics, educational, religious, farm, labor, and industrial lead ers Man> big business oiganiza- tions are beseeching the co-ops for post-war contracts. Patronage savings returns are not taxable as income because they are not income to the co-op. Co-ops pav every other tax on the books Only opponents of co-ops are concerned about "co-ops not pay ing enough taxes." lish some decent yardsticks in the fitld of production, processing and distribution. We have lived through depiessions. periods of vasf unem ployment and the resulting hard ships that go with such conditions. Distribution Is Need The government has had t actually feed people to keep them from starving and dying from exposure Why ? Is it because we didn't have factories minerals, skill food, and cotton and wool? No. It was be cause we had too much. Starvation and want and exposure and fore closures, because we had too much ! WE JUST COULDN'T DISTRIB UTE AND PROCESS OUR OV ERWHELMING ABUNDANCE. THAT'S THE JOB THE COOP ERATIVE MOVEMENT ,.S UN DERTAKING, AND THAT'S THE JOB WE'LL DO, IF WE CAN STICK TOGETHER AND KEEP OUR SIGHTS LT I've just obtained a cop) of a most interesting documen- A na tional coopeiative organi^at'on em ployed the services of a nrm of consultants to make a aui among numerous groups in the United States and Canada. Interviewed were manufacturers, pro ce 3, dis tributors, transporters, and ^xport- ers of agricultural produc Also publishers, radio editors, 3tate and national government officia's includ ing governors and cabinet members. Church leaders of all faiths were interview ed, labor leaders college presidents, retailers, and ti st im portant of all, your member The report is as yet confidential The purpose of the surve} was ascer tain what a cross-section these groups frankly thought aHout the coopérât« e movement. Many Businessmen Approve I cannot reveal the answer ex cept to say that we have an amaz ing number of friends, that we had no right to assume would be our fiiends. Some of the criticism really hits home. The degree of ignorance on the part of our ow n members as to what the cooperative movement is all about is alarming- Less than 20 per cent of our mem bers know anything about a co-op's tax status. Among busines« and professional groups, the degree of approval of the cooperatives was equal to that of our own members. What I am trying to impress upon you is that as the fight becomes more fierce, and as a result, our 16 CO-OP—January. 1945 movement becomes more publicized, the cooperatives are going to have company. Mr and Mrs America are going to call on vou The first impressions gained bv those who (out of curiosity, if tor no other reason) look into oui opeiations. may be lasting impressions Those people will judge us b\ oui appear ance, our knowledge of our pur pose and our ability to transmit that knowledge tn others Hard Times Coming We must convince our new audi ence that cooperators are progres sive, not only in their philosophy but in their operations. The old problem of "destitution in the midst of plenty" will be back with us, too soon after the war. Are co-ops going to recognize their new responsibilities ? Now a word to the aveiage small businessman. ] wish I knew what the future held for you. Frankly, 1 don't. There are obvious signs all around you. No one can deny that the present plans of very many large national corporations call for tremendous postwar expansion in the field of chain distribution Many manufacturers have even an nounced that they no longer expect to depend on the small private dis tributor, but have made extensive plans to establish factory stores What Happened in 1944 (Continued from Page 15) ops and The League. There are 5,852 people employed by the re- gionals, 13,189 by local co-ops, and 3,017 by Co-op mills and factories There are, in addition, 1,961 insur ance agents. These figures do not include co-op employees and agents in the service now totaling 2,213. Recreations National Cooperative Recreation School was the most successful one to date. Several regional schools were held. The co-op pageant, "In The Hearts of Men," presented largely by cooperative recreation people—at the Centennial Congress and later at New York and Phila delphia, received acclaim as an out standing event of the year. throughout the countrv. The two outstanding examples are tires and electrical appliances. All chain stores have amazing postwar ex pansion plans, [f that system de velops and succeeds, the end is a system of monopoly And let me tell you that you cannot success fully fight monopolies with laws Co-ops Only Way Yes. we have the Sherman Anti- Trust Act. Over the years the De partment of Justice has indicted a number of alleged monopolies and proved the existence of operations in restraint of trade. But what happens ? These monopolists pay their nominal fines, slightly revise their practices and go right on as before I have talked with and heard noted economists express them selves as believing that the coopera tive movement is the only program in sight that can meet the challenge of postwar monopoly within the framework of a political democracy. The cooperative movement has proven, particularly in the Scandi navian countries, that it can meet that challenge. The cooperative movement in the United States has already broken up one of the tight est monopolies that ever existed in this country—the Fertilizer Mo nopoly. Not all business concerns approve of the N. T. E. A. or its tactics. For instance, I am informed that the United States Chamber of Com merce refuses to approve or join in the N. T. E. A. effort although any number of the State Chambers are coopeiating. I understand that the U S. Chamber reasons that a na tional attack on the co-ops will ad vertise the movement and aiouse the curiosity of many people who never heard of it. Then there are business leaders vv ho recognize the coopérative movement as a legiti mate form of competition, and that competition of any kind is good for all business Has Big Fund This fight is very real. I would like to compliment the N. T. E. A and its supervisors for the splendid research job they have done on the cooperative movement The N T E. A already knows moie about the cooperatives in this country than the people who own and op erate them. The N T E A has asked for funds sufficient to provide a budget of 50 million dollars—to put us out of business Now the co-ops are not going to attempt to match dol lars with N. T E. A but we will match our manpower, our confi dence in our program, and our be lief that right will prevail, with all the dollars N. T. E. A. can raise. N. T. E. \. isn't interested in the status of co-ops with regard to in come taxes. N. T. E. A. is out to -.mash cooperatives by any method or means employable. Make no mistake about that. Furthei, you people should he proud that fate has placed you in the cooperative movement. May I sav that we are all in this scrap togethei, none of us can es cape the inevitable results of losing it. When your state association of fice calls on you, please respond. Undoubtedly your state association office will, as soon as possible, get out current information to v ou on the "progress of the war.' Everyone Can Help We may have to hold some county and regional mass meetings. At the proper time it might be ad visable to hold a statewide mass, meeting Your office should get out some material for the use of our local co-op people in combating at tacks locally. Your state associa tion office may not be too success ful in reaching the local press. It will be the job of this membership to get appropriate stories into youi county weekly newspapers. Some of you may have to pay for the space If that is necessary, see if (Continued on Page 25) CO-OP—January, 1945 17 How to ßu//d a Complete LOCAL PUBLICITY PHDGHAM By GEORGE H. TICHENOR Editor, The Cooperator, Eastern Cooperative Wholesale *~pHERE was a man who sat with *• his wife before the fireplace every evening. She knitted and he "played" the cello. It had only one string and he always grabbed it in one place and sawed back and forth. After six years she raised her head : "Eustace," she said, "this after noon I went to a show they called a concert, and I saw a lot of men playing things like you've got there. They had a lot of strings and they kept moving their fingers this way." Then she tucked her head. He raised his : "Maria, when those men were fooling around with all those strings and moving their fingers up and down like this, they were hunting for something." A pause; then he added, exultantly: "I've found what I want!" Having found what we want, many of us benevolent fanatics are impervious to the adverse effect our method of approach may have on others. Three Steps There are three sets in any sort of publicity : a) contact the pros pect where he is. b) Demonstrate that his problem is also your prob lem and, c) show him that your an swer can also be his answer. Most of us start with point "c" without every inquiring into the prospect's interests or what he con siders to be his problem. There are generally four outlets foi publicity for a local Coopera tive : The regional paper, a mimeo graphed or printed local bulletin, the local newspaper, and displays. Every member should get the re gional paper, because it is the cheap est, most informative, and easily dis tributed piece of literature we have. Also a bundle should be ordered for the store to give to newcomers. Our papers are sufficiently presentable to give a newcomer an impression of 18 the wide extent of our movement and strength. Appearance Primary The most important consideration of a local bulletin is the appearance. I know it would be virtuous to lay stress on contents first, but with all the demands on everyone's time no one will waste time trying to de cipher a repellant piece of literature. Three things make for good appear ance: 1; good clear type—which, in the case of mimeographing, means careful typing, 2) art-work, and 3j headlines. In the Cooperative movement we go on the theory of "lift and let lift" and should have no hesitation of picking up lively illustrations wher ever they can be found. You might keep a folder for future use. The A. B. Dick Co. will give mimeograph owners all kinds of traceable illu strations free of charge. In Eastern Cooperative Wholesale we have pre pared some lively, whimsical draw ings to illustrate various Co-op com modities and these have been sent to our bulletin editors. No illustra tion is better than a poor illustia- tion. Headlines should be put in with a lettering guide. I suggest two different sizes of single line letters as being neatest and less affected than fancy lettering. Minimum equipment would seem to be a mimeoscope, a utility stylus, two lettering guides and a shading block. As a substitute for a mimeo scope you can use a desk drawer covered with frosted glass and a light bulb under it. Stick to Local News The bulletin should eschew any pretense at covering national news which is properly done by the re gional Co-op paper. Gossipy items with the names of many persons, editorials, household hints, and par ticularly information commodities handled by the store and notices of meetings will very well fill a one or two page bulletin. Don't use paper less than 16 pound, in which case mimeograph ing should be one one side only. You shouldn't mimeograph on both sides on stock less than 20 pound. Che rful colored stocks are desir able, rotated to indicate to readers that this is a new issue. The staff should be well trained and the A. B. Dick Co. gives free instructions to mimeograph owners. For the sake of appearance, the paper should be laid out before it is written with indications where illustrations are to go. You can trace on typewriting paper the area to be filled and write to fill without wastage. Typing should be done before drawings are filled in as the> might otherwise be ruined in the typewriter. An ideal staff is an editor who does most of the writing, an expert stenographer, and an artist who can also letter. Have your bulletin entered under Section 562 PL&R at your nearest post office. This enables you to send out bulletins at one cent apiece us ing precancelled stamps which can be folded over the edges of the bulletin to keep it together. Writing Stories Eastern Cooperative League thinks so highly of the effectiveness of bulletins that each year we have a bulletin roundup and display at our annual meeting. Competent newspapermen divide entrants in the three categories • highest merit, merit, and mention. Since anyone can qualify, no one "loses." Insignia with the proper class designation can be carried by the bulletin for the ensuing year. The technique of writing a news paper story can be learned in half an hour. Expertness comes with ex perience. The first paragraph of a n ws story, called the "lead," tells •who did what, wlien and where Newspapers say they don't like stories that editorialize. Avoid opin ionated writing unless you are quoting someone directly. Stick to the facts. You don't have to use the word "beautiful." If you describe the person or incident accurately the impression is unavoidable. Those Names In using names, always give the full name the first time it appears in the story. Afterwards designate so-and-so as Mr., Mrs., or Miss. Papers like lots of names. Write your name and address and tele phone in the upper left hand corner of the page and the date of release in the right hand side. If there is no particular reason for releasing on a definite date, put "For Release Im mediately." The best time to send out a story is on Friday because Sunday papers are large and Mon day papers are thin for lack of news happenings What is news? News is whatever interests the most people at the mo ment. It is not necessarily the most important event but usually it is something that touches the daily lives of all of us—such as, food rationing. Try to tie-in your news story to "whatever is interesting the most people at the moment." Get to know your local editor. He may have thrown out your earlier stories because he thought your or ganization was "communistic." Sev eral of you call on him. The best time is about three in the afternoon, because on a morning paper, the assignments have just been made, and if it is an afternoon paper, the day's work is done. Activities Tie-Up In our efforts to ape chain stores, we neglect the one thing that they cannot afford to do: educate the consumer. Bulletin boards calling attention to meetings and frames for holding educational posters should be as scrupulously displayed and cared for as anj merchandising dis play in the store. A Long-Rangé PLAN DF ACTION CO-OP—January, 1945 A postwar planning committee set up •**• in June, 1943, by Midland Co operative Wholesale drafted a program of action for co-ops at local, regional, and national levels. Its report, now in book form and titled Planning for Co operatives, includes the following for local co-ops among its "suggestions for developing and expanding the co operative movement" : 1 Conduct a continuous campaign for new members. Cooperate with the regional organization in carrying on educational work for members and em ployees of local co-ops and for the gen eral public. Greater emphasis to be placed on educational merchandising as well as the interpretation of co operation. 2. Conduct a cash businesc in the handling of goods not requiring de livery. 3. Credit anangements should be organized through cooperative credit institutions to enable consumers to pur chase those items obtained on a time purchase method. 4. Formulate definite plans for the accumulation of capital funds for con tinuous expansion tu meet current and post-wai needs Revolving stock funds, CO-OP—January. 1945 For Local Cooperatives loan capital, credit unions, etc., should be used to insure adequate available funds. 5. Merge all cooperative activities in any natural trade area where such merger will contribute to efficiency and financial stability. Constant effort should be made to build the cooperative community both economically and socially. 6. Provide for training coopeiative personnel and afford opportunities for advancement of employees—both to be done in conjunction with regional and national organizations. Provide for old age, sickness, and disability benefits. 7. Participate in all community af fairs for advancing community welfare and demonstrate in a practical way the principle of cooperation. 8. Cultivate and promote the closest possible cooperation with other local cooperatives and with cooperative re gional and national organizations in order to develop a broad common pro gram which can become a major factor in local, regional and national affairs. 9. Adopt policies and prepare plans now for specific projects of expansion and growth to be undertaken as soon as conditions permit f-^ertineni CO-UPS PLAN FOR THE POST-WAR WORLD. 1944. Co op League. 50c. What coopera tives can do working together on an international scale to exchange food and supplies needed b\ the people of all countries. Contains addresses and decisions of an International Planning Conference m which rep resentatives of co-ops in twenty countries took part PEACE THROUGH COOPER ATION, J. Henry Carpenter, Har per. $1.25. In this little book, the author argues convincingly that a true and lasting peace can be at tained, only if men and nations vol untarily limit their freedoms within the moral law. HOW TO TELL PROGRESS FROM REACTION. Manya Gor don. Button. $3. A timely book for the "man in the street" on roads to industrial democracy. Splendid section on cooperatives. BETHLEHEM AND ROCH DALE. Benson Y. Landis. Co-op League. 25c. An exciting survey of 1(J(J years of relation between churches and co-ops Extensively documented. GOOLIBAH TREE. John Gun- termaii and Bill Darr. Co-op League. 50c. A fascinating chil dren's story about Mr. Spingle- spangle, Mr. Wrinkle and Mr. Krm- kle, and the world's only Goolibah tree. Delightfully illustiated. and packs a wallop for adults. CENTENNIAL CONGRESS BOOK. Co-op League. $1. Con tains eight sections. Building a Better World ("staff leport). Peu ple Keep Moving (M. D. Lincoln), A Charter of Economic Freedom (E. R. Bowen), In the Hearts of Men (pageant story), Monopolies Must Go ! (Thurman Arnold i the Congress program, Congress song book and premiere pageant pro gram. Review of Congress business: and resolutions vûll be available later. 19 1 Blackboard and Chalk Are Aids to DEMOCRACY IN ACTION • «"\X7" ELL Jake, the meeting should * have started half an hour ago. 1 guess we better go down on the street and see if we can't find enough members to make a quorum " Finally the necessary 15 members are rounded up and the meeting called to order. "The old board has done pretty well so I move we nominate the members whose terms expire, for réélection," says Stub Jones with an air of "let's get it over with." "Move that the nominations cease," adds Chuck Sullivan, who always makes it a point to get in his 2 cents worth. Current Leaders in CO-OP Literature Co-ops Plan for the Post-War World 50c Bethlehem and Rochdale By Benson Y. Landis 25c Here Is Tonwrrov/ By Wallace J. Campbell lOc There Were Three Men By Robert Stailey 25c Monopolies Must Go! By Thurman Arnold 20c Co-op Comics 2c • Discounts on Quantities Order from your REGIONAL COOPERATIVE By LACEY F. RICKEY Senior Agricultural Economist, Farm Credit Administration That may have a familiar ring to members of many local co-ops But it's not the wa} the} do it in the Mansfield Farmers Exchange down in southern Missouri. They believe in economic democracy through co operation, but they also believe in helping to make it work In the first place their board con sists of 5 members and the entire board is elected each yeai. Theoret ically that might result in the election of an entirely new board with no member familiar with the detailed operations of the associa tion. Actually that won't occur un less the affairs ot the association are in such a state that it should occur. And because the members know it is to be a real election, they turn out in force Minimize Politics Then a temporary chairman is elected—usually some well known visitor who does not know about and is not interested in any local association politic« or personalities. A large blackboard has an impor tant part in the procedure The chairman calls for nominations. They come thick and fast and are wiitten plainly on the blackboard. Nomi nations don't stop with the neces sary five. Not until eight or nine names are on the board does anyone suggest that they be closed. Remarks are called for and if any one has a grievance to air it is threshed out thoroughly before the voting proceeds. Then the ballots are passed and each member writes the names of the five men he would like to have serve as directors. At the recent annual meeting of this local exchange of the Missouri Farmers association last Januaiy nine names were written on the board. As two tellers read the names from the ballots another tallied them on the board where everyone could see. It took a little time, but the interest wa« keen and nobodj became restless. It happened at this election that C. E. Tripp and Chas Camp were A good-sized blackboard like the one in this picture will help in elections explaining plans, and operations, and making reports. tied for fifth and sixth place. The other four high men were therefore declared elected and a run-off ballot was taken to determine which of the two would be the fifth director. Mr. Camp received a small majority. Every member felt that he had been accorded an equal right — equal in fact as v\ ell as in theory — in deter mining who were to manage the business end of his farm operations ; the purchasing and marketing ac tivities of his local association. The constitution of our country provides political democracy. It as sures every citizen an equal "say" in determining who shall manage the Government of national. State, and local units. The cooperative statutes provide a way in which those same citizens can set up or ganizations to handle their business needs in an equally democratic way. Under these statutes the members of each cooperative association can have a real local economic democ racy or they can let the elections deteriorate into a "railroading" pro cedure and then complain of the way "they" run the association. No "Peanut Stand" This Mansfield cooperative, inci dentally, is no "peanut stand" busi ness. In the little town credited with a population of 950, the asso ciation's volume of business last year (1943) was $1,365,879, with net savings O1 $25,401. The manager, Harlan L. Shorter, is interested in volume and savings only as they represent service to the community. "Savings go back to the membeis anyway—either in lower prices for farm supplies purchased and higher 20 CO-OP—January. 1945 prices for products marketed, or in certificates of indebtedness which are expected to be paid off in cash within a few years," explained Shorter 'As long as the co-op provides the best possible sei vice to the members, and savings are suffi cient to provide for expansion and keep the financial condition =tiong, \\e are satisfied " Net worth amounted to $38,404 and certificates of indebtedness is sued for 4 years, up to those issued from 1941 savings, were ordered re tired at the time of the annual meeting. Recently a super-market was added It is as neat and busi nesslike as any city chain store, and its volume is growing by leaps and bounds Put a Co-op Bookshelf IM EVERY LIBRARY he attended the Lake Geneva Co-op Conference a while back, Edmund Lukaszeu ski— he's just "Luke" to his friends—dis covered "The Spirit of Cooperation," by Harold J. Laski. Thumbing through the pamphlet, Luke stopped to read—to ponder—and to plan. A new Co-op employee, he \\a« alert for fresh ideas "Your rounds-man (tankwagon driver, clerk, station attendant; ought t( be selling books, and pamphlets," Laski had written in 1930, ' as naturally as he sells bread or milk (or gasoline or feed or fertilizer) You must often have been troubled, as I have been troubled by the vast number of those in the army of cooperators to whom the Movement is little more than a system of shops which pa} a dividend on purchases. They are the men and women with whom vou have failed " Placed 900 Books Putting these ideas into plans and then action, Luke ran up an admir able record in two-and-a-half months by helping distribute more than nine hundred books to libra- i ies Driving along the shores of Lake Michigan, skirting around Lake Winnebago, and making his way up the Fox River Valley, the Midlandman challenged cooperators e\ei \where. "Donate a set of co-op books to your high schools." "Se1 up a special Co-op shelf in your public library." "Help tomorrow's teachers in today's normal schools live up t( the co-op rules bj giving bonks on cooperatives to their school libraries." From October 26, 1943, to Janu ary fi, 1944, 24 "cn-nps" provider! fifty sets of books to as many li braries These contained more than nine hundred volumes, which are By GLENN W. THOMPSON Director, Membership and Public Relations, Midland Cooperative Wholesale now being used by public and pa rochial high school students, county normal school students (some of whom will soon be teaching;, and the public at large. Steps to Take Luke is a pioneer in this activity hut what he did, any cooperator ma}' do. Here is the plan to follow : Step 1. Outline your plan to the board of directors of your coopera tive. Suggest they pas^ a motion to the effect that your co-op will sup- plv your public library with a set of books on cooperatives—say $25.00 worth. Step 2. Write a letter to the libra rian, telling her that upon request Dear : We are interested in your offer of a bookshelf of literature on co operatives Please make arrange ments with for delivery. Signature Remarks : the local co-op will present the li brary v\ith a bookshelf of liter ature on co-ops. Call attention to the enclosed self-addressed postcard which makes it eas\ for her to ex près« her desires on this matter The postcard, which would be ad dressed to the local co-op manager, the education director or chairman, might read as shown below [f the institution does not want your bookshelf, the authority will say so under "Remarks" when re turning the card. Step 3A. ff the reply is favorable, there are two things to do: (1) get an order off at once to your re gional cooperative, ordering the books for the shelf ; (2) make a personal call on the person who signed the card, in the course of your conversation, thank her for her interest; tell her about when to expect the bookshelf and leave some co-op leaflets. Step 3B. If the reply is unfavor able, write a polite note of regret and enclose the best co-op pamphlet you have on hand. Step 3C. If the manager does not call you in ten days, then you call him and ask if a reply has come in. If there is no reply, then call on the librarian and ask if your letter was received The reply will determine whethei you tell her what the letter contained or whether you ask if she would like to have the books. Let your response be determined by her i eply Be a goodwill builder Step 4. When the books are pre sented to the library, be sure to notify youi publicity director or education committee so that ar rangements may be made with the local newspapers for a picture of the presentation—at least a story will be welcomed by the city editor Use Imagination As you follow-through the above, use your imagination and ingenuitv in both planning and acting. Re member that even executives of in stitutions have been known to change their minds, A "No" today may becomes a "Yes" tomorrow. While it is not advisable to try to get that affirmative reply in the immediate future, a month from now may be a good time to send some free literature to the libra rian providing the pamphlet be short and interesting. A few follow-ups of this sort may lay ground-work for another offei. Luke found SO librarians willing to receive free bookshelves—hun dreds of books that are now well displayed and well used. He planted more than nine hundred volumes : you can do the same—or more CO-OP——January, 1945 21 We Can Deal in BOTH HOPE AMI GHDCEHIES By MARGEDANT PETERS Editor, The Co-op News Central States Cooperatives Miss Peters ]V/fR. FRED RODELL, professor of law at Yale, aimed a lot of crockery and a bottle of mouthwash at us cooperators in an article in The Progressive some time ago, but before any sleeves are rolled up to sling the checkout counter and a copy of the Rochdale Principles right back at him, we had better stop and see why some of these missiles from "a friendly critic" hurt so much when they hit. Mr. Rodell says we are dull, earn est folk, who "believe in" coopera tion a» a religion rather than pro moting it as a money - saving- method of busi ness and that we sponsor ap palling meetings. As to the last point first, I dont know what meet ings Mr. Rodell has been tu, but clearly he has carried on some re search, and had probably just been sitting on a hard chair for a couple of hours getting madder and mad der. We have all suffered through some of these hideously dull meet ings, and, Lord help us, have prob ably at times contributed to the dullness. A Lot Was Truth When Mr. Rodell tells us not to bore the ears off people collectively in meetings or individually in try ing to corral a member, let us by all means take his unkind words to heart. When he says we spend a lot of time converting the converted, almost every leader, whether of League or local, will freely admit he has made a point. It is also unfortunately true that too many of us do exhibit a sense of moral superiority that is the caricature of the missionary spirit. When a friendly critic tells us to shine up our appeals and to use better techniques, let us grant that 22 the "Toad Lane" complex still exists widely in our education as it does m our grocery stores and be as ready to modernize one as the other. In other words, let's keep looking for the things that work best. However, having admitted guilt and accepted guidance to this ex tent, I'm going to start dodging. Maybe Mr. Rodell is just trying to get oui goats, but when he leaves off on method and starts on aims, I'm not going with him. Consumer Is Big Word Mr. Rodell insists on reading "consumer" in its narrower sense : ie. "shopper." Which is OK, but not the whole story. Read "con sumer" as "economic citizen" and it takes in a lot more territory, practically and philosophically. No body can legislate, especially out of a dictionary, as to the "only reason for existence" of consumer coopera tives. In actual practice too many people find too many things in them for that—friendship, status, racial equality, economic education, use fulness, hope, a kind of economic system that makes sense, in addition to savings returns and grade label ing, proud features though the lat ter are. And if these people find also a "way of life," then I think they are righter than Mr. Rodell. Profit business imposes on us a way of life, whether we like it or not. So does non-profit business, and from what I've seen of both I'm going to vote my dollars for the latter. Economic Citizenship Intellectuals who prefer to re main on the fringes of the coopera tive movement, wishing it well and and offering advice (I don't know if this includes Mr. Rodell, but there are a lot of these around), are fond of this particular job about "A way of life" and the fact that many co- operators are given to "believing in" cooperation. Grant that the demo cratic morality of cooperative busi ness may be among the remoter appeals to the new patrons of gro cery store or feed mill who wants to stretch his dollars by group buy ing. Nevertheless it is a factor which must be taken into account in the most realistic and hard-boiled education (promotion) program. We will have to have a system of education for economic citizenship as good or better than our educa tion for political citizenship before we can keep a great big non-profit economy working democratically, even though it is built up as fast as Mr. Rodell wishes with the aid of slick salesmanship and Toujours a Toi. Profit Business Preaches Note also that profit business is spending some of its fanciest adver tising money these days on a cam paign to point out the long range civic virtue of "private" enterprise and the fine kind of world it brings about. No doubt it does this not out of religiousity but because many business men these days are feeling hot on the back of the neck the breath of the questioners who are wondering if among us all we couldn't devise something a little better than this present mess. Let's not be scared of our ideals, [f Mr. Rodell thinks that ih the co operative movement earnestness is inevitably linked with stodginess and idealism with lack of business ability, he has never been exposed to Murray Lincoln, I. H. Hull, or Howard Cowden—to name a few— in front of an audience. Hear them and you recognize the drive that Henry Wallace is talking about when he says "Today we need a great many more persons who will become as deeply motivated by the idea of a cooperative economic so- cietv as the young men of 1776 and 1787 were motivated by the idea of a democratic political society." A lot of people are looking for some constructive idea big enough to be loyal to these days—and the idea of consumer cooperation, I submit, is big enough and construc tive enough to qualify. If we don't enlist that loyalty, perhaps some worse cause will. We can afford to deal in both hope and groceries. Not both in equal quantities to every customer, but in stock for all who want them. As Orson Wells said recently, "Giving the world back to its in habitants is too big a job for the merely practical." CO-OP—January, 1945 Oil Delivery Savings* (Continued from Paye 5) pioved 1>\ titling tank tincks \\ilh mechanical unloading equipment and meters In 1943, 71 percent of the regular tank trucks were equipped with hand, power take-off, <>i gasoline-engine unloading pumps Truck operators agreed that »uch equipment saved considerable time and manpower as compared to hand unloading by cans and was espe cially desirable for filling overhead farm storage tanks. Delivery trips to a farm can be kept to a minimum only if there is adequate storage space on the farm in relation to its seasonal needs Cooperatives have encouiaged farm ers to enlarge their petroleum stor age capacity. Some western asso ciations reported that one-half to two-thirds of the farms now had large tanks i anging from 250 to SOU gallons in capacity Barrels Passed Around Redistribution of barrels among farmers by truck operators aided in meeting storage shortages When a farmer acquired a large tank, his ex tra drums were placed among other farmers most in need of them. Win ter fuel oil patrons were encouraged to loan their barrels to spring and summer gasoline users, and vice versa One of the most helpful efforts to improve efficiency by cooperatives delivering fuel "on orders" was to have farmers give longer notices of their motor fuel needs Many pa trons, in 1943, were ordering fuel 24 to 48 hours in advance instead of 12 hours or less before the war. On the basis of such advance oiders, tiuck operatois have been able to plan daily routes so as to dispose of an entire load of fuel with the least possible mileage. "Standing orders" among farmers helped most truck operators to dispose of all luel in a load before leturning to the bulk station. Largei drops or fills and mini mum order requiiements helped to improve delivery efficiency. Farm ers cooperated by placing orders to fill their storage facilities. Some as- «ociatioiis increased minimum de liveries fiom 25 gallons to 50 or 100 gallons, but compliance with such standards was limited by lack ot storage capacity on many farms. Lengthening intervals for cover ing "régulai, scheduled louto' from a week to 2 \\ccks 01 more aided m the conservation of equipment. Fur ther progress in this respect should be possible when farm storage ca pacities can be in ci eased. Truck operator1- had reduced mile age since the \\ar by discontinuing special deliveries, solicitation of business, collection « ork with trucks, and call-backs fur deliveries or to collect rationing coupons. Most operatois had about all the business they could handle, but the importance of deliveiing a large vol ume in a compact area indicates that efficiency can be improved b} getting additional patrons on routes or in communities already being seived. Improvements in delivery effi- ciencv depended moie upon the adoption of a definite efficiency pro gram supported by educational \\ ork with farmers than upon local opei- ating and agricultural conditions affecting petroleum deliveries. The close correlation between volume delivered and efficiency and the vari ation in delivery records of truck« within the same association indi cated that all cooperatives have within their control the means of improving efficiency. The advantages to fanners of making changes in prac tices and equipment such as increased savings, improved service, or main tenance of delivery service, must be pointed out to llieni if full cooperation is lo be received. Counties Mapped '\nalysis of the patrons' pertorm- ance records with respect to their seasonal and annual consumption of motor fuels and of their purchasing habits i-> necessary, as well a*, data on farm storage facilities to detei- mine needed adjustments in stoiage capacity. It is only by means ot such records that the effects of changes in piactices or equipment can be measured and truck perform ances evaluated. County maps show ing location of pations, territories, and truck loutes should be helpful in keeping mileage to a minimum. Cooperatives included in this study believed that theii wholesale could provide assistance in the im provement of local delivery effi ciency and in conservation of equip ment. They suggested that it provide delivery record forms, publish news articles on improvements in efficiency, arrange for the manufacture and dis tribution of more storage equipment, sponsor studies of delivery systems and practices by areas, and sponsor de livery efficiency contests. Many possibilities exisl for the improvement of dehverv efficiency among petroleum cooperatives. Should gross margins decline, co operatives will find it necessary to operate more effeciently to show operating savings. Economies in the delivery of motor fuel can play an important role in such a program SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR CO-OP Mail the form below with remittance. Rates: One year $2.50. Three years $6. "CUT ON DOTTED LlNE" *Mr. Matter's detailed report, titled Miscel laneous Repoit No. 77—October 1944, is avail able from the Director of Information jnd Ex- teiiMon, Farm Credit Administration. Kansas City 8, Missouri CO-OP—January, 1945 CO-OP 343 S. Dearborn St. Chicago 4, III. Please send CO-OP for remittance for $ . Name Address Date years. Enclosed is _I 23 WOMEN'S BIG JOBS l In Cooperative Development By MRS. ALMER ARMSTRONG Home Deportment, Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Assn. ONE of the very first responsibili ties women in the local co-op- should assume is learning as much as possible about the cooperative way of living and doing business As she learns this she will pass it along to her neighbors and friends. The Cooperative Movement has . i mteiest for each member of the i-imily ; it is like one huge family it self. Certainly no woman would want to sit on the outside of her home and see someone else make all the decisions regarding it. W hy should she sit on the outside and let someone else make all the de cisions about her cooperatûe. Be 100% Patron She should become a well- informed member, one who patron izes all of the services She should be loyal to membership meetings, willing to serve on committees, yes, and assuming the responsibility of becoming a director if occasion demands. Women can serve not only on various committees but they can be educational directors, directors of business, they can take their places on membership drives, in the store or even in field work. Women are certainly the ones to boost the Co-op Food Program be cause as they purchase food and It's got the country talking! WHAT? The GOOLIBAH TREE By John Guntermon and Bill Darr » Get Your Supply Now Before They Are Gone Order From Your REGIONAL COOPERATIVE prepare meals for theii families they will tell their finds to other women with whom they come in contact. Women like details. Theiefore, they will not mind taking care of de tails for programs. Women like to be busy ; therefore, they should seek responsibilities in regard to their cooperative Be Part Owner Women who leain how their co operative functions will take a very keen personal interest in it and will take pride in telling the story— thereby helping the growth and de velopment of their own business. Each one should own stock eithei as co-owner with her husband or by herself. Madame Homemaker should feel she has as much right to make sug gestions as to how her cooperative should operate as she does in mak ing suggestions in the operation of her home or her husband's business Farm Bureau Life Company Passes $100,000,000 Mark HpHE Farm Bureau Life Insur ••- ance Company has achieved its goal for the Cooperative Centennial year by boosting its policies in force to moie than one bundled million dollars it was announced recently Beginning business in 1936, the Life company now operates in twelve states and the District of Co lumbia, writing all types of life in surance, and is served along with the Faim Bureau Mutual Automo bile Insurance Company and the Farm Bureau Mutual Fire Insui ance Company, by an agency Eorce of nearly 2,000. Expands Headquarters The Automobile company recenth purchased another piece of property adjacent to theii present Home Of fice building in Columbus, Ohio With this addition, the insurance company is in possession ol the en tire frontage on High Street from Chestnut Stieet to Hickon, Street, measuring 187M> feet, with a depth of the same figuie. Expansion of operations and need of additional office space led to the pui chase. People Cooperate TjVARMFRS must not lose sight of ' the fact that it i> the man who cooperate-- and not the commodity. In fact, commodities cannot cooper ate Tt takes men working together, intelligent!) in accordance with business rules to make a cooperative function successfully. \ great manv men get the idea that it requires only a fine elevator, and the best of equipment and machinery to make a successful local co-op. The human or personal element in a cooperative organization is the controlling element, and it entirely depends upon the interest that the member take-- in his own concern This mteiest need not stop with the members A popular cooperative is a friend to every patron who comes to its doors.—Will Doulnt, m the Co-op Reporter. A Simple and Realistic People Plan to Build New Homes in Country or Suburbs QUESTIONNAIRES sent out by Small Homes Guides were re turned by 2,443 persons, according to Consumer News Digest, with the revelation that 64 per cent plan to build homes in a suburb or the country, while 30 per cent expect to live in small 01 medium-sized cities. F'amihes in the medium income bracket reportedly plan to spend from $4,000 to $10,000 on their homes, with almost twice as many expecting to finance by a mortgage as by cash. In many cases the pos session of war bonds will account lor high average down payments on mortgages The suivey showed that more than SO per cent want door chimes, electric mixers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and ventilator fans. Many expect to have television sets, quick freeze units, garbage disposal units, ironing machines and air- conditioning. Almost all checked these two statements : "Homes should be better built to save main tenance costs" and "Homes should be simpler and more functional " Voice of Experience "Willie, do you believe the devil vi ill gel you \f you're naughty ?" "Don't know about that, but 1 know I'll get t'.ie devil if I'm found out " —Producer-Consumer CASH POLICY "IXrHEN the Cumberland Farm Bin eau Coopeiative Associa tion, w ith headquarters at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, decided to adopt a strictly cash policy, they stated the case as follows in notices to all members and patrons and also dis played in the store : "The Cash Policy which becomes effective April 1, 1944 will be as fol lows: "1. All sales at each ware house will be strictly cash. "2. All truck deliveries will be cash—if a patron is not at home at time of delivery he will be allowed 7 days to make pay ment in full. Any goods de livered when you are not at home must be fully paid before another delivery can be made. "3. A satisfactory settlement must be made on old accounts The Hottest Issue (Continued from Page 17) \ou can get some help from neigh boring co-ops. ] don't believe we have used the weekly press enough. \t any rate, it will be worth the money it may cost Some of you will have opportunities to speak be fore local gatherings, luncheon clubs, church programs. Allow other people in your neighboihood to know whai vou are doing You will be surprised at the fair lecep- tion you will get. Now, Mr. McCabe, we are going to fight back. Cooperatives have always been fair competition. We usuallv follow established trade practices in marketing farm prod ucts. We don't cut prices or com pete with inferior merchandise in our purchasing cooperatives We desire to, and we will, fight fairly. You set the pace and make the rules. If you want it rough and rugged, we'll fight that way. We are not underestimating vou, Mr McCabe but don't underestimate us. We hope to make >ou wish >ou had never started vour N T E A At any rate "We'll be see ing yuh, BFN ' For Your Co-op by April 1, 1944. It is suggested that holders of such accounts discuss them with the Manager who will in turn bring them to the attention of the Credit Com mittee if necessary. "This sound business policy will greatly strengthen the fine institu tion which you and I own and con trol. Your employees are instructed to follow the policy exactly as out lined above. "Thanks for your cooperation." Prepare For Postwar (Continued from Page 7) has its peculiar problem« and meth ods of operation It would not be i easonable to expect a cooperative engaged in petroleum, farm supplv or food distribution to do a work manlike job of appliance distribu tion with existing facilities Spe cialized personnel is needed to ad vise intelligently a patron concern ing his requirements, and then to place them in operation for him Maintenance Service Vital Of primary importance to every local co-op, then, is maintenance and repaii service Most of the above-mentioned devices will be in more or less continuous operation, performing a service in the home or farm plant that cannot be dispensed with when once started. This means that at intervals they must have the attention of a skilled technician or mechanic to make adjustments, and, in some cases, to repair or make part replacements. Proper mainte nance of refrigeiators milking ma chines, water svstems, radios, and electric ranges cannot be left to the doubtful mercies of "screw drivel mechanics." Special instruments are required; trained and experi enced men must operate them Training of personnel has alreadv been undertaken by National Co operatives and some of the regional wholesales. More schools will be started as conditions wan ant Mam men in military service will retuin to civilian life with thorough train ing and experience in electrical and mechanical work. Just a little added information and preparation, will quickly adapt them for vital jobs in the co-op service organizations. Manuals Being Prepared Comprehensive service manuals for the use of local personnel are in the planning stage, and will be pre pared as rapidly as adequate staff can be developed at National Co operative^ to carry the burden Complete information on the use and care of machines and appliances will be included for the instruction of the ultimate user. The success of all cooperative en terprises, whether manufacturing or distribution, depends on the last link in the chain from producer to consumer—the local cooperative. To be readv to give youi patrons the sei vice they want and deserve re quires planning now In succeeding issues we will bring you the experience of other cooper atives in appliance distribution and -.eivice, together with suggestions that you may be able to use in ex panding vour maintenance facilities. Attention Directors Managers Committee Workers • Improve your cooperative knowledge and ability by study ing at home. • Write -for information on courses. Cooperative Correspondence School Box 1000, Superior, Wisconsin 24 CO-OP—January, 1945 CO-OP—January, 1945 25 Get Your CENTENNIAL CONGRESS BOOK Before They're Gone Editorially Less than 1000 copies of the above assortment of exciting Centennial publications will be available. The combination, as shown below, may be bought for a considerable saving from the total of separate prices. Further, when the covers are gone, there will be no more complete books. Building a Better World (Staff report) ...........__..... 25c People Keep Moving (M. D Lincoln)............. 20c Charter for Economic Action (E. R. Bowen) 20c Monopolies Must Go! (Thurman Arnold) .......... 20c In the Hearts of Men (Pageant Story) ..........._...25c Congress Programs and Song Sheets (With Congress Book only) .. ....... .. .Free Rainbow Congress Book Cover & Binder Fasteners.. 