products, owned and controlled by the farmers, so that true orderly marketing may be brought about.

"The most important things farmers should work for," said the secretary of agriculture, recently, "are the perfection of their cooperative selling organizations with a view to putting the marketing of farm products on a thoroughly sound business basis, and the careful study of needs of the consumer and intelligent adjustment to those needs."

Orderly marketing will result in many distinct improvements over the present system. The fact that the farm cooperative movement is being so strenuously opposed all along the line, is eloquent testimony of this fact. It will result in:

1. The elimination of violent price fluctuations. 2. A more uniform production. The farmer can operate with less chance of huge losses.

3. The reduction of marketing waste.

4. Greater economy in marketing, enabling the farmer to secure a larger share of the consumer's dollar.

5. A lower cost of living to the consumer, because of the elimination of the violent fluctuations in prices and production.

PART II

THE LOCAL MOVEMENT

CHAPTER SIX

Local Cooperatives Generally

The local cooperative organizations are at once the strongest and the weakest links in the farm cooperative movement. They are, in the very first instance, the most important units in the cooperative plan of action, because they are the cornerstone upon which the whole movement must rest. They are the units which are in most intimate contact with the individual farmer-members, and where the quality of the cooperative spirit must have its highest form, if the whole movement is to attain any great success.

On the other hand, the local cooperatives are often a very weak element and the cooperative movement would be well rid of a large number of the local cooperatives which were poorly executed in the beginning. In far too many communities, local enthusiasm has been allowed to run away with sober reason and cooperatives of various kinds have been launched which never should have been started. These weak locals have done more to discredit the whole idea than anything else.

Failures are bound to come to cooperatives which have been organized without proper refer