CO-OPERATION

in the urban areas of industrial countries it is chiefly the middle and wage-earning classes which are interested in the co-operative movement. the needs which it attempts to fill by its programme of self-help and mutual aid are growing ever more numerous; nevertheless, three great forms of activity may be distinguished; consumers’ co- operation, producers’ co-operation and credit co-operation. in practice, it often happens that the same institution assumes more than one or even all of these functions; but this division is a convenient one. i. distribution and the consumers’ societies! the consumers’ co-operative societies showed the most rapid growth in the urban co-operative movement between tg11—25. even the insufficient statistics available show the important 1 by the side of the consumers’ co-operative movement thcre should be mentioned the movement which compels small retail trad- ers to associate to organise their common stock on a co-operative basis. in germany these co-operatives have existed since 1879 and are already old and numerous, yet they only acquired a certain importance in 1907, when they united in the federation of german co-opcrative societies of small merchants (edeka). in 1923 this federation had a purchasing centre, a banking centre, a publishing centre, etc., and included 541 of the most important of the existing 1,421 societies. in the other countries of central europe, especially austria, switzerland and czechoslovakia, and also more recently co-operation place taken by consumers’ societies in the economic life of cer- tain countries. the membership rose in germany from 1,600,000 in 1911 to about 4,000,000 in 1924; in finland from 87,000 in igro to 371,000 in 1924; in france from 856,842 in ror1 to 2,329,869 in 1922; in great britain from 2,640,429 in ro1r to 4,702,868 in 1924; in sweden from 85,359 in rg11 to 289,704 in 1923. in switzerland, 9% of the inhabitants, and in finland 10%, belong to consumers’ societies. as the members of these societies are generally heads of families, it is probable that in finland and switzerland, for example, one-third of the popula- tion make part of their purchases from the co-operative societies. in the new european countries, especially in poland, in czechoslovakia and in the baltic states, where the movement is strongest in rural districts, as it is in denmark, there are numerous and prosperous consumers’ societies which have done much to create and strengthen the economic and social struc- ture of the country. according to charles gide (les societes co-operatives de consommation, 1924), there were in more than 50 countries over 50,000 consumers’ socicties with a total mem- bership exceeding 35,000,c00. the business done is propor- tionately large. in france in 1922 it amounted in value to 223,000,293 {rs.; and in great britain in 1924, to £175,077,825. in germany, these societics suffered during the period of infla- tion, but since the currency was stabilised in 1923 their devel- opment has been renewed, and their total turnover exceeded 600,000,000 marks in 1924. similarly, the co-operative whole- sale societies (c.w.s.) have become considerable enterprises. the total turnover of the c.w.s. of hamburg increased from 109,605,470 gold marks in ro1r to 168,466,278 gold marks in 1924; while in great britain the total business done by the english and scottish wholesale societies amounted in 1924 to £90,200,258. in ror it was £35,744,060. the growing importance of the consumers’ societies on the national markets and the important part which certain co-opera- tive wholesale societies play on the international market, have produced a certain reaction tn the national legislative and politi- cal activity of certain countries. the consumers’ societies were long permitted to develop unnoticed by the press, while political parties and public authorities remained indifferent or were even hostile. socialists of all countries, under the influence of karl marx, remained hostile to co-operation. but in the late summer of 1910, a decisive change took place, when the international co-operative alliance (i.c.a.}) at hamburg and the socialist international at copenhagen held their congresses simultane- ously, and the hamburg assembly received a resolution from copenhagen recognising the autonomy of the co-operative move- ment but affirming its value as a factor of social transformation. during and immediately after the world war public authorities became similarly converted. in almost all the belligerent and in many of the neutral countries the governments, confronted with the complicated task of rationing their populations, turned to the existing machinery of distribution of the non-profit making type of the consumers’ societies, and asked them either to dis- tribute provisions directly purchased by the state or to oppose the rise 1n prices. in russia, the soviet government tried to go further still. at first it hoped to absorb the consumers’ co-operative move- ment, and to make it the single channel of distribution within the communist state, to which the entire population, grouped in every town and village in consumers’ communes, must adhere. when the new economic policy was adopted in the spring of 1921, compulsory membership was dropped, and the co-opera- tives recovered their autonomy. nevertheless the state en- trusted them to a very large extent with the organisation of internal trade, especially among the agricultural population, both to sell the products of state industry and to supply the towns with agricultural products. {1919) in france, similar groups have been constituted. so in the struggle for existence the small private concern, which is so pro- foundly individualistic, has had to borrow the principles of mutual aid or the methods of technical concentration from the co-operatives, the wholesale traders, and the great enterprises with numerous branches, co-operation as a result of war services the co-operative movement was called to take an official part in public life. in germany, and also in czechoslovakia, according to a bill under consideration in 1926, chambers of consumers were created side by side with chambers of commerce and chambers of industry; while in aus- tria organised consumers are represented in the special committees constituted to examine economic questions in workmen’s and employees’ chambers. in the german federal economic coun- cil the consumers’ societies are represented, and the draft con- stitutions of similar proposed bodies in other countries contain provision for similar representation. theco-operatives are every- where recognised as qualified to represent the consuming