15c $1.25 Entire Book..........$! Order from your Local or Regional Co-op Hello At long last, after a variety of birth pains, CO-OP is in its swaddling clothes, and ready for a long, eventful life of service. Dedicated to de velopment work for the Cooperative Century, it makes a respectful bow to its predecessor, CONSUMERS' COOPERATION, and sets to the enormous task of finding out and relating the best ways to do all of the things that need to be done to build a local cooperative into a strong, highly serviceable institution CO-OP will be most effective if it enjoys an abundance of sugges tions and criticisms from its readers on the Co-op frontiers May we have them ? Forward Into the New Century \s we go to press on the 100th birthday of the Cooperative Move ment, we yield our remaining space to Co-op League President M. D. Lincoln, for what seem to be the most fitting words foi the occasion "The greatest period of cooperative accomplishment lies immedi ately before us. It is not important that cooperatives have only 2J^ million Americans in their ranks. What is important is the fact that today in thousands of rural and urban communities we hear the groundswells of democratic faith—through cooperative enterprise Here is an American institution, and an association of Ameiican peo ple committed to democracy in both belief and practice.'' "In the critical period ahead, the American cooperative movement \\ill contribute more perhaps than any other economic institution to a new declaration of democratic faith in this country," Mr. Lincoln de clared. "For cooperatives stimulate buying power—the prime requi site of a prosperous economy. They ferret out and attack monopoly on the economic battle field. They effect savings for millions of their members which result in more goods to more people at less cost. They return ownership and control of business institutions to the people who use them." "Ahead of America is the task of distributing the abundance we have so clearly indicated our capacity to produce. Toward this goal the cooperative stands—enemy to the abuses of monopoly capitalism and champion of genuine competition and free enterprise. Coopera tives offer to \merican business a challenging moial and economic yardstick of performance." THE DOCTOR BOOK 26 CO-OP—January, 1945 THE CHECK-LIST SHOWS the line's complete AND POUSH »AD WAX AUTO CO-OP Automotive Chemicals The following items, without exception, have been selected by the Automotive Committee of National Cooperatives to assure the best in consumer value : CO-OP Automobile Cleaner and Polish CO-OP Combination Cleaner and Wax CO-OP Auto Cleaner (Pre-wax Paste) CO-OP Wax (Paste) CO-OP Road Tar Remover CO-OP Hydraulic Brake Fluid CO-OP Shock Absorber Fluid No. 100 CO-OP Shock Absorber Fluid No. 200 CO-OP Knee Action Shock Absorber Fluid CO-OP Stopleak Radiator Fluid CO-OP Powdered Radiator Stop-Leak CO-OP Radiator Flush CO-OP Gasket Cement CO-OP Water Mix Valve Grinding Compound CO-OP Motor Weld CO-OP Iron Cement CO-OP Black Top Dressing Regular CO-OP Extra Heavy Black Top Dressing CO-OP White Tire Paint CO-OP Chromium Cleaner CO-OP Touch-up Enamel CO-OP Hydraulic Jack Oil CO-OP Rubber Lubricant CO-OP Graphited Penetrating Oil CO-OP Neatsfoot Oil Compound CO-OP Fire Extinguisher Fluid CO-OP DI-ZOLV-IT CO-OP DI-ZOLV-IT, most recent addition to the COOP automotive chemicals family, is now avail able. Used according to directions on the can, CO-OP DI-ZOLV-IT rids the combustion chamber of carbon by dissolving the binding gum and per mitting carbon deposits to be blown out through the exhaust. «OÄD REMOVEH Local managers: Get catalog pages on the complete CO-OP Automotive Chemicals line from your regional. In the in terest of your member-patrons vour local check-list should show the complete line stocked. NATIONAL COOPERATIVES, Inc., CHICAGO Order from vour regional Cooperative Yessîree! It may have been a coopera tive Christmas issue. It may have been pub lished as part of the Cen tennial year program. It's still the coopera tive movement's first full-color illustrated children's book. It's becoming more popular and more in demand every day. It's good reading and looking for the kiddies who will be tomorrow's co-op man agers and members, and members and board members and employees. ce K ffi g 9 K of the people by the peöp/e, . nrf for the « - op/e a E re M BS 5 03 .3 Q re B An actual letter received recently — Cooperative League Chicago Dear Sirs: About 100 people attended the MCF conference in Detroit yesterday. At the very last minute I was able to do the promoting of THE GOOLIBAH TREE, which I did in just a few minutes. The next thing I knew, silver was falling on the table in front of my popping eyes, as the books disappeared in no more than ten seconds. This book can be the greatest adventure in recent cooperative history, not just because it is a good low-priced children's book, but because it may mark a turning point in good low-priced juvenile literature. I hope a nationwide campaign will be made to distribute it. Had I three hundred copies, I could have sold all of them. I do not think we would be immodest to expect two million cooperators to buy an average of three copies each — and that would bring us another million cooperators. Aaron Aronin, Ypsilanti, Mich. Available from Your Regional Cooperative Retail price, 50c [[ SPECIAL OFFER: CO-OP Magazine will give a copy of The Goolibah Tree with every 3-year subscription 1} II received between February 20 arid April 1—whether received direct or through a regional or local co-op il a B E H l J3 D U u tn K EU CO U I rf oo oo oo 1 ••• MOD OW DECEMBER 21, 1844 — THE ROCHDALE SOCIETY Of EQUITABLE ,, PIONEERS OPENED THEIR FIRST STORE-- WE'LL IMPRESS YES/ AND WE'LL UPON PEOPLE / ALWAYS KEEP THE THAT BUYING / STORE CLEAN!—— FOR CASH / GIVE HONEST WEIGHT - SAVES THEM X AND SELL OMLV MONEV/ /\ PURE FOODS —— 'COSTOM6RS FOUND THE KI6W WAY OF DOING BUSINESS MUCH TO THEIR LIKING --- " I FEEL AS IF I'M DEAL ING WITH MY OWN PLACE WHEN! I , .8UV HERE/ YOU ARE, MAOAM-- VOU HAVE ASHARE IN IT/ r WE PA/ I REGULAR /_, PRICES - BUT WE GET BACK. A PIVIPENP/ A NEW WAY to tell the Co-op story Millions of persons today ore habituated to reading the colorful comic strips. Many of them will get the basic cooperative message through the new 8-page Comic Cavalcade folder who would read it in no other form ^R emplovees got more real education out oi the co-op comic than any of the books or pamphlets we gave them." This is the testimony of the man ager of a mill recently acquired by the cooperatives, after he had pur chased copies of the comic for dis tribution to the employees. Such is one of the many effective ways in which this unique piece of educational and promotional mate rial can be used. The Co-op COMIC is the quick est, most fascinating and under standable way there is to tell the story of how and why cooperatives were organized—and what they are doing today. Just as interesting too, for grandfather or uncle as for little Billy. The first quarter million copies have been »old, and order» are pouring in, report;, Publicity Direc tor Wally Campbell. Stores can well afford to put this leaflet in members' purchases— with a note from the manager offering to mail copie» to names and ad dresses of friends : in non-member patrons' purchases with a note of welcome. Children of cooperators will delightedly pass them to chums at school; church and labor groups should offer opportunities for ac ceptable distribution—and with big results. A local imprint—typed, mimeographed, rubber-stamped, printed—will increase their effec tiveness for response and follow-up. In lots of 100 or more, these snappy "Comic Sections" are only $1 per hundred, and they can be ordered in quantities from your regional cooperative. Get your order in before the present supply is gone, you may have to wait for a reprinting. OUT IN THE COUNTRY NEARLY A MILLION FARMERS HAVE THEIR OWN) ELECTRIC POWER CO-OPS ---- AND 6AS AND OIL CO-OPERATIVES --- YESSIR.YOU CUSTOMERS OWN TH' WORKS --- YOUR OWN STATIONS, TRANSPORTS. REFINERIES, PIPELINES OIL PUMPS —— FROM THE GROUND TO TH' CAR, YOU OWN! IT-- AND SET TH SAVINGS. TOO/ YES/ AND DON'T FORSET.WE HAVE LIGHT AND POWER VN THE BARNIS, TOO/ RUNNING WATER.' WHAT A BLESSING AN ELECTRIC PUNAP is/ VOLT ME ONE NUMBER TWO FEBRUARY, 1945 COOP MAGAZINE Journal of technical assistance and information for local cooperative officers, directors, employees, and committee members • An official organ of National Cooperatives, Inc., and The Cooperative League of the USA • Editor, Oilman Calkins Associate Editors: Hugh E. Bogardus, Wal lace J. Campbell, John Carson, Ellen Lmson, C. J. McLanahan, Otto A. Nurkkala, J L. Proebsting. • Contributing Editors : George Burchara, James Cummins, Davis Douthit, Carl Eck, Herbert E Evans, Herbert Fledderjohn, Glenn S. Fox, Ed Hannula, Leonard Harman, Andrew Hebb, Gardner Heidrick, Allan Holzweiss, George Hough, Carl R. Hutchinson, Erick Kendall, Fred Kessler, Madelyn Kilmoyer, Anthony Lehner, Laurie Lehtin, Iver Lind, M. G. Mann, Jr., Donald S. May, T. Warren Metzger, Merlin G. Miller, Robert M. Mitchell, James R Moore, Robert Neptune, Margedant Peters, L. C. Roenigk, Arnold Ronn, A. W. Ricker, George P. Sanderson, E. F. Scharf, Alfred Sheets, Robert L. Smith, E. A. Syftestad, Glenn W. Thompson, George Tichenor, William Torma, Einar Ungren, E. A. Whitney, J. F. Yaeger, Homer Young. Editorial Advisory Board: James Cummins, Davis Douthit, Carl R Hutchinson, Robert "L. Smith. • Business Manager, Gilman Calkins Regional Circulation Managers : Jack Heino, CCW ; Jean Johnston, Indiana ; Dorothe Mac- Kay, California ; Donald S. May, Texas ; Margedant Peters, Central States; J. M. Platt, Midland, W. B. Robins, Utah; Charlotte Tinker, Eastern. CO-OP is published monthly by The Coopera tive League oi the USA. Editorial and business offices. 343 South Dearborn Street, Chicago 4. Illinois. Printed in USA. Copyright 1945 by The Cooperative League of the USA. Title registered in U. S. Patent Office and used by permission of National Cooperatives, Inc. Subscription Rates: One year, $2.50; three years, $6. Single copy, 25 cents. Mailed any where without extra charge. Change of Address: Send old address label with new address to Circulation Manager, CO-OP, 343 S. Dearborn St., Chicago 4, '11., and allow 30 days for correction of listing. Unsolicited manuscripts are submitted at the author's risk and should be accompanied by return postage. in this issue: Articles What's Ahead for Cooperatives? By A. J. Hayes 5 Training Your Employees? By C. /. McLanahan 7 Cooperators Want Appliances. By Otto A. Nurkkala 8 News about Refrigerators—and Other Appliances 8-9 Please, Mr. Teacher. By C. Maurice Weiting 10 Are Co-ops Ready to Make Postwar Replacements? By E. Fred Koller 11 Functions of Co-op Promotion. By /. L. Proebsting 12 A Sing-'n'-Swing Will Rally Pros pects. By Given Goodrich 14 Midland Co-ops Hold Free Service Day. By G. E. Nevins 18 How to Build a Co-op for Fun. By Ellen Linson 21 Iowa Newspaper Ads versus NTEA 22 Prepared to Take Back Your Sol diers? By Herbert E. Evans 24 Departments Letters The Looks o' Things Current Literature Commodity News What's Cookin' Coming Events What's News with the Co-ops Editorially 4 6 15 16 17 19 20 26 Picture Credits Page 5, Wurfs; page 10, Wurfs; page 15, MCW, page 21. FCA. Wurfs. Officers and Directors of THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE Murray D. Lincoln, president; Howard A Cowden, vice president ; E. R. Bowen, general secretary, L. E. Woodcock, treasurer ; Mary Arnold, Charles Baker, R. N. Benjamin, Perry L. Green, A. J. Hayes, I. H. Hull, Andrew P. Jensen, William Liimatainen, Frances Logan, A. J. Smaby, Dwight D. Townsend, J. P. War- basse. Officers and Directors of NATIONAL COOPERATIVES, INC. I. H. Hull, president; J. L. Nolan, vice president, Howard A. Cowden, secretary-treas urer, A. J. Hayes, chairman; T. A. Tenhune, asst. secretary-treasurer; H. S. Agster, Charles Baker, R. N. Benjamin, Leonard F. Cowden, Ralph Evans, R, W. Hogg, H. H. Hogue, C. S. Jones, A. E. Kazan, Laurie Lehtin, William Liimatainen, Jacob Liukku, M. G. Mann, Bruce McCully, Robert McKay, Robert Neptune, C. C Palmer, R. M. Pierson, Boyd Rainey, W. B. Robins, William Sanderson, Jerry F. Shea, R. J. Scott, A. J. Smaby, W. E. Stough, George Urwin, J. F. Yaeger. Regional Coopératives affiliated with The Cooperative League, National Coopératives, and the National Cooperative Finance Association AMERICAN FARMERS MUTUAL AUTO INSURANCE Co. St. Paul, Minnesota ASSOCIATED COOPERATIVES 815 Lydia Street Oakland, California CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wisconsin CENTRAL STATES COOPERATIVES 1535 South Peoria Street Chicago 8, Illinois CONSUMERS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 318 East 10th Street Kansas City, Missouri CONSUMERS COOPERATIVES ASSOCIATED Box 1150 Amarillo, Texas CUNA SUPPLY COOPERATIVE Madison, Wisconsin EASTERN COOPERATIVE LEAGUE AND WHOLESALE 44 West 143d Street New York 30, New York OHIO FARM BUREAU COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 246 North High Street Columbus 16, Ohio FARM BTTREAU MUTUAL AUTO INSURANCE Co. '46 North High Street Columbus 16, Ohio FARM BUREAU SERVICES 221 North Cedar Street Lansing, Michigan FARMERS COOPERATIVE EXCHANGE Raleigh, North Carolina FARMERS UNION CENTRAL EXCHANGE P. O. Box G St. Paul, Minnesota INMATX FARM BUREAU COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 47 South Pennsylvania Avenue Indianapolis 9, Indiana MANITOBA COOPERATIVE WHOT FSALE 230 Princess Street Winnipeg, Manitoba MIDLAND COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE 739 Johnson Street N. E. Minneapolis 13, Minnesota PACIFIC COAST STUDENT CO-OP LEAGUE Berkeley, California PACIFIC SUPPLY COOPERATIVE P. O. Box 1004 Walla Walla, Wash. PENNSYLVANIA FARM BUREAI COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 3607 South Derry Street Harrisburg, Pennsylvania SASKATCHEWAN FEDERATED COOPERATIVES Saskatoon, Saskatchewan UNITED FARMERS COOPERATIVE COMPANY Duke and George Streets Toronto 2, Ontario UTAH COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 155 Pierpont Avenue Salt Lake City, Utah CO-OP—February, 1945 That Word "Dividends" Dear Sirs : As you invite criticism, I want to call your attention to a serious mis take in letting two of your writers use the terms, "a dividend on pur chases" and "the right to pay pa tronage dividends." Calling saving returns "dividends" has been the greatest cause of the fight on cooperation. Dividends means profits, and profits are tax able. Why invite a fight by using a false term to describe the return of an overpayment? CHARLES T. SPRADING California Cooperative League Los Angeles Mr. Sprading is supported in his contention by the national co-op terminology committee, which has agreed upon—and recommends—"pa tronage savings" or "patronage sav ings returns" as the preferable and least confusing terms.—Ed. We Wrote for Them! Dear Sirs : Have you our own co-ops on your list of potential subscribers? If you haven't got them, would you like them? As you probably know, we have 825 co-ops and these in turn have about eight directors apiece. These co-ops should offer you a pretty good reader-audience, worth a canvas HAROLD HARTOGENSIS Rural Electrification Administration St. Louis, Missouri Reading for Soldiers Dear Sirs : Recently I received a letter from my husband, a captain in Signal Corps in New Guinea, in which he requested some information on co operatives. I quote : "I am getting mentally lazy again —just doing routine work any fool could do. I would like to read up a bit on Co-op movements in any part of the United States. I intend to study that thoroughly with the idea in mind that I may some day get a job aiding in the development of Co-ops in new fields or new locali ties. If you have a chance, will you see if there's any literature you could dig up and send me?" If you have any current pamphlet« or material which would be of in terest I would appreciate it very much if you would send them to me that I may forward them to him. M——~ S—— Emporia, Kansas This is one of an increasing flow of such requests, which the educa- Letters tional department of The Coopera tive League is now prepared to nil with packets of current material at two different rates—50c and $1. If you want the latest information about cooperatives mailed to a relative or friend in the service, send your choice of these two amounts to The Cooperative League, at 343 S. Dear born Street, Chicago 4, 111.; remit for more than one name if you wish; material will be sent direct or to you for remailing.—Ed. Help from the West Dear Sirs : I have requested that our news paper "The Cooperator" be sent to you, as well as our semi-monthly "The Klamath Basin Newsletter." It's one way of getting you in the habit of hearing from us. Come spring and activity of plant- CO-OP replaces CONSUMERS- COOPERATION WE neglected to announce in the first issue of CO OP that this publication takes the place of CONSUMERS' CO OPERATION for all those who had unexpired subscriptions on the list of the former magazine. The same number of copies will be sent as would have been the case had the other publication been continued, despite the fact that the price of CO-OP is higher. One exception, however : This holds for only one copy per issue per subscriber; those who had multi-copy subscriptions for the old magazine will have the privilege of applying the value of their payments for extra sub scriptions to the extension of their first-copy subscription, or additional subscriptions, at the new subscription rate. Those whose subscriptions to CONSUMERS' COOPERA TION are due to expire in the near future are urged to send their renewals—at the CO-OP rate— soon, in order to avoid missing any issues. Check with your local co-op—many are tak ing subscriptions for CO-OP— before sending yours to the pub lication office ing here in this great Klamath Basin Country (you know, the land of unsurpassed clover seed,), I will get out the camera and see what I can do about furnishing you with some copy about us and our prod ucts here in the Far West. PHYLLIS BEARDSLEY Klamath Falls Branch Pacific Supply Cooperative The most valuable instructional material we will ever offer in the pages of CO-OP will doubtless come from reports of the kind Miss Beardsley promises—that show and tell how good things were done in the local areas. We hope other co- operators — and cooperatives — will assume the same obligation.—Ed. Type and Masthead Dear Sirs: I am tremendously pleased to get my first number of CO-OP Maga zine. As an ultimate consumer in the realm of magazines, I have something to say : You print this in too light a type face. This criticism also holds good for LIFE—one of the most success ful of magazines. READERS DI GEST uses a far more readable type face, and has a much larger sub scription list. It takes no more space. You make the same mistake on Page 3 that was made on the for mer magazine : "Journal of techni cal assistance and information for local cooperative officers, directors, employees, committee members (and cooperators generally)." CASSIUS V. COOK Viscose Company Los Angeles, Calif. CO-OP is not wedded to any type face, or arrangement of it, will try constantly for improvement both of readability and subject matter, would like more opinions and suggestions from its "consumers." As to the masthead copy (words in parenthesis are Mr. Cook's), CO-OP's official job is to serve as a trade journal for those who are build ing and operating cooperatives. Since this task involves covering a wide range of data, interpretation and in structions, and since the ideal is for all co-op members to be concerned about the success of their organiza tions, we hope that whatever we achieve will be of interest to co- operators generally. May we ask, though, in the spirit of friendly chal lenge: Are there really any coopera tors who are not in one or more of the masthead categories? A commit tee of one can do a world of good works—and most co-ops are looking for them.—Ed. What's Ahead for Cooperatives? By A. J. HAYES Genera/ Manager Central Cooperative Wholesale TO EVALUATE what the imme diate future may hold, we must start by knowing where we are now and how we arrived there. All of us need not be specialists in the eco nomic, social and ; , political sciences ' • to grasp a good working knowl edge of the world y f. about us by mak ing use of the ac- ? cumulated infor- -, • ' mation available Such a working knowledge of our Mr. Hayes times we must have before we can intelligently gauge the job ahead and the conditions under which it must be done. Today we are living in a progres sively integrated world economy, now mangled by a global war, and wracked by inner conflicts and con tradictions that threaten continuing chaos even in peace time unless positive solutions are found for them. It is to the finding of those solutions that cooperation addresses itself. When we say "What's Ahead ... ?" we think mainly of three periods of time: 1 ) The immediate war period in which we are now ; 2) The immediate post-war period ; 3~) A longer period after that. Present Situation We are now in that phase of the war in which our cooperatives will experience the accumulated effects of war-time conditions upon their operations. The manpower shortage alone can bring about drastic cur tailment of current activities, if the war should continue for any great length of time, and that goes for both local as well as central organi zations. Material shortages—trans portation bottle necks—allocations Mr. Hayes outlines the similarities and differences between the present situation and World War I conditions, and cites the problems co-op adminis trators must anticipate —price regulations—there will be no easing up soon on these. In the years since Pearl Harbor, the record of operations for prac tically all cooperatives reflects a situ ation that is apparently quite satis factory in relation to total volume, total gross margins, total expenses, and total savings of previous years. But that is as far as it goes. The fact remains in the case of many of our cooperatives, that the war has considerably dislocated their normal pattern of operations and growth. It has entirely eliminated or crippled some departments or lines of com modities and services, while others have enjoyed unusual and artificial war-time expansion. For Smooth Operation This "un-balance" of current ac tivity must be kept in mind both in evaluating results of current opera tions, as well as in estimating the prospects for future volume, ex pense, and savings. And since the pattern of operations is not now normal in many respects, its tend ency will be to further complicate our adjustment to the immediate post-war and the later periods. In speaking of Post-War, it is necessary that we distinguish be tween the immediate period follow ing the defeat of Germany and Japan, and the long-range time ele ment thereafter. Both need to be taken into account, of course, but the first is the more immediate and now the more urgent as regards the successful conduct of cooperatives. Inflation Followed War It is well to keep in mind that the really critical period following World War I was the 18-to-24 months following the Armistice in November, 1918. Much of the in flationary price increase of that war period occurred then, to be followed by the sudden disastrous price col lapse of 1920. In a few months, wholesale prices for the country dropped 40% ; those who were caught with inventories bought on the heady rising market went broke. For the. next five years, business failures averaged over 20,000 a year, and retailers joined the bread-lines. Many a cooperative went bankrupt with the rest, and many others emerged pretty anaemic. (cvntinucd un next paye) Prices in America in 3 Centuries INDEX Index Numbers of Wholesale Prices in the United States. 1750-1941, INDEX |»IO-H=IOO as Reported by Dr. Frank A. Pearson I9i0-i4=i00 Peak 232 in Hard Money: May 13. 1781, $1 of hard money equaled $1,000 in paper Silk shirt era; 80 cent butter, 43 cent cotton 1750 '60 '70 '80 '90 1800 '10 '20 '30 MO '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 1900 '10 '20 '30 '40 SO CO-OP—February, 1945 CO-OP—February, 1945 What's Ahead— (continued from page 5) There are, of course, some sub stantial differences in the behavior of commodity prices when compar ing the present period with that of 1914-1918. Outstanding is the fact that while wholesale prices in the four years of 1916-to-1919 rose from an index of 100 to 211 (doubled) and then kept on zooming to 30% more in 1920, they have risen less than 40% during the four compar able years of 1941-2-3 and up to November, 1944 — due unquestion ably to better price control. How ever, some economists fear that this very control, in the face of much greater wartime savings accumulated by the public, could spell an even worse price inflation than that which followed World War I. My per sonal opinion is that we are going to have inflation ; how severe, nobody knows. The Long Trail Ahead How well cooperatives fare will depend more directly than is some times recognized on what income and purchasing power is going to be enjoyed by the farm and city work ers. Despite a lot of whistling in the dark about quick reconversion to peace-time production and guaran tees of 60,000,000 jobs, it's best to re member the sobering fact that, in the collapse of 1920, farm prices dropped 61%, payrolls 44%, farm in come went down to less than $3,000,- 000,000, nearly 500,000 farms were lost through foreclosure, and unem ployment increased by 6,000,000. Effective demand upon the country's wholesalers and retailers nearly van ished—all this within two years after the lush boom days of 1918-1919. In the five years preceding 1930 we made an artificial crawl back—and then : The Great Depression ! Inventories and prices are only two of the factors that cooperatives will have to take into account The question of post-war costs, including taxation, wages, etc., is another. There is also the question of fu ture types of competition, but I have the conviction that the co operatives can and will match any competition. It will need doing— and the attitude of cooperators, by and large now, is that they will un dertake what is required to main tain, improve and expand their serv ices. Here are some of the things I believe are absolutely essential- 1) A good educational job ! A co operative with a well-informed and participating membership, has its Traffic Mix-up : The National Tax Equality Association, reports Con gressman Jerry Voorhis, "attempted to collect $25,000 from the presi dent of a large railroad company." The railroad executive "not only did not give them the money, (but) turned the letter over to one of the large cooperative organizations" ! No Ideas: . you don't hear much about i the RFC; because it is being run bj businessmen, by men experienced in business, by men who haven't any ideas about remaking the world . "—Jesse Jones For Young Economists : NTEA, though snubbed last year when it asked officials of the New York City Public Schools if it could distribute materials to teachers, ib preparing pamphlets for public school pupils, according to Advertising Age. Co- operators will do well to see then- school board membeis, some are expected to stumble Worth Thinking About: "Verse one, chapter one, of economic1; the simple fact that we can have for consumption no more than we produce—is commonly ignoied as a useful tool for sound thinking The dollars involved confuse us. The holders of the $100 billion of wartime savings who have visions of the postwar Utopia at their com mand must, in addition, remember that new postwar production will create its own purchase orders, leav ing someone out in the cold." A prominent economist, in a confidential letter —o So We All May Fly: The first air transport company (United Air lines) made application to the Inter state Commerce Commission last month for a 10 percent reduction in rates (Chicago Sun, January 17), which, it was reported, would bring the cost of a plane trip from Cleve land to New York, for instance, be low that of first class (with lower berth) train trip. Notes on Gethsemane: Booklets recently purchased from The Co operative League literature depart ment by the National Tax Equality Association included "Bethlehem and Rochdale" by Benson Y. Landis and "The Goolibah Tree" by Joe Gunterman. o— Important Goal: "If inter-co operative relations are established, elements of a moral order reappear, in varying but always appieciable degree Throughout the coopeiative chain torged by common efforts, the goods which pass along it no longer represent mere economic values, mere dehumanized commod ities Cooperators both of town and of countryside develop an awareness of the bonds uniting them Between them is established a fellow-feeling which gradually wins acceptance for rules of equity and reciprocity in their dealings with each other and for respect of one another's conditions of life and labour. Inter-cooperative relations thus bring new life to the old moral conceptions of the 'fair price' and the 'fair wage'."—G. Fauqnet, Erench educator. o— "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind."— Horace Mann, in commencement ad dress as president of Antioch Col lege, shortly before his death. foundations set in bed-rock. One without will sooner or later fall prev to every tribulation ill-advised hu mans are heir to. The Story of Cooperation can in spire all of us, old and young—and the many who still don't know that story. It must be told; and that means educational work — and the time and energv and funds to do a gi^od job of it. 2) Sound financing. It ought to be an axiom among cooperators that cooperative business must be co operatively-owned business. As for credit business, I'll endorse heartily — sight unseen — any and every condemnation of it ever writ ten or spoken. If it is not already on a cash basis, then help your co operative to get on it and never stray from it. 3) First-rate service. In the post war period, cooperators may not hope to succeed anywhere (city or countryside) by running a second- rate business, with second-rate equipment, in second-rate premises, and offering second-rate merchan dise and service. Recognition and application of only the highest possible standards of operating practices should not need to be forced upon cooperators by competition; for their own good and the good of their communities they should take aggressive lead in that. 4) Trained cooperative employees. Just as cooperatives can't succeed with second-rate facilities, so can they not succeed with second-rate employees. Employee policies should be such as to gain, train and retain the most enthusiastic and competent workers. Some of our central or ganizations are now working to de velop adequate personnel and train ing programs; much still needs to be done. 5) Nationwide integration. Much closer integration and unification of the cooperative movement must be developed on the regional and na tional scale. To accomplish this, it is important — and we have been over-looking this — that our local cooperatives need to recognize more clearly how helpful an intimate, suc cessful regional and national pro gram can be to them. Farm and City We divide our population roughly into urban and rural. In the rural areas, probably the major job ahead is to achieve much wider recognition and acceptance by agricultural pro ducers of their consumer interests and, therefor, consumer cooperation. It's coming—the signs are all about us. Cooperatives in the cities thus far have, generally speaking, lacked the support of a major section of the population, whereas in rural areas cooperatives have had the backing of the most farmers and their organizations. A more con scious attitude toward consumer cooperation by organized labor in the United States could perhaps spark the growth of urban coopera tives more than anything else. Action so far undertaken to enlist the support and participation of labor groups should be continued. The cooperative movement in America is on the threshold of its greatest growth. For men and wom en of worth it offers a challenge to contribute their best, and an oppor tunity hardly equalled elsewhere to find their own personal good so close to the common good. These students at the first Rochdale Institute cooperative orientation course in the Mid west, held last November, included managers and officers from Connecticut to California. A chat with the board of directors — Do you have a plan tor TRAINING YOUR EMPLOYEES? By C. J. Me LAN AH AN Educational Director The Cooperative League EVERY local board of directors has plenty of responsibilities. Sometimes it seems too many. But let's talk about one of these duties that hasn't been given enough atten tion yet—the responsibility for see ing that the manager and employees are trained and competent to handle their job. Most every co-op director would agree that having an able and alert man on the job is the difference be tween mediocre operation and real topnotch service. The day is past when it was assumed that just any body could manage a cooperative. If, in your cooperative, you've never given much attention to this question—just hired the best man you could get and let it go at that— that's not enough. You should be as concerned about building the best possible employees as you are with building modern, efficient warehouses and storerooms, as con cerned for the proper functioning of personnel as for the proper func tioning of pumps, scales, tanks, mix ers, and trucks. First, it is important to work out a plan. Some cooperatives have made it their policy and responsibility to give at least two weeks of training to every permanent employee. It should not be necessary to empha size that this will mean much to the cooperative in efficient service and increased loyalty, and above all, to the morale of the employees to know that you care about their im provement. Various training facilities and pro grams are now being offered. For training while still on the job, there is the Cooperative Correspondence School. Three courses are available; others are in preparation. Your re gional would like to count your group in on a circuit school, where teachers come right into your co operative. An evening a week for four or five weeks with a JIT or JRT course (inquire of your region al educational director about this) will leave astonishing results. Then you can send your employees to one of the central schools conducted by your regional, and, for advanced training, to one of the appropriate courses conducted by Rochdale In stitute. It may be that your co-op has not taken a full measure responsibility for training your workers in the past because opportunities and fa cilities were not available. This is no longer true. The movement to day has the facilities and methods for helping you fit out your co-op with a crew of well-trained, top- grade employees. Use of them will determine the extent to which they \\ill be expanded. CO-OP—February. 1945 CO-OP—February, 1945 Cooperators Want Appliances- Cooperatives Will Supply Them The appliance committee of National Cooperatives, sur veying the needs of patrons and the facilities of co-ops for handling, decides to "aggressively enter the appli ance field, and establish a full line of CO-OP appliances" NE farm family in four wants a new electric refrigerator: one in four wants a home freezing unit; one in eight wants a new electric iron. These are but a few of the electrical appliances for which farm families expressed a definite desire during a recent sur vey by the Dairymen's League Co operative. Similar results would be obtained by comparable surveys in urban areas. Indicating a tremen dous potential market for electrical appliances, this survey provides a sound basis for an all-inclusive Co-op appliance production and distribution program. National Cooperatives' appliance committee has adopted such a pro gram. Demand is Great Consumers need appliances ; much electrical equipment is in poor state of repair. Faimers and city dwellers are expected to have funds to pur chase these necessities in immediate post-war years. Rapidly expanding rural electrification (much of it co operative) makes an appliance pro gram especially timely. Composed of representatives from the regional wholesales, the Na tional Appliance Committee recently decided that National Cooperatives and its member-regionals should "aggressively enter the appliance field, establish a full line of CO-OP appliances with complete promo tional, servicing and personnel train ing facilities." Co-op Facilities Ample In the opinion of the committee, the existing organizational structure of National Cooperatives, the re- gionals and their member locals is adequate to develop this service. Present manufacturing facilities, fi nancial basis and trained personnel put the co-ops in a position to handle the program efficiently and economically. With a full scale appliance pro gram thus fully justified, the com mittee determined, however, not to indulge in wishful thinking, to plan for a known market. Too many private appliance dealers are taking post-war priority orders with little thought as to when and how the equipment will be available. 8 By OTTO A. NURKKALA Coordinator Electrical and Appliance Division National Cooperative Development of the program, therefore, calls for thorough inves tigation and careful planning of each step. National, with the co operation of the regional and local cooperatives, must determine the specific needs of the member- patrons for appliance items and for facilities for installation and servic ing. Consumers' needs and desires must be the constant guiding factor. Then a unified and comprehensive plan of action must be worked out and followed. The regionals are planning the expansion and training of their service personnel and, where needed, the establishing of separate appli ance departments. They will de velop and finance service depart ments, and surveys of needs will be conducted to facilitate ordering in volume. Coordination of regional appliance programs at the national level will afford accurate timing at all levels and make it possible to furnish locals with trained personnel to get their programs under way. This is the best opportunity the local cooperatives ever had to de- Refrigerator Designing Launched On January 30 the executive com mittee of the Board of Directors of National Cooperatives authorized an expenditure of $30.000 to $40,000 to carry out preliminary designing and engineering work for new post war CO-OP household refrigera tors. The action was recommended to the executive committee by a spe cial Technical Refrigerator Commit tee composed of Ed. Williams, Pacific Supply Cooperative, Walla Walla, Wash".; Vaughn C. Kegg, Farm Bureau Cooperative Assn., Columbus, Ohio, K. W. Hagans, Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Assn.. Indianapolis: and Ted Wes- anen, Central Cooperative Whole sale, Superior, Wis. Together with staff members of Universal Milking Machine Co. and National Coopera tives, the Technical Committee conducted an extensive investiga tion of the refrigerator industry preceding the recommendations. The industrial designing and en gineering firm of Barnes, Reinecke & Rebholz have been retained for development project. Preliminary sketches are expected to be com pleted this month, and after selec tion from tentative designs by National's Appliance Committee, building of test models will be started. Extensive operational tests will be run in the laboratory, and as soon as materials are permitted for building field test samples, actual operating tests under most severe conditions of temperature and hu midity will be run in various parts of the country. Cabinets will be all steel, freezing compartments rust resistant mate rials, and the box will be the finest possible mechanical unit. Storage capacity (8 to 9 cu. ft.) will be ample for farm or city home with extra large ice making facility and frozen food storage. Overall out side dimensions will be kept to a minimum consistent with adequate insulation to keep operating cost low. Primary objective is to make the new CO-OP refrigerator the best there is, rather than make one for a price. velop a promotional program on an entire new line of goods. The locals hold the key to its success. They will, however, need trained service personnel and guidance from their regionals. Appliance merchandising repre sents a new venture for most co-ops. The purchase of appliances is not a routine, repeat-sale process, like the purchase of gas and oil, feed, seeds, and fertilizers. It requires many ne\\ considerations by the regionals—mostly of a merchandis ing and trained personnel nature. The locals, with the assistance of the regionals, must plan to have adequate display facilities for cus tomers, sales personnel that knows the advantages and disadvantages, and all the technical data about cost, specifications, and installation of the items handled. It is also necessarv that the locals have in stallation and servicing personnel and market analysis facilities to check and eliminate poor equipment. For a comprehensive informa tional service at the national level, there will be catalog pages, news paper ads and mats, folders, posters, sales manuals, installation and serv ice manuals and suggested store layouts and designs. National will conduct service schools in conjunc tion with the manufacturers to train local employees for these new departments. This is an opportunity to develop a unified cooperative program on appliances, supplying consumer-pa trons xvith the finest quality equip ment at the lowest possible prices and with the most efficient distribut ing and servicing facilities available. Now is the time for local coopera tives to begin their plans and prep arations to "gear into" the program. Appliance Notes— MANY ITEMS BEING DEVELOPED CO-OP—February. 1945 CONDITIONS in the electrical appliance industry are affected at present by the general tightening up on all civilian production. There are slim prospects for manufactur ing much electrical equipment for piobably six months. Certain spot authorizations were given during the last quarter of 1944, but most of these have been rescinded or made ineffective as the result of manpower shortages. Contacts with numerous manufacturers indicate little change in the situation until the end of European hostilities. Home Freezer Boxes For the past ten months experi mental home freezer boxes have been under field test for operating efficiency and general usability, and a close check is being kept on re ports from the users. Designers are working on necessary restyling to meet the desires of the consumers, as found during the tests. A com plete instruction book is in prepara tion by Doctor Williams, of the University of Minnesota, an eminent authority on frozen foods. Experi ments are underway to determine the best kind of packaging to retain taste, appearance and other qualities ot foods when frozen. Specifications on new home freezer boxes will be available soon through the regionals. CO-OP—February, 1945 Radios The Technical Radio Committee has made up tentative specifications for a line of CO-OP radios, and a designer is to be engaged to style the cabinets. Objective of the Committee is a radio with maximum quality built into its functional parts in order to provide the best possible reception and tone quality com mensurate with price. Value will comprise improved performance and lasting quality. Consideration is being given to television and FM receivers. Washing Machines Several manufacturers have indi cated to National Cooperatives a produced Co-op vacuum cleaners is ready to produce them for us again. For immediate post-war distribution two models similar to the last ones made before the war will be avail able. New styling will be under taken to improve performance and increase eye appeal in conformity with the rest of the line. Electric Lines & Miscellaneous A large number of manufacturers are expected to be producing elec tric irons and other table appliances. First production is expected to be much the same as immediately pre vious to the war, soon as facilities are released for large volume pro duction, and local co-ops indicate readiness for major distribution of appliances, new styles and designs will be undertaken. Milking Machines Universal Milking Machine Di vision of National Cooperatives has maintained its production to the limit of allocations received Sup plies of milking machines are, of course, still very much less than the demand and all regionals have been forced to continue quota allo cations to local co-ops. With in creased war production being de manded, there is a slight possibility of shortages of some parts at times, with consequent delays in ship ments. Electric Water Heaters New production facilities are under construction for fabrication of Co-op electric water heaters. Al locations have been received from WPB for production and as soon as machinery and materials are ready, shipments will begin. Present indications are that first units will be available in February or March. Complete sales information, service, and installation manuals are under preparation. Before the war the Co op water heater was accepted by Facilities of many manufacturers are available to co operatives for research and production; some items al ready under test; where advisable, co-ops will go into production soon as general conditions permit desire to make a complete line of washing machines under the Co-op label. It remains a matter of select ing the best mechanical features, and development of styling to match other new Co-op appliances. Co-op Vacuum Cleaners The manufacturer who formerly unbiased testing agencies as one of the best on the market. All impor tant advantages of the heater have been retained and additional im provements m design and construc tion will be incorporated in the new model. Water heaters offer a tre mendous distribution opportunity (continued on next page) Appliance Notes— (Continued from page 9) for co-ops. Percentage of users is very low, and nearly every farm and home with a pressure water system or city service is a prospective buyer. Water Systems In recent months shipments of Co-op water systems have shown a slight increase. This is largely the result of pressure on the manufac turer and their realization that dis tribution possibilities through co operatives will provide definite advantages in the post-war period. The jet line of systems has been improved by engineering the jet assemblies to conform more nearly to water lift levels and pressures required. Work is under way on development of new models to be produced as soon as materials and manpower are available. Supplies are still much below the demand, however, and rationing of this item may be expected for the time being. Other Items National Cooperatives and the Appliance Committee are working with suppliers of other items, such as heating equipment, cooking ranges, and other major home ap pliances. Current developments in these items will be announced from month to month. Local cooperative managers should begin discussions at once with directors and patrons to develop interest and get facilities in readiness to distribute these com modities as they become available. Freedom Fund Week. The first week in December was observed as Co-op Freedom Fund Week on the campus of Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio. Sponsored by the campus and village co-ops, the Week's schedule included 10-minute talks by students in many classes, a library exhibit, a dance in the gym, several special meetings, and milk bottle collections. Chairman was Prof. Lewis Corey, department of economics. Willing to Help A young Irishman entered the drug store and, pointing to a stack of green soap, said: "Oi want a lump o' thot." "Very well, sir," said the clerk. "Will you have it scented or un- scented?" "Oi'll take ut with me," the Irish man said. 10 ""5BBËS •it**i" « « WJJ«1 •" •« is These young people in their own school cooperative at Winnetka, Illinois, show how students in progressive public schools are learning modern economics through practice. Please, Mr. Teacher— The importance of getting cooperative education into the schools, and the ABC procedure for accompJishing it By C. MAURICE WIETING EVERY school in the United States should have observed during the past year the founding of the modern consumer coopera tive movement by the Rochdale pio neers. However, there is little likeli hood that proper attention will be given to this important event, for in most public schools the topic of consumer cooperation is found no where in the curriculum. Members of consumer coopera tives should be greatly concerned about the failure of the schools to teach about such a great economic and social movement—yet they must bear much of the blame for its omis sion in the educational program. Now special assistant on public relations with the National Council for Farmer Cooperatives, Mr. Wieting was for years a teacher of social science. He has writ ten several books on teaching about co operatives, and these are included in a special Cooperative League bibliography on Schools and Co-ops, non available. Since nothing is to be gained by deploring the past, the question should now be "How in the next 100 years can cooperators help the schools do a better job of educating about cooperatives?" Here are a few practical sugges tions to members of consumer co operatives made by a teacher who has worked with the problem. 