I come lastly to co-operation. You will think me biased when I speak of
its possibilities. I am. I have been for eighteen years on the governing
body of the Agricultural Organisation Society, and happen now to be its
chairman, and am therefore closely in touch with the work of organising
co-operative effort. One sees fairly clearly how difficult it is to make
any class of English agriculturists combine for any mutual purpose, how
worth while it is, and what almost unexpected opportunities of useful
work still exist. Thanks largely to untiring work by Sir Leslie
Scott--who gave up the chairmanship of the society on his recent
appointment as Solicitor-General--the country is now fairly covered by
societies for purchasing requirements co-operatively--principally
fertilisers, feeding-stuffs, and seeds. There are also affiliated to the
movement I have mentioned, many useful co-operative auction marts,
slaughter-house societies, bacon factories, wool societies, egg and
poultry societies, and fruit and garden produce societies (but not
nearly enough), besides a thousand or so societies of allotment holders
which, thanks largely to our friend, George Nicholls, set all the others
an example in keenness and loyalty to their parent body.
The _ideal_ is that where a society exists the main raw materials of the
industry shall be bought wholesale instead of retail, and the main
products of the industry sold retail instead of wholesale; that thereby
middlemen's and other profits shall be reduced to a reasonable figure,
and that the consumer shall get the most efficient possible service with
regard to his supplies. It is also the ideal that farmers and others
shall learn more comradeship and brotherhood; that the big and small men
alike shall become one community bound together for many common
purposes, and that thus the cultivators of the soil shall lose that
isolation and selfishness which is a reproach against them. The ideal
is, however, not always realised. The farmer likes to have a
co-operative society to keep down other people's prices, but, having
helped to form a society, he does not see why he should be loyal to it
if a trader offers him anything a shilling a ton cheaper. A good
committee is formed, but the members think they hold their offices
mainly in order to get first cut for themselves at some good bargain the
society has made, and they start with the delusion that they are good
men of business. Things, therefore, get into the hands of the manager,
and it is astonishing how much more quickly a bad manager can lose money
than a good one can make it. And if in these and other ways it is uphill
work with farmers' societies, the work is still more uphill with
small-holders. It is the breath of their nostrils to bargain
individually, and if a society is started they will only send their
stuff to be sold when they and every one else have a glut, ungraded and
badly packed--and then they grumble at getting a low price.
But all co-operative work is abundantly worth while. And the field of
co-operation is not limited to the purchase of supplies or the sale of
produce. It ought to cover the use of tractors and threshing sets and
the installation and distribution of power. And if agriculture gets a
chance of settling down to a moderate amount of stability and
prosperity, it would not be beyond the bounds of hope that part, at any
rate, of the profits of co-operative enterprise should be used to
develop the amenities of the common life of the community--to provide
prizes for the sports and the flower show--the capital to start an
industry for the winter evenings, and even seats for the old people
round the village green.
Times are not propitious for increasing the productivity of our land,
excepting by the slow processes of education--which work particularly
slowly in agriculture. Nor are they immediately propitious for raising
the workers' standard of life, though we should never leave go of this
as an essential. But many of us can, if we will, help a good man to
start on the land, or help a man who has made good on the land to do
better. Many of us can help to develop real independence of life in the
villages and, through co-operation, those kindly virtues of friendliness
and helpfulness to others and willingness to work for common ends which
are sometimes not so common as they might be. And those who _can_ do any
of these things _should_, without waiting for legislation--for the
legislator is a bruised reed.
[Transcriber's Notes:
The following apparent printer's errors have been corrected for this
electronic edition:
misconduct necessitates military operations;
was "operations:"
and if he tries to make his responsibility real
was "responsiblity"
things slide--the main virtue of Cabinet
was "virture"
are two which are almost invariably present towards
was "invarably"]