public. movement towards federation —in the heart of the co-opera- tive movement, which has acquired a fresh power and authority, two great tendencies are apparent: (a) the grouping of societics in powerful federations; and (b) the fusion of new or economically weak societics with each other or with stronger societies. prog- ress towards federalisation was made not only in countrics where the consumers’ movement is relatively young—as in tin- land, where non-federated societics practically do not exist, or in sweden, where the federated societies represented 70% of the total consumers’ societies in 1910, 89-6% in 1923—but is also taking place in older and more highly developed movements, as in switzerland, where the number of non-federated societies is extremely small, or in great britain, where the percentage of societies affiliated to the co-operative union was 83-2 in 1913 and nearly 90 in 1924. non-federated consumers’ societies are nearly always small. in great britain the consumers’ socictics adhering to the co- operative union totalled 93-65% of the total membership in 1913 and more than 9894 in 1924. in 1910 the swedish co-opera- tive union embraced a total of 67,928 members out of 85,358 consumers’ co-operatives, or 79:6% of the total; in 1923 the federated societies included 257,163 members out of a total of 280,274 or 92°2%, and were responsible for 98-6% of the total turnover of all the socicties. the concentration which has been effected in poland is particularly remarkable in view of the long dismemberment of the nation and the scattered nature of the movement due to historical and political reasons. the rapid development in organisation astonished the most experienced co- operatives in other countries, and in 1925 existing unions of long standing were fcderated in a big union. in czechoslovakia the czech and german unions began to consider the creation of organisations which should promote national unity. the tendency to fusion has becn even more important. it was particularly strong in austria, in czechoslovakia, and in ger- many, where the number of socicties only increased by 43 units from 1911-24, while the total membership of the societies in- creased by 2,400,000. in france, the regional societies formed since 1913 and known under the name of co-operatives de de- veloppement ou de fusion, only numbered 46 on jan. 1 1925; yet they maintained 2,600 shops and had 565,000 members. their turnover in 1924 rose to about a quarter of the turnover realised by all the consumers’ societies in france. in great britain the membership of consumers’ societies increased by 2,000,000 be- tween 1911-24, while the number of societies diminished by 89 during the same period. in sweden, the average number of mem- bers per society has more than doubled for the same reasons and during the same period. this partly explains the size of the con- sumers’ societies in great industrial centres, some of them having more than 100,000 members; woolwich had 109,535 members in 1924; london had 117,266 members at the same date; hamburg 150,000; berlin and district 160,000; vienna 167,000. the economic unit.—the appearance of the large society has raised the problem of what is the best economic unit. the large undertaking, whether co-operative or not, clearly possesses cer- tain advantages lacking to the small; better conditions of pur- chase, better financial resources, better possibility of utilising modern mechanical appliances, etc. but these advantages do not always increase on parallel lines with the increase in the di- mension of the enterprise. there comes a point when the return ceases to increase proportionately with the increase of general 723 expenses. there is a danger that the cumbersome and expensive administrative apparatus will bring the disadvantages of bureau- cracy. extension of area, in particular, does not necessarily result in greater efliclency because of the increase of transport costs entailed by stocking widely dispersed centres of distribution. moreover, the very large enterprise is rarely conducive to the best co-operative education; the social bond is loosened, contact between members and administration becomes less close, and the members cease to take a direct active share in the conduct, responsibility and control of the business. thus an essential distinction between the co-operative society and the limited company vanishes. as the consumers’ socicties have grown, the functions of the general meeting have become more and more difficult or illusory. members no longer know one another. they cannot appreciate the activity exercised by their society in all its details and in its entirety; they can no longer vote with full knowl- edge and with the sense of personal responsibility. co-operative democracy tends to become formal, and the enterprise is no longer dicected by the members as a whole, but by a small group of them. a very large membership sometimes even makes general meetings impossible for material reasons; and it has been neces- sary to consider replacing gencral meetings by meetings of dele- gates. this process, with certain modifications of detail, has been made legal in germany {amendment of july 1 1922 to the law of 1899), in poland (law of oct. 20 1920) and in switzerland (proposed revision of the code des obligations). in france, sections constituted by arrondissement or by commune within the co-operatives de developpement ou de fusion appoint delegates to the general assembly. the virtues of the small society are beginning to be recognised; it is admitted that as forcing houses for the development of the co-operative spirit in the new generation they are justified if they receive the economic support of larger societies and are organically bound to a federation. a type is required which shall combine the economic advantages of the larger society, with the democratic control and the educative value of the small socicty. no formula has been reached. in some cases the large regiona] societies are being transformed into federations with the duty of controlling and performing common services for the small societies, which recover their autonomy and with it their social life. sometimes the large regional societies are maintained, and autonomous centres of activity are formed within them in the shape of town or district shops, groups constituted for savings, social work, etc. everywhere centres of education and propa- ganda are being organised for the women members to secure their efiective collaboration. extension of the movement.