1. Discuss the problem of better instruction on consumer cooperation in your local schools with your Education Committee, then map out the strategy which you believe will be the most effective. 2. Present the problem of co operative education for youths to a meeting of your cooperative and have them pass a resolution asking that your public schools teach about consumer cooperation on every grade level in the school and in every class where such instruction is possible. 3. If a member of your local board of education is a cooperator CO-OP—February, 1945 so much the better. Delegate him to present the matter to a meeting of the whole board and see that he has all of the necessary information. 4. Some member of the teaching staff is often a member of the co operative. This person can give you invaluable advice about the proce dures most likely to bring about favorable action in this matter. Inform Superintendent 5 Send a committee to visit the superintendent of the public schools and present the problem to him. Point out that consumer coopera tion is a movement of great impor tance that every student should know about. Find out what now is being taught about consumer co operation and then make sugges tions for further instruction. The superintendent may wish to appoint a committee of teachers to prepare curriculum materials for use in the local schools; go prepared to tell him where materials are available. 6. Find out what other schools are doing about the teaching of consumer cooperation. Point out that in Wisconsin there is a state law requiring the teaching of con sumer cooperation, while in Minne sota a special course of study has been prepared. Many other schools such as Winnetka, Illinois; Norris, Tennessee; and Pine Mountain, Kentucky, are doing splendid jobs of cooperative education. Educators are more willing to change their program of studies if you can show them that other schools are doing the same thing. Lists Available 7. Secure all of the advice and help you can get from your re gional cooperative and The Coop erative League, 343 South Dearborn street, Chicago, or 167 West 12th street, New York City. Pamphlets, courses of study, teacher aids, and books have been prepared on the teaching of consumer cooperation. Make use of them. 8. Go to your superintendent of schools with confidence that he will accept your suggestions for the teaching of consumer cooperation. It is the duty of the school to teach about modern economic and social problems. Let the school people work out the educational details of how consumer cooperation shall be taught and in what classes. More public schools should be encouraged to teach about consumer cooperation. In no other way can we work so effectively to build the Second Century of Cooperation. CO-OP—February, 1945 Are Co-ops Ready to Make Postwar Replacements? By E. FRED KOLLER Agricultural Extension University of Minnesota FTER the war farmers' coop- erative associations in this area will confront the necessity or re placing a large volume of depre ciated equipment. The aging of facilities and the accumulating need for replacements are indicated by an analysis of the Reserve (Al lowance) for Depreciation accounts as shown on typical balance sheets. These accounts reflect the degree of exhaustion of the service capacity of the various facilities ("fixed assets') used by the organization. Reserves Rise 12 Percent Analysis of the depreciation re serve accounts of 90 identical Min- nestota oil associations shows that in the prewar period when regular retirements and replacements were possible these reserves remained relatively stable at a level of about 42 per cent of the original cost of buildings and equipments combined (table 1.) By the end of 1943, after a period when usual replacements were impossible because of war-time restrictions, the depreciation re serves of these associations had in creased to 498 per cent, or 8 per cent above the prewar level. Prelimi nary analysis nf a number of 1944 balance sheets shows that average depreciation reserves at the close of the year may be 12 per cent above the prewar figure. If normal replacements should be impossible before the close of 1945, the depre ciation reserves of these oil associa tions may average 16 per cent over the prewar level. On this basis it will be necessary for these associa tions to make average replacements of about $3,000 per association (at prewar equipment prices; in order to restore their facilities to their approximate prewar service capacity. This amount includes nothing for the expansion of business or im provement of facilities. Ready Funds Vital Comparison of the balance sheets of 75 identical cooperative cream eries in the state shows that their depreciation reserves averaged about 40 per cent of the original cost of their facilities in the prewar period. By the end of 1945 their depreci ation reserves may average about 8 per cent over prewar years, and will also require average replace ments of about $3,000 per associa tion to restore their facilities to the usual service levels. Have these associations made adequate financial provision for the replacement task confronting them? The financial effect of the deprecia tion reserve policy is to release funds which in normal years may be used to make replacements. When normal replacements cannot be made, as has been the case during the war, more of the released de preciation funds should remain in working capital or be used to re tire debts. There is great danger that these funds may be used in payment for products, dividends, or spent in other ways. Analysis shows that in many associations, particu larly creameries, the accumulation of current funds has not kept pace with the growing need for replace ments. Substantial increases in working capital are needed in many associations. Under present condi tions it would also be advisable to segregate some current funds in special deposits to help restore facili ties after the war. Table I. Average Value of Facilities and Reserve for Depreciation of 90 Oil Associations for Years Ending 1939-1943 Year 1939 1940 1941 1943 Original cost of facilities $11,247 12,967 14,585 16,617 Reserve for depreciation $4,726 5,432 6,181 8,283 Net value of facilities $6,521 7,535 8,404 8,334 Percentage of reserve to original cost 42.0 41.9 42.4 49.8 mil 10-TII The old and new in CO-OP cosmetic labels. Complete specifications and uses are included on each of the new labels—a necessary addition in self-service merchandising. Printed in grey and magenta, the labels are attractive and appealing TN the last issue we attempted to •*• show by example the different methods for merchandising goods. Cooperators must recognize these methods and understand the advan tages, disadvantages and compara tive costs of each. Having such in formation they can select those methods which will best serve their employers—their member patrons. The purpose in studying merchan dising methods is, of course, to at tempt to learn ways to reduce dis tribution costs. It has often been said that co operation, as a method, deserves wider use—that the cooperatives, to stabilize our economy, need to ex pand. It is also agreed that the co ops, by fashioning a system of dis tribution which is owned, controlled and operated in the ultimate users' interest, can bring — and have brought—savings, better quality and more security to the consumer. If, then, this is a worthy method, it merits promotion. Five Types How do we promote an activity? Usually the job of promotion is broken down into five functions : (1) Salesmanship, (2) Advertising, (3) Merchandising, (4) Market research, (5) Public relations. These functions differ mainly in method, and, together, they make up the reasons why people do (or don't) trade at a given retail outlet. First, salesmanship: This is the transferring of a conviction from the mind of one person to the mind of another, particularly by means of persona] contact. 12 The Functions of CO-OP PROMOTION An analysis of the five major divisions of promotional activity, pointing out how they can be good or bad, depending on how they're used, and stressing their importance for cooperative progress By J. L. PROEBSTING Advertising Manager National Cooperatives Some persons object to the use of salesmanship, but if we are to change, to influence, the thinking, the behavior and the buying habits of people, salesmanship is our most effective instrument. As a matter of fact, of all five functions it is the only one which is absolutely essential in any promotional pro gram. Before chastising salesman ship too severely, ask yourself what it is that ministers attempt to achieve from the pulpit. Or what is it that parents do to influence chil dren—that is, short of "physical persuasion ?" After all, salesmanship implies voluntary decision. Bad Selling and Good The objection, of course, is to "high-pressure" selling-methods which influence one against his best interests. Cooperative promotion must meticulously refrain from such practices, but it must be emphasized that promotion, if intelligently planned, promotes the purpose of the organization of which it is a part, whether that purpose is good or bad. There is nothing wrong in sales manship, only in certain types of organizations which employ its use. Advertising Important The definition of advertising is now greatly simplified. Advertising is the mass presentation of informa tion concerning goods and services to prospective patrons. In other words, advertising is mass salesman ship. An old definition of adver tising was "printed salesmanship," but radio entered the picture and made the statement incomplete. We have a function in advertising which in itself is neither good nor bad. Numerous organizations whose motives are never questioned adver tise continually. The community church with its poster on the lawn the American Red Cross with its newspaper appeal for funds, the col lege advertisement that beckons youth to seek further learning—all CO-OP—February, 1945 are advertising and neither the mo tive nor the program is questioned because of the fact that it is adver tising. Depends on Motive According to Webster, advertising means "to give public notice of." This involves no morals, either good or bad, and the advertising, if it is well conceived, should suit the pur pose for which the organization was formed. If the organization was cre ated to alleviate suffering, its adver tising should increase its opportu nity or capacity to act in that regard. Likewise, a cooperative, established to advance the welfare of its patron- owners, should find its objective fur ther realized through advertising. Advertising, then, is a tool and might be likened to a shovel. You can bash out someone's brains with it or you can prepare a Victory garden with it. What does advertising attempt to do ? Advertising — or the broader term, merchandising—attempts the development and utilization of such materials and methods as will suc cessfully promote the purpose for which the organization was founded. The Red Cross advertises to in crease its appeal to people, to collect more funds, to alleviate more suffer ing. Profit business advertises in an attempt to increase profits. Co operatives should advertise in order that their member-patrons and their respective communities be kept in formed as to the goods and services that they provide. The more sig nificant the services and commodi ties offered, the greater the obliga- Advertising is not always intended to promote patronage. It often encourages proper use of utensils—note two bottom instruction cards. tion to inform the community. The question might arise — why not use salesmanship if advertising is merely a substitution for that function? The answer hinges en tirely on cost. A personal interview (salesmanship) is, of course, most effective in producing desired re sults. Unfortunately it is at the same time the more expensive. We use advertising when the message is one that can be told by mass meth ods and when it reduces the cost of getting the information to the people concerned. More Economical Historically, mass production brought about mass salesmanship. As long as the local cobbler made the shoes for the local community, a sign over his entrance was all he needed to identify his services to his customers. But with immense fac tories in comparatively small areas turning out millions of pairs of shoes for the entire country, steps had to be taken to furnish informa tion as to quality, method of manu facture, style and price to persons in large areas. This might have been done entirely by salesmanship, but it was found that advertising could do the job less expensively. Whether the content was truthful or adequate is not pertinent—it could be— and still be advertising. Merchandising The third method of promotion is merchandising. Although by some definitions this function includes salesmanship and advertising, let us define it as all the informational, promotional and administrative functions which are required to move goods quickly, smoothly and economically from the producer to the consumer—those functions, other than salesmanship or advertis ing, which expedite the distribution of goods. Some of these functions might be proper display of commodities, per sonnel training in methods that ex pedite the distribution of goods, store arrangement to augment pro motional effort, etc. It might even include the attitude on the part of sales personnel, an awareness of the fact that they are primarily en gaged in perfecting a satisfactory and efficient method of commodity distribution. Mass display, to single out a mer chandising function, suggests a sub stitute for direct sales effort. Par ticularly in self-service stores where personal sales service is largely elim- (continued on next page) CO-OP—February. 1945 13 Co-op Promotion— (continued from page 13) inated, the importance of substitut ing a mass method that is constant!} in operation is obvious. Clearly, the newer method calls for more com plete information on the label, more instant identification, better ar ranged and lighted displays — all those functions which substitute for the personal service that is no longer available in the self-service store. Market Research The fourth function of promotion, market analysis or market research, is a study of markets and merchan dising methods to the end that prod ucts or services can be more effi- cientlv and more effectively distrib uted. Research may tell us that a product has been incorrectly de signed or that the size container, ingredients or other specifications could be improved to enhance its acceptance by prospective patrons. \n analysis of competitive products and competitive methods might sug gest needed improvements in ours, or lead us to better knowledge of and enthusiasm for cooperative serv ices and aims. Through voluntary participation on the part of coopera tive members, we should be able to perfect a very efficient and helpful market analysis service which could be of great help to our promotional effort Public Relations The fifth function of promotion, like the fourth, is in large measure a corrective function. Public rela tions is that activity which presents to individuals or to the general pub lic information which will advan tageously reflect the motivation, in tent and program of an organization or individual. Cooperatives, being locally owned and democratically controlled, and operating on a not- for-profit basis, should have com paratively little difficulty in estab lishing their value to the community they serve. The recent attacks on coopera tives suggest the question whether we have done a good job in public relations. Co-ops have been ap proved in principle by both major Another article in the March issue by Mr. Proebsting will dis cuss the urgent need for merchan dising policy on the part of all cooperatives. political parties as well as influential individuals in each, applauded by the large farm organizations, the three largest labor unions, national organizations representing our three principal religious groups and the national education associations. They have been favorably reviewed editorially by many influential pub lishers. But at the local level we are too often held in suspicion through lack of understanding of our organ izational structure, control and pur pose. Through proper attention to our public relations this situation could and should be corrected. These five functions of promotion are, then, the reasons why people do or do not trade at any given re tail outlet. Cooperators must put themselves in a position to evaluate and recognize their strength and weakness in each category. Only after they have done so can they make full use of their promotional advantages and guard against condi tions which prevent acceptance in the local community. A Sing-n-Swing will RALLY PROSPECTS for your Co-op membership How to stage a party toi 5,000 consumers, give them an exciting evening of fun, and, incidentally, find a lot of new converts to cooperatives By GWEN GOODRICH Education Department The Cooperative League IF there were a co-op "Academy Award" to be given for outstand ing contributions to cooperative de velopment, candidate for 1944's award might be V. S. Petersen, veteran Minneapolis cooperator, who gave to the Centennial year its first "Sing V Swing." Throughout Minnesota and Wis consin, even at the 1944 Congress of The Cooperative League, from April 29, 1944, in Minneapolis, to February 10, 1945, in Greendale, Wisconsin, Sing V Swing's have at tracted cooperators and brought thousands of non-cooperators to co-op rallies. One enterprising Midland Co-op Wholesale fieldman sent cards to all the co-ops in his district offering his assistance to them for putting on their Sing 'n' Swing. We recom mend the name to the co-op ter minology committee. We recom mend the technique for prospect rallying to every co-op in the coun try. 5000 strong they turned out for the first Co-op Sing 'n' Swing last April 29, in the Minneapolis mu nicipal auditorium. This first big Centennial rally in the country at tracted cooperators and non-cooper ators from the Twin Cities and other towns in Minnesota and Wisconsin as much as 100 miles away. Local song leader Harry Anderson led the entire assemblage in an hour of songs that preceded a stage show of two folk dance groups, a hill billy specialty band, a 30-voice chorus, a recital on the mammouth pipe organ, and dancing to one of the best bands in the city. Committee chairman V. S. Peter- sen took the responsibility for awarding prizes totaling over $1000 Another Coming Though the date is not set, Vet eran Peterson's committee crew is organized and making preparations for the 1945 Twin-City Sing-n- Swing. Every 25c admission ticket was a "chance" at a prize. The "technique" of the Sing 'n' Swing—apart from the plan of the party itself—is essentially a publicity strategem. And it is for this that "Pete" wins the nomination for the imaginary Co-op Academy Award. Here's the how of it: The big family party was the effort of the Twin Cities Consumer Co-op Council, representing the two cities' co-op stores, oil co-op, all the insur ance companies, the Midland Co-op Wholesale, and the district co-op federation. A committee appointed 14 CO-OP—February, 1945 b> the council and chaired b> Peter- sen handled the party. For months ahead there was a "name contest," planning meetings, stories in all the co-op papers. The biggest auditorium in Minneapolis wab rented for the affair; all the co-ops in the area underwrote the S35flO budget. Then all the co-ops \v ere asked to put up exhibits if they choose Result—the auditorium looked like a county fair building with an exhibit from each of the en-ops, some prepared three months ahead of time ' The citv dailies carried stories, all the street cars in the two cities displayed card ads for a month in advance of the partv. Ticket sales men were scattered all through Mid land's Sixth District. Street cai ads, daily paper ads, posters put up in every available public place—these were the tech niques the co-ops had never used before. Good enough for a "firsl Centennial rally" for 1944 Good for 19-45 and 1946. too' Current Literature You Won't Want to Miss TAXES AND CO-OPS . By Davis Douthit. National Association of Cooperatives. Fiée. 20-page handbook that answers the many questions posed by those who have designed or swallowed NTEA propaganda about co-ops. INTER-COOPFRATIVE RELATIONS AND POST WAR PLAIVNING. International Labor office. lOr 24-page report and analysis of the role of the cooperative movement in the work of rehabilitation. POSTWAR AGRICULTURAL POLICY. Report of special committee of the Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Univer sities \vailable from L-G colleges ; no price listed. 61-page statement by an 18- peison committee created a little over a year ago. Commended to the thought ful reading of every person interested in helping to build a better rural America. WHAT FOREIGN TRADE MEANS To You. By Maxwell S. Stewart. Public Af fairs Committee. lOc. The essentials of world inter-dependency, presented in simple language and numerous graphs and maps. Big type, and a natural for neighbor councils interested in the ques tion of trade barriers and world peace. CIRCLE PINES CENTER ANTHOLOGY. Com piled and Edited by Lois G. Runeman. Circle Pines Center. $1.00. A beautiful plastic-spiral-bound volume of scenes, poetry, art, music, drama, essays that go to make up the lore-to-date of Circle Pines Center in the making, on Lake Stewart, near Cloverdale, Michi gan. I SPEAK FOR JOE DOAKES. By Roy F. Bergengren Harper. Co-op League edition, $1.00. A new, hard-hitting book on the common man's ideas for crea tion of a more cooperative world-wide democracy, by the managing director of the Credit Union National Associa tion. SOME LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF COOPERA TIVE ASSOCIATIONS. By W. H. Dan kers University of Minnesota Agri cultural Extension Service. No price. Reviews Minnesota and Federal co operative laws, and will thus be of value to cooperators in other states LABOR \ND CO-OPS. By James Myers. The Cooperative League. ISc. New edition of this pamphet, which describes participation of labor people in co operatives, reports 146 co-ops in America that got their start from labor groups A MAN'S MONUMENT. By Fred Eastman. Samuel French. 50c. One-act play that highlights community welfare as the true basis for deciding how business ought to be run—and, incidentally, whether a man ought to go to heaven or bum! Clever supernatural angle makes for humorous touches, and the co-op cannery wins ! COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS IN EUROPE AND THEIR POSSIBILITIES FOR POST WAR RECONSTRUCTION. By Florence E. Parker and Helen I. Cowan. Bureau of Later Statistics. 3Sc. Brings up to date, insofar as information was obtain able, the 1937 report of the President's European Commission on Cooperatives, and includes data on a number of ad ditional countries not covered in the former report. ABOVE: Andrew Jenscn. now labor-co-op relations man for Midland Cooperative Wholesale, surrounded by a bevy of the beauties who "hostessed" at the Minneapolis Sing-n-Swing in '44. BELOW: Tickets held by some of the younger generation were for war bonds, cash awards, or a co-op pressure cooker, if drawn from the drum. Foresight There's a brilliant future ahead of the boy who, having found a purse containing a ten dollar bill, returned the money and purse to its owner— but first changed the bill to ten ones. CO-OP—February, 1945 15 Dairy Farms Enthusiastic About CO-OP Cleanser Tests of CO-OP Dairy and Household Cleanser have recently- been completed on many Waukesha County (Wisconsin) dairy farms, shown it to be a superior product. Pabst Blue Ribbon farms praised it highly, ordered more in bulk lots. Special wetting agent gives added cleansing value ; bacteria counts in milk are satisfactorily reduced wherever it is used. Rust Preventive Gets Okay; To Be Available Soon CO-OP Rust preventive is the newest product from National Co operatives' Chemical Products Divi sion. Exhaustive field and labora tory tests showed that it will com pletely protect all metal machinery parts from rust for a year or longer, even if unsheltered, in every kind of weather. Following a report on the product by CPD Manager Harry Abrahamson to A recent Hardware and Farm Supply Committee meet ing, the committee agreed unani mously on the practical value of CO OP Rust Preventive, and authorized its addition to the expanding line of CO-OP commodities as soon as final purchasing arrangements and labels are completed. Oil Absorbents All Alike; CO-OP Brand To Bring Savings Oil absorbents are widely used in filling stations, machine shops and war plants to prevent fires, and to avoid falls on oily floors. Basic ma terials used in all oil absorbent com pounds are identical, but many sup pliers charge exorbitant prices for them. CO-OP Oil Absorbent is equal in quality to any; a good source of supply has been secured, purchasing arrangements have been completed, and it will be available as soon as shipments and labels are received. New CO-OP Cigarettes— Just Tobacco Under a Different Name Sometime within the next six months, we hope soon, a brand new CO-OP cigarette will make its debut Commodity News Beginning a regular CO-OP Magazine department of important data about availability, specifications, distribution and uses of CO-OP commodities —in a striking new package and with some startlingly different ad vertising! Sales promotion of cigar ettes is so much excess baggage right now in view of the "reported" shortage, but it'll give Proebsting and associates an opportunity to try their wits in presenting the filthy weed to co-op smokers. The new CO-OP cigarette will have real tobacco in it and nothing CO Coming—with Tobacco! else less harmful. It may aid diges tion, but we doubt it. Actually, there'll be tobaccos from Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and wherever else good tobaccos can be pur chased. (Do not be surprised if you hear "Speed'' Riggs say on the radio someday, "Mumbedy-mum- b e d y-m u m b e d y—SOLD— C O- OP\") Some of these tobaccos will be selected for mildness, others for fast burning, some for their slow-burn ing, and some just for aroma ! All in all, the new CO-OP cigarettes will differ very little from any pre sently "popular" brand. And since there are some cooperators who smoke cigarettes (when they can get them), this is just another ven ture in fulfilling the "needs" of con sumers at a saving—service "not for profit." First Materials For Ail-Out Soap Campaign Ready The first set of materials for an all-out CO-OP soap promotion cam paign has been prepared for the regional cooperatives by National Cooperatives' advertising depart ment. Included are a suggested newspaper release for the CO-OP press, mats of three newspaper ads, a mass display poster with price cards and a consumer leaflet. The national grocery committee recommends that local co-ops plan a soap display for the first week of each month—using a different soap item each time. Included with the promotion materials are store dis play suggestions and a check-up questionnaire to test the efficiency of the campaign. Supplementarv materials will follow the original set. Designed for local piomotion, this complete and coordinated campaign should stimulate demand for CO OP soap. Materials are available from your regional cooperative. Two New Service Aids Divulge "Secrets" On CO-OP Milkers The cow that's CALF NOSE milked can't talk any better than her sisters in neighboring pastures But if she could, she'd be bragging over the fence about the health of 16 CO-OP—February, 1945 her udder and how she upped her milk production when the farmer in her life started using a CALF NOSE CO-OP UNIVERSAL MILKER. We know there's nothing like the CALF NOSE for faster milking —and everything that means—im proved udder health and increased milk production. But we shouldn't keep it secret. To help tell this CALF NOSE faster milking story most effectively, a 4-page, 3-color folder (8j4 x 11) has been prepared. Extensively illustrated, it lists and describes the advantages of CO-OP CALF NOSE milkers Its title: "CO-OP, the Universal Milking Machine." Another thing ... to spread the good word to users of old type Uni versal milkers about the special of fers available for converting old- models "P", "N", "F", "7-F" and "Speedmaster" to CALF NOSE, you can do no better than get an ample supply of the "Special Offer" folders telling in detail the CALF NOSE CONVERSION KIT story. They're new too. Four pages, two colors. Both these folders may be secured from your regional cooperative or from the CO-OP Universal factory. CO-OP Spark Plugs Available—Promote Needed Renewals Now CO-OP Spark Plugs are now available. Take advantage of this opportunity, and push their sale now. Many cars will operate with greater efficiency when defective plugs are removed. Get the news around to car owners—"renew with CO-OP Plugs, with satifaction, with saving." CO-OP Cannée/ Milk Adds Special Service For Mothers "Vitamin D added" has been in cluded on new CO-OP Evaporated Milk labels Added vitamin-D (400 USP units per quart after equal water is added) meets minimum standards of the American Medical Association, and the AMA seal, therefore, has been included on the label, too. The new labels are being sent to qualified suppliers of vitamin-D milk, and they will soon appear in CO-OP stores. Thus co-ops han dling foods will be able to take care of consumers whose doctors recom mend vitamin-D milk for infant feeding as well as cases where the AMA seal is a "must." That undue emphasis will not be placed on "irradiated" or otherwise vitamin-D fortified milk, attention is called to the following statement by the Children's Bureau: "Most doctors advise fish liver oil or some other source of vitamin D for all babies, whether or not the milk con tains vitamin D. If a mother changes from a brand containing vitamin D to a plain evaporated milk, she should ask the doctor if the baby needs more of the vitamin D preparation." The Bureau points out also that ALL evaporated milk must meet government standards, and quotes the AMA journal to the effect that all brands of evaporated milk, ir radiated or not, are sufficiently uni form to be used interchangeably for infants, if allowance is made for vitamin D content. What* Ccctti*' CCA's new $10,000 sound-and- color film on co-op petroleum is nearing completion. Being done by Tomlin Studios, New York, the movie promises to be best co-op film to date. Some difficulties in secur ing film supply. "I Speak for Joe Doakes," Roy F. Bergengren's hard-hitting book on a cooperative program for peo ple to help themselves to a better world, is rolling off the press. A thought provoking book, should head for "best seller" list. Time to Spruce Up! SPRING is coming, and with it the need for clean-up, re pairing, and painting. As new signs and new painting is planned, co-op managers and directors will have the opportu nity to take advantage of the publicity of co-ops across the land bj using the approved uni form color scheme and co-op signs. Permastone letters, for CO-OP and other essential words to de note type of services, shaped like the package trademark, and pre pared for secure fastening to different kinds of buildings, re late the place of business to na tional co-op publicity and co-op- labeled products. The colors, for est green and cream, approved by the national organizations, in crease this mark of association between co-ops at many points, and classify the local organiza tion as part of the large, growing national movement. Information about co-op let ters and uniform colors can be obtained through the nearest re gional cooperative. New film strip "Co-ops Move Into Production" is completed. Prints to be available soon as laboratories can make copies. Price with com plete script commentary, $10 for the first print per regional, $1 for ad ditional prints. "A Doctor for the People," auto biography of Dr. Michael Shadid, is sold out. New edition is in pro duction, will be available soon. This dramatic story of the doctor who built America's first co-op hospital is more popular than ever. Josh Bolles is working on new, up-to-date edition of his book, "The People's Business." No copies avail able for another month or so ; printers and binders are loaded with work. A dozen United Textile Workers locals have ordered a total of 2500 copies of the co-op comic to tell the story to their members. Just as good for Grandpa as it is for Joe Doakes, Jr. Incidentally, public re lations directors of 32 firms such as Standard Oil, General Motors and General Mills have written for copies after reading about it in Pub lic Relations News Letter. Newspaper ads on Cooperative merchandising policy, in prepara tion, will be available soon through regionals. New packages being designed for CO-OP Puffed Wheat, Puffed Rice, Wheat Flakes. Leaflet on co-op labeling policy in preparation. Copy and layout for proposed CO-OP road maps being prepared, to include refinery pictures and in stitutional copy. "The Joneses Join Their Neigh bors," a recording in both phono graph and radio speeds designed to tell the introductory story of co operatives, is getting wide use in schools. CO-OP—February, »945 17 *»** CO-OP Loco/ sponsors of Free Service Day ore required to use Wiese essential promotion pieces (supplied without charge): 2-column mat (upper left) tor newspaper ad- postai card (below) to users in the area; large window poster with space for date. WE AT Midland have just closed our first full year since the purchase of the Universal Milk ing Machine Company by National Cooperatives. We have been using a pattern in distribution and service on Co-op milking machines that is relatively new to us. This program has been so satisfactory and suc cessful that it should be of interest and value to cooperatives in other regions. Before laying out our program, we thoroughly analyzed the needs in our territory both for distribution and for service. We soon realized that service would play a very im portant part not only in building the goodwill and acceptance of Co-op Universal milking machines among co-op members, but also in building goodwill and confidence in our products with users who had purchased Universal machines prior to acquisition of the factory by Na tional Cooperatives. Midland Cooperatives hold FREE SERVICE DAY tor milking machine users By G. E. NEVINS Safes Manager Midland Cooperative Wholesale Our first objective was to replace the independent Universal dealers in the territory with cooperatively- owned dealership. Because we have some areas which cannot be ade quately serviced by cooperatives, it has been necessary to retain some of the independent dealers to give service throughout the territory. In this past year, we have reduced the number of these non-co-op dealers from 204 to approximately 50, and have increased cooperative dealers from 30 to 142. Not all of the pri vate dealers have carried an ade- How infensiveJy-promofed one-day free service plan builds service rekrfions and confidence, puts equipment in proper condition for users, and builds patronage volume, too quate stock of replacement parts, and very few had sent a man to the factory for training. All of our 142 cooperatives now carry an adequate stock of parts, and 95% of them have sent a man to the Milking Machine School for at least one week of intensive training. One of the greatest contributing factors in building acceptance for Co-op Universal milking machines in our territory has been our "Free Service Day." On this special day no charge is made for service on machines brought in to the coopera tive or dealer—the owner pays only for the replacement parts used. We have two well-qualified milk ing machine service men in our 18 CO-OP—February, 1945 territory, each having about the same number of users in his respec tive territory. These men service about three machines per hour, with the assistance of a man furnished by the dealer. Replacement parts purchased on these days run from $50 te $75. "Free Service Day" was held for both cooperative and in dependent dealers in the territory having 30 or more users in their areas; but experience this past year has taught us that this day should not be held unless there are at least 75 or more users, since only about 50% of the users have come in for "Free Service Day." What's Needed In setting up "Free Service Day" it is necessary to get the whole hearted cooperation of the local cooperative or dealer. Although the regional furnishes an expert service man, we insist that at least one man be provided locally to assist him. Although our dealers now carry an adequate stock of replacement parts for normal conditions, "Free Service Day" creates a greater de mand particularly for p u Isa t or parts ; for that reason our service men carry a $200 stock of these parts, and from 20 to 25 pulsators. The pulsators are for use as "loan- ers" where it is found that the patron's pulsator must be sent to the Universal factory for more com plete service than can be rendered locally. In addition to the pulsators, the service men carry with them a complete vacuum system for testing purposes, and installation tools. (Other regionals may obtain a list of these tools from Universal.) Every Step Vital To insure the success of "Free Service Day," the following promo tional material is used : 1. Each local cooperative man ager and independent dealer is furnished with a list of all Uni versal owners in his territory, together with a sufficient number of ready-printed penny postal cards to send to these owners. 2. A newspaper mat for run ning an advertisement in the local paper, and a large poster for win dow or wall display, are also fur nished. (See illustrations.) All of these promotional pieces supplement each other to do a com plete job of stimulating interest in "Free Service Day." The day is now an institution as far as Midland and its affiliated service organiza tions are concerned. It has con tributed substantially to a total gross volume of over $500,000 this past year, approximately 25% of which was in replacement parts. And it has resulted in more efficient operation of Co-op Universal milk ers on the part of hundreds of northern dairymen. Our past year's experience has been accompanied by the develop ment of service departments by many of our cooperatives. Because of this, it now appears that in the very near future it will be unneces sary, except in a few instances, for Midland to furnish a special service man to assist the local organization on "Free Service Day." Coming Events Feb. 19-20—Meeting of special committee of board of National Cooperative Finance Associ ation to study regional financial structures, Chi cago. March 12-13—Meeting of Automotive Com mittee, National Cooperatives, Eau Claire, Wis consin. March 12-17—Central Cooperative Wholesale Membership Relations Institute, Superior, Wis consin. March 13—Meeting of Grocery Sales and Ad vertising committee, National Cooperatives, Morrison Hotel, Chicago. March 14-15—Meeting of General Sales and Advertising Committee, National Cooperatives, Morrison Hotel, Chicago. March 17-18—Labor and Cooperatives Con ference, at Waukegan High School, Waukegan, ID. March 20—Meeting of board of directors, Na tional Cooperative Finance Association. Morri son Hotel, Chicago. March 21—Meeting of board of directors, The Cooperative League of the USA, Morrison Hotel, Chicago. March 22—Annual meeting, National Co operatives, Inc., Morrison Hotel, Chicago. May or June—Tentative period for Rochdale Institute Advanced Training Course for Re gional Educational and Commodity Fieldmen, Minneapolis. June 19-22—First National Cooperative Youth Institute, College Camp, Lake Geneva, Wis consin. June 19-22—Annual national cooperative Staff Conferences — educators, editors, personnel di rectors, auditors, sales and advertising, distribu tion directors, organization directors. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. July 22-August 8—Co-op and Labor Insti tute, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Spon sored by Rochdale Institute and Unions of the middlewest, and held under auspices of U. of W. School for Workers. Canceled The following large cooperative gatherings have been cancelled by sponsoring groups in accordance with new ODT travel restrictions. Annual meeting of Farmers Union Central Exchange, St. Paul, Minn. Three-day annual meeting, Midland Coopera tive Wholesale, Minneapolis. Annual membership meetings, Co-op Insur ance Mutual and Co-op Life Mutual, Milwau kee, Wis. Meeting of the Idaho Cooperative Council. Other cancellations are wnder consider ation; definite information will be an nounced as received. CO-OP LOTION & SHAMPOO • pleasing • safe • saleable CO-OP LOTION is of especial value to consumers in winter time. It keeps hands that are dried-out from much exposure to soap free from chapping in cold, raw winds. Fragrant and safe to use, CO-OP Lotion is certain to be in demand. CO-OP SHAMPOO is a liquid cleansing agent devoid of all common irritating materials. Contains no cocoanut oil or caustic alkali, it leaves the hair soft and lustrous—pleasing to the user. CO-OP COSMETICS AND SHAMPOOS are a high mar gin line of products. They are very helpful in "averaging out" the store's low margin items. Stock CO-OP cosmetics and do both your store and your mem ber-patrons a service. Your re gional has available a booklet, "CO-OP Cosmetics and Sham poo," which tells the limita tions as well as the advantages of cosmetics. Consumers will be interested in this booklet. Manufactured by CHEMICAL PRODUCTS DIVISION NATIONAL COOPERATIVES, Inc. Chtcago, III. CO-OP—February, 1945 19 What's news with the CD-DPS Endeavoring to present the briefest practicable who, what, when and where of significant co-op happenings for the information of cooperative workers, and others interested, find for the record. Because of space limitations, chronological order «n'K not be strictly followed, and important items necessarily omitted from one issue will be listed later. By WALLACE J. CAMPBELL REPORTS of what co-ops did in 1944 are tumbling in—and it's an impressive record. Eastern Cooperative Wholesale, New York City, passed the $4 mil lion mark—up 27%. Ten new stores were opened, 28 co-ops moved to larger quarters, seven others opened new departments. Central Co-op Wholesale, Super ior, Wis., passed its centennial goal. Business totaled $6,132,000 — up 14.4%. CCW now serves 140 co-ops —189 stores, 32 service stations, 75,- 000 families. Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Columbus, handled $22,- 000,000 worth of goods for its coun ty co-ops operating 174 outlets at year-end. This was $2 million over '43. Patronage savings of $380,000 were returned to locals to be added to those on retail business. Farm Bureau Life, Columbus, ex ceeded its centennial-year goal of $100 million in coveiage. Policies Author Stuart Chase Among many new prominent . . . in force at close of 1944 totaled $103,000,000. Central States Cooperatives, Chi cago, roll up $700,000 volume, re ported ten new stores, 13 new buy ing clubs. First weeks of '45 brought new stores at Inkster and Boyne City, Michigan, two locker plants planned. Midland Cooperative Wholesale, Minneapolis, topped $10 million volume; returns from 180 of 385 member co-ops indicate that retail business of Midland-affiliated co-ops exceeded $50 million for '44. In Chicago, several groups inter ested in cooperative housing formed in December the Chicago Council for Cooperative Housing—for re search, promotion, and organization assistance. National Cooperative Correspond ence School reported in January 530 students enrolled in 32 states. Rochdale Institute launched an enlarged employee training pro gram last month, with short inten sive schools in Farm Supply, Petro leum and Food Store Management at Columbus, Kansas City and Chi cago, respectively. Group Health Mutual, St. Paul, doubled its hospitalization membei- ship in '44, jumping from 10,500 in 1943 to 23,000. One thousand nine hundred fifty individuals are covered bv it's medical care plan. First cooperative hospital in Northern States was opened at Two Harbors, Minnesota at year-end. One thousand five hundred families are served with prepayment medical and hospital care. U. S. now has 5 co-op hospitals. Midland Mutual Fire and Con sumers Agency voted last month to join the unified northern states cooperative insurance program, headquartered at Minneapolis. Al ready operating as "Cooperative Insurance Companies" were Ameri can Farmers Mutual, St. Paul; Co operative Insurance Mutual, Mil waukee; Cooperative Life Associa tion, St. Paul ; Cooperative Life Mu tual, Milwaukee; and Central Mu tual Fire, Superior. Southern State Cooperative bought in December a ten-story building in Richmond, Va., to house its growing executive office staff. Cape Breton Cooperative Services, Sydney, Nova Scotia, reported more than $400,000 of business in first six months of 1944, announced plans to build new headquarters after the war. Freedom Fund Drive headquar ters in New York reported as of January 15 contributions of more than $73,000 for cooperative recon struction. Drive is extended to March 31 and $100,000 is U. S. goal. Consumers Cooperative Associa tion, Kansas City, already world's largest co-op petroleum producer, launched last month a drive for a half million dollars additional capi tal to expand cooperative owner ship of cooperative facilities. The Farm Bureau Mutual Auto Insurance Company, Columbus, pur chased in December the third adja cent building for enlargement of headquarters for regional Farm Bureau Cooperative organizations in the Ohio capital, completed its ownership of the High street block from Chestnut to Hickory streets Two more regionals were accepted into membership of National Co operatives at its December board meeting : Utah Cooperative Associa tion, Salt Lake City, and Manitoba Cooperative Wholesale. Winnipeg. Judge Thurman Arnold .. . Freedom Fund sponsors. 