The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, February 21, 1921, Page 10

Co-Operation and Public Ownership Two Systems Succeed Side by Side in Norway—Credit Plans Are Like FEW. years ago an official American commission, composed of representa- tives of the United States government and of most of the states, visited Eu- rope to investigate rural credit sys- tems and governmental aid to Eu- ropean farmers. The commission visited Chris- tiania, Norway, in the course- of its investigations. I'ollowing is a portion of the report dealing with what was found there: N “The members were taken to visit the Christiania Slagtehus (slaughterhouse). It is of sufficient in- terest to deserve passing notice because of its up- to-dateness and the municipal enterprise shown in its construction and operation and the regard for public welfare which is manifested in its adminis- tration. “Not a pound of meat can be sold in Christiania until it has passed under the approving control of this institution. The livestock must be brought here and placed under sanitary control and so kept until it is slaughtered. It must be slaughtered here under the sanitary conditions obtaining, and it must then, as well as before slaughter, pass rigid veteri- nary inspection. It must then go into the large refrigerating department connected with this in- stitution and when it is cut up to go to the meat e\ (i) HOVacs L) gb‘-’o é%v == 77 7~ s, 27T P & i R PP A N R S I P ey L e PUZZLE—FIND THE IN SEEING THIS ARGUMENT KEPT LAND MONOQPOLY Those of North Dakota markets of the city it must pass through the same control and every piece be marked either ‘first class’ or ‘second class,” according to the determination of the officials, and sold as such, so that everybody buying meat in Christiania may know what class of meat he is buying and may know that it has been slaughtered and kept under the most sanitary con- ditions. > “All livestock shipped into Norway through this chief distributing port must pass through this municipal control before they can be distributed in the country. This plant is of reinforced concrete and cost $600,000 and is regarded by the city offi- cials as a very satisfactory investment.” The sanitary conditions obtaining -at this pub- licly owned and operated slaughterhouse form quite a contrast to the conditions at the Chicago slaugh- terhouses of the “Big Five” packers, as' exposed by Upton Sinclair in his book, “The Jungle.” But “ let us go on with the report of the American com- mission: 3 “The committee drove out into the country some distance to visit a co-operative abattoir. Here again they found a reinforced concrete plant, not so large as the municipal plant above described, but carried on entirely by the farmers on a strictly co- operative basis. The control was the municipal MAN INTERESTED UP sy S PRIVAT] i ELY- O RAILROA DS 2 MONOPOLY oF DISTRIBUTION ! PUBLIC OWNERSHIP 1S | THE. ONLY REMEDY'! —Drawn expressly for the Leader by John M>Baer, - PAGE TEN control previously described and effected through a representative of the municipal control detailed to this institution exclusively. This institution has some 6,000 members, all of whom are obliged to have all of their animals slaughtered at this institution: This institution pays its members for, whatever animals they bring in at the market prevailing at that time and then once or twice a year distributes among the members their share of the net profits, based upon their contributions to the net profits in livestock. “The committee chanced to pass a five or six- story building of modern construction and nearly completed on one of the main streets of Christiania which challenged attention. This fine building was being constructed as a general distributing head- quarters of a large co-operative organization of the farmers of Norway. Many of the sections of Nor- way are so isolated from each other by mountain ranges and other barriers that their language varies greatly. Often they can not understand each other and find it difficult to make themselves un- derstood when they are in Christiania. So they “have put up this attractive building, renting so much of it as they do not need for an investment, and furnish themselves with a home. An amuse- ‘ment place, restaurant and hotel accommodations are afforded here at very reasonable prices, to- .. gether with ample space for their immediate and prospective needs, both in the demain of co-opera- tive buying, selling and otherwise. CO-OPERATORS HAVE COMBINATION HOTEL, RESTAURANT AND THEATER “It is owned by 6,000 farmers through 70 local societies representing seven provinces of Norway. They are handling all kinds of farm machinery; they also handle all kinds of farm seeds. . They have ample room for wholesale departments for general merchandise. : “The lunchroom was visited and several hundred farmers and their families were found eating lunch. They were waited upon by young ladies from the different provinces who were gowned in the cos- tumes of their respective provinces. They also have hotel accommodations. ' Part of the building is used for a theater, which is fully equipped and up to date. “The ownership of capital stock, the election of officers, the distribution of profits earned, are all in keeping with the true co-operative Rochd principles. The amount of money invested in this building, which is in one of the best locations of the city, is $250,000.” Here we have a splendid example of public own- ership and voluntary co-operation working side by side, both successful and neither conflicting with each other. Interests hostile to the farmers in the United States have attempted to make out that the two systems are incompatible and will not work together. When the farmers band together in an orgahization like the Equity for co-operation, they are told that this is all wrong, that the government will look after their interests. And when an organization like the Nonpartisan league is built, to see that the farmers’ interests are looked after by the gov- ernment, the farmers are told that public owner- ship and government aid are all wrong—that the farmers should stick to-co-operation. __ There is, of course, no real difference in principle between voluntary co-operation and public owner- ship. Voluntary co-operation is co-operation limit- ed to those in the organization; public ewnership is co-operation shared in by all citizens of the city, state or country. ; : Conditions in Norway are also worth studying because what the farmers have done there is so nearly like what has been done by the farmers of North Dakota. B There are three great publicly owned and public- 1y operated banking systems in Norway. To give them their English names they are:_ The Bank of Norway. : The Mortgage Bank of the Kingdom of Norway. The Norwegian Bank for Workmen’s Credi The Bank of Norway does an ordinary commer- cial business and acts as a reserye bank. : The mortgage bank loans money on real estate mortgages, up to 60 per cent of the value of the