—the growth of the consumers’ movement has had other aspects. it has considerably enlarged its bases of recruitment. through the regional societies it has spread rapidly among the rural populations. in [finland, in 1922, 49-4°% of the membership of the co-operative movement consisted of independent farmers or small holders or agricultural labourers. in germany, the number of farmers and agricultural labourers grouped in the central union of german consumers co-operative socicties has increased from 40,760, or 3-95 °% of the total, in 1911, to 226,003, or 6-51 %% of the total, in 1924. similarly in sweden, the number of farmers and agricultural labourers in consumers’ co-operative societies increased fivefold between 1910-22 from 11,438, or 17-6% of the total, to 56,387, or 22°3% of the total. in the towns, while still catering especially for wage- earners, the consumers’ movement, especially since the war, has attracted the middle classes. in 1922 this class represented 14-6% of the members in finland; in germany they had increased from 11°66°% in 1910 to 20:3% in 1924 and in sweden from 8-7 % in 1910 to 18-8% in 1922. finally, the consumers’ movement has penetrated the poorest sections of the urban proletariat. for this reason,-and because of the conditions under which wages are paid, the societies are increasingly concerned with the problems of giving credit to their members. ever since its inception the movement has been pledged for its own sake to insist on cash payments, since the giving of credit increases overhead charges and endangers the 724 security of the enterprise. this is also in the interests of the member, who finds cash payment a guarantce of liberty and dig- nity as well as a stimulant to thrift. but in certain dificult situ- ations or for certain purchases a working population undeniably needs credit and the total sum of its indebtedness of members at the end of the financial year rose in 1924, to £2,800,110. in fact, of 1,314 shops in great britain more than 1,100 give credit. in finland, only 15% of the societies sell for cash; in the scan- dinavian countries the extension of credit has given the direc- tors of the movement some anxiety. in norway the percentage of credit transactions grew continuously from 1916 onwards, passing from 1-7% at that date to 4°5% in 1924. in that coun- try the rise of the exchange and the fear of an economic crisis and a period of unemployment, which seemed imminent, added to the disquietude and the question was brought up at the congress of 1925. the labour question.—with the vast growth of the move- ment the societies have had to face the labour problem. in small societies the work of directors, managers, etc. was at first per- formed gratuitously by members in turn or as elected. as the societies grew and their responsibilities increased they had to seek professional skill and paid labour. in certain countries the con- sumers’ societies and their federations have even become impor- tant employers. in 1924, the societies affiliated to the german central union employed 42,350 persons in their distributive and productive undertakings. at the same date the consumers’ movement in great britain employed 207,211 persons with a wage bill of £25,596,987. thus the problem of relations with the personnel employed and with the trade unions arose. though the societies have tried to establish model conditions of work, and though they have to meet the competition of private enterprise, they have often led the way in improving hours of work, wages, insurance, holidays, collective agreements, etc. thus, they have been able to establish with the trade unions relations which, if they have not always everywhere been so intimate as the two parties might desire, nevertheless show great mutual confidence. in great britain, france, switzerland, belgium, czechoslovakia and elsewhere, committees have been established on which the representatives of the central trade unions and co-operative organisations sit in order to determine wages and conditions of labour, and to act in case of disputes as organs of conciliation and arbitration. it is generally understood that strikes, particularly those covering an entire trade, will not affect the co-operative societies; while the latter pledge themselves to apply trade union conditions of labour and wages. in the main centres of distribution an effort has been made in some countries to place their managers in psychological and social conditions similar to those of the small retailer. fixed salaries have been replaced or supplemented by a system of pre- miums for economies in working, commission on sales, etc. in germany the employees have often pronounced in favour of fixed salaries, but in an increasing number of societies a variable frac- tion of the salary bears a relation to the sales effected. similarly, in austria, where the consumers’ societies are most deeply im- pregnated with labour and socialist influences, the directors of the movement favour a basis of remuneration proportional at least in part to the commercial results. in france, the regional societies have entrusted the branch management to managers paid on a commission basis. as their strength developed, the socicties have tried to satisfy the greatest possible number of their members’ needs. starting with the provision of groceries and bread, they have in some cases gone on to found restaurants and cafes, shops for the sale of dairy products, drapery, clothing, shoes, hardware, household goods, fuel, furniture, etc. many socicties have even attempted to attract members by procuring them houses, either building themselves of assisting special building societies. relations between wholesale and retail societies —the central organisations seek to extend their supply services to their afhl- iated societies. in return they expect the affiliated societies to re- serve for them the highest possible proportion of their custom — not always with success, for reasons many of which are perfectly co-operation legitimate. in germany the retail societies bought only 23-2% of their goods from the wholesale, and 23:8% in 1924. the pro- portion is more satisfactory in sweden, having risen from 21-6% in 1913 to 32-5 % in 1923; in switzerland from 28-2% in 1910 to 49°9% in 1924; it is naturally most satisfactory in great brit- ain (47-9% in 1911 and 51-77% in 1924). these figures show a relative increase of purchases made by the socicties from the wholesale societies, corresponding roughly both to the progress effected by the wholesale societics themselves and to the steadily increasing loyalty of local and regional societies. nevertheless some societies show regrettable neglect of their wholesale societies. productive enterprises—at an early stage the consumers’ co- operative