20 CO-OP—February, 1945 How to build a CO-DP FOR FUN A Play Co-op can Jbe organized for about any leisure activity that is of common interest to a group—end there are a number of benefits Doing tilings, aï are these Play Co-op people at Eastern Cooperative League's recreation institute, has many advantages over being just a spectator. THE business of selling recreation or play is a fairlv recent develop ment. In pre-industrial society plav was the normal expression of the entire community and was charac terized by wide participation. With the coming of centralized power and the factory, recreation has taken on the nature of a commodity to be bought and sold. It is a commodity, as many cooperators are finding out, for which people pay an exceedingly- high price and in which the con- aumer has too little choice as to quality. Consumers who have learned to control quality and price in the eco nomic field, are learning they can apply the same principles in the field of play. Basically the same princi ples or rules for the operation of a cooperative gasoline station can be applied to a cooperative bowling alley. Variety of Projects In either case you start with the people who are interested — those who want better gas at lower prices or those who want better bowling alley service at lower prices. Or maybe the need is for a recreation hall where the people can get to gether to dance and play games ; or for a workshop where there will be space and tools for making furniture or doing simple crafts ; or a skating rink. Let's take for example a group By ELLEN LINSON Recreational Director The Cooperative League of people (and it doesn't have to be many—eight or ten to start with) who want to square dance and think others in the community might want to, too. Some of the group are also interested in singing, and a few in photography. They decide to organ ize a cooperative to supply them selves with the kind of recreation they are interested in. Following basic Rochdale principles they want open membership first of all, so of course they ask others to come in. Fliers describing the activities with which the group is starting, time and place of meeting are prepared and sent out. One of the first things the group that responds will have to decide is—what shall be the basis of mem bership in the Play Co-op, Recrea tion Co-op, or whatever the name is. This will depend largely on the type of activity that is proposed. If the group at the moment is interested in renting a hall where they can meet to dance, play games and eat (and if such a place is available) the capital required to run such a co-op will not be large. So they may de cide to organize on a membership basis, with yearly dues. Such a co-op can be incorporated or not, depending on the state laws and the group. If, however, the project calls for a fairly large investment of capi tal, such as a skating rink, or build ing a hall, or taking over an old hall, remodeling it and buying equip ment, then the group will probably decide to incorporate and sell shares of stock at $5, $10 or $25. As in any cooperative, by-laws governing the operation of the group should be drawn up. These should be kept simple and realistic fitting the needs of the group as they now exist and not anticipating too far in advance something that might happen. By-laws can always be enlarged and changed as the needs arise. (The Philadelphia Plav Co-op's by-laws are only two pages ; a sample copy will be sent on re quest"). A board of directors, offi cers and committees should be pro vided for. Director Needed Just as a grocery store needs a manager, a recreation co-op needs a director. This may be a single per son, paid by the co-op, or it may be a leadership or planning com mittee, serving on a volunteer basis. If the play co-op is to grow, both in membership and in its scope of ac tivities, there will have to be leader ship. Activities must be planned and there should be stimulus for new and deeper experiences. Handling produce, figuring store margins, (continued on next page) CO-OP—February, 1945 21 Co-op for Fun— (continued from page 21) takes training; so does recreation leadership. This should be recog nized by the group and provided for. If there is no one in the community who has had such training, there are recreation training schools to which persons who are interested can be sent. The Cooperative League sponsors a two weeks Na tional Cooperative Recreation School each year, and regional cooperative schools also offer training. The leadership or planning com mittee will have to meet in advance of the weekly, semi-weekly or monthly meetings of the co-op to outline the program of activities. It should be the concern of the group to see that activities go smooth, everyone gets a chance to partici pate, and that there is direction to the evening's fun. Their concern is not in the broader questions of policy which are membership prob lems. With a basis of membership, a board of directors, a paid director or volunteer leadership committee, the co-op will have to decide how much they should charge themselves. After figuring out what their regu lar and special expenses (rent, equipment, music refreshments, etc.), it should be easy to arrive at the admission or "attendance" fees, keeping- in mind "market prices." Some groups charge one price for members and one for non-members. However, it is more consistent with accepted cooperative practice to charge a uniform rate for everyone (the majority of play co-ops do this). A record can be kept of each member's purchases (admissions) and rebates paid quarterly or yearly. Or the members may decide to put their savings into expansion and in crease their recreation facilities. It's Your Business The main purpose of the co-op, of course, is to have fun, but as in any co-op there must be regular business meetings. These can be fun too. Such meetings can be held on the regular recreation evening, or on another night set aside princi pally for business (and to be topped off, if desired, with some playing). As in any co-op there should be "constant education." The members should feel it is their business and it is up to them to have it operated efficiently and to provide for them the kind of recreation commodities they want. It is important and advisable to offer a variety of recreational activi ties. If there is to be a wide mem bership basis this will be necessary as not all people like the same kind of recreation, just as not all people like the same kind of vegetables. Some people may want to play cards or ping pong, others may want to dance, or concentrate on dramatics. This should be kept in mind in selecting a place for the group to meet in. It should also be kept in mind by the director or leadership committee in planning activities Picnics, hikes, sleighing parties, can supplement the in-door program. Commercialized amusements have turned most of us into mere specta tors. There is a need and a place for the spectator. But there is also a need for the kind of play which we create ourselves. "People are rediscovering," said a recent bulletin of the Clallam Co operative Association, S e q u i m , Washington, "that recreation they make for themselves is the most satisfying. Neighborhood discussion circles, folk games and dances are becoming- increasingly popular and a part of community life. Economi cally we have proven that 'it does pay to coperate/ The same will be true in play." IN MEMORIAM Agnes Dyer Warbasse, 67, died at her home, Woods Hole, Mass., Feb ruary 3. Wife of Dr. James P. War- basse, and co-founder with him of The Cooperative League of the USA. Mrs. Warbasse was a social pioneer in her own right, turned over an inherited majority interest in the Dennison Manufacturing Co in 1911 to its employees, aided in founding the New School for Social Research, New York, was active in the woman suffrage movement. She served as educational director for The Cooperative League for many years, wrote extensively, and repre sented America at three Interna tional Cooperative Congresses. Sur viving are her husband, three sons and two daughters. Iowa farmers use County paper and coopératives in its area Join hand to counteract NTEA half-truths FULL-PAGE NEWSPAPER ADS to tell the truth about co-ops «« -\ RTICLES appearing in the -£*• metropolitan press several months ago," relates Lloid W Clark, of the advertising department of the Freeman-Journal Publishing Co., Webster City, Iowa, "aroused my curiosity in regard to the Na tional Tax Equality Association. After discussing the matter with the managers of our two local coopera tives, we decided that something should be done." Mr. Clark then prepared five full- page (full-size newspaper) adver tisement layouts and submitted them to the two local managers, Mr. P. H. Seebarg and Mr. Paul Madden. They approved, and the three men proceeded to interview all the other co-op managers in the Webster City Freeman circulation area—16 including- the two in Web ster City—about possible collabora tion. Response was 100 percent, and it was agreed to run a page layout with joint signature of all the co operatives once a week—as long as the need exists and copy satisfac tory to the sponsors is available. The results of the campaign, w ith nine pages (pictured on opposite page) having been run during De cember and January, are better than was expected. Widespread interest has been created in the NTEA scrap, and more and more people are becoming aware of the benefits to the entire community from the existence there of strong coopera tives. "One manager told me," says Mr. Lloid, "that his cooperative had shown a gain in business volume which he attributed solely to the ads, his theory being that the mem bers had been re-awakened to the value of their cooperative and were now transacting all possible busi ness with it." Furthermore, the people of the community generally are being made so conscious of the presence and aggressiveness of the cooperatives, that it is becoming much easier to carry the coopera tive message to non-members and enlist them. 22 CO-OP—February, 1945 v, iBiafc*M*P-q>!(Bi WHY Patronage Refunds Should NOT BE TAXED Don't Let NTEA Propaganda Fool You HERE ARE FACTS! COOPS SHOULD DO *S »E DO Cö-ojw-ratHe» Should PA the-aœet- thatotfaer«- —t»"f faw-mess » |sa; Why Are KOT To Illustrate Pi «rfi ' D«tTO OK Thro ' L Fbnrt .Don* Wait CO-OP—February, 1945 23 Are you prepared to TAKE BACK THE SOLDIERS who left your employ? Here is a brief outline of your obligations—and the ser viceman's rights—under the law, and some additional considerations for cooperatives By HERBERT E. EVANS Director of Personnel Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperatives WITH the slow but steady proc ess of demobilization of mem bers of the armed forces now underway, it must be understood that the veteran has certain legal rights which are given to him through various acts of Congress. Under the "G. I Bill of Rights" recently passed, the Veteran's Ad ministration will have charge of benefits to servicemen such as hos- pitalization, disability pensions, al lowances at the time of discharge, scholarships in colleges, universities and schools. The Veterans' Admin istration will have offices in states and in larger cities throughout the country. The United States Employment Service offices of the War Man power Commission will be respon sible for referral of veterans to new jobs, but the Selective Service Sys tem has the responsibility, given by the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, for seeing that all vet erans who want their old jobs back get them. What the Law Says The following is a summary of some of the re-employment pro- vsions of the act : 1. Any veteran, male or female, is entitled by law to reinstatement in his or her former position or to a position of like seniority, status and pay : a. If such position was in the employ of a private employer, the United States Government, its territories or possessions, or the District of Columbia ; b. If such position was "other than temporary"; c. If the veteran entered the Armed Forces subsequent to May 1, 1940; d If the veteran satisfactorily completed his or her period of training and service and received a certificate to that effect; e. If the veteran is still quali fied to perform the duties of such position ; f. If the veteran makes appli cation for reinstatement in the former position or one of like seniority, status and pay within 90 days after being released from service (within 40 days after dis charge from Merchant Marine) ; g. In the case of a private em ployer, if the employer's circum stances have not so changed as to make it impossible or unreason able to reinstate the veteran to such position or to a position of like seniority, status and pay. 2. Any person who is restored to a position in accordance with pro visions of the Act shall be consid ered as having been on furlough or leave of absence during this period of training and service in the mili tary service, and should be so re stored without loss of seniority. They shall be entitled to participate in insurance or other benefits of fered by the employer, pursuant to established rules and practices ap plying to employees on furlough or leave of absence in effect with the employer at the time such person entered into the armed forces. 3. In the case where a private employer fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of this Act, the District Court of the United States, for the district in which such em ployer maintains a business, shall "Here you are, Inglesby—your same old job and of fice, just as you left it the day you went in the Army" Courtesy of Ben Roth and Colhera. Used by permission. 24 CO-OP—February, 1945 have the power (upon the filing of appropriate pleading by the person entitled to the benefits) to require such employer to comply with the law and to compensate the veteran for loss of wages or benefits suffered by reason of the employer's refusal to return the veteran to his job The law requires that the Court shall speedily order hearing of such case and advance it upon the cal endar. The veteran may seek the assistance of the United States Dis trict Attorney, who shall appear for the veteran as his attorney, and no fees or court costs shall be charged against the veteran. Each local Selective Service Board has appointed one or more Vet erans' Re-employment Committee- men, who shall advise veterans as to their rights. Any case that can not be handled on the local level shall be referred to the Director of Selective Service. If it is impossible or unreason able for the private employer to re-employ a veteran, the employer must provide proof of this. Some Interpretations While manpower is short, most employers will be delighted to get their veterans hack. With the labor market open, however, some em ployers may even have to release valued employees who have re placed veterans. It is important to keep in mind the privileges of vet erans while making plans for expan sion and promotions of present personnel. The Selective Service System is beginning to issue interpretations and rulings under the Selective Service Act. The most complete bulletin so far issued is Selective Service Local Board Memorandum No. 190-A. Among the interpretive paragraphs in this bulletin are : "A returning veteran is entitled to reinstatement in his former position or one of like seniority, status and pay even though such reinstatement necessitates the dis charge of a non-veteran with a greater seniority. "Place of reemployment — the noi mal place of reemployment of a veteran is the location at which he was employed when he entered service if the employer is still established there. A change of location is a matter for mutual agreement between employer and employee. A veteran entitled to reinstatement in a former position may not require his employer to employ him in a different location from that of his former position, nor may an employer require such a veteran to accept employment in a different location if the em ployer is still established at the place of former employment. Which Job Counts? "Generally speaking, one who is employed to fill the place made vacant by a person entering serv ice occupies a temporary status and has no re-employment rights even though he subsequently en ters service. There may be excep tions to this, however. For ex ample, suppose that A. a per manent employee, enters service and B, also a permanent employee, is upgraded or transferred into A's place and then enters service; if they return, they are entitled to reinstatement in their original permanent positions. It is the character of relationship between the employer and employee, whether "temporary" or "perma nent," that should govern rather than the particular assignment being carried out at the time of entry into service. "The Act does not confer re- employment rights on conscien tious objectors who have been assigned to work of national im portance under civilian direction in lieu of military service, and it has been determined as our policy that the Selective Service System has no responsibility to aid such conscientious objectors in regain ing their former positions or ob taining new positions. "Requirements for a valid waiver—When it is claimed that a veteran has waived his re- employment rights, the waiver must be proved by clear and posi tive evidence. Such waivers, if induced by fraud, misrepresenta tions, or force, are invalid. The burden of proof is upon the em- plover to prove a voluntary waiver by the veteran." It must be noted that after a veteran is re-employed, he cannot be discharged for one year without cause. What determines "cause" may create a real argument and if the veteran knows his rights, might involve the local Selective Service Board, the United States District Attorney, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and also some other groups which are springing up to defend the veteran. This report is written from a purely objective standpoint, and nothing is said about the moral ob ligations of the employer to the man engaged in battle, or who has had to give up everything at home to go into the military service Co operatives, more, perhaps, than some other types of business, will recog nize these moral obligations as a great responsibility. This is not the entire story on the problem of the icturned veteran (Other important data about de mobilization schedules, veteran re- classification, and training programs, will be discussed in subsequent is sues.—Ed.) All those responsible for cooperative employment activi ties must clearly recognize the seri ousness of this problem. Now is the time to plan not only for the return of the veterans, but for the solution of the many difficult prob lems that will be involved in their proper placement. Consideration should be given to adequate training programs for all employees, and methods by which real or imagined grievances can be quickly brought to the attention of sympathetic responsible manage ment Serve your farmer-patrons Help them to increase milk^ production Your regional wholesale has a new booklet, "Increased Milk Production by Modern Ma chine Milking," which tells the faster milking story in well- illustrated, easy-to-read form. Explaining how the farmer can reduce mastitis infection while producing more milk in less time and at less cost, this story is a valuable service to your farmer-members It is based on reports by agricultural college dairy experts. Ask your regional for copies UNIVERSAL MILKING MACHINE CO. Division of National Cooperatives, Inc. CO-OP—February, 1945 25 Editorially ... Unique Opportunities More than one businessman has said, "T wish I had the advantages you cooperatives have in your member-patron lists." And yet, most cooperatives have barely scratched the surface at using them. Frequent communication with the membership, by mail or phone or personal contact, is a vital part of the service promotion of a cooperative; but thai is a very small part of the opportunity a co-op has for designing its scope and functions on the basis of continual analysis of the needs and preferences of its members both as patrons and as owners. Buying to supply a specific known demand is a co-op ideal that was approached more when farm cooperatives were at the car-door-fertilizer stage than now with the many more modern places of business. It can be achieved with many items, though, with not only price economies for the pa tron, but also the by-products of increased member confidence and pride, and improved turnover. Take English walnuts, for example—a small item in any food store's business. En a small cooperative with less than 200 members, one member told the manager of a friend who had a walnut orchard in the West. Special quantity prices were obtained, a double postal card inquiry of the membership was made, and orders came back For more than 600 pounds. Shipped as soon as harvested and dried, the nuts were the freshest possible, and, being sold when they arrived, they were distributed and the consumers' money used to pay the grower within a week. People talked about the walnut order. The membership of any cooperative has a great variety of special needs and interests ; efforts to tabulate them and serve some of them can be com bined with compiling of other individual and family data, as well as opinions about co-op procedures and plans. Much of this will guide the board and man ager in charting courses of action, and the com mittees in arranging member activities. At the same time, it will maintain that sense of affiliation and responsibility on the part of the members that is vital to cooperative progress. There is a lot of joking, and some complaining, about questionnaires. But most persons are read)' to fill them out when they are short, and about their own needs and opinions. Co-op members should receive them frequently. The Need Is Two-fold Space limitations crowded out of this issue a com bination review of four related books on the struggles democracy is making toward its ultimate consummation ; it will be printed in the March issue. This topic, however, is one that should receive more attention from cooperators as they ponder the status and responsibilities of their co-ops, and as they carry the story to prospective members Do you let the prospect—or the lukewarm mem- 26 ber- -get away with it when he says, "I don't save enough on prices to make it worth while," or "if T leave my patronage savings in the co-op, I may as well have bought somewhere else," or "there may not be any savings anyway"? Those false attitudes are challengeable in themselves. But that is not all. Cooperators must never rest their case on the simple prospect of price savings, though that is great. The task for cooperatives is two-fold. So far there is no other way known for accomplishing either part of it. Cooperators must come to appreciate and ad vocate the inter-dependence and combined impor tance of those parts. One is to increase economic distribution efficiency for consumers of goods and services — reduce prices, advance content and qual ity, thus increase consumption of producible goods. and extend abundance and security. The other is to undergird democracy with a combination of wide spread economic ownership and widespread sense of responsibility for participation that are impera tive if we are to make that democracy real — eco nomically, politically and socially. Democracy is not a privilege; it is a combination of human rights bound inseparably with human re sponsibilities. \s cooperators join hands for direct economic gains — which they are achieving increas ingly, they have the opportunity — and duty — to lessen the monopolies that give force to totalitarian trends, and to develop in community groups the capacity and eagerness for democratic process that alone can make the general welfare, rather than selfish group interest, the beneficiary of organiza tion and government activity. ^, AND NOW ^'v-Sfef^-r dw HOW MUCH FOR "... to promote the general welfare...' CO-OP—February. 1945 They Like CO-OP! -and YOU will too! Congratulations to you on the first issue of "Co-op." It is something we have needed for a long time, and I am sure it will be instrumental in welding together more than ever before the Consumer Cooperatives of North America. We are enclosing herewith our first order, with more to follow. . . E. B. CHOWN Manager Manitoba Co-op. Wholesale Ltd Winnipeg I want to say that I think the first issue of CO-OP was a dandy, and I have read the full contents. LEONARD F. COWDEN General Manager Consumers Cooperatives Associated Amarillo, Texas Congratulations on the first issue of CO-OP ! Count us among its enthusiastic boosters. We attach our check for 100 copies of the first issue. We will mail them to 100 co-op leaders in Utah, asking for their subscriptions along with the subscriptions of their associates. We will follow up and do everything possible to secure a satisfactory cir culation in Utah. W. B. ROBINS General Manager Utah Cooperative Association Salt Lake City Someone has already asked to borrow the first issue from the waiting room. Here is another sub scription to be mailed to our home. PIPP BAUMAN Dentist Cleveland, Ohio Dear Sirs : CO-OP is highly readable as well as educational, and will serve all classes of cooperators from patrons to executives. Our subscription check is enclosed. R. WAYNE NEWTON Manager National Ass'n of Cooperatives Chicago • A swell start has been made by "Co-op." We'd like to pitch in and help publicize it and bring in sub scriptions—all our local managers and as many clerks, directors, etc.. as possible. EDWIN HANNULA Distribution Manager Central States Cooperatives Chicago • I've just seen the first issue of CO-OP . . it is wonderful! Every one here is all praise Nice going SUSIE MIZE Field Supervisor Midland Cooperative Wholesale Minneapolis The next decade will reveal the greatest advance the cooperatives have ever made in the United States and one of the most important things to bring this about and give it the right direction is that of the public relations. CO-OP will go a long way in helping do this job I hope before long it can be two or three times its present size. The Kansas Cooperative Council has coming to its office periodicals from all over the nation representing practically every cooperative set-up, but CO-OP Magazine will be sig nificant in that it attempts to give a total picture of the cooperative movement. CHARLES A. RICHARD Executive Secretary Kansas Cooperative Council Topeka, Kansas CO-OP is better than I expected. JOSHUA K. BOLLES Assistant Editor Cooperative Consumer Kansas City, Missouri Congratulations on the new mag azine "CO-OP"! We wish it every success in the years ahead. ELIZABETH SELSBEE Publicity, Indusco, Inc. American Committee in Aid of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives . . a fine piece of work in a very important field. I am sure co-op employees will find it a help and inspiration in months to come E. K. TAGGART Managing Editor Ohio Farm Bureau News Columbus CO-OP is tops. It is interesting ; it is practical; it is looking ahead. I don't envy you the job of keeping subsequent issues up to the high standard of this first copy. LYNN ROHRBOUGH Cooperative Recreation Service Delaware, Ohio The new magazine is a thoroughly attractive piece. It has much of the "current spirit" with which we ap proach cooperative development to day. It is fresh and sparkling. . BILL TRUCKSIS Associate Editor Ohio Cooperator Columbus We like CO-OP! We intend to push it. GEORGE A. BURCHAM Fieldman Associated Cooperatives Berkeley, Calif. Please enter our subscription . . . We were delighted with the excel lent first issue. ALBERT REES Fieldman Eastern Michigan Coperatives Detroit, Michigan CO-OP is your "trade journal" if you are active in cooperative service advancement SUBSCRIBE TODAY One year, $2.50—Three years, $6 (See page 4 and note on back cover) I Speak far Jill! UllilliüS A hard hitting book about the world 05 it is and the world as it could be. Written by Roy F. Bergengren, managing director of the Credit Union National Asso ciation. In 25 years of active credit union organization in field and factory, work-shop and school, the author has worked intimately with people, people and more people. From these years of experience, he has drawn some conclusions about the role Mr. Average Man can play in domestic and world reconstruction. He answers in specific terms the age old question of the role of credit unions in the cooperative movement, and the place of the cooperative movement in rebuilding a better world. This is no book of panaceas or pleasantries. It is packed with facts, and yet approaches the problem of our "One World" where Joe Doakes can really take hold and do some thing about it. ". . . It is a 'Must' for those affiliated or po tentially interested in the cooperative movement." —PERCY S. BROWN, executive director, Edward A. Filene Goodwill Fund. "It is not often that one has the opportunity to read the intimate story of a mass social move ment written by the man who more than any other has been responsible for it. ... Yet this book is not only intimate, but highly readable and gratifyingly compact. It is in part a compilation in staccato paragraphs of many of the ideas which Roy Bergengren has used in his amaz ing organizing tours of the United States and Canada. He speaks FOR Joe Doakes today with the phrases and the facts to which Joe Doakes has responded so enthusiastically from Florida to Saskatchewan." —HARLAND S. ALLEN. Chicago Consulting Econ omist. Regular book store price $2—Special Co-op Edition $1 Discounts to local cooperatives on quantities Order today from Your Regional Cooperative Csee directory on page 3) u «o * <î < * \ J IT" «5 B3 CJ u ÇA US u B? w ça t E* & = -S 's. The s-per«stt> e now heutig formed in Iceland'am! over tlw worldwill, I am fpriaitij persist and fwida,« tMs generation and the next, .iticl »ill grow into vaster tilings;;than i*t' dream of? but the- rcaliv'nnporiim change they '»ill bring abisut in thr wind's of nf »ill b« i>«choli>}*icaî. Me« wil} ferome habituated; t " CO CO CO VÜ) SN3H1V i*l 1»a3N30 »108030 40 *llsa3Alfîn J- NEWSPAPER MEN are COURAGEOUS SOULS... -But they MUST have THE FACTS The ink must boil in the veins of many a newspaper man confronted with the absurd stories originating with the National Tax Equality Association. Out of a sense of fair play, as well as appreciation for what cooperatives mean to the welfare of every man, he wants to take issue. But he needs the facts about cooperatives, and in many cases he doesn't know where to turn for material with which to refute the NTEA half-truths and inuendoes. The Cooperative League has prepared a special packet of information that gives the answers to accusations about alleged tax inequalities, and other information about co operatives particularly desired by newspaper people. Local cooperatives should get this material promptly into the hands of their local news paper editors and writers. It is easy to do. Send one dollar ($1) with four (4) names and addresses (or as many multiples of these numbers as you wish), and each person will be sent immediately a packet containing the following pamphlets and leaflets: CO-OPS AND TAXES. A 20-page exposition of the facts about taxes co-ops pay and don't pay, and why. THE TRUTH IS—. An 8-page leaflet present ing more about the real tax situation. PRESS REACTIONS. Folders containing part of the vast coverage of the Washington Confer ence on international cooperative reconstruction, and the Centennial Cooperative Congress. COOPERATIVE CENTENNIAL. New York Times editorial. THE IMPORTANT FACT ABOUT A CO OPERATIVE. CO-OP UNLIMITED. Reprint of a BUSINESS WEEK feature story. Send orders to YOUR REGIONAL COOPERATIVE (see directory on page 3) Regional Cooperatives affiliated with The Cooperative League, National Cooperatives, and the National Cooperative Finance Association AMERICAN FARMERS MUTUAL AUTO INSURANCE Co. St. Paul, Minnesota ASSOCIATED COOPERATIVFS 815 Lydia Street Oakland, California CENTRAT COOPERATIVE WHOLESATE Superior, Wisconsin CENTRAL STATES COOPERATIVES 1535 South Peoria Street Chicago 8, Illinois CONSUMERS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 318 East 10th Street Kansas City, Missouri CONSUMERS COOPERATIVES ASSOCIATED Box 1150 Amarillo, Texas CUNA SUPPLY COOPERATIVE Madison, Wisconsin EASTERN COOPERATIVE LEAGUE AND WHOLESALE 44 West 143d Street New York 30, New York OHIO FARM BUREAU COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 246 North High Street Columbus 16, Ohio FARM BUREAU MUTUAL AUTO INSURANCE Co. 246 North High Street Columbus 16, Ohio FARM BUREAU SERVICES 221 North Cedar Street Lansing, Michigan FARMERS COOPERATIVE EXCHANGE Raleigh, North Carolina FARMERS UNION CENTRAL EXCHANGF P. O. Box G St. Paul, Minnesota INDIANA FARM BUREAU COOPFRATIVF ASSOCIATION 47 South Pennsylvania Avenue Indianapolis 9, Indiana MANITOBA COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE 230 Princess Street Winnipeg, Manitoba MIDLAND COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE 739 Johnson Street N. E. Minneapolis 13, Minnesota PACIFIC COAST STUDENT CO-OP LEAGUE Berkeley, California PACIFIC SUPPLY COOPERATIVE P. O. Box 1004 Walla Walla. Wash. PENNSYLVANIA FARM BUREAU COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 3607 South Derry Street Harrisburg, Pennsylvania SASKATCHEWAN FEDERATED COOPERATIVES Saskatoon, Saskatchewan UNITED FARMERS COOPERATIVE COMPANY Duke and George Streets Toronto 2, Ontario UT\H COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 155 Pierpont Avenue Salt Lake City, Utah VOLUME ONE . NUMBER 111 RLE MARCH, 1945 CO-OP MAGAZINE Journal of technical assistance and information for local cooperative officers, directors, employees, and committee members An official organ of National Cooperatives. Inc.. The Cooperative League of trie USA. and the National Cooperative Finance Assn. • Editor, Gilman Calkins Associate Editors : ' Hugh E. Bogardus, Wal lace J. Campbell, John Carson, Ellen Linson, C. J. McLanahan, Otto A. Nurkkala, J. L. f'roeb'itirig. Contributing Editors: Charles Baker, George liuicham. Cecil Crews, James Cummins, Davis Douthit, Carl Eck, Herbert E. Evans, Herbert Fledderjohn, Glenn S. Fox, Ed Hannula, Leon ard Harman, Andrew Hebb, Gardner Heidrick, Allan Holzweiss, George Hough, Carl R. Hutch- inson, Erick Kendall, Fred Kessler, Madelyn Kilmoyer, Anthony Lehner, Laurie Lehtin, Iver Lind, Aino Maki, M. G. Mann, Jr., Andy Mar lowe, Donald W. May, Aaron Merila, T. War ren Metzger, Merlin G. Miller, Robert M Mit- chell, James R. Moore, Robert Neptune, Han- ford Olson, Margedant Peters, L. C. Roenigk, Arnold Ronn, A. W. Ricker, Harvey Sanders, E. F. Scharf, Alfred Sheets, Robert L. Smith, F A. Syftestad, Glenn W. Thompson, George Tichenor, William Torma, Einar Ungren, E. A. Whitney, J. F. Yaeger, Homer Young. Editorial Advisory Board: James Cummins, Davis Douthit, Carl E Ilutchinson, Robert I Smith. Officers and Directors of THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE Murray D. Lincoln, president ; Howard A. Cowden, vice president; E. R. Bowen, general secretary; L. E. Woodcock, treasurer; Mary Arnold, Charles Baker, R. N. Benjamin, Perry L. Green, A. J. Hayes, I. H. Hull, Andrew P. Jensen, William Ltitnatainen, Frances Logan, A. J. Smaby, Dwight D. Townsend, J. P. War- basse. Officers and Directors of NATIONAL COOPERATIVES, INC. I. H. Hull, president; J. L. Nolan, vice president; Howard A. Cowden, secretary-treas urer; A. J. Hayes, chairman; T. A. Tenhune, asst. secretary-treasurer; H. S. Agster, Charles Baker, R. N. Benjamin, Leonard F. Cowden, Ralph Evans, R. W. Hogg, H. H. Hogue, C. S. Jones, A E. Kazan, Laurie Lehtin, William Liimatainen, Jacob Liukku, M. G. Mann, Bruce McCully, Robert McKay, Robert Neptune, C. C. Palmer, R. M Pierson, Boyd Rainey, W. B. Robins, William Sanderson, Jerry F. Shea, R. J. Scott, A. J. Smaby, W. E. Stough, George Urwin, J. F. Yaeger. Contents this issue: Articles Does your co-op have a public relations policy? By Joseph G Knapp 5 The challenge of the second cen tury. By Jerry Voorhis 6 Employees in U. S. consumer co operatives 7 How local co-ops can combat NTEA 9 Cooperative merchandising policy. By James L. Proebsting .. 10 Hoosiers are charting the locker plant road. By Walter Rauth and Phil Papet 12 Cigarette coupons bring new members 14 More verve for co-op labels. By Hugh E. Bogardus 15 Sure I work for the co-op 17 Postwar needs for electrical ap pliances. By Otto A. Nurkkala 18 Keep your co-op safe! 19 Youth wants to help! 20 Modern Industry poll on co-ops 21 1944 volume of consumer coopera tives 23 Asks UNRRA to take aggressive action. By Marquis Childs 27 Departments Letters The Looks o' Things Legislation Affecting Co-ops Commodity News What's Cookin' What's News with the Co-ops Current Literature In the Periodicals Coming Events Editorials 4 8 9 16 19 22 24 25 25 26 PICTURE CREDITS Page 9 OFB; page 11, Wurfs,- page 12, Wurfs; page 13, Wurfs; page 14. Wurfs; page 16, CCA; page 17, Reeves; page 19, CSC; page 20 Dan- ster. CO-OP is published monthly by The Coopera tive League of the USA. Application made for entry as second class matter at the postoffice at Chicago, Illinois, under the act of March 3, 1879 Editorial and business offices, 343 South Dearborn Street, Chicago 4, Illinois. Printed in USA. Copyright 1945 by The Cooperative I eague of the USA Title registered in U. S Patent Office and used by permission of Na tional Cooperatives, Inc. Business Manager, Gilman Calkins Regional Circulation Managers : Jack Heino CCW; Jean Johnston, Indiana; Dorothe Mac- Kay, California; Donald W. May, Texas; Margedant Peters, Central States; J. M. Platt, Midland; W. B. Robins, Utah; Charlotte Tinker, Eastern. Subscription Rates- One year, $2.50; three years, $6. 10 or more copies in one wrapper to same address, $2 per year per copy. Single copy price, 25 cents. Mailed anywhere without extra charge. Change of Address: Send old address label with new address to Circulation Manager. CO OP, 343 S Dearborn St , Chicago 4, Til.. and allow 30 days for correction of listing. Unsolicited manuscripts are submitted at the author's risk and should be accompanied by return postage. ca^^o 215 CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 Strong Shall Be Weak Dear sirs: I took part in giving evidence before The Royal Commission on Taxation of Co-ops in Toronto last week. We certainly had the best of them. The picture I saw was the same as revealed in your drama of the English Lords in 1844, crying out that if they gave the common people more freedom, they would become uncontrollable and upset the peace and harmony of the whole nation Private business called us Com munists, Fascists, Socialists, bureau crats—"undermining the whole so cial and economic structure of the nation and finally the world." Some of the high power lawyers looked weak. D. E. STAUFFER Bright, Ontario, Canada We'll Keep Trying Dear Sirs : I hope that the forthcoming is sues will improve over the first. The main criticism I have is of the lay out of the first and many of the other pages. They are chopped-up. I am sure that CO-OP will keep us that are looking forward to work in the movement up to date. GENE J. ELLIOTT Sykesville, Maryland Dear Sirs : Finance, records, accounting— this is the most important help you can give us. Remember, you are a technical paper. The general "hu man interest" stuff we can handle in our papers. GEORGE TICHENOR Editor The Cooperator Eastern Cooperative League Dear Sirs: I would like to see included not only accounts of successful co-ops, but also stories of failures, from which we could learn how NOT to do it. For instance, Mr. Proebsting in his article praises mail order merchandising. Nothing is said of Cooperative Distributors, whose re cent failure in New York would furnish material for an article. The reasons for the even more recent "folding" of Consumers' Book Cooperative would also be interest ing. That is particularl} true of myself, for I managed a local book co-op, perfectly solvent until its as- Letters sets, nearly all in a credit balance with CBC, were frozen and now await the liquidation of that co-op. Mr. Tichenor's article touching ou local bulletins was read with inter est. I edit the Albany Co-op News letter, and hope you will devote further attention to this subject from time to time. FRANK P. MOTHERSELL Albany, New York Such criticisms as the above are helpful — and appreciated. We'll have a constructive story soon on the two organizations mentioned by Mr. Mothersell. Bouquets Dear Sirs : Congratulations on the new maga zine. I was very much interested in it. A good job has been done. GARDNER W. HEIDRICK Director of Personnel Consumers Cooperative Association Kansas City, Missouri Dear Sirs : It is slick and fine and well edited and well printed You have set Notice A few former subscribers to CONSUMERS COOPERA TION, whose subscriptions have expired, have been kept on the mailing list for CO-OP up to and including this issue. These names will be removed from the list where new subscriptions are not received before the April issue is mailed. If the code number under the address on your copy does not read 4504 or higher, your sub scription has expired, and you will not receive the next issue without renewing (4S03's expire with this issue, but one more issue will be sent with the as sumption that renewals are forth coming). If a circulation manager is listed (on page 3) for your area, send your subscription to that person, in care of the regional cooperative serving that area ("also listed on page 3) Other wise, send your subscription to CO-OP, 343 S. Dearborn St, Chicago 4, 111. a pace that you will have to hustle to keep up. But I'm betting you can do it. L. S. HERRON Editor Nebraska Union Farmer Omaha, Nebiaska Dear Sirs : Good work! We need CO-OP. Give us more Washington news and Canadian items, if you can—and plenty of "pep" talks, along with growth charts. COURT WHITE 200 Horton Highway Mineola, N. Y. Dear Sirs : The first issue of CO-OP arrived the other day. Sincere congratula tions for the fine job you have done. The articles are lively, practical and well written. I'll be looking forward eagerly to the subsequent issues. JAMES L. VIZZARD, S. J Alma College Alma, California Dear Sirs : Enclosed please find my subscrip tion to CO-OP I enjoyed Vol. 1, No. 1. C. E. BOWLES Secretary, Houston Bank for Cooperatives Houston, Texas Dear Sirs : Allow me to compliment you on a very attractive, well gotten up publication. KENT PELLETT Managing Editor The Soybean Digest Dear Sirs : I received the new magazine CO OP. The make up is good—don't sacrifice quality and appearance to "penny-pinching" as co-ops fre quently do. The jokes and cartoons are a pleasant relief from the serious articles—good ! Keep the magazine technical—remember your readers are already sold on the co-op idea JOHN H. BROY Philadelphia Does your Co-op Jicrve or For Fun—and Co-op Progress. A waffle and maple syrup supper was served recently for members of the board and service personnel of the Hancock County (Ohio) Coopera tive and their wives, at the home of long-time co-op booster Ray Ascham. Good fellowship and in tegrated thinking for co-op service advancement were the objects—and, no doubt, the result. CO-OP—MARCH. 1945 Public Relations Policy? By JOSEPH G. KNAPP Principal Agricultural Economist Cooperative Research and Service Division Farm Credit Administration Ways in which your community will be inspired to respect and goodwill—or disrespect and indifference —for your cooperative GOOD public relations cannot be built on wishful thinking. lu making a study of a cooperative many years ago, I remarked to the board of directors that I «as intei- ested in separating truth from prop aganda. One of the directors com mented, "I want to tell you that if there is any propaganda, it is all on the other side. We have no propa ganda in our organization." This illustration shows a "holiei-than- thou'' attitude that is all too com mon in some cooperative circles, where everybody is out of step but the cooperatives. Supporters of co operatives must be willing to admit that their actions or justifications may appear to others as propaganda. In another case, a number of ques tions were directed at the fieldmen of an association to find out what they thought were the association's weaknesses. They had some very definite views and criticisms. But when these criticisms were presented to the board of directors, only a small percentage of the directors would admit that the criticisms were valid. This suggests that the board of directors may not always be as closely informed on the problems of the association as the fieldmen. These fieldmen know their organ ization's weaknesses because they meet the public every day. The board, on the other hand, with less frequent contacts, may idealize the organization and see it through rose-tinted glasses. Aim of Public Relations What kind of reputation does vour co-op want? You must ask this question and answer it before you start to build a public relations program for your organization. There are many tested ways by which cooperatives can gain the re spect of the public. Among other things, are these : Market products or handle supplies of dependable quality. CO-OP—MARCH. 1945 Operate efficiently. Efficiency is al ways respected. Provide pleasant, equitable and ex peditious service to members and patrons. Make facilities the pride of the com munity. Participate in local affairs and sup port broad community interests. Be a good citizen; obey all laws and regulations. Provide the public with full informa tion on matters of public interest. Issue publicity material in a dignified but interesting way. Treat employees and business associ ates fairly. Meet all business obligations promptly. Live up to espoused cooperative principles. On the other hand, there are many ways in which a cooperative can irritate the public and thus lose public respect. They can do this by : Incessant horn-blowing. Unattractive, poorly kept premises. Discriminatory price policies. Not cooperating with other agencies in the community. Not living up to expressed principles. Knocking competitors. "Do you really think inflation wilt af fect us much, dear?" Having poor accounting or business records. Refusing to carry its share of com munity responsibilities. Engaging in shady market dealings. Ignoring feelings of others through lack of courtesy in personal contacts or letters. Meddling in the personal affairs of others. Nepotism—providing employment for relatives of officers or directors. Favoritism among members or pat rons. Unfair treatment of employees. Slovenly or irregular business prac tices. Permitting employees or officers to get involved in partisan controversies. These lists indicate that a coopera tive must maintain a very high standard if it is to gain and hold the respect of the public. Coopera tives are like governmental organ ization in that they are vested with social responsibilities. They must operate in the goldfish bowl of pub lic opinion and be beyond reproach. It makes little difference whether this places an unfair burden on co operatives as compared with private concerns. It is a fact, not a theory, with which we are here concerned Job for Everybody A good public relations policy ex presses itself through all parts of an organization. It comes from the members, the employees, the direc tors. There are many co-ops in this country that have maintained excel lent relations with the public. You will find that they are fair organ izations, fair to all concerned. They keep emotions down and character up. Public relations are the respon sibility of all—members and em ployees, but especially of the board of directors and the manager. The board of directors and the manager must take the responsibility for poli cies that will bring good will to the name of their organization. The Challenge of the Second Century history of the use of the Co operative Movement since its be ginnings 100 years ago is filled with a record of hardship and sacrifice for ideals and principles in which earnest men and women have be lieved. The 28 Pioneers of Rochdale lighted a light which has shined more and more brightly around the world as the years have passed. With the 28 pounds which these poor people managed to save through months of hardship, they started on its way a form of business activity based more solidly upon sound economic, social and spiritual principles than any other type of economic activity the world has ever known. They rediscovered the one basic principle upon which all hu man society must depend, namely, group loyalty. The challenge, then, of the second hundred years of cooperation is to assume our responsibility to deter mine what our future way of life will be. As the late Justice Brandeis said, "Responsibility is the great devel oper." It is more than that; it is the yardstick of character. Men rise or fall as they assume responsibility, and by the manner in which they meet responsibility they lift the status of others or drag it down to a lower level. This world of ours has become overwhelmingly a world dominated by economic issues. Governments are largely economic governments. The wars we fight are largely eco nomic wars. The struggle is constantly one for power and more power; wealth and more wealth. There is inherent in the breast of everyone the urge for monopoly. To a few this urge is translated into opportunity and real ization, but to the multitudes noth ing more than the urge itself is ever realized. The world today has become the arena for this titanic struggle for By JERRY VOORHIS Congressmen from California Pen sketch of Jerry Voorhis, drown by Dolphin at the New York Co-ops' Centennial dinner, December 21, 7944. monopoly and possession. Small groups of men obsessed with desire for wealth and power have organ ized monopolies and cartels, organ izations which continually imperil the peace of the world and the safety of nations, even our own nation. These men respond only to this urge for possession and control By their methods, they deprive millions of the world's people of ownership— even ownership of homes. Ownership Is Key When you deprive one of owner ship or the hope of ownership, you destroy in him the final vestige of a sense of responsibility. Responsi bility is intimately associated with ownership, and in that very test of ownership is the cause for the social and economic and political failures of the past. Even here in America, the world's great land of opportunity, we are to a great degree a nation of tenants and mortgages. Over half the farms in some of our largest and richest midwest agricultural states are owned by absentee landlords and occupied by tenants. In some south ern states, the degree of tenancy is much greater. All through our great West farms comprising thousands upon thou- stands of acres are owned by East ern capital, but the labor is per formed by men and women who have no hope of ownership in the land itself. The tendency toward corporation farming holds little hope of ownership for the actual tiller of the soil. Ownership of homes in the cities has become a mirage to millions employed in our industrial plants. Most workers no longer own any part of the tools of production and have no voice in the management. Thousands of small industrial plants have been absorbed by gigantic cor porations and holding companies until their owners find that even they no longer have a voice in the management of the industry which they or their forebears developed. A system of impersonal absentee ownership has come to rule in the United States with a resultant tend ency toward loss of character on the part of both industry and groups employed by industry and govern ment. The badge of irresponsibility is all too common today. How often we see carelessness on the part of an employee because he does not own the tools. How often CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 \ve see industry strive to get the highest figure on a contract, whether that figure is warranted or not. How often we see wastefulness on the part of government employees because it is "not their money" that is being spent. How often we see whole communities and even states shifting the burden of their own responsibility to the Federal Gov ernment even while they cry out against usurpation of their author ity. This condition is not irrepar able; the tide can be turned back, but it can only be done through the assumption of responsibility by the individual. The challenge of the second cen tury to cooperatives is to boldly assert that they are not only stem ming this tide but also changing the system into which we have been drifting. The cooperative method is the one organized economic force which has demonstrated that it has the facili ties for stemming the tide of our economic system from one of ten ancy and dependency to one of own ership and responsibility. Through cooperative effort, a thousand small farmers can pool their interests and thereby perform services that might otherwise be done by a single corporation, while at the same time they preserve their sense of ownership and full respon sibility upon which sound and stable government itself depends. Through cooperative effort a thousand families in the city may enjoy a higher standard of living, which will result in improved health, better education, hope for home ownership, and a realization that these things have come to pass through the efforts that they them selves have made. They will stand "Some groups of men obsessed with desire for wealth and power have organized monopolies and cartels, organizations which continually imperil the peace of the world and the safety of nations," writes Mr. Voorhis. He explains the importance of cooperatives for the correction of this and other economic problems, and gives us not too long to do the job. a little straighter and they will hold their heads higher. We have mastered the problems of production both on farm and in factory, but we have not mastered the problem of distribution. Scarcity Is Unreal Ten years ago we saw millions of tons of food destroyed on the farms because there was no market, and millions of people in the cities went hungry for want of this very food. The specter of such a situation now haunts the minds of both farmers and consumers. Both groups seek legislation to insure them against dependency, but the long time solution does not lie in legislation. It will not be found in the halls of Congress. Congress may pass relief measures, provide for subsidies, furnish temporary ex pedients; but the problem of distri bution cannot in the long run be met by legislation. It can be met by the people themselves working through their own organizations, working to wrest the control of processing and transportation and distribution from the hands of small monopolistic groups, working to provide homes and home ownership for more people who will realize EMPLOYEES OF CONSUMER PURCHASING COOPERATIVES IN THE U. S. AFFILIATED WITH NATIONAL COOPERATIVES INC., AND THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE OF THE U. S. A. RETAIL EMPLOYEES COOPERATIVE LEAGUE GRAPHIC BY PICK-S full responsibility when they realize that ownership. When we have mastered the art of distribution, then, and only then, can we look forward to an era of peace with full employment So long as overpopulated and under privileged nations exist in a world where an excess of necessities of life constitute an embarrassment of riches to other nations, so long will we live under the shadow of the threat of war. So long as millions in our own country are in want while others are unable to dispose of the fruits of their labor, so long will we have unemployment, racial and class dis crimination and all their attendant evils. Cooperatives can show the way to a proper system of distribu tion. Too long have coopératives) been apologetic about their purpose and even their existence. The second century challenges cooperatives and members of cooperatives to fly their flag high without apology and with out any action which can be con strued as defeatism. Cooperatives are today the great est single force for effectively regu lating private industry. Their meth ods of operation, their insistence upon quality and price, their per formance of service, have a more far-reaching and beneficial effect on private industry than have all the laws and regulations that can be enacted The cooperative system stands be tween the people of our country and government ownership and control. The cooperative method offers the best solution for insuring costs of production to the producer who lives on the farm and a decent standard of living to the consumer. Through cooperatives we can bring both farmers and urban people to a sympathetic realization of the prob lems which affect each other. Although cooperatives today have enjoyed an enviable business expan- {Contmued on next page) CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 Second Century— {Continued from page 7) sion, they have not realized so far a corresponding influence in legis lative halls, particularly the halls of Congress. Cooperative business, in cluding that done for producer and consumer, may be considered in terms of billions of dollars today, but cooperative influence in Con gress is almost negligible in com parison. It must find the way to ex press its opinions to government. We have just witnessed the defeat of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project in the Senate because the powerful opposition to it was organized and it asserted every influ ence at its command. Support for the development of this greatest natural resource in the world—and one which would contribute mate rially to the welfare of every person in the United States—was desultory in nature and largely unorganized. While the voice of the special interests opposing this measure was strong and influential, the voice of the cooperatives was scarcely heard. When such projects are proposed as the development of the St. Law rence, utilization of the tremendous resources of the Missouri River sys tem, and expansion of transporta tion systems—projects which will re sult in more adequate distribution and a higher scale of living for mil lions, the voice of the cooperatives should wield a powerful influence. Can't Be Unconcerned The second century challenges us to make that voice heard in the leg islative halls of the states and the nation. Cooperatives cannot afford not to be interested in the develop ment of our great natural resources. Conservation of forests, oil, miner als, and the use of these resources in the public benefit rather than in the interest of any financial group which desires to exploit them solely for itself is a matter which directly concerns every member of everv cooperative. They cannot afford to be unconcerned with any acts of the state legislatures and Congress. Through the ages, man has strug gled upward toward the ultimate goal. He has evolved education as a foundation upon which other achievements rest ; he has developed the art of medicine and healing so that life may reach its allotted span on earth ; he has made the desert to bloom and he has curbed the floods and controlled the lightning; he has learned to fly through the air almost with the speed of sound it- 8 self, but he has not yet learned how to live at peace with his fellow man nor to dispell the fear of want in a world of plenty. One hundred years ago, the co operative movement was born. Its progress has been difficult and slow. Adversity has dogged its way. Its enemies are powerful and ruthless. But because it was never stopped, because it came back after each adversity, millions of families in our own country and millions of others throughout the world are living bet ter, happier lives today. The first cooperative century built the foundation for a better way of life The second century challenges us to build securely on that founda tion. What Peace Takes "The formula required from both citizens and nations is a lasting guarantee of reassurance to youth that security is an illusion without whole-hearted individual coopera tion. There is no cautious steering toward half measures that will secure peace."