socicties attempted to produce, either in their own establishments or through their central organisations, the great- est possible number of articles and goods which they required, with the object of eliminating the commercial as well as the industrial profit. progress in the quantity, variety and value of the products manufactured was considerable from rqgro onwards. the english c.w.s. has the greatest variety of productive enterprises, from the manufacture of flour, biscuits, chocolates, soap, cycles, motors and sewing machines to the ownership of tea plantations. it more than doubled its production between 1911-24, the value rising from £12,471, 414 to £209,938,339. in germany the pro- duction of the industrial enterprises of the hamburg c.w.s. in- creased in value from 2,935,581 marks in 1910 to 26,298,325 marks in 1924. the value of the production of the french c.ws., which was insignificant in 1911, was 23,700,000 fr. in 1924. the swedish union had no productive enterprise before 1921, but in 1923 produced goods to the value of 10,900,000 kroner. its con- gress in 1922 voted the raising by subscription of a special fund of 3,000,000 kr. for production. this subscription was closed in 1924 alter producing 3,500,000 kr. and in 1926 the swedish consumers’ movement had two of the largest flour mills in sweden. the development attained by certain productive enterprises raises a grave problem. impelled by the necessity of cheap pro- duction, the co-operatives desire to extend their market and thus tend to introduce the risks and profits of capitalist methods. on this question divergent reports were presented to the inter- national co-operative congress at ghent in 1924 by sir thomas allen and max mendel, and raised very animated discussions in the german co-operative press and at the congress of the german central union at stettin in 1925. moreover, it sometimes happens that the producing services are completely detached from the purely commercial services and are carried on by specialised, distinct and autonomous soci- eties, of which their customers, the local or regional societies, become members if they wish. this specialisation of functions is well illustrated in the co-operative enterprises of the swiss union of consumers societies for special purposes: two flour-mills, a furniture factory, a creamery, a society for market gardening and a shoe factory. in germany, a clothing society was formed in 1922 by the hamburg c.w.s tn conjunction with the state of saxony. in france, at the bordeaux congress in 1923, a proposal was considered for the constitution of national societies for special purposes for each of the industrial undertakings carried on by the c.w.s. a society distinct from the french c.w.s. was con- stituted by the most important societies of northern and eastern france to exploit a salt mine. in the course of the movement, which is leading them from distribution to production and even to the exploitation of raw materials, the consumers’ societies, especially the central organi- sations, have undertaken direct agricultural production with the help of hired labour. experiments in this direction have been made chiclly in great britain and on a smaller scale in switzer- land, but have not given very satisfactory results. since the nottingham congress in 1924 andstillmore since the southport congress in 1925, the british consumers’ movement appears to be taking a quite different direction. in switzerland, the agri- cultural estates, exploited by the consumers’ societies, are con ducted merely with the idea of providing first-hand information on the cost of agricultural products. co-operation ii. relations between consumers and agri- cultural co-operative societies by direct touch with agricultural co-operative societies, the consumers’ societies seek to ensure the supply of farm products to their members. these relations, desirable and fruitful, as they are, pre-suppose a sincere and tenacious desire for rap- prochement and adequate development on both sides, and they present certain technical difficulties. the acute disagreement between the rural and urban population in europe caused by the war conditions has diminished. one proof of this is the spirit in which agrarian problems have been worked out after the war by the socialists and communist parties. the co-operative movement itself has been actively associated in securing an understanding. in those agricultural countries where both the consumers and the agricultural co-operatives are well organised, the union between them has long since been effected. in ireland, the baltic states, the balkan states, russia, siberia, india, many states of north america, palestine, etc., it often happens that the same societies fulfil the functions both of distribution and of agricultural supply and marketing. in other countries all kinds of societies belong to the same federations, and have formed committees to ensure understanding and common action among the specialised federations. in the overseas british dominions a permanent and close rapprochement has even been brought about in political action (see co-operation, agricultural). economic relations have been established in two directions: (1) the farmers buy from the consumers’ societies not only food- stuffs, but also fertilisers, seed, agricultural implements, etc.; (2) the consumers’ societics buy the farmers’ products. both kinds of transaction can be arranged either through the central organisations of the two movements or by the rural branches of societies of urban origin. exchanges of this kind have been made with varying methods and success, in germany, denmark, france, great britain, norway, switzerland, czechoslovakia, the united states, ete. these exchanges may be occasional or part of an organised system. pcrhaps the most ingenious form of organisation is that of the mixed society, in which the agricultural and the consumers’ societies contribute equally the capital of the common enter- prise and have equal representation in all meetings, committees, etc. similarly, the profits of the enterprise are equally shared; each group then distributes its share among its members pro- portionately cither to deliveries or purchases respectively. in addition to local or national relations, exchanges have been made between agricultural societics in one country and consum- ers’ socictics in another. the outstanding example of these. in- ternational organisations gives an apt illustration of the mixed society. this is the new zealand produce association, ltd., set up by the english c.w.s. and the new zealand producers’ and marketing association. this association, which began