—Eileen J. Garrett in the magazine Tomorrow. —o— Law for Profit's Sake Several Chicago cooperatives, anx ious to handle the new CO-OP Cig arettes when they are ready, pro ceeded to apply for the necessary licenses, found that to get them they must be either an Illinois corporation or a foreign (out-of-state) corpora tion registered with the state secre tary. But they have been refused such registration because (organized under the D. C. Cooperative Act) they "do not have a stated stock capitalization" and "are not organized for pecuniary gain." A recently en acted law in Illinois prohibits the recognition of any corporation formed for distributive purposes if organized not for profit. Co-op ad vocates missed the boat—which must have been loaded with NTEA angels. Incentive Protector Union Oil Company (which Judge Thurman Arnold took apart in his Cooperative Congress address, "Monopolies Must Go," revealing gross restrictive and high-price-fix ing practices) describes in a page advertisement in The New Yorker for March 10 the immense "kit of tools" workmen in modern indus try must have, and how "the in dividual simply cannot finance them. The answer," the reader learns, "is multiple ownership — pooling the money of a lot of people." This is done "under legal agreements known as corporations," it is ex plained; "that way we can preserve the freedom of the individual, the efficiency of a free economv and that all-important human incentive —competition." Nothing is said about Union's participation with 122 other refiners in the competition- stifling pact with Ethyl Corporation which was finally ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. Research ! Fawcett Publications, reports Time Magazine, spent a year and $50,000 hunting and interviewing all readers of True Confessions in Dayton, Ohio—"typical wartime U. C. city"; found: most between 20 and 34 years old, 72% married, average of $29 a month rent—$4 over the Dayton average, 72% high school graduates, 3% college graduates, 100% soap buyers ! Spoils Conference? At a conference on any subject, presumably, all those with valuable experience and data to contribute and who have a stake in the out come should be represented. At the San Francisco meetings, though, which many hope will be at least the first of the real peace-building conferences, Allied belligerancy will be the criteria for admission. Two great democracies, Sweden and Switzerland, with much to teach the world community, have not been in vited. Educators to the Rescue! At one of the hearings by the Ca nadian Royal Commission on taxa tion of cooperatives, an anti-coopera tive witness was asked to define "true cooperative" which he had used several times. After he had fumbled amusingly, Judge McDougall, Com mission chairman, commented, "Well, sir, I want to commend you for your courage in attempting a definition of something of which you are ob viously colossally ignorant." It Might Work! The NTEA is going into research in a big way. A recent literature order of $34.50 came from its Chi cago office, 231 South La Salle St CO-OP—MARCH. 1945 THE fight it, un. National Tax Equality Association is all out in its attempt to clip the wings of the lustily growing cooperative movement. Under the naive guise of a champion for small business, NTEA is driving blows at the heart of cooperative structure. On the shoulders of thousands of local co-ops and their members lies the burden of defense. While Truth is the co-ops' great ally, yet v\ ithoul adequate publicity work on the part of cooperators, NTEA may succeed in scaring legislators into enacting laws unfair and restrictive to co-ops. Many co-op leaders believe that the NTEA attack ma}- prove a bless ing in disguise, both in focusing national attention upon co-ops and in arousing our more lethargic co- operators into action. This remains, however, to be seen. The ptoper strategy for local co ops in mapping their counter-offen- sive will include first a careful studv of the NTEA attacks and the nature of thi« organization. It is essential that coopérât ors know exactlv what the points of contention are. Next in ordei is to determine what shall be the co-ops' answer to How local Co-ops can help Legislation affecting Cooperatives Iowa. The Iowa State Federation of Cooperative Burial Associations is sponsoring an amendment to the 1939 funeral code in a struggle for survival in the face of private-profit undertakers' opposition. Kansas. Bills to strike out Sec tion 11 of the Kansas income tax act were introduced Feb. 12 in both houses. This Section exempts farm co-ops from the state income tax. CCA-land cooperators have swamped legislators with personal visits. Minnesota. Cooperatives are sponsoring a non-profit medical service bill as a counter measure to the doctor-monopoly bill for pre paid medical care which is before the State Senate Public Health Com mittee. Ohio. House Bill 422 was intro duced in the General Assembly to create a commission to investigate reports that competition brought about by co-ops was one of the principal causes of the plight of small business men in the state. COMBAT NTEA RDBDMBS the various charges and proposals. Facts are the most effective ammu nition—facts available in special ma terial published by The Cooperative League and the National Associa tion of Cooperatives and distributed by the member regionals. Firing this information to its own membership will give a local co-op many volunteer supporters ; mem bers \\ ill be vitally concerned with the issue. Inform Community Leaders There are other important direc tions in which to direct the broad side. In each community are key persons—editors and public relations men, clergymen, legislators and pub lic officials, organization chairmen, educators and librarians, farm and labor leaders, and business and pro fessional people. The League is preparing "truth literature" packets especially suited for these different groups and in tended to reach them each month from now on. The contents will not be restricted to notes about the tax attacks Effective "propagandizing1' can be done by local cooperatives who join with others in the same area to place conspicuous advertisements in local newspapers, explaining the facts about co-ops and taxes. Personal letters to legislators can be of tremendous influence when ever laws are proposed to the detri ment of the cooperative movement. Politicians cannot afford to ignore a flood of letters from their con stituents. The type of answers which co- operators give is important. Ac curate, brief and enlightening state ments are desirable. The co-ops' case stated frankly and sincerely need not be bolstered by oratorical embellishments. Write your regional cooperative immediately (see directory on page 3) for materials if you do not al ready have a supply. Then get a big group of missionaries informing your whole community with the TRUTH about co-ops. Stamp Collectors Note! Of outstanding value is a set of Rochdale Cooperative Memorial stamps issued by the Government of Venezuela, December 21, 1944. which have finally cleared customs. Venezuela was the first government in the world to honor the Coopera tive movement with an issue of stamps. A set of seven (in denomin ations from five centimos to 3.70 Bolivars) for $3.50. A descriptive folder on the origin and meaning of the Cooperative movement included with each set. Cooperators should tell their stamp collector friends about this. Better yet, give them a set (These are un used, uncancelled stamps.) Paît of Farm Supply Manager School Group Under auspices of Rochdale Institute and regional cooperatives the 7945 Farm Supply Managers School, held at Farm Bureau Cooperative headquarters, Columbus, Ohio, ottered specialized training to 66 co-op employees from four regions. CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 Every Cooperative should have a Definite Merchandising Policy By JAMES L. PROEBSTING Advertising Manager National Cooperatives T N preceding articles we attempted -•• to analyze some of the many different merchandising methods and the different means of promot ing such merchandising plans. Let us proceed with more definite appli cations of the opportunities we have in a cooperative merchandising pro gram. Every business institution that is offering goods or services to the public has a merchandising policy. The instructions, written or implied, which are followed in dealing with customers, clients, patients or ten ants comprise this policy. But a pol icy exists whether or not it is writ ten. Marshall Field, the merchant prince of Chicago, was the city's first merchant to price every item in his store. In the pioneer days of his store venture the custom was never to mark the price, but to hag gle over il in an effort to get all he could, with the customer trying to get the item for as little as he could. Americans traveling in for eign lands and, in fact, in many stores in America, can still encoun ter this practice. It certainly sharp ens the bargaining instinct! Made Business Boom Marshall Field felt that his new policy of pricing all goods would establish confidence in his store. It being in the interest of his custom ers, he publicized it widely. That, of course, was not the only reason, but his store thrived and grew. Other merchandising policies that are often publicized are guarantees, trading stamp or "box-top return" offers, special or extra services, a willingness to take back merchan dise, deferred payment plans and many others. Note that the ones that are publicized are those which are or appear to be in the custom ers' interest. That is only natural. 10 Why a written merchandising policy is important to your cooperative, and how it can help your merchandising and organi zational program It is asking too much to expect profit business to remind customers that after all, its main goal, its reason for being, is to make profits, and that it undertakes only those "public-spirited" innovations which, in the long run, are calculated to increase its profits. But if profit business cannot reasonably be ex pected to state publicly the policy they pursue in merchandising, what of the cooperatives? As we have mentioned before, the local cooperative is a democratically controlled, non-profit community enterprise. The patrons, as repre sentative consumers in the com munity, make the policy decisions. As a matter of fact the cooperative is the only merchandiser who has the right to come out and speak for the consumer, the member-patron. And if the merchandising policy is in the community's interest, it is to the Co-op's advantage to give it publicity. Several Values Result A cooperative merchandising pol icy, properly publicized, can be ex pected to accomplish several objec tives : 1. A CO-OP merchandising pol- "Will you repeat all the nice things you said about this traveling vibrator? I'm getting discouraged." icy can greatly help in focusing attention on the purpose and meth ods of a cooperative store. And that is exactly what we need. Most normal people who understand the objectives and methods of con sumer cooperation heartily approve both. 2. A CO-OP merchandising pol icy that frankly discusses the meth ods and reasons for a consumer- controlled approach is sure to pro mote confidence in the merchandise and the merchandising program. This means greater participation— greater volume. 3. A written merchandising pol icy can do much to guide our own employees in their relationships with our member-patrons. It can even prevent frustration among CO-OP employees. Consider the case of an enthusiastic and ener getic young CO-OP employee who was recently recruited from the ranks. Being intelligent, he quick ly saw the fairness and logic af the cooperative method. Having come from a profit corporation, where his best efforts only increased some unknown stockholders' profits rather than returned savings to the community, he was anxious to make a showing. He set out with vim and vigor to promote this con sumer - conceived program — and was soon accused of "high-pressure selling" by his own board! And by a board which had not taken the trouble to establish a written pol icy, conceived and executed in the patrons' interest, for merchandis ing the society's commodities. Had they had a definite merchandising policy, the employee could easily have followed it; even more im portant, had they had a policy, they could have thanked him for promoting business on the basis of their plan—"of, by and for the people." 4. Finally, a merchandising pol icy can be used to show suppliers how their products will be pub licized, thereby demonstrating the necessity for specific standards and quality controls, and thus main- CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 fi i V i •'-.a This interior view of the Co-op Oil Association station at Chisage City, Minn., illustrates a number ef good merchandising practices: Clean, orderly, appealing displays; alert, "member-of-the-family" service to patrons; current, inspiring data on operations for patron-owners. taining pressure for the procure ment of better quality goods. National Policy To accomplish results in keeping with the objectives of consumei co operatives, the boaid of directors of National Cooperatives adopted in October, 1943, the following mer chandising policy : (1) National Cooperatives should at all times present the consumer's (the user's) point of view—giving accurate, honest and complete spe cifications and, where in the user's interest, give the limitations as well as the advantages of a given product; in other words, that we earn the right to speak for the con sumer. (Cooperatives being owned and controlled by the member-pa trons, are the only merchandisers who can come out and speak in their behalf.) (2) Test-check in advance, where practical, the desirability of com modities to be introduced. (3) Test-check commodities af ter experience is gained to im prove their specification or design. (4) Integrate our publicity by emphasizing those names and methods which are applicable to all groups (forest green and cream for architectural trim, the name CO OP so that publicity can be ef fectively produced in the national level, elimination so far as possible of restrictive terminology). (5) When our member associa tions can be better served by com modities or services other than our own to so advise them. It is difficult to see how such a policy, no matter how energetically pursued, could be anything but in the community interest The more energy, imagination and enthusiasm \\ e can bring to bear on such a policy, the more soundly and rap idly we will grow. How It Works What happens when "in the user's interest we give the limitations as well as the advantages of a given product" in a consumer-controlled merchandising policy? Let me quote from a booklet titled "CO-OP Cos metics and Shampoos" recently pub lished by National Cooperatives. This booklet includes general back ground information on cosmetics and shampoos, as well as a complete bibliography which lists the most authoritative source material. Among other things, the booklet has this to say: "Cosmetics may improve the ap pearance of the skin and protect it but no cosmetic can permanently alter its natural characteristics or physiological processes. Since the skin, like the rest of the body, is nourished only through the blood stream, no cosmetic can 'feed' or 'nourish' it or 'build' tissues. Many cosmetics have been represented as being wrinkle eradicators, re- juvenators, of value because of their vitamin content, nonallergic, etc., all of which are false and mis leading and are so classed by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States Federal Security Agency. The claim for nonallergic properties made by some cosmetic manufacturers is misleading for the reason that almost every known substance is irritating to some per sons." Concerning the care of the hair and scalp, the booklet records the following information : "Much of the so-called dandruff is nothing more than the natural sloughing off of the dead layer of outer skin cells. If you have rea son to suspect a skin disease, see a dermatologist. Do not try to treat it with 'dandruff cures.' "If your hair or scalp is neither too oily nor too dry, is easy to manage and is naturally lustrous, it may not be necessary to use a special shampoo. Any good neu tral, high quality soap such as CO-OP Pine Soap which proves to be nonirritating to the scalp should be satisfactory. If you use soap, dissolve it first in water. This will aid in rinsing." More generally a consumer con trolled merchandising policy creates (Continued on next Page) CO-OP—MARCH. 1945 M Merchandising— (Continued from page 11) such programs as "Open Formula" feeds and government graded canned goods. In each case, the consumer (the ultimate user; is given more complete, more frank information on the product than is usually the practice. In the case of milking machines, a faster method of milk ing is sponsored even though this method necessitates less milking ma chine equipment, and attention is called to that fact. This difference between merchan dising goods and services to your member-patrons as against market ing to the general public is one of the distinguishing features of con sumer or purchasing cooperatives on the one hand and marketing cooperatives on the other. Any mer chandising man can easily see the tremendous advantages of selling goods and services to the people who have organized and financed, and who control the enterprise—i.e.. the member-patrons. On the other hand, a marketing cooperative must sell outside its membership to the public at large. Of course, it can and is being successfully done by the California Fruit Growers, the Walnut Growers, Land-O-Lakes Creamery and a great many other enterprising marketing cooperatives. But the merchandising operations must of necessity closely parallel those of other distributors, market ing goods through the usual chan nels. The purpose is to obtain a high price as a cooperative service to their marketing members. In a consumer or purchasing cooperative the attempt is to achieve a low price for the entire membership and the community at large. This does not mean that the two types of cooperatives could not har moniously work together. On the contrary, as not-for-profit service organizations they could and should work together to their mutual ad vantage. But a merchandising pol icy directed at member-patrons will always be radically different from one directed at the open market One program is designed to benefit the seller—the other the purchaser Both are essential in helping to reg ulate our complex and too often faltering economy. In the next issue, Mr. Proebsting will discuss the ad vantages and limitations of CO-OP merchandising oppor tunities This chill room in the freezer-locker plant of the Solebury Cooperative, New Hope, Pa., represents part of the short-route distribution feature of co-op lockers. Hoosiers are charting the LOCKER PLÄJVT ROAD to lower cost distribution Indiana Farm Bureau groups sponsoring unique rurai-urban service projects A digest of recent reports By WALTER RAUTH and PHIL PAPET S WE approach the close of the war and plan for the post war period we need to think of the various changes that will occur in peacetime living. During the past decade there have been great changes in processing, storage, and distribution of meats and other food products. Plants with slaught ering, processing, and distributing services will play a major part in these changes. Many co-op directors are now faced with the question of installa tion of a frozen food locker plant. Should the farm co-op do it. or should a new producer-consumer co-op do it ? If consumers are to continue to purchase adequate meat supplies at a price they can afford and farmers are to leceive proper returns for their live-stock and *Mr. Rauth is manager oi the Tri- County Farm Bureau Cooperative, at Evansville, Indiana; Mr. Pape/ is man ager of the farm home modernization department, Indiana Farm Bureau Co opérative Association. poultry, a solution must be found to shorten the route from producer to consumer at lower costs. If we leave it to private business interests to install these locker pro jects, prices paid to farmers and by consumers will be another step wider apart Therefore, it seems that farmers need cooperative locker plants for two reasons. First, to serve themselves with their own high quality meat at cost, without paying anyone else locker rentals and other services. Second, such a program gives them opportunities to get their products to the consumers on a shorter route, thereby benefit ing both groups. This second phase has a great future if properly guided and administered. It would create a working relationship between pro ducers and consumers. It would he a practical demonstration to people of what cooperative activities have in store for them Such a project could be used as an 12 CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 exchange center for meats, fresh fruits and vegetables. Surpluses could be frozen, stored and sold later to match consumer demand. Or consumers could buy them fresh, directly through the plant, have them processed and stored in their lockers. Eggs and poultry products could be added and handled in like manner. Storage rooms could be added where vegetable growers could store their surplus crops and hold them for a few days until they need them for their trade. Another field would be to serve as an outlet for cooperative creamery butter, co operative cheese, canned foods from cooperative canneries and other foods that are milled and processed by cooperatives. Since a very small per cent of all people now have locker service avail able, either by private business for profit or on the cooperative basis. A new locker plant service, there fore, has been approved by the di rectors of the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association and the program is taking a very firm hold in various sections of Indiana. Under the program outlined, these locker plants will not only furnish a genuine service to the locality but will add additional in dustrial facilities to these smaller trading centers; and with certain facilities, the locker plant could help to consume much of the meat and many other farm products raised in the immediate territory—thus sav- ;.- The modern co-op locker yields top quatiiy pro duce at a saving to the consumer, higher returns to the farmer-producer. ing transportation costs to the farm er in getting his livestock hauled or shipped to the market. At Evansville the group has re ceived blue prints and has filed for priorities for the plant. This plant will accommodate 1,300 lockers and will have a poultry killing room, pork slaughtering room, beef slaughtering room, and will process meats, render lard, make sausage, blanch vegetables and fruits. This work will be done for both urban and rural members. Officers and directors of Vander- hurgh Cooperative Food Lockers, Inc., hope to begin operations shortly; priorities are expected to be granted in the very near future. At Princeton, another group un der the name of Gibson Frozen Food Cooperative, Inc., has filed its arti cles, and sale of stock will start soon. A locker plant will be built to furnish all processing services covering meats and vegetables. The plant will eventually house 1,200 lockers, and the group is seeking a slaughtering house and small meat packing plant Here again, both the producer and consumer will partici pate in the operation. In Orange County, various co operatives have what they call their "super cooperatives" consisting of the Orange County Faim Bureau Co-op, the REMC, Producers Creamery, and others. Recently officials of these groups met to dis cuss a locker plant program. The Spencer County Farm Bureau Cooperative is sponsoring a locker plant at Dale and one at Chrisney, both to be consumer-producer owned, controlled, and operated. The residents of Dale and Chrisney are very anxious to work with the Farm Bureau Cooperative on this new venture. In Wayne County the Farm Bu reau Cooperative is planning a large locker plant, along with a slaughter ing house and small meat packing plant, which will probably be one of the largest in the state—with an investment of about $150,000. (Continued on next page) if •« •i Exterior of Solebury Co-op's model food locker plant, at New Hope, Pennsylvania, similar to many planned by Indiana co-op groups. CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 13 Locker Plants— {Continued from page 13) In Jennings County, the Farm Bureau and the cooperative associa tion have voted to sponsor a co operative locker plant, which is to be owned and controlled by a mem bership made up of producers and consumers. There is also lively conversation and work on plants in Miami, Elk- hart, Perry, Noble, Switzerland, Wabash, and Franklin Counties. A logical meeting and trading place for consumer and producer would be in a locker plant—the farmer using the locker plant as his agent for the sale of meats and farm produce and the storage of his sur plus produce, and all consumers us ing it as the place for buying as well as storing meats and vegetables Under the guidance of a board of directors composed of both pro ducers and consumers, such a pro gram should be helpful to both the farmer and his city neighbor. When these fields of service are explored and developed, there will be a processing and distributing sys tem owned by the people that pro duce and the people that consume. It will take out the crooked roads, highjacking and speculation that both have been victims of for a long time. There is no sounder founda tion on which these groups could build a service in order to shorten the route of our food products and give added security to all. •»—I- J tfl ^—^ "Is this your idea of a gentle hint?" Cigarette Coupons Bring New Members ONE member, one pack of cig arettes. In this way did Hyde Park Co-op (Chicago) interpret the Rochdale principles. A coupon good for one pack of cigarettes was included in its March 1 Evergreen Weekly, cir culated to the Co-op's 1100 mem bers. The response was sensational. Nicotine fans, 430 strong, turned in their coupons for the prized booty. What's more, 18 non-member pa trons flocked to Educational Secre tary Mrs. Mary Lewis to "join up." Hyde Park has used this method of distribution of scarce items since 1942 when runs on coffee stocks just prior to its rationing created the perplexing problem of how to dis tribute the supply on hand equitably. Since then, this method has been tried with sugar, facial tissues and now with cigarettes. Simple Method The mechanics are simple. A suffi cient stock of the commodity must be accumulated in anticipation of the demand, which runs from 20% to 40% of the coupons issued. The coupon is then made valid for a period of two or three days to give time to the members for shopping. Some complaints, of course, are registered by non-member patrons. These are met with the welcome to membership. All that is required is a reasonable deposit toward the member's total finance obligation. The Co-op rightfully expects those who make use of its facilities to share in the furnishing of its work ing capital. Has Many Uses This type of merchandising need not be restricted to scarce products. New items under Co-op labels might be promoted at a special introduc tory price. By "thrusting" upon the membership an appealing offer that is hard to resist, the Co-op can do a real patron service in acquainting members with good buys and useful commodities new on the market. If coupons are made valid on slack days it is also possible to even out somewhat the shopping peaks that make the weekend a headache for the employees. So/ebury member-patrons conveniently file their food locker keys In the cutting and packaging room of their plant. Spinglespangle Rides The Air V/aves After debating the problem for a long time, Midland Cooperative Wholesale finally decided to offer free copies of The Goolibah Tree to listeners to their weekly radio pro gram who would write in response to their announcement. Perhaps, they guessed, we will get a hundred or so requests, anyway. In almost no time, after the an nouncement was made, Midland had on its hands requests for 900 "Gooli bah Trees"—the novel story of Mr. Spinglespangle, Esq. Stunned, they telegraphed a rush order to the Co operative League for additional copies. The response count at last report was over 1200, and Midland knows now that they have a "listen ing public." 14 CO-OP—MARCH. 1945 Grocery Committee decrees More Verve for Labels on Co-op products By HUGH E. BOGARDUS Manager, Grocery Deportment National Cooperatives consideration was given to the improvement of many CO-OP labels by the Grocery Com modity Committee in its January meeting. The Committee went over the list of CO-OP labels and criti cized some as being "definitely un attractive," and some were even condemned as being "lousy." In most of these cases there has been failure to gain acceptance of the product because the first impression has been one to repel the consumer. Even though the contents of a package may be of the finest quality and represents a consumer best value, this is all to naught if the appearance of the package is totally negative. Cooperatives have been guilty in far too many instances of offering excellent consumer values in packages with "five o'clock sha dows." In our modern self-service stores CO-OP products have to compete for eye appeal, and product identification. This competition for eye appeal exists even though the CO-OP store may offer only CO OP labeled products. Aesthetics Important, Too Even from the purely aesthetic ap peal, there is no earthly reason why cooperators should be penalized. Our cooperative wives should have the opportunity to purchase CO-OP products which will add to the beauty of their pantry stocks Therefore, the Committee issued instructions to the sales and Adver tising Department to add "some thing extra" to the offending labels. They called it "glamour." Furthermore, they agreed that every device of color and design be used to help identify individual products where there are family groupings. Too many instances have happened where customers have taken home CO-OP Bran Flakes, when their shopping list called for Wheat Flakes. As more items are added to the CO-OP line, it be comes increasingly necessary to de- velop the product identification technique. The following is a partial list of revamping projects now in process to accomplish the above objectives. Some have been completed; the others will come along as fast as * "<««»» Contents identification was the main considera tion in designing this new cereal carton, one of several to appear when present stocks are gone. present stocks of cartons and labels are exhausted. Co-op Dry Cereals A general improvement in package design to insure maximum product identification. New colors, too, are being used to create a distinctive eye appeal, especially for the corn flake, wheat flake, and bran flake cartons. (These new designs will not make their appearance until fall, after present stocks of cartons are used up.) Cosmetics CO-OP cosmetic labels have been refurbished. A few remaining items and all new items will have snappy "make-up" to please milady's taste. Compacts and lipsticks are in the works. There will be an opportunity for some exciting consumer tests on the latter. (Incidentally, the grease stick in lipsticks retailing for $3.50 may not cost more than 3c. And the container may be ISc. The balance does not go into patronage refunds.) Toilet Soaps The line is being given careful study, and new wrappers will be developed. Then there'll be no more confusing apple blossom for pine soap. All bars will probably be single wrapped and at a later time will be provided in consumer pack ages of a dozen bars or so for con venience of larger purchasers. CO-OP soaps are quality products and deserve a dash of umph in their wrappers. And that we'll have! Soda Products Many of our soda products labels have been "imprint" labels and the rest have been hit or miss. New labels will be designed which will make these products (sal soda, lye, bowl cleaner, etc.) completely ir resistible; if such prosaic products can be made irresistible. Cereals and Flour Improvement of both label and package are in the works for buch items as farina wheat cereal, toasted wheat cereal, and flour. Several of the regionals have been supplying their stores with the products packed in Delta Seal paper bags. These bags have proven not too acceptable to the consumer. It is not possible to use fibre cartons. The Committee is certain that consumers will appreciate the convenience of the new package. These items will be ready for distribution some time this summer or fall, depending upon the packaging situation. New package designs, with more eye ap peal, greater product identification, more glamour for the kitchen, to come as fast as package-making facilities and old package stocks allow CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 15 Commodity News A regular CO-OP Magazine depart ment supplying important data about availability, specifications, distribu tion and uses of CO-OP commodities Great Expansion in Co-op Tire Business Assured The Automotive Committee of National Cooperatives has embarked on a vast new tire program, which calls for great expansion in produc tion of CO-OP passenger tires to take effect as soon as tires are re leased for civilian consumption. Contracts have been signed assur ing supply of a great increase over pre-war CO-OP passenger tiie pro duction. Co-ops Supply New Truck Tire Construction Tire quality has previously been denoted by the term "ply," the num ber of plies indicating the quality of the tire. The automotive indus try has now adopted the term "ply rating" which indicates the quality of the individual plies This departure from a long- established policy was taken after years of research by a leading tire manufacturer had developed a new ,-*«. », ; ? • « #• 1 and better tire construction princi- pie. This new construction principle consists in twisting together twice as many rayon filaments as before in the make-up of each cord. The cords are then so spaced in the ply as to give greatly increased strength to the ply. The weight of truck tire cords is designated in the rayon industry by the term "denier.'' Thus, the new type truck tires, termed "2200 Denier" have cords which are twice as heavy as the cords in the old tires of 1100 Denier. As a result, fewer plies are required to make a tire which is much stronger and of better quality than the old type truck tire. CO-OP truck tires are all of this 2200 Denier construction and carry the new ply rating as well as the lettering "HT-Rayon" (High Tena city). The Automotive Committee of National Cooperatives, consisting of representatives from the member regionals, announced this new CO OP service at its recent meeting. Co-ops are among the first to put these tires on the market. ï i w M r Co-op Inner Tubes Now of Butyl Rubber Early difficulties with Butyl inner tubes have been completely elimin ated and Butyl tubes are now equal or superior to natural rubber tubes. CO-OP tubes, therefore, are now made uf Butyl rubber. Time To Clean Up and Paint Up! It's spring ! Freshen up your store ; a few gallons of paint, a new sign or two, will do a lot for your store. When you select your paint, by the way, how about trving the CO-OP colors—forest green and ivory! They're attractive, fresh, cool, and they spell CO-OP to more people. New Animal Parasite Remedies On the Way CO-OP Phenothiazine medica tions for the treatment of animals affected by internal parasites will be available shortly. These medications will come in three forms—powdered, suspension and pellets. The pellets, designed for poultry, have nicotine included so they are effective on both cecal worms and roundworms. New CO-OP Rust Preventive Is Money Saver Chemical Products Division of National Cooperatives had devel oped a new CO-OP Rust Preventive that is effective and a money saver. It will be available in quantity lots in the very near future. Many farmers depend on lubri cating oils or axle grease to protect * -ï< These co-op managers from a score of states were saturated witA data about fuel oil and lubricant production and use at the Petroleum Managers Train ing School at Kansas City in January, one of three managers' schools conducted this year by Rochdale Institute and regional cooperatives. ? I I 'l T T I 16 CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 Purchase of this 5,500-barrel-a-day refinery at Levelland, Texas, including a mcd-"n topping plant, cracking unit, blending and desulphurization units, 150,000 barrels of storage and 120 acres of real estate was announced February 17 by Leonard F. Cowden, general manager of Consumers Cooperatives Associated, Amarillo, Texas. Bulk of the more than $750,000 purchase price was provided by new capital investment by 1,500 CCA members and ' ' ir-fom " ... patrons during a year-long refinery-purchase drive. their machinery frum rust. But these materials rarely give protec tion for longer than a month nr two—even when the machinery is under cover. Much research put into the de velopment of CO-OP Rust Preven tive has proved its physical and chemical qualities to be thoroughly satisfactory ; in actual field tests it has given excellent results in all kinds of weather. Tested with 28 rust preventive compounds and 8 oils and greases commonly used for this purpose, it proved equal to the very best of them, far superior to most. CO-OP Rust Preventive is there fore guaranteed to protect metal parts for over a year in the open— exposed to sun, rain, snow and sleet. Whether the metal is wet or dry at the time of application, the com pound is equally effective. It can be diluted with gasoline or kerosene for spraying into otherwise inac cessible places or it can be brushed on. The method may vary ; the re sults are the same New Packages For Cereals In Process New, more attractive and more convenient packages are in process for CO-OP Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice. Wheat Flakes, Corn Flakes, and 40% Bran Flakes pack ages are also being redesigned (see page 15; New Catalog Page In Preparation A catalogue page featuring the CO-OP Universal Lyvac Washer on one side and a Sterilizer Jar and Rack on the other side Sure / Work for the Co-op! ffWLlKE cooperative work. It is • interesting and from my ob servation holds definite possibilities tor the future. I have always felt in working for a cooperative organ ization that I have been a part of the thing I was working for and the people I was working with. I have had ever} reason to work under a feeling of security, as I have observed the human element is much different than in a private business. "I started working on my own just before the recent depression, and was working for a private en terprise at that time. During the depression some of the men I knew, who had held responsible jobs and drawn sizable incomes, were out of employment overnight because prof its were placed ahead of human consideration. About that same time I started working for coopera tives, and all during the depression years I felt secure so far as my job Special Offer Extended Because of the delay in mail ing of the February issue, the offer of a free copy of The Goolibah Tree with each 3-year subscription to CO-OP Magazine has been extended to all such subscriptions mailed on or before May 31, 1945. See page 3 for rates. was concerned. I constantly drew salary sufficient to permit me to save money each month I worked. After experiencing the depression years and seeing what happened to some competent individuals in priv ate industiy, I would be very re luctant to consider doing anything other than working for myself in dividually or a cooperative. "Frankly, if a person applies him self, cooperative business offers very interesting and worthwhile respon sibilities which make the work both pleasant and financially successful." —/. H. Dean, Manager, Dodge City Cooperative Exchange, Dodge City, Kansas. GLF Donates $200,000 For Nutrition School Grange-League-Federation Coop eratives, Ithaca, N. Y., have appro priated $200.000 to provide a head quarters building for the Cornell University School of Nutrition. "Farmers of the northeast have a mutual interest with industry and labor in a better diet for one-third of the country's population living in northeastern United States," de clared J. A. McConnell, general manager, in his letter to President Edmund E Day of the University. Members of this regional coop erative produce fresh milk, eggs, meat, fruits and vegetables—the es sentials of an optimum diet The School of Nutrition conducts re search not only into dietary needs but also into the efficient production of these foods CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 17 Post-war needs are big for Electrical Appliances Statistics show that both rural and urban co-ops will have enormous demand for equipment supply and service as soon as goods and personnel are ready By OTTO A. NURKKALA Coordinator Electrical and Appliance Division National Cooperatives TO BEGIN to visualize the ex tent of the post war electrical appliance markets presents a baf fling but absorbing question. How ever a record of past performance will at least give us a minimum standard on which to base future plans. In 1941, the last year that civilian production was still intact and the distributive pattern had not yet been severely disrupted by war and man power problems, the electrical ap pliance business had reached it's highest point in history The indus try has grown progressively through the years, even during the periods of depression. The public has ac cepted mechanization into their liv ing standard, and if we have any degree of success in maintaining even mediocre standards on farm and wage-earner incomes, the ap pliance field will continue to be one of the big businesses of the nation. Demand Is Enormous To illustrate, the following are figures compiled from statistics for 1941 prepared by the Electrical Mer chandising Magazine. We show only a few of the major items ; the num ber of units sold, average unit price and the total retail sales value for each type of commodity. Who spent all that money? The people living in the 28,400,000 wired rural and urban homes of America. And the number of wired homes and farms is increasing at an es timated rate of 4,500,000 each year— probably will do so even more rapidly with the intense activity of cooperatives and private utility com panies in extending farm service. Then, too, consider the hundreds of thousands of new family units which will get down to serious housekeeping when the buys get back and the women are back on the old homestead from the lathe and the production line. Farm Needs Great The figures in the table, it should be noted, are in addition to the tremendous demand for strictly farm type of machinery. Even during the war years this market has been expanding as can be vouched for by all the wholesale and retail co ops that have taken on the dis tribution of water systems, milking machines and dairy equipment. Ac tually, farm electrification has not received the attention it should get from the engineering talent of the country. When the imaginations, slide rules, drafting boards and brains are again released to engage in peaceful pursuits, Mr. Farmer will get the attention he deserves to work more efficiency into his production plant. As new products are developed, more and more educational effort will be expended to gain public ac ceptance for these products again increasing the potential market. Interesting, too. are some of the forecasts made by various national organizations. The following esti mates are based on the accumulated demand for appliances as the result of wear and obsolescence and in creased population and family units during the war years. Agencies making the surveys are indicated. Washing Machines Electrical Merchandising Magazine estimates .................... ..............3,242,000 Office of Civilian Requirements estimates ......................