opera- tions in april 1921, sells new zealand butter, cheese and other agricultural products in great britain. during the six months ending june 1924, the purchases made by the english c.w.s. from the new zealand produce association amounted to £223,- 170. another example, but a less purely co-operative and less _ elaborate one, is furnished by the russo-british grain export co., ltd., founded in 1923 for the purpose of exporting russian wheat to great britain and other countries of western europe, among whose members are the c.w.s. and centrosoyus.! although a practical formula is still to be found, there is a real desire for rapprochement between the different forms of urban and rural co-operation, as witnessed by the following resolution adopted at the ghent congress in 1924:— it is desirable that direct and organic relations be established between the consumers’ co-operatives and the agricultural co- operatives in order to unite in local and national organisations the consumer-producers of the towns and the country and, in the international field, the industrial and agricultural countries, on the basis of mutual respect of their conditions of labour and life. the same desire inspired the international institute of agri- culture and the international labour organisation. they under- 1the central organisation of the russian co-operatives. 725 took a joint enquiry on the relations between agricultural market- ing societies and consumers’ societies. ill. the problem of production in the towns, co-operative production has four aspects: arti- san societies, workers’ productive societies, industrial undertak- ings belonging to consumers’ societies and labour contracting societics. artisan co-operative societies —co-operative artisan socicties are as numerous and as various in form as peasant societies. they include not merely organisations for the common utilisa- tion of apparatus for certain operations, but also credit societies, societies for the purchase of raw materials and tools and market- ing associations. they are distinguished from workmen’s pro- ductive societies in that they do not organise work in common. the development of these artisan societies has greatly helped the single-handed worker and the petit patron to hold his own against large-scale industry, the classical country of artisan societies is germany, where they play an important part in the urban co-operative organisa- tion which developed in the latter half of the rgth century. in- spired originally by schulze-delitzsch, the movement in 1920 included 1,373 societies with 134,489 members. belgium, at the beginning of 1923, had 217 societies for the common pur- chase of raw material, machines, tools or the sale of products manufactured by their members. in czechoslovakia these soci- eties on jan. 1 1924 numbered 944. in france, artisan co-opera- tion dates from the passing of the law of dec. 27 1923 (credits to co-operative societies and artisan co-operative unions). there are also intermediary forms between the artisan societies, properly so-called and the productive societies, which are not always distinguished in statistical returns from hungary, italy, yugoslavia, india, japan and other countries. in austria, where the development of labour societies has been greatly encouraged by the state, there were on jan. 1 1923 858 societies of small industry and commerce; in poland statistics show 357 societies on jan. 1 1923 for supplying their members with industrial raw material; and in russia, where small and home industry (kus- tar} represents, according to some calculations, about one-third of the entire industrial production, there were on jan. 1 1923 18,050 artisan socictics in very diversified trades. productive societics —productive co-operation has developed most characteristically in france; in italy it has taken a slightly different form, and in great britain it is far less advanced. in france there were 498 productive societies in 1911, and §31 on jan. 1 1923, though the business done has slightly decreased in real value. in great britain the number of productive soci- eties increased from 91 with 22,919 members in 1911, to 98 with 27,767 members in 1924. though the movement is not stagnant, a close examination shows that productive societies have a short life. the numerous dissolutions indicate the difficulties encoun- tered; while the persistence with which new societies are formed _ indicates the strong desire of the workmen to escape from the status of the wage-carner. productive societies show an 1in- creasing tendency to enter into relations with the public serv- ices and with the consumers’ societies to find a market for their products. they sometimes even allow themselves to be absorbed by the central consumers’ organisations. success often leads the co-operatives into grave dangers, and those which succeed are liable to abandon co-operative principles. they make it difficult for new members to join by raising the cost of the shares, and evolve towards a capitalist system. many of them employ a high proportion of paid assistants. in france and great britain about 40% of the persons employed in productive societies receive wages. the productive societies are seeking a formula to secure the liberation of their members and also ensure their economic success and safeguard their social value. productive undertakings controlled by consumers’ organisa- tions.—mlany people, perhaps most of the leaders of the move- ment, believe that production undertaken by the consumers’ societics and by their federations is a true form of industrial 726 democracy. the work of the employees acquires the character of a public service, from which capitalist profit is eliminated, or more exactly, the surplus realised is placed at the service, not of a few privileged persons, but of the co-operative community. nevertheless, discontent and even strikes have broken out among the personnel employed. the truth is that in the workmen’s revolt against the wages system there is a profound desire that the workman shall achieve his emancipation in the actual course of his work. starting from these considerations, the international co-operative congress of 1924 discussed and adopted a resolution drawing the attention of the consumers’ societies to the part which labour associations can play in the organisation of indus- trial labour. co-operative labour associations~—the co-operative labour associations, which often take permanent form as societies, are groups voluntarily constituted in which the members work under the direction of delegates whom they have chosen and can de- pose. the collective remuneration of the work of the