_........4,261,500 114 Utility Companies estimate......3,725,000 Electric Refrigerators Electrical Merchandising Magazine estimates ...._........__..........._.5,348,600 Office of Civilian Requirements estimates ... ...._.._. .....___.3,827,000 121 Utility Companies estimate......4,379,000 Electric Ranges Electrical Merchandising Magazine estimates .............. ..................1,046,000 Office of Civilian Requirements estimates .... ...... ....... ....... 493,000 125 Utility Companies estimate......l,251,000 Electric Water Heaters Office of Civilian Requirements estimates .......... . .. ................ 260,000 119 Utility Companies estimate...... 682,000 Vacuum Cleaners Office of Civilian Requirements estimates -....... ..............___.2,390,000 78 Utility Companies estimate...._2,161,000 Radios Office of Civilian Requirements estimates .____.._................._ 2,682,000 84 Utility Companies estimate.—..10,196,000 All the pretty figures and op timism, however, do not mean a thing as far as your own local Co op is concerned, unless and until you are in the appliance business with the right foundation. The local retail store, whether a Co-op, a chain store or an individual dealer is the keystone of the entire dis tribution structure. As soon as you have a sound program for appliance operation—with space, personnel, and especially a service plan to carry out your part of the program, the matter of procurement of appliances becomes comparatively simple for vour regional and National Cooper atives. The accumulated volume nationally would be so tremendous among the two million members and patrons already served by co operatives that we would become a considerable factor in the electrical industry, as we are in the petroleum, farm supply and food fields. To help you get started on the right foot, National Cooperatives is preparing a manual that you can use at your board meetings and plan ning meetings to point the way. Action on your part will determine progress. Refrigerators Radios Irons, toasters, coffee makers, mixers, shavers, etc. Washing machines Vacuum cleaners No. SOLD, 1941 3,500,000 13,700,000 37,500,000 2,014,000 2,118,000 AVERAGE PRICE TOTAL $155 30 80 50 $542,500,000 415,700,000 220,000,000 159,300,000 99,000,000 18 CO-OP—MARCH. 1945 r f .,< r Chicago was the meeting ground for these food co-op managers from five regions, in January, attending the Grocery Co-op Managers' School under joint auspices of Rochdale Institute, Central States Cooperatives, and other U. S. regional cooperatives. What'* Father Leo Ward's intimate de scription of mid-west cooperatives based on his swing around the country last year has just gone to the printer. Written in the style of his very popular book Nova Scotia, Land of Cooperators, Father Ward's book will be entitled "Ourselves, Inc." and will be available in April or May. CCA's Kodachrome movie of its petroleum development "Up From The Earth" is near completion and should be available within the next few weeks. New York binderies are so rushed that the Cooperative League had to ship unbound sets of Dr. War- basse's book Problems of Coopera tion to the Cooperative Publishing Association in Superior, Wisconsin to be bound 500 copies will be used in the National Cooperative Corres pondence School. United Textile Workers have al ready used 15,000 copies of the co-op comic. First edition of mass chant rec ord, "In the Hearts of Men," pro duced by Co-op Players (N. Y.) has been sold out and new pressings have been ordered. At long last the film strip CO OPS Move Into Production is available for distribution. First prints to each regional are $10 per print to cover production costs. Additional prints are $1.50 each. 56 pictures of co-op mills, factories, and refinery—with suggested com mentary. Labor Paper Boosts. Encouraged, no doubt, by local cooperators, the Houston (Texas) Labor Messenger, AFL weekly, is now running a de partment for news items about co operative developments, reports Cliff L. Bauman. They wrote the na tional office, requesting—and were supplied—a design and cut for a special column heading for the Co op Doings department. Takes Cooperation Vicar (to old gardener digging up neglected garden) : "It's wonderful what the hand of man can do with a piece of earth, with the aid of Divine Providence, Wilks." Gardener : "You should 'ave seen this place, sir, when Divine Provid ence 'ad it all to itself." Keep Your Co-op Safe rr'S SURPRISING how many people are injured around a store or warehouse. This results in a possible law suit, personal injury and general bad feeling. Many of these injuries can be avoided if the rules of safe practice and good maintenance are followed. Here are a few suggestions : 1. Keep sidewalks and concrete floors in good repair, free from holes and bumps. 2. Provide substantial handrails on all stairways. 3. Keep stairs free from all ma terials and obstructions. 4. Provide adequate lighting at all times. Check this daily. 5. Provide at least two properly located exits (remote from each other) on each floor. 6. Inspect fire exits and fire ex tinguishers regularly. 7. Provide signs and lights to in dicate fire exits. 8. See that awnings when lowered are above heads of all pedestrians. 9. Keep counters free of splinters and nails. 10. Place material or equipment so it will not fall. 11 Protect floor displays so cus tomers will not fall over them and so they will not fall on customers. 12. Check over this list right now and see how your Co-op rates. CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 19 Part of the 100 youth council members and youth advisors who met at the Centennial Congress in Chicago to discuss a national cooperative youth pro gram. Leonard Harmon, Toronto, is shown outlining Canada's co-op youth activities. Girls in the picture are members of the Central States Youth Council, Chicago, now working on a program to get a full-time youth director on the staff of CSC Youth Wants to Help! THERE'S a thrill in these stories about youth groups doing big things in cooperation : An Ohio county co-op was on its last legs until a local youth group resurrected it through a community recreation program. A youth group undertook putting up educational window dis plays at the South Du Page Store in a West Chicago suburb. 20 rural "crossroads" were revitalized by a co-op youth center program in Wis consin's midlands. A co-op store was organized and established by a Hoffman, Minnesota, youth group Over 100 young people and youth leaders met at the Centennial Con gress last October to speak for themselves on the question of what should be done about a cooperative youth program. More, more, MORE youth groups, youth programs, as sistance to junior co-ops and college co-ops, they recommended—national committees, regional committees, local committees, more literature, By GWEN GOODRICH Educational Department The Cooperative League more push—the vouth of today are tomorrow's co-op managers, educa tors, workers, members. January 9, 1945 was the date of the first meeting of the youth direc tors of regional cooperatives. Tak ing action on Congress resolutions, the directors and the National Edu cational Committee set the machin ery in motion to hold the first na tional co-op youth institute at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, June 19-22, and authorized a quarterly co-op youth bulletin But that's about as far as a na tional committee can go in tackling the job of a youth program. The biggest job is that of the local co ops with the aid of the regional jouth directors. There's no formula for starting a youth program in your community—there's only the varied experience of many groups to draw on. In Ohio Ohio's 1UO co-op youth groups— many of them "home study coun cils" have come into being during the past 8 years. "Week-end leader ship conferences are principally re sponsible for development of our youth groups,'' reports Earl Dow- ney. Ohio youth director. Several counties combine and send their young people to these week-end rec reation and discussion conferences each year. The young folks have gone back home and, with the aid of the county co-op manager or county organizational director, have organized their own groups. Central States The Central States Youth League plans and runs its own 2-weeks training institute each summer at Circle Pines Center, near Cloverdale, Michigan. These "city kids" get the same spirit as the rural youth in Ohio do at their conferences, go back home and organize their own groups. 20 CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 The social committee of the ABC Co-op in Chicago planned to learn the how of some simple group recre ation, invited a few teen-age young sters to meet with them, and today the teen-age group meets weekly in a recreation room of the housing project in which they live. Not a word about organizatio n—the youngsters found something they needed and wanted, and they're working to keep it. Midland Eight local co-ops in Wisconsin contributed funds to hire a youth director two years ago. His job was to help the youth in these communi ties build a recreation program. Twenty groups took over country school houses, and lit up long- forgotten town halls. The co-op in Cambridge, Minne sota offered the use of its meeting hall to local high school youngsters for a recreation program The local educational committee is helping a rural youth group to organize. CCA Land Many FFA groups in high schools throughout the nine states served by Consumers Cooperative Association (Kansas City, Missouri) will work on co-op projects this year as a re sult of a program started by the regional youth director. The community's first responsibil ity and its future security is its children, its young people. They aren't "problems to be handled," juvenile delinquents to be coerced ; they are the possible architects of the co-operative tomorrow. 16mm Film Outlook Not Encouraging T^VAILABILITY m the immedi- -*"•*• ate future of 16mm raw film was presented as anything but en couraging as 20 non-theatrical film producers from all parts of the country attended a meeting of the Industrial Film Producers Industry Advisory Committee of the War Production Board, held in Washing ton, January 29-30. The committee was told that for the first quarter of 1945 the Army and Navy have taken all of the com bined output of 16mm film manu factured in this country. A special "16mm Motion Picture Industry Ad visory Committee of WPB" has been set up to study further the possibility of rationing 16mm stock. Compared on the basis of screen time, the service branches are now using more film than is used by all Hollywood producers. Modern Industry Finds 81% of its Readers Want Co-op 'Profits' Taxed used the "Have you stopped beating your wife" approach in its questioning, MOD ERN INDUSTRY reveals in its February, 1945, issue that 81.1% of their readers answering its ques tionnaire voted for taxing the "earnings savings" of cooperatives. The Middlewest and Southern readers appeared to vote most heav ily for "co-op taxation." Comments accompanying the affirmative votes indicate much ill-advised thinking. Sample opinions : "A co-op is operated for the ad vantage — profit — of its members ; that profit should be taxed." "A co-op is only a 'disguise' to escape sharing the tax load." "If we all went cooperative, where would the money come from to support our government?" Getting the Dope National Association of Coopera tives, at the request of Chairman Robert L. Doughton (N. C.; of the Joint Congressional Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation, has sup plied him with copies of "Taxes and Co-ops" for each member of the committee. Patronage Insures. The Con sumers Cooperative of Walworth County, Elkhorn, Wisconsin, car ries—as do other co-ops—patronage group life insurance on as many of its members as will sign up for it and pay their 50-cent entrance fee. Policy coverage, then, is based on the previous patronage. During the 33 months ending October 31, 1944, the cooperative paid premiums amounting to $2,428.99 to Co-op Insurance Companies for this cov erage During the same period, nineteen deaths occurred in the membership which resulted in claims payments totaling $2,421.56. "If all periods in all co-ops were like this, our insurance company wouldn't have much margin for op erating expense," opines the Wal worth manager, Harry Frank, "but it shows how much this patronage insurance can mean to co-op mem bers. "My husband don't need no Insurance! He's busy painting!" LOCAL MILKING MACHINE DEALERS — v.^*** reduce service problems for yourselves and your farmer-members Show them how they can save man-hours and increase the effi ciency of their operations by converting to CO-OP Universal Calf Nose milker units. Conversion units are avail able. So is this additional busi ness volume. Your regional as sociation will supply you with conversion folders which list prices and trade-in values for all types of Universal milkers. You can do yourself and your patrons a service by helping them to convert their old equipment to the new Calf Nose units. Ask your regional cooperative for the Calf Nose conversion folder. UNIVERSAL MILKING MACHINE COMPANY Waukesba, Wis. Division of National Cooperatives. Inc. CO-OP—MARCH, 1945 21 What's news with the CO-OPS Endeavoring to present the briefest practicable who, what, when and where of significant co-op happenings for the information of cooperative workers, and others interested, and for the record. Because of space limitations* chronological order will not be strictly followed, and important items necessarily omitted from, one issue will be listed later. By WALLACE J. CAMPBELL 1>IGGEST news of the co-op -*-' month was purchase of 5,500- barrel-a-day refinery at Levelland, Texas for $750,000 by the Consumers Cooperative Refinery Association (picture on page 17). U. S. consumer co-ops now own 10 refineries, are largest independent refiners in U. S. * * * To assure greater crude oil faci lities, Cooperative Refinery Associa tion, subsidiary of Consumers Co operative Association, Kansas City, bought 68 more oil wells in Kansas. Wells are pumping 1,045 barrels of sweet crude a day to co-op refinery at Coffeyville, Kansas. Regionals Report Big Gains (Ohio) Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Columbus, reported at its annual meeting February 13, in vestment of $350,000 in new facili ties including a soy bean processing plant, fertilizer factory and other production enterprises in 1944 Vol ume for the year was $21,561,000, savings $548,000—both new record highs. Eastern Co-op Wholesale, New York, will set up a "department of control," an auditing and finance department, as a result of board ac tion February 18. The board also voted a $10,000 patronage return to local co-ops on ECW's $4,091,000 business in '44. Eastern Coopera tive League launched a develop ment program to expand bookkeep ing services, and field work. Central Co-op Wholesale, Su perior, approved a "five-year-plan" budgeting for an $11 million busi ness in 1949 (based on a 6% in crease in '45 because of short sup plies and 14% per year thereafter). OK'd by the board were provisions for an architectural department to assist local ro-ops in building new stores, stud) of proposed branch warehouses in CCW territory, res toration of an 8-week employee training course, added drive for establishment of co-op hospitals. Associated Coopératives, Oakland, California, reported at its annual meeting February 3-4 that its sav ings were higher than ever before in spite of a slump of $40,000 in gross volume because of a drop in petroleum and milk contract busi ness. Associated Co-ops has opened a farm supply department and will push the development of farm sup ply cooperatives. Midland Co-op Wholesale, Minne apolis, reported new records on all fronts. Business rose from $8,785,- 000 in '43 to $10,176,000 a year later. Net savings jumped from $362,000 in '43 to $837,000 last year. Major reason for spurt in savings was Midland's drive into production a few years ago. Health Co-ops Growing Group Health Cooperative, New York, increased its benefits follow ing two years of successful opera tion and moved in on Wall Street ! (New headquarters: 70 Wall SO. 3000 physicians are participating in the plan and Group Health, al though small, is the largest prepay ment health group in New York. Group Health Mutual and Group rfealth Association, St. Paul, an nounced at annual meeting, Febru ary 17, that membership had more than doubled (jumping from 11,000 mm A 4 Mill 48.3 ^CHI3^B III IIM 111 _I!,UB in Jim »I HiBfl tu _ mal) 1939 [SES MADE BY 18 REGIONAL COOPERATIVES IN U. S. AND CANADA FFILIATED WITH NATIONAL COOPERATIVES, INC. 1) ^ 151.2 *» liyî] JL' I IONS OF DOL 58.8 m mm III IIW in im in ma III Illffil ni ni* J! UMI n fiuj rramn < ntmWMWt nnwMwi 1940 *=*ft -** IARS 83.0 »i _jii* IN III! Ill III« III III» III , Ull III III! Ill III! l|| IIU III Illli III i|WI III „ UMI II! I'll III IIIBI ii| ami in uma in nui rnmnr rnmnr 1941 Graphic 1 103.5 «HBsaB« III HUi in mm ill mm ill 111« in ilia HI Hi» lil iiui lji| UM? in ni* I III HIM i in nu III IIM "i i"» ill Mini in uia III III! in nfn ui — UM in nu in HI« ill __ l|t$ 124.4 !•" "—| II HUH II IIU i! —US i nui ! n» II III! n nu i\ mm u nu u nu 1 II« 1 IIU 1 lllfl | !IU i nu 1 IIU 1 IIU UH HUB nu UM , Illi UM , lllffi 1 _JUR 1 nu i niü i nia III Ml III IIU 1 1 aim 1 1 üim ni nu III IIM in nu ni nu m nu III III! in nu, m nu in »u III IIM 141 nu, in nu ill nu ni nu 1 1 ItU III IIU III IIU 111 IIU III IIM III IIU ni nu III IIU III IIU III IIU III IIU III II« III IIU MI ilia III IIU III IIU mBiVFi miBiiFi rmvFT miBiiFi 1942 1943 1944 By PICK-S for the COOPERATIVE LEAGUE NEWS SERVICE 22 CO-OP—MARCH. 1945 to 25,000 during the year), that than a quarter million dollars in benefits have been paid since its inception six years ago. Propose Housing Program John Carson, Washington repre sentative, The Cooperative League proposed to the Senate Sub-Com mittee on Housing early in Febru ary that a Mutual Housing Admin istration working on the same piin- ciples as the Rural Electrification Administration, be established to promote organization and develop ment of mutual cooperative housing projects to make home ownership feasible for consumers with income of less than $3,000 a year. Rochdale Institute Expands Expanded program of Rochdale Institute, national co-op training school, met with tremendous suc cess. 146 co-op managers attended advanced management training in stitutes in Columbus, Kansas City and Chicago in January. Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Association was host to Farm Supply Managers course in Columbus, Consumers Cooperative Association for Ad vanced Petroleum Managers course in Kansas City, Central States Co operatives for course on Grocery Management in Chicago. Toward Co-op Reconstruction The Freedom Fund for Coopera tive Reconstruction passed the $83,- 000 mark, March 1, driving for a $100,000 goal by the close of the month. Many prominent individuals have joined an impressive list of sponsors. Among them : John Win- ant, U. S. Ambassador to Great Britain; Jan Masaryk, Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia; Mrs J. Borden Ffarriman, former Minis ter to Norway; Ruth Bryan Owen Rohcle, former Minister to Den mark; Judge Th u r man Arnold, Thomas Mann, Congressman Jerry Voorhis, Congiesswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas, Marshall Field, Harry D. Giclonese, Fanny Hurst, William E. Bohn, Louis Bromfiekl, Stuart Chase, Evans Clark, Ethel Clyde, John Connors, Rüssel Daven port, Dorothy Canfield Fisher. Mrs. Roosevelt was principle speaker at Freedom Fund rallies in Washington, D C. and Madison, New Jersey, and devoted part of her column "My Dav" to a recommenda tion of the Freedom Fund as "one of the valuable contributions which can be made by this country." 1944 Wholesale Volume Tops 150 Millions; 22% Over /943 "•"REGIONAL cooperatives in the V. S. and Canada affiliated with Na- •**• tiotial Cooperatives, Inc., reported wholesale business for 1944 of $152,523,198. This was $28,123,819 more than the 1943 total, or a gain of 22.6 per cent. These regional consumer cooperatives serve 3,2Q4 local retail cooperatives with more than 1,167,827 farm and city patron-members. Regional Associated Cooperatives .... Oakland, California Central Cooperative Wholesale Superior, Wisconsin Central States Cooperatives Chicago, Illinois Consumers Cooperative Assn. Kansas City, Missouri Consumers Cooperatives Asstd Amarillo, Texas Eastern Cooperative Wholesale New York, New York Farm Bureau Co-op Assn.. . Columbus, Ohio Farm Bureau Services 1 ansing, Michigan Farmers Cooperative Exchange Raleigh, North Carolina Farmers Union Central Exch. . . St. Paul, Michigan Indiana Farm Bureau Co-op Assn. Indianapolis, Indiana Midland Cooperative Wholesale Minneapolis, Minnesota Manitoba Cooperative Wholesale Winnipeg, Manitoba Pacific Suppl} Cooperative Walla Walla, Washington Pennsylvania F. B. Co-op Assn. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Saskatchewan Federated Co-ops Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Utah Cooperative Association Salt Lake City, Utah United Farmers Cooperative Toronto, Ontario 1 944 Volume 200,000 6,130,000 700,000 16,388,000 2,875,000 4,091,028 22,000,000 6,208,710 12,200,000 12,500,000 15,690,000 10,450,000 2,120,000 7 000,000 8,121,692 5,238,000 275,000 20,335,768 152,523,198 Local Co-ops Served 31 140 101 792 125 161 83 140 64 400 85 385 90 125 23 441 12 96 3,294 Patron- Members 20,000 60,000 18,000 160,000 30,000 35,000 50,000 140,000 40,000 160,000 100,000 150,000 21,177 60,000 50,000 40,000 3,650 30,000 1,167,827 Foreign News Cooperatives in Italy are taking on new life, according to special dispatch from New York Times correspondent in Rome. Said he : "Their warehouses burned and their leaders driven into exile by Fascism, Italy's thousands of cooperatives have begun to take on new life and it is now estimated that at least 250,000 persons are affiliated with them while in the capital alone as many as 800 consumers units sprang up within two months of liberation." In Greece, where no central na tional cooperative federation existed before the war, UNRRA workers report nearly 10.000 cooperatives in existence. A report from Sicily prepared by OWI shows cooperatives theie are the principal factor in breaking the black markets. Three officials from ICA are in France studying relief and recon struction needs of French coopera tives to prepare way for Freedom Fund assistance from cooperatives in other parts of the world. R A. Palmer, vice president of International Cooperative Alliance has recommended that ICA set up regional offices in America, the Balkans and the Far Fast to facili tate and stimulate \\orld-wicle co operation between cooperatives CO-OP—MARCH. 1945 23 Current Literature In Books lies the soul of the whole Past Time; the articulate, audible voice of the Past, when the body and material substance of it has altogether vanished like a dream. . . . All that Mankind has done, thought, gained or been: it is lying as in magic preservation in the pages of Books. They are the chosen posses sion of men.—Carfyle. To Understand the Days Ahead—and Be Prepared ON LIVING IN A REVOLUTION By Julian Huxley. Harper. $2.50. THE ROAD TO SERFDOM. By Fried- rich A. Hayek. University of Chicago Press. $2.75. AS WE GO MARCHING. By John T. Flynn. Doubleday, Doran & Co. $2.00 DFMUCRACY UNDER PRESSURE. By Stuart Chase. Twentieth Century Fund. $1.00. These are probably not the most brass-tacks discussion of day-to-day operating problems of a cooperative, but in them are some of the bases for policy out of which to approach those problems where they involve long-range consequences. Moreover, they provide an understanding of our times, and a reservoir of refer ence data that will invigorate any presentation of the co-op story and the why and wherefore of it. Huxley's book is an exciting de lineation of the constant change in the world, much of it wrought by intelligent cooperation, too much of it by competitive violence, but its principal value, perhaps, is the forti fying faith it gives one with which to tackle the other books. Maybe Huxley is too optimistic, but he shows how totalitarianism is strangl ing itself, how nationalism and capitalism are declining, how man, through democracy, will certainly move upward. Flynn is the well-known news paper columnist and lecturer on eco nomics, and Hayek is an Austria- born member of the London Schoul of Economics faculty. Both their books paint a sordid picture of how efforts at planned abundance in an atmosphere of disintegrating capital ism, has always brought regimenta tion and totalitarianism—and how the picture promises to continue. Not cheerful leading, but the reader will never be the same again Chase's book, the fourth in his "When the War Ends" series, has been called the book that will make everybody hate Chase—and maybe his publisher—because it marshals and analyzes so much truth about self-interest-seeking class groups. Really, he has written a "Take America, for Example" epilogue to the books by Flynn and Hayek, pointed out the group techniques that threaten to perpetuate trends they describe, and challenged the people, with specific suggestions, to make democracy work. There is hardly a group left guiltless, and he seems to imply that the solution will have to come out of the people acting as consumer-citizens rather than as citizen-classes. Books in Brief S< »ME of the following books were received shortly before the publi cation of the first issue (January, 1945) of CO-OP ; though not strictly current releases, they are vital reading and are included here to bring the record up to date. Since the responsibility of CO-OP is to run the gamut of the functional problems of cooperatives and co-op workers, reviews and listings of litera ture in Co-op will include many gen eral and technical subjects not peculiar to cooperatives. Further, because of space limitations, longer reviews will frequently cover a group of related volumes, with the added advantage, we hope, of the combination of viewpoints on each subject presented. MANAGEMENT IN DAILY LIVING. Ruth L. Bonde. Macmillan. $2.50. Written with an eye on the abnormal problems of the war period, this manual has in it much of lasting value. The work of an authority on the »ubject, it emphasizes the importance of and opportunity for cooperative methods in the family and the community. Its extensive de tailed instructions for management of time, energy, property, finance and community rela lions are fitted to the conventional economic ami social framework, but credit unions are explained, and the section on where to buy states that "if there is a cooperative in your community, its patronage may make for worthwhile savings on a year's purchases." Surprisingly inconsistent with the stress 011 cooperative methods advanced for the home is the inadequacy of suggested approaches to the community problems of health, housing and recreation. A book, nevertheless, which a co operative—rural or urban, as part of its serv ice to consumers, should both recommend and merchandise. DEMOCRACY REBORN. Henry A. Wallace. Reynal & Hitchcock. $3.00. A record of the significant speeches and writings of Mr. Wal lace from 1933 to the present. Says the New York Times: "No other vice president, m bo short a time, ever said so much that mattered." Whether or not you like Mr. Wallace as a politician or public servant, you will like this book if you appreciate any book that analyzes bedrock fundamentals of human living. Your ideas and attitudes about democracy and human relations and some uther things will never be the same again once you have toured this volume—which, incidentally, has a biographical 15 pages on "Young Henry" by editor .Russell Lord. (Dated for publication April 30: Sixty Million Jobs, by Henry A. Wallace. Reynal & Hitchcock and Simon & Schuster. Paper bound edition ($1) by the latter.) SWEDEN—A WARTIME SURVEY. Fore word by Christian Günther, Swedish Min ister of Foreign Affairs. American-Swedish News Agency. No price. A record for English-speaking peoples of measures taken by Sweden to solve its many problems since the outbreak of the war and to maintain its position of neutrality. BEYOND VICTORY. Jerry Voorhis. Farrar & Rmehart. $2.50. One of cooperation's vigorous advocates has here written a chal lenging book on the causes of war and the real foundations for enduring peace. Con gressman Voorhis discusses, among other things, monopolies and cartels, false propa ganda for selhsh ends, monetary problems, "master races", and the importance of world collaboration. He gives due emphasis to the use of cooperatives in post-war reconstruction, the reduction of monopolies, and the impor tance of combined use of private, public and cooperative corporations in an effective eco nomic order. ZERO STORAGE IN YOUR HOME. Boyden Sparkes. Doubleday Doran. $2.50. Fore cast» "the revolution in domestic life which will result from that incredible invention, the home-freezing unit." First part tells of the development of the process and its uses and value, recognizing the pioneer efforts of H. É. Babcock of GLF Cooperatives, in fashioning first the farm freezer unit. The secund part is a very adequate manual for preparation of foods for quick-freeze and storage, and care of equipment. Manufac turers of freezers and supplies are listed, though the list does not include the new CO-OP postwar line now in development stage. CO-OPS ON CAMPUS —'1 HE BEGIN NINGS OF A MOVEMENT. Emory S. Bogardus. The Cooperative League. 15c. A rapid survey of what's happened to date and what the advantages and problems of student co-ops are. PRACTICAL PSYCHOLOGY. F. K. Ber- rien. Macmillan. $4. A comprehensive text book, this volume is nonetheless a mighty helpmate for leaders of groups, speakers, man agers, promotion directors, and also for indi viduals as such. Sections on consumer*,, advertising, speaking and writing, employee training, safety, supervisors, recreation, health, and vocational guidance will have their obvious value to cooperators. WATCHING THE WORLD. Raymond Clap per. Whittlesey House. $3 Edited by Mrs Raymond Clapper. Biographical sketch by Mrs. Clapper. Introduction by Ernie Pyle. The cream of the writings of this great 24 CO-OP—MARCH. 1945 reporter—up to and including the story he had partially written on the carrier in the Pacific from which he flew to his death. His thoughts on democracy, world relations, economics, government, and the postwar period will get varied reactions, but in them is much that merits solemn reflection. He adds his voice to the many who exhort the people to shoulder their unrenounceable re- responsibility for democracy's vigorous future •—or oblivion. THE EDUCATION OF THE COUNTRY MAN. H. M. Burton. Oxford. $3.50. A history of rural education in England during the last 60 years—of special interest to the informed layman concerned with education for today. THE GREAT TRADITION. Marjorie Hill Allee. Houghton Mifflin. $2. A story of student life at the University of Chicago and a group of young w '.» " -, „*•-: .. „,: . ::••>» „ ,- - ; Mr. Lincoln to the needs of the common man. We are several million Americans with a practical plan of action. W e have a streamlined opportunity in postwar America. But that opportunity becomes hollow unless it is translated into action. Expansion does not takt place in a vacuum. It will be bought with the same courage and energy which laid the groundwork for our present cooperative structures. This is your job and mine. Time Is Not Plentiful And it will not be an easy job. The tides which carry us towards greater state controls are strong. We don't have another hundred years to carry the dynamics of cooperation to the American people. We must have plans. Plans for the thousands of local farm and city cooperatives throughout the country. Plans for the regions and plans for the nation. And with those plans we must have action —the kind of courageous action which comes from a full realization of our responsibilities to demo cratic America. The future of the American Cooperative Move ment will be written with the ever-broadening net work of people's institutions throughout the length and breadth of a new and more humane America. And the several million American cooperators who have achieved new dignity and security through belf help—are going to write that history. CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 What Makes a Rural Power Co-op Tick npHE Coles-Moultrie Electric Co- -*• operative at Mattoon, 111., has solved the riddle of how to increase member participation in co-op af fairs. This year's annual meeting, for example, was a hang-up affair. More than 500 members gathered in a neighborhood church to take part in the lively discussions. How did the Coles-Moultrie Co-op get that way? Well, Board President Charles B. Shuman and Manager John G. Waggoner are firm believers in cooperation. They know that the only way to get the buat to shore is fur evervone to take his turn at the oars. This Illinois Co-op utility is only one of the more than 800 REA- financed electric cooperatives that have, as a group, set an enviable record for sound business manage ment. It now serves 1754 members on 615 miles of line. It expects to Hères a co-op that is building keen interest, participation and responsibility through excit ing meetings, self-billing, regular informative bulletins, and efficient service. add 300 more miles of line to its wstem by the end of 1947. Its financial ledger shows $115,000 in payments on loans from the Rural Electrification Administration, made in advance of the date due, and, be side piling up this cushion of credit, the co-op had bought $12,136 in war bonds, as of December 31, 1044. The Coles-Moultrie Co-op mem bers enjoy coming to the annual meeting because the management tries to make it worthwhile Eor them. It provides a well-balanced mixture of serious discussions and entertainment. For enteitainmenl it Simply read your meter on the I 23rd as usual and write the read- ' ing in the top row of circles on each half J of this card Subtract the old reading andj from your rate chart, pick up the amount ( of the bill and enter it on the next line. | Fratie Harpster, Windsor, Illinois. 1-18? Member's Stub — Month Ending Mar. 23, 1945 j Cashier's Stub — Month Ending Mar. 23, 1945 ETER READING— /^\/'~>\/^V METER READING— 23rd of THIS MONTH \-A_Jv_JV-/'1 23rd of THIS MONTH 1 METER READING- LAST MONTH (subtract) METER READING — LAST MONTH (subtract) K. W. H. USED AMT. OF BILL (from chart) $ Carried Fwd. from Prev. Mo. $ PAYMENT DUE . . . $ l K. W. H. USED I | AMT. OF BILL (from chart) $ i Carried Fwd from Prcv. Mo. . $ | PMT DUE: Cash. Ch'k M.O d|$ Your poyment is due on or before the 3/>•.•_ of THIS MONTH. 3Urn If paid at the office, please bring both parts of the bill with you If payment is not received by 30th of THIS MONTH, a final estimated bill with 5% pen alty added will be sent you | When paying by mail kindly (ill 3ut and return thrs . stub with your payment to Colcs-Moultrie Electric Co l operative, 212 N 20th St, Mattoon Ml on >r before the | 30th of THIS MONTH. I METER READ BY_ Simply read your meter on lhel 23rd as usual and write the read- ' mg in the top row of circles on each half! of this card Subtract the old reading and | from your rate chart, pick up the amount] of the bill and enter it on the next line | Fratie Harpster, Windsor, Illinois. 1-18?, Member's Stub — Month Ending Mar. 23, 1945 ] Cashier's Stub — Month Ending Mar 23, 1945 METER READING— 23rd of THIS MONTH METER READING— LAST MONTH (subtract) K W. H. USED AMT. OF BILL (from chart) $ Carried Fwd. from Prev. Mo. $ PAYMENT DUE ... $ METER READING— 23rd of THIS MONTH METER READING- LAST MONTH (subtract) K W. H. USED AMT OF BILL (from chart) $ Carried Fwd. from Prev. Mo. PMT. DUE Your payment is due on or before the 3/>i|_ of THIS MONTH. 3Uf M If paid at the office, please bring both ports of the bill with you If payment is not received by 30th of THIS MONTH, a final estimated bill with 5% pen alty added will be sent you. | When paying by mail kindly fill out and return this . stub with your payment to Coles-Moultrie Electric Co- I operative, 212 N 20th St, Ma noon. III, on or before the | 30fh of THIS MONTH. I METER READ BY____ ABOVE: Meter reading and report card as Memb« received it. BELOW: As he tilled it out :r Harpster, of Coles-Moultrie Electric Cooperative, and returned it after reading his meter. ai ranges unusual features, such as the electric roaster that steamed away on the stage in full view of the audience during this year's opening session. At the end of the morning business meeting, President Shuman announced that a large and luscious turkey had been cooked to a turn during the meeting, and that 20 lucky persons in the audience would be chosen by lot to enjo}r a com plete turkey dinner. Meals foi the rest of the members were provided by the church ladie«' society at nom inal prices. Nylons Cause Excitement A dozen items uf electrical appli ances chosen because of their scaic- ity, were also given away later in the meeting. But the prize that aroused the most inteiest, especially among the women, was the pair of nylons that the cooperative news letter had proudly but ambiguously announced would be awarded to the holder of the lucky number Women in the audience had reached a high state uf excitement when it was finally disclosed that the "pair of nylons" was two tooth brushes with nylon bristles. Most of the gifts were donated by local merchants Long and stuffy speeches were taboo. "Statisticians won't hold an audience," Mr. Waggonei contends, so the stark recital of dry facts and figures was avoided. Interesting sub jects such as the value of joint hus- band-and-wife memberships were taken up. The cooperative has long advocated joint memberships among its consumers to allow the farm homemaker to attend the meeting and cast the family vote when her husband is unable to go. This action would be entirely in keeping with the warm understand ing and goodwill felt for their co-op by the entire families of the mem bers. A genuine spirit of cooperation also exists between the board and the members of this rural electric system. The directors are painstak ing in their efforts to work for the best interests of the whole Co-op, although a hoard member will speak CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 I » «ill Modern headquarters of the Coles-Moultrie Electric Cooperative, located at Mattoon, Illinois. up for a neighbor from his own district who has a special problem he wishes to place before the board. Co-op members work hard at mak ing their rural electric system a suc cess. Many of them help assemble and staple the monthly newsletter "Hi-Lites on the High Line" in their own homes. Sometimes a group of neighbors spend a whole evening assembling the pages of the newsletter, addressing envelopes and doing other publishing work. Bulletin Is Valuable The newsletter, eagerly read by all the members, is filled with names of members, what they do, what they say, new electrical and other farm appliances they have acquired and are using, blessed events in the family, and so on. It also carries articles which help the members make better use of electricity and create a greater awareness of the cooperative nature of their under taking. Another method that Manager Waggoner finds effective in building good will between the co-op man agement and the members is the system of territory meetings. When ever a problem arises that concerns a particular territory, Mr. Wag goner inserts a little notice in the newsletter that a meeting of all the members in that area will be held in a certain schoolhouse or church in the vicinity and that all members in the district are invited The large attendance at these gatherings is the best indication of their effectiveness. Read Own Meters The cooperative was one of the first in Illinois to institute the sys tem of "self-meter-reading." It has also inaugurated a new time- and money-saving "self-billing" policy which allows the member to send in both his payment and his bill at the same time. The Co-op furnishes each member with a handy printed guide showing the total cost of service for any given kilowatt consumption. The member merely reads his meter, consults his printed table, and re mits what is due. Statistics have shown that the plan reduces delin quencies aad removes extra work for the office force. Working together, the manager, board and members of this rural electric system have built a sound organization, alert to the potentiali ties of electricity on the farm and mindful of the important part that rural electrification will play in the future of their community. This simple cut-out isn't handled by potrons/ but ft saves many transformers from damage from overloads; consumer discovers easily when circuit is broken (right), notifies office. CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 There are unique advantages in COOPERATIVE PROMOTION THE THING that makes co operative promotion unique is that the message is directed at the people who own and control the enterprizes which they are asked to patronize. It is one thing to de velop a mouse trap which you can peddle to others at a profit to your self, and quite another to be em ployed by a group of people who wish you to supply them with a superior product at a reasonable price for their own use. This ob viously requires a different organi zational structure, but, more perti nent to this discussion it also re quires different merchandising methods. Our advantages lie exactly where one would expect to find them—in the unique fact that we are owned and controlled by our patrons. Thus, being employed by those who buy our products, we are the only dis tributors who can come out and speak in their behalf. This is the most significant merchandising ad vantage the cooperatives have. Once understood by member pat rons and the community, it permits us to start off on a much higher level of consumer acceptance. There is no analogous situation among distributors where the policies of They are willing to do this because they have found that the coopera tive method of doing business as sures fair dealing as between patron and supplier, because its not-for- profit principle produces an equit able result, because they are proud of this distributive outlet which they own and control, and because they feel that they have .benefitted through this participation and that additional patronage would further increase this benefit to themselves. Here again, I feel that cooperatives have only started to realize the benefits that will accrue to their commercial operations through greater member participation. We need market research on this problem in order to determine to what extent friends and neighbors have been instrumental in directing new people in the cooperative method of distribution. It is my opinion that the proportion of new folks interested by member contact would be high. Here again, through proper organization of this member- inspired promotion, we can greatly increase the effectiveness and lower the cost of cooperative promotion. Just how much advantage this rep resents we do not know, but we do know that whatever it is, it is Ten opportunities are here described wherein cooperatives have a distinct advantage for member and service development—if adequate use is made of them. their business are controlled by a large segment of their patrons. This holds true whether the purchases are being made by the regional co operatives from the national organi zation, by the local or county co operatives from their regionals, or by the individual member patron from his local cooperative. In each case the organization has been formed by the patrons themselves as a service to themselves. Our merchandising advantage in this re gard has been, I feel, but partially used. Another advantage the coopera tives have is the willingness of member-patrons to help promote the social and business programs of their cooperative organizations. 8 that much over and above what non-cooperative business could ex pect from its patrons. It is incon ceivable that anyone would volun tarily promote a profit business cor poration in which he was not a heavy stockholder. It would be a case of people promoting a business for the benefit of stockholders whom in all probability they did not even know. On the other hand, it has been the experience of many begin ning cooperative groups that almost their entire promotional effort was the result of volunteer activity on the part of the patrons. The third promotional advantage that cooperative, organizations enjoy are the additional means or media for promotion and publicity which By JAMES L. PROEBSTING Advertising Manager National Cooperatives are. not available to their profit-in spired competitors. All of the re gional cooperative organizations sponsor some kind of a publication which affords an opportunity via the printed word to get the story of their commodities and services across to their member-patrons. These publications, at comparatively low cost, bring news to their mem ber-patrons—not only information concerning the financing, manage ment and plans of the organization —but commodity information and explanations of available services provided. Meetings Inform The membership meeting is an other means which offers manage ment and the promotional depart ment an opportunity to acquaint member-patrons with the new de velopments and new offerings in the commodity line. While some local managers ha've been irked by criticisms of com modities or commodity programs voiced by the member-patrons during such membership meetings, actually such verbal expressions of opinion are an excellent opportunity to gather valuable market research data at extremely low cost. Profit business pays large fees for collec tion and classification of such atti tudes and preferences—which are available to co-ops at very low cost when members gather in their per iodic meetings. Such information, of course, to be useful, must be assimilated by people who are trained objectively to evaluate con sumer reactions and who know what information they are looking for. Neighborhood Groups Study-action groups, neighbor hood councils or any other type of sectional or committee development which gets groups of cooperators together to discuss their mutual problems, affords additional oppor tunity to explain and promote the cooperative method and program. There have been cases where study and action recommended by neigh borhood councils have developed into unusually fast and effective new CO-OP—--APRIL. 