group is shared on princ ples worked out by the members themselves. this differs from other methods of collective remuneration, where the employer himself engages the gangs, or the foremen of the gangs, or where he intervenes in the division of the collective salary. the labour associations provide a method of industrial organisation by the workers, since the members hire out their labour collectively and themselves exercise personally and through their delegates the functions of control and of the dis- tribution of tasks. on the other hand, the labour associations differ from the productive societies in that they do not have to raise and manage capital; that they do not assume administra- tive and commercial organisation, and neither purchase raw ma- terial nor sell the finished products. labour associations and productive socicties have developed in several countries, particularly in connection with agricultural labour and public works; also among transport workers, porters, etc. in italy, the state has entrusted important public works— of drainage, hydraulics, building, railway construction—to soci- eties known by the name of co-operative da produzione e di lavoro. in new zealand the labour associations operate chiefly in the mining industry and in railway construction. in russia, labour associations are known as labour artels. they exist under various names in germany, australia, france, hungary and lithuania. labour associations act chiefly in little-skilled or un- skilled branches of labour and in small scale enterprises. never- theless, in certain countries in certain branches of highly skilled labour, they have begun to enter into larger enterprises. this is the case in france in the printing industry, for instance; in new zealand in the mining industry, etc. in france, these societies are known by the name of commandite d’atelier. the labour association, by substituting a contractual relation for that of a subordinate, constitutes a form of workmen’s participation in management. in this way co-opcration contributes to the perfecting of the organisation of labour. iv. savings and credit credit in consumers’ co-operation is concerned with the credit requirements of small independent enterprises, of common enter- prises of consumers’ societies and of individual households. urban credit societies of the schulze-delitzsch type supply the credit needed by small merchants, industrial workers and artisans. credit societies have recently been formed in france under the name of banques populaires; in 1924 they numbered 325, and their total balance-sheet amounted to 24,400,000,000 francs. the law of may 19 1917, in defining their legal status, insisted that the annual profit after the provision of reserves, must be divided among the de- ositors, not in proportion to the interest which they had received, ut in proportion to business transacted. the consumers’ societies have not been able to reach their present development with their own capital alone. they soon began to ask their members for capital, either in the form of long-term loans or of deposits. in collecting the people’s savings and utilising them, under the control and to the profit of the savers, in economic enterprises and social work initiated by themselves, they were educating their members and encouraging thrift. this explains the creation of savings and banking departments within the great federations of consumers’ societies. the increase and development of these organisations was onc of the salient features of the urban credit move- ment between i9ii—25. co-operation relation to wholesale societies—the banking departments and institutions of the consumers’ movement have almost always devel- oped out of the accountancy branches of the wholesale societies. in some cases, in the ilamburg c.w.s. and the english c.w.s., these are more or less independent departments, which yet remain integral parts of the wholesale society. sometimes, as in france and czechoslovakia, the banking department is completely scparate from the wholesale society, and an autonomous co-opcrative bank has been established; sometimes, as in austria or denmark, the savings of the people are collected by collaboration between con- sumiers’ societies and trade unions. in other cases, as in sweden, the trade unions abstain from forming a special workmen’s bank and simply recommend their members to support the deposit and sav- ings departments organised by the consumers’ movement. in ger- many, on the contrary, the trade unions have created the work- men’s, employees’ and civil servants’ bank side by side with the banking department of the c.w.s. in russia, the autonomous co- operative bank (vsekobank), which was first instituted by the con- sumers’ movement, has become the common bank for the whole of the russian movement. the labour banks of the united states are more or less connected with the local co-operative movement and are partly co-opcrative in principle. in great britain, the banking department of the c.w.s. received deposits in 1924 amounting to £552,837,668. from its beginning it has inspired the greatest confidence in the trade unions. of the 18,732 current accounts, individual and collective, 8,766 have been opened by the trade unions. in france, the banking service of the paris c.w.s. was transferred in 1922 into a bank which is known under the name of the banque des cooperatives de france; in 1924 its deposits amounted to 106,000,000 francs. in sweden, the savings department, founded in 1908 by the co-operative union, included at the end of 1922 355 savings banks with deposits amounting to 16,297,000 kroner. on june 6 1925 there were 31 labour banks in the u.s.a. with total deposits of $85,608,633. building socveties—co-operative building societies (which must be distinguished from building guilds) are purely credit institutions. the building socicties aim at facilitating the ac- quisition of houses and in purely credit institutions. the original capital, supplemented by loans contracted by the society, is fur- nished by the members, each of whom is called upon to subscribe shares or to make deposits proportionate to the cost of the house. ile receives interest and pays off the total price of the house in instalments spread over ro to 15 years. housing societies aim at building houses to be sold or let to their members. in housing societies each member can take up as many shares as he likes. the capital is made up of sums raised on mortgage, by issuing bonds and by the deposits of members. the supplementary payments made by members take the form of rent. in great britain there were 12,055 building socicties in 1921; in 1922, 232 tenant socicties, with 2,795 members and a turnover of £8,000,000. in germany the number of housing societies rose from 1,056 in 1910 to 3,792 in 1924. in roro there were in the united states 5,869 building and loan associations with a total membership of 2,169,893 and total assets of $931,867,175. in 1924 the number of associations had increased to 11,844 with a total membership of 8,554,352 and total assets of $4,765,937,197. consumers’ societies or their management often share in the foundation and management of building societies. they also seek to organise the savings of their members for other emer- gencies. besides co-operative insurance funds, there are insti- tutions like the provident funds of certain german consumers’ societies. these funds, to which a part of members’ dividends are added, enable members to accumulate reserves for critical periods—unemployment, strikes, illness, etc. credit unions and labour banks.—the credit unions developed since 1910 in the united states certainly have the advantage of a purer and more elaborate formula. while the savings and credits insti- tutions of the consumers’ societies unite in the same organism, two functions distinct by their nature, the credit unions, which specialise in a most definite function, are better adapted to more numerous and various needs of credit. they are most highly developed in great cities like boston and new york, where they render to workers’ houscholds services comparable to those which the schulze-dehtzsch organisations render to the small independent workmen or the raiffeisen banks to the rural population. in the credit unions members’ responsibility is limited to the amount of the shares sub- scribed, and they do not usually grant loans for trade purposes; otherwise in their aims and methods they closely resemble raiffeisen banks. their members are usually recruited from a small and homogeneous group of persons, who either live near each other or work in the same establishment. the unions are thus perfectly adapted co-operation to collecting small savings. like the raiffeisen organisations, they can make small loans without other guarantee than that of the member. in principle, they give loans exclusively for productive ends, but they have had to admit a wide meaning for the word “ productive.” thus they grant loans for current needs, but only if such expenditure improves the condition of the borrower. the credit unions are formed by share subscription. the denomination of these shares is gencrally low, five or 10 dollars. each member has to subscribe for one or more shares; he can also make deposits. credit unions have now (1926) developed in 24 states. in massachu- setts, where they started, there were 90 in 1924 with 34,1369 mem- bers and total resources of $6,297,000. the credit unions have carried on a successful war against moncy- lenders. an inquiry instituted in boston in 1915 showed that every week 100 workmen spent half a day's work in payment to moncy- lenders, and that most of the loans were made at an interest of 180 °% per annum. since the development of the credit unions, which charge 8% on loans, half the money-lenders in massachusetts have disappeared, and the other half have lost half of their’ business. these institutions have aroused interest in other countries, espe- cially in austria, france and sweden. these credit unions, being autonomous, mitigate the hardship resulting from the strict applica- tion by the consumers’ societies of the principle of cash sales. the insistence by the consumers’ socictics on cash may be prudent finance, but tends to diminish their turnover: if this insistence teaches members not lightly to run into debt, it does not meet legitimate emergencies or save them from recourse to money-lenders. the credit unions therefore render an essential service. v. the international co-operative alliance the international co-operative alliance (1.c.a.) was suggested in 1886 at the british congress at plymouth by the french co- operator, boyve, and definitely constituted in 1895. originally it included eminent persons interested in co-operation and its principles, not necessarily representing societies. but gradually, thanks to the activities of its first president, henry w. wolff, who employed in its service his personal influence and his exten- sive knowledge of all forms of co-operation, the alliance rallied round it the co-operative organisations themselves. at the ninth international congress, held in glasgow in 19109, its statutes were modified to give it the constitution of a union of national federa- tions. most of the affiliated organisations are federations of consumers’ societics. but other forms of co-operation, notably productive societies, and the socicties serving the multiple activities of the rural and agricultural populations, are also repre- sented in the alliance. in europe the i.c.a. includes almost all the federations of consumers’ societies, the wholesale societies; federations of pro- ductive societies of france, great britain and italy; the federa- tions of agricultural societies of france, hungary, italy and rumania; federations of societies (cither specialised, or with mul- tiple functions) of denmark, esthonia, finland, ireland, italy, latvia, lithuania, yugoslavia, russia, the ukraine and georgia. the federations of consumers’ societies of canada, united states and argentina have joined the alliance, as have the federation of the bombay societies, and the federation of the japanese unions. the relations which have been established between the english c.w.s. and the overseas agricultural societies permit the hope of closer bonds in the near future and even of eventual formal union between the alliance and the mainly agricultural move- ments of south africa, australia and new zealand. taking into account only the federations, actually affiliated to the i.c.a., where the number of societies and members is known to us, the following figures give a low estimate: 70 federations of 32 countries, with about 75,000 societies, and a total of more than 40,000,000 members. in the words of its statutes:— the alliance is not concerned either with politics or reli- gion; it considers co-operation as a natural ground on which persons of the most various opinions and different belicfs can act in common, its political and religious neutrality on which the unity of the co-operative movement rests, does not exclude affirmation of the moral and economic ideal which is common to all co-opera- tors. this is why the alliance has introduced in the first article of its statutes a definition of the end towards which it leads the co-operators of the whole