1945 commodity or service programs. Many local societies have found their membership more responsive to educational committee activity when developed around commodity programs than when centered on a more abstract or philosophical basis. This, of course, is merely saying that an appeal based on the merits of a superior commodity has more universal interest than one based entirely on ethics or other philoso phical values. However, once con vinced of the practicality and self- advantages experienced in the com modity field, the members will trans fer interests to the broader fields much more easily. This is not to say that either commodity promotion or "education" is to be preferred, but rather that, to be most effective, they can be better used together. Many local societies have member ship bulletins or shareholder mail ings which regularly go to the home address of their member-patrons. Sometimes the major part of these mailings are devoted to commodity promotion. This opportunity to address shareholders and patrons with a single mailing is another de cided advantage of the local co operative. Note that all of these opportuni ties to contact member-patrons are in addition to the ordinary commer cial opportunities available to profit- business enterprizes or cooperatives. Co-op Label Helps The relative completeness of the CO-OP line of commodities is an other advantage which we possess. Once the consumer is convinced of the superiority of CO-OP products, his acceptance of the entire family of CO-OP commodities is achieved. This greatly simplifies our promo tional problem, and, more important, reduces merchandising costs. Our institutional appeal is an other strong factor which contribu tes much to the success of many cooperative promotions. Once an individual is "sold" on the idea of cooperation as a method of solving his economic problems, once he feels that it is a more fair and equitable way of conducting business, once he feels that it is affording him a de gree of security he could get in no other way, once you have convinced him that cooperative trading en courages rather than antagonizes cordial working relationships among and between different groups, then you have achieved an impelling in fluence which is often a determining factor in guiding individual pur chasing habits. if • ... „!. Public relations k an important part of co-op promotional work. Picture shows how Ohio farm Bureau Cooperatives stress note of welcome to public. Lower portion ot sign is changeable. Lastly, in the realm of public re lations, we are in a position to cultivate and enjoy wholehearted community acceptance. I appreciate the fact that this is not always the case—that our profit-business com petitors who declare for free enter- prize with their mouths while pay ing to eliminate competition with their money, are sometimes able to get erroneous conclusions popularly accepted in communities—particu larly among the business people. In some instances we have failed to achieve acceptance because we didn't let the public know of the forth right character of cooperative busi ness methods—how they are owned and controlled by the people in the community, how the savings, rather than being drained off as profits, are distributed as savings to the people of the community to raise standards of living and how the consumers' interests and thereby the community interests are automatic ally served by direct ownership and control. Service Motive Attracts . Recently an article in a trade journal called attention to the di lemma in which America would find itself if all business would switch to the cooperative method and thereby pay no taxes. It even men tioned that one of the large mail order houses is contemplating such a change in business organization. I don't think it far-fetched to prophesy that when these profit or ganizations discover that the co operative method calls for returning all "profit" to the patrons as pat ronage savings, any enthusiasm for such a plan will be buried without even the proper ceremonial rites. However, let us recognize the situa tion for what it is. Profit business has done an excellent job of achiev ing community acceptance for their organizations, the purpose of which is, of course, to make a profit off the community trade. Cooperative business, organized, financed and controlled by the people in the com munity, could gain for greater ac ceptance, it would appear, with less effort. Inasmuch as this acceptance has been achieved in many local communities, we do not have to theorize as to this possibility. It is a question of adequately publiciz ing our type of organization,—how it is financed, how it is controlled and who benefits. There are also some difficulties that must be kept in mind in tackling the Co-op promotion program. These will be discussed by Mr. Proebsting m the May issue. CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 Coop.-Assn.-681-A—10M—9-44 THE FARM BUREAU COOPERATIVE ASSN.. INC. PATRONS PERFORMANCE RECORD Q" OTHER KERO TRACTOR OIL GREASE AMT Cl MEMBER D NON-ELIGIBLE CAPACITY. Performance record sheets like the above provide the data from which truck servicemen and supervise« reroute deliveries. More Oil Delivered at Lower Casts ByWAYNESHIDAKER and HUGH BOYD* Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Ass'n WHEN we started to distribute gasoline and other petroleum products in 1933 and 1934 our retail price on gas (including a 2c state tax) was 17c delivered the farmer in 25 gallon lots, and we worked out contracts with refineries that Ohio co-ops are revising routes, helping farmers to store more fuel, take more gallons per delivery, saving money. guaranteed our counties 5 to 5j4c margin under the then prevailing tank truck price. Our objective was to lower the cost of these important products to our farmers so that they Hose and meter equipment in the rear end of one of Ohio's lOSO-gallon trucks. Trucks of this type now deliver over 200,000 gâtions a year. 10 might cut crop production costs and increase their farm income thereby improving their standard of living. We started to operate using 500 gallon truck tanks mounted on driver-owned trucks, the driver of which was hired on a commission basis usually Ij^c per gallon on liquid fuel. 5c per gallon on oil and l^c per pound on grease. He set up 6 routes and followed them once a week. It was necessary to call on most of his patrons once a week be cause most of them had for storage only a few 5 gallon cans and pos sibly a 55 gallon oil drum or two. Competition Helped We operated in this fashion for several years making large savings m the State Association and in prac tically every County Co-op. Finally, in about 1938 we began to run into price competition and wide operat ing margins soon became a thing of the past. Many county managers, in stead of putting more efficient oper ating methods into effect, just threw up their hands and said that there wasn't margin enough in petroleum any more to spend much time on it *Mr. Shidaker and Mr. Boyd are Man ager and Assistant Manager, respectively, of the Petroleum Division, Ohio Farm Bu reau Cooperative Ass'n, Columbus, Ohio. CO-OP—APRIL. 1945 Drivers were not properly super vised, inventories of gasoline, oil and grease were not watched closely enough, resulting in excessive shrinkage, and interest in petroleum distribution lagged. We didn't realize it at the time but our objective was being accom plished and our farmers appreciated it. I don't claim that we were di rectly responsible for our present low gasoline price but today our ceiling retail tank truck price deliv ered to the farm on regular gasoline as set by OPA in Ohio is 15}^c per gallon except in 25 counties where it is 15c. This price includes 4c per gallon state tax and Ij^c federal tax. The State Association's price to the County Co-op is 7^c deliv ered plus tax. This means that they pay a total of 13j^c, which leaves a total gross operating margin of 2%c, or 14.5%, in 63 counties, and l^c, or 11.7%, in 25 counties. The major companies, however, do not figure the percentage of margin on the price including the tax as you don't take a handling charge on tax, so, in reality, our margin is 2j4c on lOc gas (exclusive of tax), which is 22.5%. Even so, efficient operating is very necessary. Deliveries Bi-Weekly By efficient operation, I mean more dollars of sales per mile driven, which means a lower deliv ery cost. This is being accomplished by getting our counties to switch over to a 2-week delivery program instead of weekly. Deliveries and Expense CLINTON COUNTY FARM BUREAU Liquid Fuel................... . . ._. Oil- ............... ...... .... . . ... Grease......... .. .......-_...——...—- Mileage.... _ ..................... _ .. Truck Expense.. _ ... _ Total Delivery Exp. __ ....... Delivery Cost To Volume Liquid Fuel Per Mile... ....— Volume Per Mile...... ........— Wilmington, Ohio 1942 $112,959.40 800,142 gal. 11,277 gal. 12,502 Ibs. 40,450 $4,198.83 $2,696.14 $6,894.97 6.10% 17.06 gal. $2.79 COOPERATIVE 1943 $118,562.31 844,617 gal. 10,778 gal. 13,068 Ibs. 40,897 $6,016.22 $2,972.13 $8,988.35 7.58% 20.65 gal. $2.90 1944 $126,066.46 880,051 gal. 12,548 gal. 13,350 Ibs. 38,315 $6,296.95 $2,773.63 $9,070.58 7.20% 22.97 gal. $3.29 It is a hard job to convince the manager that it can be done, but first of all we get him to start keep ing a record of his patrons' per formance. We have a regular form which shows patrons' name, ad dress, storage capacity and his record of purchases of gasoline, tractor fuel, oil, grease, etc., off tank truck each trip for the past year or six months. Each month is sep arated by drawing a red line. These are then kept in order by routes in ledgers and each day's sales are reccrded on them by the office secretary or bookkeeper from the driver's daily report sheets. The next step is a drivers' meeting, at which we have them put on maps each day's route marking each eus- tomer in the rotation he is called on. This shows some very inefficient and inconsistent operations as there is a lot of backtracking and crisscross ing, and one day 40 patrons are served, the next da)r maybe only 13. Schedules Rearranged We then explain what we plan to do for the drivers and get their agreement to cooperate. The plan is simply this—to gradually change over from 6 routes to 10 routes; instead of one for each day of the week, one is scheduled for each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of two weeks. Routes are arranged so that there is an average of 25 patrons served on (continued on next page) 1 r*»»» Ohio cooperatives lend storage tanks like these to farmers who purchase all their petroleum products from the co-op. Left, 300-gallon skid; right, ISO-gallon vertical. CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 II Oil Delivery— (continued from page 11) each, not 40 one day and 13 the next. Theoretically, where a driver now serves ISO patrons on 6 routes this new system will enable him to serve 250 patrons on 10 routes. Use Bigger Tanks The success or failure of this whole plan depends on the proper placement of correct-sized storage tanks on the farm. This storage equipment should be put out on a loan basis with the understanding that the patron pur chases all his petroleum products from his co-op and allows it to keep his tank full at all times, ex cept, of course, in cases where the farmer wants to purchase the equip ment outright. It is an old custom of major oil companies to loan equipment, and we are just kidding ourselves if we think we can sell it under these conditions. We have arranged with our Agri cultural Credit Corporation for County Cooperatives to borrow up to 90% of cost of farm equipment for 3 years. We started about January 1, 1944, to work on a manufacturer to make tanks for us and we got our first shipment about June. Since that time we have shipped 5,000 pieces of equipment. Government regulations came out last April which allowed the loaning of equipment of over 65 gallon capacity but we had plenty of difficulty getting pumps, pump hoses, double tap bushings and the tanks themselves. We are specializ ing on the 150 gallon vertical and the 300-gallon skid and 300-gallon frame tanks. Clinton County started a similar program in 1940 and their figures for 1944 show delivery cost of only 7.2%, with two trucks delivering almost 500,000 gallons each. Marion County reports 7.1% delivery cost. 20 Gallons to Mile Our trucks averaged 200,000 gal lons of liquid fuel, 3,125 gallons of oil and 3,000 pounds of grease in 1944, and we hope to raise this liquid fuel gallonage to 250,000 average during 1945, with a ratio of 2 gal lons of oil to every 100 gallons of liquid fuel. A tank truck serv iceman is not operating at maximum efficiency unless he is delivering 20 gallons per mile driven or at least 250,000 gallons per year. Sometime ago we started to 12 switch our servicemen away from the commission basis on which we had been hiring them. We now put a man on a salary of $150 per month and pay him a percentage of the savings of the truck. After he is credited with the income of every thing sold off the truck and all ex penses are deducted in order to arrive at the net income, then one- third goes to the driver and two- thirds to the Co-op. On this basis the driver is at our service eight hours a day, even in the dull winter months, and the business belongs to the Co-op and does not become his "personal" business as it tends to do on the old commission basis. This will cut delivery expense considerably. We like to think of a goal of 6% for delivery expense and not over 10% for all expenses in cluding administrative, bulk plant depreciation and shrinkage. Our 1945 program calls for an other 50 new truck tanke (1050 gal lon, 4 compartment, power take-off pump, auto stop meter, 100 ft. hose reels) in addition to the 30 that the counties have already purchased and put into operation ; 14 new bulk plants to cover territory where we are not now operating ; and 77 more drivers to cover this territory and territory we are operating in but which has inadequate delivery serv ice. Serving Known Needs Our method of merchandising oil and grease is an old one, but it is still good. It is based entirely on farmers' orders taken by the drivers and/or employees, copies of which are forwarded to the State Associa tion office by a specified date. We set a date period for taking orders, then a period for delivery, and we pay the drivers a bonus of say 3c per gallon on oil and yic per pound on grease for all orders taken (minimum of 10 gallons of oil and 25 pounds of grease). This bonus expense is split between the County Co-op and the State Association. After the war there are several major companies who are going after the farm business. If we are to maintain the volume necessary to keep expenses down and at the same time render our members and other patrons the service they should expect, we will have to be more efficient than ever. So You Can File Your Copies of Co-op O-OP readers may have won- dered at the perpendicular ar- langement of the titles of featured articles on the magazine's covers. It was a utilitarian consideration rather than an aesthetic one which primarily led to adoption of this style Its value lies in affording a means of filing the magazine in standard size vertical letter files so that the dates of issues and the fea tured titles are visible at the top edge when the copies are placed in the file with the binding edge up. In this way, CO-OP can become a permanent store of valuable information available at -a moment's notice. If you are interested in keeping a file of CO-OP, you'll find this a helpful part of the mechanics. CO-OP—APRIL. 1945 Ohio Farm Bureau Adopts Progressive Policy on Cooperative Development THE Board of Trustees of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, meeting in regular session March 14, 1945, at Columbus, adopted a "statement of policy," relative to future promotion and organization of cooperatives in the state. Due to the increasing demand for expansion of activities and facilities in new co operative fields, and a divergence of opinions as to the procedure for acting, the trus tees and officials sought to clarify their positions for future guidance. The "statement of policy," as printed below, was adopted unanimously by the 21 members of the Board present at the meeting, and was received with unanimous ac cord by the management staff. It is presented here because of its significant character and promise for cooperative development and as a model for consideration by other groups—both rural and urban. Statement of Policy 1. The postwar period will undoubtedly be marked by serious economic crises. 2. The cooperative method is one of the most promising economic tools which people can use to keep this nation from going into extreme gov ernmental controls during the postwar period. 3 At the present time, the use of the coopera tive method is confined largely to farmers. Unless its use is extended to other groups, the use which farmers alone make of it may not prevent this nation from going into a form of stateism. 4. No cooperative—rural or urban—can sur vive under a dictatorship. 5. The Farm Bureau should therefore recog nize the interdependence of farmer and other cooperatives. 6. Since the Ohio Farm Bureau is set up to promote and protect the interest of farmers as members of society as well as producers of farm commodities, it is the function of the Farm Bureau as a promotional agency to assist in the development of any activity that will improve the farmer's welfare, as well as that of society as a whole. The Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Inc., handling principally commodities used in farm production and consumption, should con fine its efforts to farmer-owned and farmer-con trolled enterprises. 7. As to the development of other than strictly farmer-owned and controlled coopera tives, we believe that farmers can aid by fur nishing advice and counsel based on their long and generally successful cooperative experience. 8. In case it is the desire of any group of farmers to join with others in the formation and operation of general over-all cooperatives, it is suggested that such new organizations be set up with open membership, not limited to any group or national interest and financed by those who own and patronize them. 9. Where the promotion of such cooperatives is deemed advisable, it is suggested that the Farm Bureau make cash or service contributions to some promotional organization set up outside of the Farm Bureau or its affiliates. 10. It is believed to be in the interest of farm ers to make such contributions because they will : a. Provide the outside stimulus necessary to induce other people to undertake the develop ment of cooperatives. b. Provide a more friendly marketing outlet for farm products than is now available to farmers, through urban cooperatives in the form of retail food stores c. Mobilize the active support of existing cooperatives in developing the techniques of successful organizing and operating other co operatives. d. Mobilize wider public appreciation and support of all cooperatives. 11. In order to acquaint farmers with the reasons for their making cash or service contribu tions to promote the development of general co operatives, we should keep farmers informed through discussion and publicity of the inter dependence of rural and urban cooperatives and of cooperative development in general. CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 13 Commodity Notes Brochure on CO-OP Appliances Almost Ready Nearly ready for the printer is a 12-page electrical appliance bro chure. Approved by the Sales and Advertising Committee of National Cooperatives, it has also been re viewed and approved by Phil Papet, chairman of the Appliance Com mittee. In two colors, and packed with photographic illustrations, line drawings and simple charts, this booklet explains quickly and clearly what the opportunities are in the appliance merchandising field, how local co-ops can get into this field, the steps to be taken in actual se quence, and what can be expected in the way of assistance from the regionals and from National Co operatives. The Sales and Advertising Com mittee also asked for a consumer piece on the CO-OP appliance pro gram, and work on this folder has been started. Phenothiazine Äs Bad As It Sounds—For Worms Phenothiazine is an anthelmintic (destroyer of intestinal worms). It is the most effective anthelmintic known. During the past several years, Phenothiazine has been tested and re-tested on all kinds of farm animals under all sorts of condi tions. It has proven very popular with stockmen, especially with sheep raisers who annually treat thou sands of sheep with Phenothiazine preparations. Your regional cooperative has re prints of a USDA bulletin which explains in detail, the source, forms and uses of Phenothiazine. Like other anthelmintics, Pheno thiazine must be used with care. Farmers are advised to consult their veterinarian always before us ing it. CO-OP Phenothiazine comes in three standard forms ; powdered, for mixing with stock feed, in 1-, 5-, and 10-lb. boxes; suspension or drench, 14 A regular CO-OP Magazine depart ment supplying important data about availability, specifications, distribu tion and uses of CO-OP commodities for administering individually, in one-gallon jugs; and tablets, for poultry, in boxes of 100 tablets each. Recommended on Condition—CO-OP Teat Dilators CO-OP Teat Dilators are of the type most generally approved by dairy experts and veterinarians in leading agricultural colleges and universities. These experts do not recommend dilators in general due to the fact that when improperly used (which is often), dilators may cause serious injury or infection. However, recognizing that farm ers do use teat dilators extensively, the experts insist on certain safety features of design and manufacture as indicated by quotations below from four leading dairy authorities. "I prefer a short dilator ... as all the virtue that they may pos- P.OWOERE0 »BLE (y, *« &H6H PAO -**#f [«•A»; One of the three standard forms in which Phenothiazine is now available under the CO-OP label. sess is in keeping the streak canal from closing." "It is desirable that dilators be medicated but medication will be of little if any value if proper sani tary procedures are not followed." "I also know that the large ma jority of dairymen are going to use them (dilators). Therefore, one that is small and does not distend the end of the teat too much and one that does not go up the canal too far is probably the best one to use." "If the dilator is to be used suc cessfully, both it and the teat must be as nearly aseptic as it Is possible to make them." In conformity with these prin ciples, CO-OP Teat Dilators were selected for shortness, being only long enough to reach through the streak canal where the trouble oc curs. Also, CO-OP dilators are medicated and are sealed in indi vidual paraffin cells for maximum sanitation. It should be strongly urged that the cow's udder and teats, the op erator's hands and surrounding sur faces be thoroughly washed in an antiseptic solution before inserting the dilator. Inasmuch as dairymen are going to use dilators, National Cooperatives feels that they should be given the safest dilator obtain able with complete instructions on its use. Canned Fruits And Vegetables Are Scarcer The available supply of canned fruits and vegetables is rapidly ap proaching the bottom. Too many items will have completely disap peared two to three months before 1945 packs are available for distribu tion channels. Canned fruit stocks are in about the same position as a year ago when there were practi cally none available for civilians. Canned vegetables stocks are re- CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 ported to be about 40% less than a year ago, with a predominance of less desirable grades. Consumers are reluctant to spend points for these grades. Canned green beans and canned spinach seem to be in greatest abundance. Canned toma toes and corn, and better grades of canned peas are just about cleaned up with from two to six months to go before new pack. Roofing Facts Given in New Manual "CO-OP Roofing Facts" is the title of a new reference manual on roofing prepared by the advertising department of National Coopera tives, and available through your regional cooperatives. Containing detailed information on roofing materials and methods of application, this handy manual has the answers to most of the common questions on this subject. Some of the topics covered are: "How Asphalt Roofing Is Made," "Considerations of Roof Slope or Pitch," "What Is a Square of Roof ing" and "How to Figure Roof Areas" for gothic, gambrel, gable, shed, hip, monitor and half-monitor roofs. Other topics include: "In structions for Laying Roll Roof ings," "Instructions for Laying Square-Tab Strip Shingles," "In structions for Laying Three-Tab Hexagonal Strip Shingles." In cluded in the instruction sections are numerous detailed and self- explanatory illustrations for each type of roofing on where to nail, laying over box gutters and valleys, flashing wooden, brick and concrete walls and flashing chimneys. This manual has a wealth of in formation of permanent value to the roofing dealer or building contrac tor. High quality CO-OP Roofing deserves such a thorough instruc tion booklet. Coffee Stocks to be Replenished Soon The Brazilian government has ap proved a subsidy payment to grow ers, which will make it possible to resume shipments to the U. S. at our ceiling prices. Brazil is able to get 16c per pound for coffee being shipped to Sweden as compared with the top price of 13c which U. S. importers can legally pay. The stop gap subsidy payment plan will pre vent any shortage of coffee imports from Brazil. WARNING fil- If . 2. Usuol Detailed data about roofing materials and methods for application are contained in this new Co-op Roofing Facts manual, now available through regional co-ops. Shortages to Cut Grocery Volume Next Few Months Wholesalers and retailers are be ginning to feel a real pinch in stocks, which will continue to get worse and in all probability will continue well into the third quarter of 1945. The current widespread publicity and concern about the shortages of meat has momentarily taken the attention of the consumer away from the impending scarcity of canned foods and certain other grocery staple commodities. The darkest spot is the exceeding ly short and dwindling supply of fats and oils. This shortage affects innumerable food items, as well as soaps of all kinds. A consumer awareness of the shortage is self evident when there are no salad oils or lard on the retail store shelf. But the same awareness does not exist when soaps, salad dressings, and peanut butter gradually disappear. This fat and oil shortage may be allocated toward the end of 1945 providing certain things happen. First, more hogs must find their way through legitimate channels in order to get the maximum amount of lard production, and price struc ture will have to be fixed so as to encourage hog raisers to produce heavy weight hogs. Second, the War Shipping Association is plan ning to make use of returning ships to bring in copra (from coconut oil) from the Philippines. Finally, some favorable producing weather must come for fatty vegetable crops, such as soy beans, cotton, peanuts, and corn, which will result in maximum production to equal the bumper crops of 1944. Little Rice Now for Civilian Consumers All stocks of rice were subject to 100% set-aside for government. Fi nal calculations are now being made to ascertain whether or not any rice can be released for civilians. Army and Navy are asking for large quan tities for the Pacific Theater of War. The chances are that, if any rice is released at all, it will be in such small quantities as to be negli gible in relieving the domestic shortage. CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 15 CO-OPS IN CONTEXT By the Editors Cooperatives must be built and conducted in tune with the world community and its strivings. Cooperators, in their discussions and efforts, should relate themselves with dynamic force to all other groups who in their struggles toi a better human society are crying out, consciously or unconsciously, for the cooperative way. Material will have functional value for local co-op groups in building strong, community-related cooperatives. This Month's Outlook by Gwen Goodrich TOPIC OF THE MONTH—The San Francisco Conference. Some writers analogize the conference to the U. S. ratification of the Consti tution—Dumbarton Oaks and Yalta were the "Constitutional Conven tion" where the "articles" were drawn up—San Francisco will "rati fy." General editorial comments: "Not perfect, but some organization must be adopted." Remember these facts: Text of Dumbarton Oaks plan does not seek to establish a uni versal state. No nation will be obliged to enter. Some will not be allowed to. Membership is to be open only to "peace-loving" states. "General Assembly" will have no legislative powers—will provide a forum for discussion of interna tional affairs and will make recom mendations to national governments and the Security Council. Permanent members of Security Council will be Britain, United States, Russia, China, and France. Rest of the United Nations will elect six delegates to the security council to serve two-year terms. Security Council has no direct ex ecutive power, will "call upon" the nations to take necessary measures. Voting in Security Council has not been decided and will be a major issue at the Conference. Proposed Economic and Social Council will be made up of 18 na tions elected by the general assem bly, each nation having one vote. This Council, too, can only recom mend action. Enforcement of peace terms drawn up with axis powers will lie outside the duties of the United Nations. But there is nothing in the plan to prevent the United Na tions from assuming or being as signed responsibility for carrying out peace terms. "The greatest risk to which the organization will be exposed is that the governments and peoples of the United States, Bri tain, and the Soviet Union, having once set it up, may regard the main tenance of a rather delicate mechan ism as their sole duty to peace. So doing, they may fail in the perpetual vigilance and wisdom which alone can keep them in harmony." * * WAR TALK —POST WAR. V-E Day "scheduled" for May. Principal focus of discussion is the fate of the Balkan states and Ger man industrial centers. The three great powers Russia, Britain, and France will be aligning their "spheres of security." Russia wants sympathetic governments in Balk ans, Greece is demanding creation of a "greater Greece," British and Russian interests are challenging each other at the eastern end of the INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ECONOMIC INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION UNITED NATIONS FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION MOTHER SOCIAL AND HUMANITARIAN AGENCIES]^ HEALTH—EDUCATION—CULTURAL & SOCIAL COUNCIL ^jm^^is^m SECRETARIAT SECRETARY MILITARY STAFF COMMITTEE REGIONAL SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS & AGENCIES INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT OTHER ECONOMIC AGENCIES NATIONAL CONTINGENTS OF ARMED FORCES AIR SEA LAND Circled on this United Nations chart are the general functions of the Economic and Social Council—the focal point for cooperative responsibility and action. Checked are the agencies where co-ops have already functioned effectively. These and the other four call for further concentration by cooperatives and cooperators. 16 CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 Mediterranean. Add to that the question of what and how much territory American forces should occupy during the drawing up of peace terms and the reconstruction period, and you have topics for headlines and editorials for the next many months. * * HOME FRONT. V-E Day brings popularity back to talk of recon version plans. Fighting is predicted in the Pacific area for at least a year, but demands for war materials are already down. Buick Co. made headlines with its 8000 "lay-off." It's a picture of things to come. Death of Franklin Roosevelt and ascendency of Harry Truman has caused speculations as to domestic post-war policies and planning. Re assurance that the executive will follow "Roosevelt's plans and poli cies" has met with skepticism from liberal and labor leaders who con sider Truman a compromise figure with the Right. Others herald Tru man as a man who will work "with Congress" and see an end to great executive power as exercised by Roosevelt. General agreement on the fact that Democrats will spend the next four years consolidating their ranks for a win in 1948. * * UNDERCURRENTS — Senator O'Mahoney and Congressman Kef- auver have introduced similar bills to both House and Senate making combination of competing busi nesses over a certain size unlawful. . . . The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company is embroiled in a suit placed by the anti-trust division. Seems A & P sets up its own brok erage company, bought supplies at an advantage over competitors and the competitors charged this would allow A & P to sell at lower prices, thus stifling competition. A & P answers by saying the savings are passed on to the consumer. . Most major cities of U. S. have set up committees to "prevent or cope with imminent race riots." . Georgia has abolished the poll tax and Arkansas has passed a measure excluding Negroes from Arkansas Democratic primaries. . * * "TIMES THAT TRY MEN'S SOULS." The whole world sits on the front door step these days. Pity the guy who uses the back door and the alley and prays to God to help the president patrol Main Street. Cooperators can have a lot to do with the fashioning of the world to come. Will they? CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 A Friend of Co-ops Passes On TN THE passing of Franklin D. •*• Roosevelt, cooperators join with lovers of democracy the world over in mourning the death of a true friend of the common man, a stal wart friend of the cooperative move ment. Spurred by a vision of peace and plenty for all, our late Presi dent whom we honor on this month's cover gave able leadership to the American people through not only a disastrous economic crisis but a war of unprecedented ferocity. The many encouragements he gave to the cooperative movement began in the early days of his ad ministration when he issued an Ex ecutive Order defining a genuine Rochdale cooperative and stating that NRA price fixing provisions should not interfere with the co operative method of distributing patronage refunds. In 1936 came his appointment of a Commission of Inquiry on Co operative Enterprise in Europe. His sponsorship of the Rural Electrifica tion Administration helped a million American farm families to organize electric co-ops. During the Roose velt presidency, both the Farm Credit Administration and the De partment of Labor made valuable informational surveys about co operatives. The FCA supplied long term credit at reasonable rates through the Banks for Cooperatives and fostered credit unions. In 1943 the President appointed Murray D Lincoln, President of The Cooperative League, to the United Nations Food Conference. To the Conference on International Cooperative Reconstruction in Jan uary, 1944, President Roosevelt de clared in a letter to Mr. Lincoln : "The weavers of Rochdale who founded modern coopera tive enterprise balanced inde pendence with interdependence, self-interest with good will, and action with foresight. Any ef fective handling of the problem of the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of Axis aggres sion must be based upon these same considerations. The co operative movement, which be longs to no one nation but has its roots in the traditions of all democratic peoples, is therefore one of the appropriate instru ments to be used in this task." It Happened in America A lovely 19-year-old lass of Ukran- ian descent, Mary Morozyuk, was elected Miss Shamrock in a St. Pat rick's Day Pin-up contest at a Chi cago mail order plant, reports the Chicago Sun. The judges were a bit disconcerted, but democracy ruled. In Ceylon, cooperatives have been effective in helping to break "black market" activities. Local co-ops have had assistance of both the government and British coopera tives »loo* ..«»*• It's CO-OP Floor Wax Season Mass display CO-OP Emulsified Floor Wax- It sells itself/ Floor waxing is the crowning touch to spring housecleaning and CO-OP Emulsified Floor Wax is the crowning touch in floor waxes. Your patrons will like this "no rub" water emulsion type of floor wax. Easy to apply and safe on any floor which water alone will not harm, CO-OP Emulsified Floor Wax leaves a tough, water-resistant and high- lustre film which may be damp- mopped without removing the wax. CO-OP Emulsified Floor Wax is another of those "bell ringers" combining extra qual ity with price-saving features to the consumer as well as a high operating margin for the store. Stock it, display it and you will sell it. You'll be doing your CO-OP and your patrons a serv ice. Order from your regional association. Manufactured by Chemical Products Division NATIONAL COOPERATIVES, CHICAGO 17 Clean Up and Paint Up BE A NOTICED CO-OP Uniform colors and sign letters will make your co-op look the part it is of a nationwide institution—and you will contribute to the national prominence of all cooperatives. ABOUT a year ago a well-known journalist called cooperatives in America "a relatively unnoticed miracle of the 20th Century." I'm sure every cooperator experienced an inner feeling of pride in having played a part in building this miracle —and yet the reference to our co operative movement as being "un noticed" must have made many a cooperator wonder about whether we have overlooked something very significant in our appeal to the aver age American consumer. At a quick glance by cooperators this may have seemed a gross in justice to a movement so well pub licized from True Story to Time, Life and Fortune to Chain Store Age. The average American reader can hardly escape reading some thing about cooperatives' refineries, oil wells, fertilizer plants, saw mills, coal mines, flour mills and farm ma chinery production. Why then should these great peoples' achieve ments add up to a "relatively un noticed miracle"? Uniformity Aids Memory Could it be that the average urban or rural consumer formulates his own impressions of economic strength and progress by what he sees in his home town or nearby urban shopping center? Perhaps it's the words like Standard, Shell, Gulf — Gambles, Western Auto — Farm Service, Sears, Wards — A & P, Jewel, Kroger, Food Fair, Safeway —and Walgreens, Cunninghams, Whalen that look impressive, big to the average Mr. and Mrs. Consumer. Town after town, city to city, state to state, these same symbols of size, mass merchandizing and nationwide distribution are intended to impress upon you and me that you can "Shop and Save at Blank's." So well has this program been stamped in the minds of consumers that one 18 By WILLIAM V. TORMA Chairman National Cooperative Equipment and Design Committee can be totally illiterate and still rec ognize through color repetition Red Crown service stations, Golden Shell, the familiar red and yellow on an A & P store. Few people ever see or hear about an A & P warehouse, bakery, com mission house—but millions know their retail units at a glance. This then seems to be our great unfin ished task—to universally adopt in stantly recognizable design charac teristics through structural design, interior layout, color scheme and trade-mark recognition. Think it over—cooperative member, director and manager. CO-OP How many cooperatives are there in your city, county or state that fulfill these consumer impressions of size and value? While some small degree of uniformity in design char acteristics exists within the region of each of the 18 regional members of National Cooperatives, we have very little at the inter-regional or nationwide level. This provincialism in adherence to regional concepts in color and trade-mark identifica tion on our "store fronts" gives our great movement an "unnoticed" im pression to the public. Exterior Color Scheme Uniform Exterior Colors for use by all cooperatives affiliated with National Cooperatives were selected by the National Equipment and De sign Committee, made up of repre sentatives from the regional co operatives. The committee consulted government research laboratories to determine which colors would cut maintenance costs to a minimum. A study of frequency of various color combinations among private farm supply, food, and petroleum lines was made. Careful consideration was given to the adaptability of colors to various types of business carried on by cooperatives. Much thought was given to the colors in their relation ship to cooperative principles and operating policies. In our studies we found most regionals already using varying shades or tints of one of these colors in combination with other colors. Having completed this research, color samples were sub- This modernized plant for the farmers Union Oil Company, of Gfendive, Montana, designed by Thomas F. tllerbe, will include a combined cold storage locker and super market. Locker section is already being constructed. This color chart of paints and enamels shows exterior and interior colors for co-op facilities recommended by National Cooperatives' Equipment end Design Committee. CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 mitted to a referendum vote by re gional cooperatives. The result was almost a unanimous majority vote in favor of forest green trim on an ivory background. Interior Colors For Interior Color Scheme in farm supply display rooms, food and general stores, and service sta tions, the recommended colors are ivory walls and white ceilings. For est green is recommended for shelf molding, baseboards and counter tops as well as wainscot at 4 ft. height in service station display and workrooms. These wall and ceiling colors impart warmth and cleanli ness to the atmosphere of our mer chandising units and assure econom ical light reflectivity. Closely related to proper effect produced by the above colors is type and color of floor covering used. Recommended is 9 in. x 9 in. asphalt tile squares in 3/16" or 1/4" thick ness with 9" border strips separated from the center pattern with one inch ivory strip. This tile should be of brown and ivory marbelized tile. This is the best known material combining beauty with low floor maintenance costs. Successful re sults depend upon type of base over which this floor covering is laid. Specifications for laying should be obtained from the manufacturer, ar chitect or flooring contractor. Trucks Help, Too A number of regionals have re cently repainted all of their petro leum and general merchandise trans port trucks in forest green and ivory colors. Midland and Central Cooperative Wholesales have painted their long-distance trucks and trac tor-trailer units, with very interest ing publicity results. Other regionals may want to fol low a novel plan worked out by Midland to assure uniformity of painting and lettering of local CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 trucks. Midland has equipped a truck with complete paint spraying and lettering equipment manned by an expert. This travelling paint shop moves from one district to another until all local trucks have been painted. It is contemplated that this and other units will be kept busy on a full-time basis to keep Mid land's mobile equipment looking its best—constantly selling consumers, whether they have co-op services in their towns or not, that this Co-op movement is "going to town". Similar mobile paint shops may be the eventual answer to painting our stores, warehouses and service stations as well as for correct instal lation of signs. Exterior Signs The most effective exterior signs are those which have publicity value through instant identity to the pass erby by being synonymous with the kind of organization and the trade mark on the products sold. This can be accomplished by Co-ops with uniform sign units corresponding to Co-op trademark lettering. Regional wholesales can now fur nish these letters for signs. The January issue of "Co-op" showed on its back cover the design of let ters available. Made of a plastic material, the letters are 20% lighter but stronger than concrete. They are well constructed and finished with forest green facing and jade green returns. Each letter is fur nished with bolts and brackets for flush or projected mounting. Usu ally the auxiliary lettering in sizes smaller than 12 in. should be speci fied as "flush mounting," with the 24, 30, 36, or 48 in. Co-op in "pro jected mounting." Orders should also specify whether letters are to be mounted on wood wall, remov able wood or metal sign panel or brick, stone or structural glass back ground. In the latter case Acker- man-Johnson expansion bolts are furnished at slight extra cost if there is difficulty in purchasing them lo cally. If silhouette lighting is de sired, the larger sized letters from 24 in. upwards have a 2 in. to 4 in. channel in back which will permit local installation of neon tubing Orders must specify "cast signs for neon lighting." Durable and Economical The lettering should be brief, well chosen and placed in harmonious relationship with the design of the building. Superlative wording, such as "Super," "Better," etc., should not be used. Simplicity, dignity and honesty is achieved by using as little wording as possible'. Because these signs are purchased nationally on a pooled-order basis the cost is very low in consideration of the high quality. Comparisons oil costs of cut-out redwood, laminated masonite, steel and other materials showed the plastic letters to com bine beauty and durability with un usually low maintenance costs. We are entering into Spring months of year, when cool weather assures best results in painting. Too, it is traditionally the clean-up time of the year. There is no better time than now to launch a Nationwide Clean-Up-Paint-Up and Signs-Up Drive. It can best be done by each cooperative taking responsibility for its own program—and going to work. Health Incentive There's a wrinkle for considera tion by personnel policy formulators in the rule recently adopted by the U. S. Printing Office. Confronted by what seemed to be abnormal use of sick leave by employees, A. E. Giegengack, head of the world's largest printery, ruled that only those persons who were not ill dur ing the week could work on Satur day (for which overtime is paid). An "epidemic of health" is the re ported result. 19 A Must for Co-ops—Adequate SERVICING OF EQUIPMENT By OTTO A. NURKKALA Coordinator, Appliance Division National Cooperatives R . in-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-g! "Hello." "Is this the Farmers Co-op"? "Yes, who is calling please"? "This is Mrs. Eddington out on highway 42, west of town, and about two months ago we bought a water system from the store, and this morning it started making the fun niest noises ————." With the exception of the ma chine in question, whether in town or country, the above questions and the ultimate answers and the speed and dexterity of the answers will determine a Co-op's position in the farm and home appliance business over a number of years. To a large extent, too, the an swers will depend entirely on the service man that goes out to see Mrs. Eddington. A shiny kit of tools and complete service informa tion he is expected to have when he arrives; in addition—and even more important—personality and mental equipment should go with him on the job. Spirits Usually Poor Let's look at the conditions under which the service man is expected to begin his work. Depending on the customer and the situation, her attitude toward the service man and the organization he represents may vary from minor irritation to com plete dissatisfaction, even pugnacity. If it was the refrigerator that "acted up," the baby's milk probably was spoiled, and the cream for the morning coffee was sour. If it was the radio, Pop missed his morning music and weather reports, and Mom lost the continuity of the latest soap opera. Whatever the failure in equipment, it has ruffled up the course of domestic affairs and it is up to the service man to iron out the wrinkles. Even before the service man has had an opportunity to open up his kit of shiny tools his most important work begins to find out just exactly what the dissatisfaction is about. In the process the customer has a Competence, neatness, courtesy and tact are imperative to serv iceman's effectiveness. chance to blow off a little steam and you get a good idea as to the actual mechanical trouble, if any. You also build up confidence in yourself in the eyes of the customer. The ma chine or appliance that you have come out to service may represent a several - hundred - dollar investment. Unless the first approach that you make to the customer firmly estab lishes the fact that you are compe tent to handle the problem at hand, your performance as a service man will be irritating and raise questions in her mind about what you might do to her property. Even if your mechanical ability is equal to the task, the job is not completed until you have re-established the confi dence of the customer in yourself, your Co-op, and the product she purchased. The first investigation of the serv ice job should also establish if actual mechanical difficulty exists. In 20 years of contact with service prob lems, it has been my experience that an incomplete or dishonest sales job is the root of a large percentage of complaints. We do not expect, of course, that Co-ops will purposely misrepresent the items they sell, but especially in a new and growing or ganization inexperienced sales per sonnel is liable to make mistakes, and the service man has to rectify them. Competition, too, may have tried to unsell your product, or a little debate with a neighbor may have upset your customer's pride. A doctor, you will find, makes a pretty thorough analysis of your personal history before he begins to take you apart on the operating table. Equipment service men run Suggested Solutions for the Co-ops-and-Taxes Issue Here are some which were offered at hearings held by the McDougall Royal Commission in Canada, as summarized bv The (Toronto) Financial Post They are presented here as information for U. S. «operators. 