world:— the internationa) co-operative alliance, continuing the work of the pioneers of rochdale, pursues quite indepen- 727 dently and by its own means the substitution for the pres- ent competitive regime of private enterprise, the co-opera- tive regime organised in the interests of the community as a whole and based on mutual assistance and self-help. the international co-operative congresses constitute the high- est authority of the alliance. eleven congresses have met: london, 1895; paris, 1896; delft, 1897; paris, r900; manchester, 1902; budapest, 1904; cremona, 1907; iilamburg, 1910; glasgow, 1913; basle, 1921; and ghent, 1924. in the intervals between its congresses the alliance is administered by a general secre- tary, mr. henry j. may, and an executive committee, whose president is g. j. d.c. goedhart; (vice-presidents, a. whitehead and e. poisson) and cight other members; and a committee com- posed of representatives of all the national organisations which are members. the development of the activities of the alliance has therefore necessitated the institution of specialised auxiliary committees. the international committee of the co-operative wholesale societies, constituted in 1919 and transformed in 1924 into a society under the name of the international co-operative whole- sale society, collects information concerning the commercial relations between the co-operative centres of the different countries and studies the possibilities of supply as a whole. the value of purchases made abroad by 13 of the wholesale co-opera- tive societies rose in 1923 to £29,033,068. the purchases of the british wholesale societies were {25,127,472; of the merchandise bought abroad by 13 wholesale houses together 3° was manu- factured articles and cloth, and 2°% coal, wood and mineral prod- ucts; the other 95% represented provisions. | seven articles by themselves form 70% of the total value of the imports of wholesale co-operative societies :— butter . {5,214,259 tea £3,499,932 wheat . 5,018,001 sugar 1,573,548 lard and bacon 4,682,046 coffee 659,837 rice . 364,703 europe furnishes 37 % of the total of £29,053,068; america 28%; asia 17%; australia §3°; africa 3%. the international co- operative banking committee, constituted in 1922, has already collected important documents on the development of co-opera- tive banking, and is in touch with 27 central organisations of 16 countries. its immediate task is to facilitate the establishment of co-operative banking relations between country and country, such as the regulation of commercial operations with or without opening credits, the transference through co-operative channels of the savings of members, etc. the development of these rela- tions will prepare the way for the establishment of an interna- tional banking centre. the international co-operative women’s guild (est. 1921) unites the national women’s guilds. the first women’s guilds were established in scotland and ireland and guilds were later formed in austria, belgium, holland, switzer- jand, france, the united states, canada, etc., in order to educate women to take a more active part in the co-operative movement. the countries actually affliated to the i1.c.w.g. are: austria, belgium, holland, england, ireland, france, norway, scotland, sweden, switzerland and the united states. finally, the alliance has taken under its patronage the com- mittee constituted on the initiative of the belgian prevoyance sociale to study the co-operative and workmen’s insurance societies. the i.c.a. issued in 1g06 a very complete bibliography of all works which had appeared up to that date on co-operation in any country, and in r910 and ror3 it has published monihly | an international co-operative bulletin in english, french and german, giving authoritative articles on co-operative questions and on the activity of the co-operative movement. since 1907 it has issued a yearbook of international co-operation. of all the social movements, perhaps the international co- operative movement his recovered its unity most rapidly since the war. strictly speaking, its unity was never formally broken, and as early as 1920 the international co-operative alliance again took up direct relations between the co-operators who had been separated by hostilities. it was also able to surmount the difficulties resulting from events in russia. but experience has 728 shown the importance of a practical activity applied to specifically co-operative tasks. it is by directing all its efforts to co-operative education and the practical tasks of organisation that the alli- ance will be able-to maintain its influence and bring all the coun- tries of the world within its scope. bibliography.—l. smith gordon and c. o’brien, co-operation in muny lands (1919); w. wygodzinsky, das genossenschaftswesen an denischiand (1911); h. gebhard, co-operation in finland (1916); a. nast, le regime juridique des co-operatives et expose synthetique de la legislation (1919); h. w. wolff, people’s banks (1919); j. gau- mont, [zisiotre abregee dela cooperation en france et al’ etranger (1921); c. gide, consumers’ co-operative societies, etc., trans. (1921); s. and b. webb, the consumers’ co-operative movement (1921); w. kule- mann, die genossenschaftsbewegung, vol. 1 (1922); dr. h. criiger, grundriss des deutschen genossenschafiswesens (1922); r. f. bergen- gren, co-operative banking, a credit union book (1923); b. lavergne, les co-operatives de consommation en france (1923); p. mukerji, the co-operative movement in india (1923); k. ogata, the co- operative movement in japan (1923); j. p. warbasse, co-operative democracy (1923); h. miiller, geschichte der internationalen genossen- schafisbewegung (ilalberstadt, 1924); charles gide, les soczetes co-operatives de consommation (1924); dr. t. cassan, the con- sumers' co-operative movement in germany, trans. by j. f. mills (1925); c. r. fay, co-operation at home and abroad, 3rd ed. (1925); j. gaumont, histoire generale de la co-operation en france (1925); a. hedberg, jnternational wholesale co-operation (1925); w. kule- mann, die kulturbedeutung der genossenschafien, vol. 2, systematic section (1925); e. a. lloyd, the co-operative movement in italy, with spectal reference to agriculiure, labour and production (1925); e. poisson, the co-operative republic, trans. by w. p. watkins (1925). see also: report of the central organisations in the various countries on their activities during the war (1920); reports of the oth, roth and rith international co-operative congresses (1913, 1921 and 1924); int. labour office, co-eperation in soviet russia (studies and reports, series h, no. 3), geneva (1925). (a. tu.")