1. Enact Dominion legislation clearly defining nature, operation and tax exemp tions, if any, of a cooperative. In other words, officially separate the genuine from the masquerading co-ops. 2. Revoke section 4 p of the Income Tax Act which exempts cooperatives from corporation profit taxes because genuine cooperatives claim they have no profits and exemption in this case is unnecessary. 3. Patronage dividends. Various solutions have been offered. Some would classify patronage dividends on same basis as ordinary company dividends and tax equally. Some would permit both cooperatives and private companies to deduct and pay patronage dividends before taxes. Some cooperatives seek to have con tinuance of tax exemption on patronage dividends paid by them and also the priv ilege of returning these dividends to members at the discretion of the directors, in other words permitting the cooperative to merely allocate them to members but actually hold most or all of the money involved more or less indefinitely and in the meantime use it for working capital, expansion or any other purpose tax free and at nominal or no interest. Spokesmen for private companies have criticized this withholding policy and argue that patronage dividends should be returned to members or shippers at least annually or at the end of the marketing season in regard to specific crops handled. 4. Processing and manufacturing. It has been argued before the commission that once cooperatives go beyond the simple agent stage where they market pro duce or buy bulk supplies for their members, they should be taxed in the same way as privately owned companies on the ground that much more than simple marketing is involved, that labor, machinery, equipment and services are used beyond that supplied by the members themselves and in direct competition with private industry and commerce. 5. That cooperatives should deal with bona fide members only and that these be admitted by application and advance fee, not automatically as is case now where any shipper to a producer co-op or any buyer from a consumer co-op is registered as a member whether he knows it or not. 6. Drop all corporation taxes, thus wiping out discrimination against private industry which is now taxed while cooperatives are exempt. This solution has been suggested by many spokesmen for co-ops and also by some for private industry, though no estimate offered as to how much personal income tax would have to be increased to absorb loss in revenue if corporation taxes elminated. into hypochondriacs, too, and often an administration of sugar coated anti-gripe pills rectifies a long list of imagined ills. Go Easy Mechanically After you have solved whatever "selling" problem you may have, you are ready for actual mechanical diagnosis. At this point in a service call also you can make or break the customer's confidence. If you have the training, experience and basic knowledge that your profession re quires, you will analyze the situation thoroughly before you begin to tear things apart. Don't try to guess. Have the necessary instruments and tools to make a complete test, taking all factors into consideration. To be able to do this intelligently and effectively, you not only have to know the particular make of ma chine concerned but also much of the science involved in its design and operation. Any service man worthy of the name should have a good grounding on electrical and magnetic theory, know something of the physics of mechanical movement and the behavior of liquids and gases and enough mathematics to be able to visualize and figure out some of the more simple considerations. The investment of time and money for training, study and the best of tools is by far the cheapest in the long run. A little head-work will save a lot of skinned knuckles. Respect for the customer's prem ises, especially if you are working inside the home will heighten your status as an expert. An orderly tool kit, clean overalls or shop coat, gen eral personal neatness, and leaving the job itself in as good or better state of cleanliness will make the customer proud of what he owns, and you will be much more satisfied with your work. Give Maximum Service The service man can also be the best salesman that the Co-op has. Figuratively speaking, the sales per son from the Co-op already has his foot in the door before he starts— he "sells" to his own employer, but the service man has the added ad vantage that he can determine for sure when an item has served its useful life and would be more eco nomical to replace. He spends much time in homes and on farms, and by using his imagination and being ob serving, he can call to the attention of the householder or farmer ways and means for increasing efficiency and convenience. With the tech nical knowledge he has, he is also in a better position to recommend models or sizes which most ade quately answer specific require ments. In the development of new models and designs for products, the wide awake service man can be of invalu able assistance. The regional co-ops and National Cooperatives are al ways striving to improve products or introduce new products as they are needed. Is there any better place to get the necessary informa tion than from the men that can ob serve the daily performance of ex isting equipment and suggest im provements and changes on the basis of their experience? Truly, the equipment service man is one of the most important cogs in the local co-op's functioning. Properly equipped, he is vital to any appliance program, and can be the most valuable emissary of coopera tion on the staff. Current Books, Pamphlets, Periodicals PEACE IS A PROCESS. Edited by Leland D. Case. Rotary International. 25c. From the pens and varied viewpoints of 40 public figures, such as Stuart Chase, Churchill, Madame Chiang, Eric Johnston, Harland Alien and Herbert Hoover come stimuli for thinking on "One World" and its imposing unfinished task of peace. Articles from the Rotarian Magazine have been selected for this symposium. HOW CAN WE PLAN OUR OWN PRO GRAM. No. 8 in the "Study and Action" series. The Cooperative League. Offers leads to informational sources on topics which a study-action group may wish to pursue. A CENTURY OF ROCHDALE COOPERA TIVE. Joseph Reeves. Lawrence and Wis- hart. As society "advances from capitalism to socialism," so will cooperation merge into the social life of society, Mr. Reeves believes. He is convinced that centralization of the English cooperative movement in one national federa tion for all cooperative purposes is a neces sary step, and a step that should be aided by a sympathetic Parliament 1945 STORE MODERNIZING MANUAL. Na tional Retail Furniture Association. Ideas for effective but economical modernizing and attractive displays are presented. Ob tainable from N.R.F.A., 666 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, 111. TWO BILLION ACRE FARM. Robert West Howard. Doubleday Doran. $2.50. A color ful saga of America as a two billion acre farm is presented by the editor of Path finder, -who views -with despairing reluctance the urbanization of the nation and the cen tralization of economic and political con trols. Strictly from a farmer's outlook, co-ops are praised as a bulwark against industrial and governmental dominance. Mr. Howard's unfortunate prejudices, however, as evidenced by snipings at Henry Wallace, Veblen and all college professors and his scorn of CIO espousal of social security legislation and attempts by certain co-op leaders to unite farmers and labor, beclouds the "true pattern for -world peace and •world security" -which he desires. His simple solution of having people -work on the land in the summer and in factories or some other project in winters lacks a realistic approach. Nor does he propose how it shall be accomplished. In the Magazines CO-OPS FIGHT TAXATION Printers' Ink, March 23, 1945. Describes the joint advertis ing campaign of 16 Webster City (Iowa) co ops (see CO-OP, Feb.) in fighting the NTEA attack. TAXES & CO-OPS. Tide, February 1, 1945. Survey of the pros and cons involved in the NTEA attempt to tax co-op patronage re funds. Intimates that NTEA has a $50 mil lion slush fund. CO-OPS UNLIMITED? Investors Reader, March 14, 1945. An old-line investment pub lication discusses the NTEA fracas, declaring that their offensive is "probably the best financed campaign since Prohibition.1* GROWTH OF CO-OPS. Industrial and Engi neering Chemistry, January, 1945. NTEA propaganda seems to have inspired this article warning industry of the co-op menace. The editors, however, have been fair in sympathet ically presenting a rebuttal from several read ers in the March issue. PLANNING THE SELF-SERVICE BAKERY CENTER, AND MERCHAN DISING SELF-SERVICE BAKED GOODS FOR VOLUME. Super Market Merchandis ing, January and February, 1945. Sound merchandising advice about baked goods, al though from a profit-making viewpoint. THE POLITICAL ASPECT OF CO-OPS— THEY, TOO, CAN BE UNDEMOCRAT IC. John Daniels. The New Leader, Feb. 10, 1945. Part of a series on "U. S. Co operatives : Trends and Prospects." A chal lenging analysis of co-ops that get agree ment and disagreement, but should arouse all cooperators. A faster strainer CO-OP Milk Filter Discs will help dairymen to produce the higher quality milk that WFA has asked them to produce. Straining is an essential step in the production of quality milk. CO-OP Discs are of a thick fluffy construction which with their cloth facing and wash re sistance, allows a very rapid flow of milk, yet traps all in soluble impurities. A time and money-saver for dairy farmers, CO-OP Milk Filter Discs should be a "must" item for every farm supply co operative. The quality warrants and the margins amply justify your handling and displaying CO-OP Milk Filter Discs. Order thru your regional cooperative. National Cooperatives, Inc. CHICAGO 20 CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 21 What's news with the CD-OPS Endeavoring to present the briefest practicable who, what, when and where of significant co-op happenings for the information of cooperative workers, and others interested, and for the record. Because of space limitations, chronological order will not be strictly followed, and important items necessarily omitted from one issue will be listed later. By WALLACE J. CAMPBELL Publicity Director, The Cooperative League COOPERATIVES will be repre sented at United Nations Se curity Conference at San Francisco if State Department acts favorably on request of Cooperative League directors at quarterly meeting, March 21, to appoint a co-op repre sentative on Advisory Committee to U. S. Delegation. Board nominated Howard A. Cowden. International Plans National Cooperatives voted at annual meeting to ask International Cooperative Wholesale Society, London, to call together affiliated national wholesales this spring or summer to plan greatly expanded international co-op trade, including a world-wide petroleum organiza tion. Freedom Fund Continues League board extended Freedom Fund for duration to help meet great need for cooperative recon struction. Contributions were over $85,000 as of March 29, and moving toward hundred-thousand-dollar goal. For Better Health In face of Minnesota medical battle, with disciples of AMA seek ing to guarantee perpetual mo nopoly of medical care, Co-op League directors appointed a medi cal committee composed of Dr. James P. Warbasse, Mrs. S. R. Lo- gan, D wight Town send, William Liimatainen and Andrew Jensen ; committee began plans to call to gether all cooperative and prepay ment-plan groups to fight militantly all repressive legislation. Architecture Department Plans are on drawing boards for many new co-op stores, service sta tions, freezer-locker plants, farm supply depots, one-step shopping centers to be built soon as materials are available. National Cooperatives annual meeting ok'd : (1) Uniform colors, Ivory and Forest Green; (2) Uni form CO-OP signs for easy identi fication ; (3) Uniform design of food stores, service stations, consumer centers, combination service station and shopping centers, farm market and consumer service centers, frozen food lockers and food stores. Board approved hiring personnel soon as available to carry forward this pro gram, urged regionals to set up achitectural departments. Big Year in Milkers Universal Co-op Milking Machine Division reported its biggest year, is continuing engineering research for post-war development, has secured factory space in Albert Lea, Minne sota for water heater factory. Volume Up 300% Purchases of U. S. and Canadian regionals cooperatives from Na tional in 1944 were 300% of 1939 volume. Reelected as officers of National Cooperatives for ensuing year were : [. H. Hull, president; J. L. Nolan, vice-president ; Howard A. Cowden, secretary-treasurer; A. J. Hayes, chairman of the board, and T. A. Tenhune, general manager. Chemicals to Expand Chemical Products Division out put increased 33% during year, added several new products, is ex panding into production of agricul tural chemicals. Big Tire Program Automotive committee has signed contracts for tire production to be gin immediately the "green light" is given. CO-OP tires distribution is expected to dwarf pre-war volume. Credit Unions Expand In second war-time drive, the Credit Union National Association added 41,033 new members, expects total to reach 50,000. Co-op Refinery Number 11 Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Association purchased in March substantial amount of outstanding stock in Louisville (Ky.) Refining Co. and Producers Pipeline Co., Owensboro, Ky. The 6,000-barrel- per-day plant brings to 11 the co op-owned refineries in U. S. and Canada. Also in the purchase are a 2500-barrel Cracking Unit, poly merization unit, gathering pipelines, a river transportation fleet. Labor and Co-ops Plan For two days, 150 representatives of labor unions and cooperatives met in Waukegan, 111. (famous for Jack Benny and million dollar Co operative Trading Co.), mapped out practical steps in cooperative pro motion and organization. Nine work sessions were held (see story else where in this issue). First Lady Joins Co-op Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, long a friend of cooperatives, talked to an overflow crowd at a co-op Free dom Fund Rally in Washington late in February and to a thousand peo ple at a Cooperative Centennial Rally at Madison, N. J., early in Local Co-ops Should Do This Everywhere ASSOCIATED COOPERA TIVES, INC., Oakland, Cali fornia, regional cooperative supply ing 31 consumer cooperatives and buying clubs in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Southern Idaho, has, by invitation, become a mem ber of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. Advised that it had been elected to membership on the sponsorship of persons unknown to Associated Cooperative's Board of Directors, the Board decided to accept. "We are a part of the business life of the community and we should take part in its business activities," said Ralph W. Evans, president of Associated Cooperatives. "Perhaps our participation will be helpful, educationally, to our new asso ciates." 22 CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 Joins N. Y. Co-op Following a Freedom Fund lecture recently, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt paid for member ships tor herself and her maid in the Green wich Village Co-op store, which is near her apartment in New York. March. Later, she sent a check for $20 to Consumers Cooperative Scrv ices in New Yoik for memberships fur herself and her maid in the co-op store in Greenwich Village near her NY apartment. Kansas Farmers Buck Anti-Co-op bill in Kansas Legis- latuie, apparently inspired by so- called National Tax Equality Ass'n , was killed when 800 Kansas farmers called on their legislators en masse, «tressed their point of view. Meas ure would have taxed as income to cooperatives all savings retained longer than 60 days after end of tax able year. Newspapers in area de scribed event as "most dramatic since the days of the Populists.'' A concurrent resolution passed by the legislature provides that Kansas Legislative Council shall study co operatives during* next two years, report to legislature with recom mendations. City Cousins Growing Up! Although city co-ops represent less than one fourth of membership of U. S. consumer cooperative, they, too, are moving into big busi ness. Eastein Cooperative Whole sale, N. Y., is among largest 10% of grocery wholesales in America. ECW volume was $4,080,000 last year, with $800,000 fresh produce, $3,280,000 in dry groceries. In Chicago a "city-wide" retail cooperative, Chicago Consumers Cooperative, has been organized with authorized capital of one mil lion dollars to bring co-op goods and services to sections of Chicago not now served by 31 co-op stores in area. Cooperative Services, in the Twin Cities, bought a coal and building material;, yard and a downtown auto repair garage. Co-op is one of laigest fuel oil distributors in Twin Cities, opeiates group of serv ice stations. Next steps are to be neighborhood food markets and downtuwn insurance and credit union service center. New York's Consumers Coopera tive Services opened their largest cafeteria (serving 1200 lunches daily) and their second food store dining the year, will icport their firsl million-dollar-year. Co-op Insurance Thrives In its 12-state area, Farm Bureau Life Insurance added $23.519,000 of policy coverage to its insurance in force in 1944. Treasuier J. E Kelt- ner reported present life insurance in force at more than one hundred millions. Farm Bureau Mutual Auto Insurance Company reported premium income of $10,479,000 dur ing the year, a gain of 21 per cent They've Moved Into New Responsibilities John M. Hodson, Pioneer, Ohio, member of Farm Bureau Cooperative \ssociation board of directors, was recently appointed Ohio Director of Agriculture. William Torma—director of research and planning, Council for Cooperative Development, Chicago; foimerly edu cational director. Central States Co operatives Roy F. Bergengren—national pro motional advisor, Credit Union Na tional Association; formerly managing director for 25 years Thomas W. Doig—managing direc tor. Credit Union National Association: formerly assistant managing director. F. F. Rondeau, American Farmers Mutual Auto Insurance Co , St. Paul, has been made assistant manager and treasurer of the amalgamated Co-op Insurance Companies, Minneapolis (including AFMA). Dan Williams, formerly personnel director, Eastern Cooperative Whole sale, has been made director of train ing, Council for Cooperative Develop ment, New York City. Henry S. Ballard—general counsel for Farm Bureau insurance companies and affiliated Ohio Farm Bureau Co operative organizations, Columbus, Ohio. Noel J. Blanchet—food store super visor for Minnesota, Midland Coopera tive Wholesale, after honorable dis charge from Navy. Bowman Doss. Director of insur ance sales, Farm Bureau Insurance companies, Columbus, Ohio Formerly Ohio state agent, same companies. George S. Hough. Superintendent of agents, Farm Bureau Insurance com panies, Columbus, Ohio Formerl> educational director, same companies Howard Hutchinson. Ass't. superin tendent of agents, Farm Bureau In surance companies, Columbus, Ohio Formerly New York state agent, same companies. Dr. A. E. Schumacher. Nutrition ist, CCA, Kansas City, Mo. Formerly with poultry husbandry department, Kansas State College Ray D. Stewart. To steel depart ment, United Cooperatives, Alliance, Ohio Formerly commodity specialist, Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperative Ass'n. Carlyle Hodgkin—editor of Nebraska Union Fanner; formerly with National Fanners Union. Mr Hodgkin succeeds L S. Herron, NUF editoi for 28 years Erich Lenz — executive secretary, Wisconsin Ass'n of Coopei atives. Mad ison; formerly manager, Associated Co-op Services. Merrill, Wis Samuel O'Toole—Iowa fieldman with CCA; formerly manager, Osceola County Co-op, Sibley, la. It's CO-OP shortcake time The time to feature a product is when it is most in demand. With fresh strawberries on the mar ket, strawberry shortcake is not to be denied; and CO-OP Pre pared Biscuit Flour is ideal for making shortcake—as well as biscuits, muffins, dumplings, and waffles. Your housewife patron will enthuse over the smooth texture of CO-OP Prepared Bis cuit Flour and she will appre ciate the time it saves her in preparing meals. You will ap preciate the substantial margin CO-OP Biscuit Flour earns for your store. Another exclusive CO-OP product. Order thru your regional cooperative. NATIONAL COOPERATIVES CO-OP—APRIL. 1945 23 Things start humming when Co-ops and Labor Join Hands Broadly representative group starts plan for coopérative promotion and protection WA.UKFGAN, Illinois, where co-ops and unions have truly been spearheads of pi ogress was the scene of a significant gathering, March 17-18, 1945, of 135 delegates from 51 labor organizations and 20 consumer cooperatives, to discuss how co-ops can help the laboring man protect his purchasing power. With sleeves rolled up, they delved into such varied fields as fuod, housing, medical care, burial service, coal, appliances, insurance and auto service under the leader ship of co-op specialists, and the sessions were synthesized in a panel discussion picturing concrete meth ods of getting organized. As a result of the conference, a Continuations Committee was set up to study the present extent of labor participation in consumer co operative activity as a basis for further action. Many Groups Represented The Continuations Committee represents the most successful ef fort to date of a joint action body of consumer co-ops and labor unions. On it are represented AFL and CIO unions, women's labor oigaiiizations and labor newspapers, as well as national, regional, dis trict and local consumer co-ops of the middlewest. The Committee personnel includes : Andrew P. Jen- sen, Midland Co-op Wholesale, chairman; J. A Rightlev. United Auto Workers-CIO, vice-chairman; Carl Rovainen, Lake Co. Co-op Council (Waukegan), secretarv- treasurer ; and Walter Nordstrom, Machinists local 437, AFL, Racine, and Richard Leekley, Council for Cooperative Development, Chicago, executive committee members. From AFL unions on the Com mittee are: Mrs. Halena Wilson, près., Ladies Auxiliary, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; Joseph Mire, research director, American Federation of State, Country and Municipal Employees; Orlin Fol- wick. public relations director, Minn. State Federation of Labor; Hubert Schockney, research direc tor. Laundry Workers Internation al Union and William Gydesen, general organizer, St. Paul (Minn Ï Trades and I abor Assembly From CIO unions are: Sander Genis, president, Minn. CIO Coun cil; Svend Godfiedson, editor, The Packinghouse Worker ; Hugh Reichard, educational director, Ra cine UAW-CIO Council; and Mrs. Dorothy Keene, international presi dent, United Auto Workers, Ladies Auxiliary Loren Norman, editor of Racine Labor, an independent labor paper, is also a Committee member. From co-op groups are Gwen Goodrich, The Cooperative League; Hanford Olson, Central Coopera tive Wholesale; Margedant Peters, Central States Cooperatives; Helmi Lake and Andrew Marske, Apple- ton. Wis., co-ops; B. F. Ihlenfeldt, Co-op Insurance Services; and John Leininger. Waukegan Co-op Trading Co. One of the keynote speakers, Ar nold Zander, president, State, County and Municipal Employees of America, AFL, urged every union man to become a cooperator, work ing out his buying problems in his co-op as he does his job problems in his union. Joseph Mattson, re gional director of the United Auto Workers, CIO, in the other keynote address declared that "consumer jr- Candid shots from the recent Co-ops-Labor Conference, Waukegan, III. ABOVE, left to right: Arnold Zander, general president. State, County and Municipal Employées of America, AFL; Joseph Mattson, regional director, UAW-CIO; Louis Warblngton, asst. director, organization, Ohio Farm Bureau. BELOW, arrangements committee: Anton Kerzic, N. Chicago Co-op; Cunnar Waukegan Co-op; Meredith Moody, AFL; Arthur Phillips, CIO; Carl Rovainen, Lake Berg, , , County Cooperative Council; Paul Albright, AFL. 24 CO-OP—APRIL. 1945 coopératives, can be instrumental in cementing sound relationships be tween farmers and urban wage earners." Sponsors of the conference, the Council for Cooperative Develop ment, Chicago, the Lake County Cooperative Council, educational federation of Waukegan area co-ops, and représentatives of both CIO and AFL, hope that other localities will follow their lead in planning practical labor-co-op meetings, or farmer-labor conferences, to stimulate cooperative growth in such areas and to extend more rapidly the benefits of coopera tive enterprise to the millions of American working people. Classified Advertising Recreation is a Necessity Tenth National Training School, June 24- July 7, to include Educational Institute By ELLEN LINSON Recreation Director The Cooperative League TEN years ago a few far-sighted individuals in the cooperative movement recognized the basic value of play and its importance in building a cooperative society, and through the Cooperative League, set up an annual training school for recreation leadership. This National Cooperative Recreation School will be held this year at Mission House College, Plymouth, Wisconsin, from June 24 to July 7. With Educational Institute Because the job of the local edu cational director in a cooperative is primarily a community organization job, an Educational Directors Training Institute, sponsored by Rochdale Institute, will be con ducted in conjunction with the Rec reation School. The two courses are inter-locking and provide the student with recreation skills, theory of group organization, and specific cooperative educational techniques. Courses in the Recreation School are designed to provide the kind of recreation in which everyone joins and which produces a cooperative spirit. Included are courses in group singing and instrumental music, folk dancing, play party games, dramatics, acting and directing, puppetry, story telling, and general games, as well as lectures on the theory of play and group structure and functioning. Stellar Faculty Miss Neva L. Boyd, Emeritus, Northwestern University, who has been associated with the school since its beginning, will handle the lectures and story-telling. Folk dancing and games will be under the direction of Alice Schwiebert, M.A., Northwestern University, and at present director of recreation at a large defense project at Oak Ridge. Tennessee. Dr. Edgar B. Gordon, for twenty- eight years chairman, department of music education, University of Wis consin, will head the music depart ment. Courses in this field include group singing, song leadership, madrigal singing, and guitar accom paniment. Several courses in dramatics will be taught by Ruth and James Nor- ris, who have many years experience in the professional theatre and have been associated with the school since its early days. Hans Schmidt, who at present is director of Wil low Run Recreation Project, Michi gan, and who has had fifteen years experience in Little Theatre and recreation work, will direct courses in puppet construction and produc tion of puppet shows. Seminar Sessions One of the outstanding "added attractions" of the school is the op portunity for inter-change of prob lems and experiences with students from all parts of the country. Panel discussions and informal seminars with rural, urban, church, labor, settlement house and cooperative recreation workers exchanging view points provide additional stimulus. The Educational Directors In stitute is designed to train educa tional directors or organization managers for full time positions in local cooperatives. It is open to those who are either now in such positions or who plan to go into work of this kind. Applicants must be approved by the regional co operative in the area from which they come. Courses will include methods and techniques with which to tackle the local educational job, as well as training in recreation The staff will be drawn from the educational departments of the vari ous regional cooperatives. Mission House College is located at the crossroads of Wisconsin The classified section oi CO-OP Maga zine will be available henceforth to in dividuals and organizations who wish to advertise equipment or other articles for sale or exchange or wanted, help or situations wanted, summer camps, educa tional projects, or special services to co operatives. Eight reserved to refuse any advertising regarded by CO-OP Magazine to be in conflict with cooperative objectives or programs. Rates are 7c per word for one insertion; 6c per word for two or more insertions. Minimum, $1. Abbreviations, signs, initials and complete numbers counted as words First line in capital letters; no other dis play. Remittance must accompany order. Address Classified Department, CO-OP Magazine, 343 South Dearborn Street, Chi cago 4, Illinois. EQUIPMENT WANTED SUPER IKONTA B CAMERA, 3.5 LENS preferred. Also electric sewing machine. George Yasukochi, 5646 Harper Ave., Chicago 37. KORELLE REFLEX CAMERA, MODEL Z 2.8 or 3.5 lens. Also late model Royal portable typewriter, elite type. Oilman Calkins, 843 S. Dearborn St., Eoom 1210, Chicago 4. ______HELP WANTED______ MAKAGER WANTED FOR COOPERATIVE Association in Texas, handling Petroleum and farm supplies. Box DA-11, c/o Co-op Maga zine, 343 South Dearborn Street, Chicago 4, Illinois.___________________________ ______POSTWAR JOBS ____ SEND APPLICATIONS NOW FOR POST- war managerial, clerical, engineering, ware house, research, educational, secretarial and technical positions in cooperatives Farm supply, petroleum, food stores, housing, equip ment production and maintenance, chemical manufacture, banking and finance, printing industries, transportation. Give previous train ing and experience, principal interests, co operative background if any. Address Person nel Committee, The Cooperative League, 343 S. Dearborn St., Chicago 4. trunk highways A and M, and its delightful rural setting provides an ideal place for these training courses. Costs for the two weeks school, including room, board and tuition, will be $50 per student More information can be secured from Ellen Linson, Recreation Di rector, The Cooperative League, 167 W. 12th Street, New York 11, N. Y . or from Rochdale Institute. 3^3 S. Dearborn, Chicago 4, Illinois A Safety Record for All Co-ops to Shoot At In a contest conducted by the Columbus (Ohio) Safety Council, drivers of Farm Bureau Cooperative cars had an accident rating of 1 05, compared with an average of 3.77 for the 56 fleets participating. This amounts to one accident for each 95,366 miles travelled by the 166 Ohio Co-op vehicles. CO-OP—APRIL. 1945 25 Editorially .. . Health Service for All Government (nr socialized) medical care may come in the near future. Additional group (nr co operative") health projects may also he established - -certainly thev should be. There is much honest difference of opinion among progressive thinkers on the subject : Which approach should predomi nate? Should we have both? There are a number of facts and considerations that should be kept clearly in mind as individuals and groups consider the question and related de velopments : 1. The current war, even more emphatically than the last, reveals that private fee-fnr-service medi cine has failed to serve the people adequately with the benefits of either preventive or curative medical science. 2. Thousands—perhaps millions—of service men and women will return to civilian life convinced of the superiority of institutional health care, and thousands of doctors will come back, too, ready and anxious to serve their communities on a salary basis, recognizing therein the greater opportunity for adequate therapy facilities and specialized at tention for all specific conditions. 3. The currently proposed national health legis lation, whether you like the plan in its entirety or not, allows for free operation of health coopéra tives for those who prefer this method of adminis tration, while at the same time providing for the care of those who wouldn't participate in a co operative (because of prejudices or location), or who couldn't (because of extremely low income) 4. The sick person is just as much of a social hazard to his community as any other type of "offender"—voluntary or involuntary—if not more- so. His care, therefore, and the prevention of his sickness if possible, are considerations not just for himself, but for his community—just as much as are fires, crimes, education, water, sanitation 5. Two false assumptions about who treats who are given much undue credence, even by those who are greatly interested in improved general health and finding the best means for it. One of these assumptions is that freedom-of-choice-of-doctor is essential to the layman. The other is that freerlom- of-choice-of-patient is essential to the doctor. On the first : How did you choose your present doctor? Was it a scientific choice? Did you con sult several people, who knew about his treatment of other cases besides their own? If you went to the hospital, unconscious, following an accident, and required surgical treatment, how should the surgeon be chosen—and by whom? Would it not be a valuable service to you for a capable board to have made the selections in advance? On the second : Specialists logically should be expected to handle only conditions for which thev are trained, and there, no doubt, are psychological situations where professional wisdom directs a change of practitioner. Further, there is a limit to the physical capacity of any one doctor. But for any doctor, after having taken the Hypocratic oath, to demand or exercise the privilege of choosing on economic or social grounds, between patients he is competent to serve, is to violate humanitarian principles and cast shame on the institutions that trained him. Cooperators have two special responsibilities First is the adverse statutes of many states, pre venting groups from building adequate pre-pay health service. This can be remedied only by vigor oiis, constructive, educational campaigning—with the public and the legislators. Second, and perhaps most important, is the need for more un del.standing and receptiveness by the doctors. Selfish leaders of medical societies must be converted or sidetracked. This, too, must be accomplished by a campaign of education and counselling with the open-minded doctors. Preventive health service is coming. It must have enabling legislation. It must have the best doctors and facilities. Co-ops can do it. Your cooperafive needs to advertise ;usf as much as religion needs preachers. Prima Facie Evidence (A Guest Editorial) The conversation was quick, warm, friendly, even brilliant in an inexperienced sort of way. Some of the very best people were there, and some of the second test. A truly social occasion. One thing they all had in common; they all loved humanity. Not only that, but they weie willing to say so, and to think of ways in which the fortunes of those less favored might be permanently improved, "because, after all, human society is so thoroughly integrated that we must stand or fall together." It was delightful—liberal people discussing liberal causes with all the generous good will in the world. Everyone went home bathed in a warm glow of op timistic satisfaction. All but one small demure woman who had had little to say. When she and her husband were taking off their coats at home, he inquired rather critically of her coolness to the feast of reason and flow of soul. "Well, if you must know." she said. "I think there's nothing more useless than that kind of talk about a better world by people who haven't the slightest inten tion of doing anything to improve it." Hence we make our respectful bow to those men and women who address the envelopes, make up the name lists, push the doorbells, and do the thousand and one jobs that make a co-op or a credit union able to do its stuff. That's eloquence! That's social philosophy ! That's prima facie evidence! It's more than that. It's the only kind of assurance any one of us can ever have that sterility will not over come our souls, dry them up, and let them blow away. -KENT FRANCIS, m "The Working Dollar," North Shore Credit L nion bulletin (Evanston, III.) 26 CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 Legislation Affecting Cooperatives Kansas. Resolution passed March 16 authorizing a legislative council to study and report on cooperatives during- next two years. Flood of farmer protests held up Senate bill 170, now in the House, which would tax patronage returns as income if not paid out 60 days after the fiscal year ends. Minnesota. Doctor monopoly pre paid medical service bill which passed House was sent by Senate to its judiciary committee, where it is believed anti-cooperative provisions will be stripped from it. North Dakota. Non-profit cor porations to provide prepaid med ical service in which the majority of the board of directors must be doctors are authorized in a bill passed by both houses ; co-op health groups will probably wish to organ ize under cooperative laws. State chartered credit unions will be supervised by a Credit Union Board rather than the state banking board under a new law. A bill was defeated in the Senate which would have subjected all credit unions to a minimum tax of $50 a year Ohio. Before the house is bill 422 to create a commission that would IN MEMORIAM Dr. Burris A. Jenkins, died at his winter home in El Centre, Cali fornia, March 13. A Kansas city minister and writer. Dr. Jenkinb was long a friend of the cooperative movement, having been the author of the first novel dealing with co ops—Fresh Furrow. After European travels in 1937, he did a series of articles dealing with co-ops abroad. Pastor of Community Church, Kan sas City, for 37 years, and a well known radio speaker, Dr. Jenkins was widely known as a forthright liberal. D. J. Wallace, died at his home in Cartwright, Manitoba, Canada, March 17 President of the Mani toba Cooperative Wholesale since 1942, Jack Wallace was a leading figure in the Canadian movement. As editor and owner for many years of the Southern Manitoba Review of Cartwright, he worked hard to encourage the growth of coopera tives. He was a charter member of the Cartwright Consumers Co-op and a director uf the Manitoba wholesale for 13 years. subject co-ops to exhaustive scru tiny for alleged unfair advantages over other forms of business. Texas. Formation of non-profit corporations to operate cooperative hospitals in rural communities of 2500 or less is authorized in Senate bill 181 and House bill 435 intro duced recently. Wisconsin. Bill passed by As sembly requiring all funeral estab lishments to have full-time licensed directors. Seriously affects burial co-ops having branch funeral houses each of which would be forced to have licensed director on duty at all times. Three bills relating to prepaid medical service have been intro duced just prior to the deadline for new bills, one of which is similar to tbe proposed Minnesota legisla tion. "Required reading"—Murray D. Lincoln I Speak for Joe Doakes This challenging new book by Roy F. Bergengren, long time leader in the credit union movement, has met with acclaim by press and cooperative leaders since its recent publication. Written by a man whose only client for many years has been Joe Doakes, the common man, it voices a plea for his needfe for more cooperation at home and among nations. Some Outstanding Comments ( "Bimrd uf Directors l\ova Scotia Cooperative Union . . . passed a resolution congratulating you on the excellence ef your new hook. . . . Both in method and style in keeping with your ability as one of North America's most inspiring leaders."—M. M. COADY, in telegram to Mr. Bergengren. CT "Bergengren's book . . . is a tract for the times, ad- drpxspd to Joe Doakes, and readable by him. . . . Consumer cooperation . . . offers us, Bergengren holds, a 'second chance' to make the promises of democracy come true, not only for ourselves, but for all men everywhere."—CHICAGO SUN. C "Perhaps Mr. Bergengren's book should be described as ... a call to Joe Doakes to rise up and become aware of the Samson-like strength which lies within him when he is joined in love with his fellows "—N. Y. TIMES. tl "I want to endorse without reservation Hoy Bergengren's challenging new book, 'I Speak for Joe Doakes.' Its thoughtful and stimulating analysis of the problems which America—and all nations—must face makes it an impor tant contribution at this time. It should be placed on the required reading list of every American couperator."— MURRAY D. LINCOLN. C "Makes clear the possibilities for good that are inherent in cooperative control of the surplus funds of millions of Joe Doakeses. Should have the widest possible distribution. It will help awaken working people still in bondage to the money-lenders."—HOW 4RD 4. COWDEN. Co-op edition, $1.00 Available Through Your Regional and Local Cooperatives CO-OP—APRIL, 1945 27 A CO-OP, like any other business, is constantly under the public eye. And the public judges the organization by what it sees. The co-op is deemed good for the / / I \ community — or undesirable — largely on the basis of its physical appearance. / / I \ Members and patrons too judge their co-op to a considerable extent by / / I \ what they see — the store or warehouse — the employees — the merchandise. And the degree of eye appeal determines whether they are proud or apologetic of their co operative affiliation. / / I \ Directors and managers need the power (in the words of the poet Burns) //I "to see oursels as ithers see us" — and do something about it. t TAKE A CRITICAL LOOK AT YOUR CO-OP. / / | \ Do the buildings say that the business is "modern, efficient"? SM3HXV Do the employees give the visual impression of competence ? Do the trucks advertise "service" and "depend ability"? Does the merchandise look like "quality" and in spire confidence2 CO-OP ON 3D dto - < * S » v» ui _l ca O Z O g -8 ot O u. (A a. O 6 u E E M fi 8 §« ^, S' * QÜ O LL. Z O O ea s«; t*. o a, O 6 u 00 — 00 ** Onoe u|>on a time fher« wer-e f hf€« men KG fed worked very hard until now lie -was tfie Matlon s ^imcrack king •Jim anl Mike had worked hard.too— Ye°i" Aome'ï'rimç., always Ur drouffi —— FOR COOPERATORS • THEIR CHILDREN • THEIR NEIGHBORS Revised Edition of "There Were Two Men": There Were THREE Men! Farmer and Urban Worker learn to solve their problems together through coop eration.—The pleasant way to learn about cooperatives. 25c per copy. Order from your REGIONAL COOPERATIVE -fh-ey had icall not in inc. One day, however cft an idea —and then things began to hum! An official organ of National Cooperatives Inc., The Cooperative League of the USA and the National Cooperative Finance Assn Editor, Oilman Calkins ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Hugh E. Bngardus, Wallace J. Campbell, John Caison, Gwen Good rich, Ellen Lmson, C. T. MrLanahan, Otlo A Niirkkala, J. L. Proebstmg. CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Charles Baker, George Burcham, Cecil Crews, James Cummins, Davis Duuthit, Carl Eck, Herbert E. Evans, Herbert Fledderjohn, Glenn S. Fox, Ed Hannula, Leonard Harman, Andrew Hebb, Gardner Hei- drick, Allan Holzweiss, George Hough, Carl R Hutchinson, Erick Kendall, Fred Kessler, Made- lyn Kïlmoyer, Anthony Lehner, Laurie Lehtin, Tver Lind, Aino Maki, M R. Mann, Jr., Andy Marlowe, Donald W. May, Aaron Merila, T. Warren Metzger, Merlin G. Miller, Robert M. Mitchell, James R. Moore, Robert Neptune, Hanford Olson, Margedant Peters, L. C. Roenigk, Arnold Ronn, A. W Ricker, Harvey Sanders, E. F Scharf, Alfred Sheets, Robert L. Smith, E. A. Syftestad, Glenn W. Thompson, George Tichenor, William Torma, Einar Ungren, E. A. Whitney, J. F. Yaeger, Homer Young. ADVISORY BOARD: James Cummins, Davis Douthit, Carl R. Hutchinson, Robert L. Smith. • Officers and Directors THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE Murray D. Lincoln, president; Howard A. Cowden, vice president; E. R. Bowen, general secretary; L. E. Woodcock, treasurer; Mary Arnold, Charles Baker, R. N. Benjamin, Perry I,. Green, A- J. Hayes, I. H. Hull, Andrew P. Jensen, Wm. Liimatainen, Frances Logan, A. J. Smaby, Dwight D. Townsend, J. P. Warbasse. NATIONAL COOPERATIVES, INC. I. H. Hull, president; J. L. Nolan, vice presi dent; Howard A. Cowden, secretary-treasurer; A. J. Hayes, chairman; T. A. Tenhune, asst. secretary-treasurer; H. S. Agster, Charles Baker, R. N. Benjamin, E. B. Chown, Leonard F. Cow den, Ralph Evans, R. W. HoKg, H. H. Hogue, C. S. Jones, A E. Kazan, J. E Keltner, Laurie Lehtin, William Liimatainen, Jacob Liukku, M. G. Mann, Bruce McCully, Robert McKay, Robert Neptune. C. C. Palmer, R. M. Pierson, Boyd Rainey, W. B. Robins, William Sanderson, Jerry F. Shea, R. J. Scott, A. J. Smaby, W. E. Slough, George Uiwin, L. E. Woodcock, J. F Yaeger. NATIONAL COOPERATIVE FINANCE ASS'N Perry L. Green, president; Glenn S. Fox, first vice-president; J. E. Keltner, second vice-presi dent; E. R. Bowen, secretary; T. A. Tenhune, treasurer; Harland Alien, Charles Baker, William W. Blaisdell, Andrew P. Jensen, Arne Johnson. Regional Cooperatives affiliated with The Cooperative League. National Cooperatives, and the National Cooperative Finance Association AMERICAN FARMERS MUTUAL AUTO INS. CO. St. Paul, Minnesota ASSOCIATED COOPERATIVES 816 Lydia St., Oakland, California CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wisconsin CENTRAL STATES COOPERATIVES 1535 South Peoria St., Chicago 8, Illinois CONSUMERS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 318 East 10th St., Kansas City, Missouri CONSUMERS COOPERATIVES ASSOCIATED Box 1150. Amarillo, Texas CUNA SUPPLY COOPERATIVE Madison, Wisconsin EASTERN CO-OP LEAGUE AND WHOLESALE 44 West 143d St., New York 30, New York FARM BUREAU COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 246 North High St., Columbus 16, Ohio FARM BUREAU MUTUAL AUTO INS. CO. 246 North High St., Columbus 16, Ohio FARM BUREAU SERVICES 221 North Cedar St., Lansing, Michigan FARMERS COOPERATIVE EXCHANGE Raleigh, North Carolina FARMERS UNION CENTRAL EXCHANGE P. O. Box G, St. Paul, Minnesota INDIANA FARM BUREAU COOPERATIVE ASSN. 47 S.Pennsylvania Av.,Indianapolis, 9, Ind. MANITOBA COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE 230 Princess St. Winnipeg, Manitoba MIDLAND COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE 739Johnson St.N.B.,Minneapolis IS.Minn. PACIFIC COAST STUDENT CO-OP LEAGUE Berkeley, California PACIFIC SUPPLY COOPERATIVE P. O. Box 1004, Walla Walla, Wash. PENNA. FARM BUREAU COOPERATIVE ASSN. 3607 South Derry St., Harrisburg, Pa. SASKATCHEWAN FEDERATED COOPERATIVES Saskatoon, Saskatchewan UNITED FARMERS COOPERATIVE COMPANY Duke and George Sts., Toronto 2, Ontario UTAH COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 156 Pierpont Ave., Salt Lake City, Utah t M A G A Z N E Journal of technical assistance and information for local cooperative officers, directors, employees, and committee members VOLUME 1, No. 5 MAY, 1945 CONTENTS Wanted—A Quorum ................. 4 How You Can Be Pricing for Patronage By Edwin Hannula 5 Co-op Vacations ..................................................... 7 Farmer-Labor-Co-op Understanding Through Movies ... 7 How Kansas Cooperators Stopped the Co-op Enemies 8 1943 Tax Payments of 230 Kansas Cooperatives ...... 8 Here's the Outline for Your Co-op Appliance Program. By W. A. Björn ...................................... ........ ..... 10 Co-ops For Fair ! By C. JT. Hameling ... ..——.—..—......„.. 14 Disadvantages to Overcome in Co-op Promotion. By J. L. Proebsting......................................................... 16 Are You Using a Co-op Workbook ? By Gwen Goodrich ......................_............... 20 Auction. A Short Story. By Joseph Gunterman. ....... 24 What Your Regional Can Mean to Your Co-op ....—............ 27 Departments Letters from Our Readers... 4 Coming Events .....................—.........................-...—..........—. 4 They've Moved Into New Responsibilities. .. ................. 11 Commodity Notes ........................................ ................... 12 Legislation Affecting Cooperatives.... ........ 17 Co-ops in Context....................—................ .......... 18 What's News with the Co-ops...................... ...................... 22 What's Cookin' ........ .......... ....... ...... ..- 23 Current Books, Pamphlets, Periodicals 25 Editorials 26 [n Memoriam ... ........ 27 PICTURE CREDITS Cover, Wnrts , pages 14 IS. supplied by Midland, page 16, Yasukochi, page 17, Wurts, page 24, Plaine Farmei. CO-OP Magazine is published monthly by The Cooperative League of the USA. Business Manager, Oilman Calkins. Editorial and business offices, 343 South Dearborn Street, Chicago 4, Illinois. Application made for entry as second class matter at the postoffice at Chicago, Illinois, under the act of March 3, 187S. Printed in USA. Copyright 1945 by The Cooperative League of the USA. Title registered in U. S. Patent Office and used by permission of National Cooperatives, Inc. Subscription Rates: One year, $2.50; three years, $6. 10 or more copies in one wrapper to same address, $2 per year per copy. Single copy price, 25 cents. Msiled anywhere without extra charge. Unsolicited manuscripts submitted at author's risk; should be accom