erents and in the turnover,--this fact is, I think, a remarkable
testimony to the value of the co-operative system. The details I have
given illustrate one important distinction between co-operation, which
enables the farmer to do his business in a way that suits him, and the
urban form of combination, which is unsuited to his needs."

The traditional economy that centered in the farm household was
independent. The ethical standards of country life recognized but small
obligations to those outside the household. Farmers still idealize an
individual, or rather a group, success. They entertain the hope that
their farm may raise some specialty for which a better price shall be
gained and by which an exceptional advantage in the market shall be
possessed. The conditions of the world economy are imposing upon the
farmer the necessity of co-operation.

The prices of all the farmers' products are fixed by the marginal goods
put upon the market. For instance, the standard milk for which the price
is paid to dairy farmers, is the milk which can barely secure a
purchaser. The poor quality, relative uncleanness, and the low grade of
the marginal milk dominate the general market in every city, and the
farmer who produces a better grade gets nothing for the difference. It
is true that there is a special price paid by hospitals and a limited
market may be established by special institutions, but we are dealing
here with general conditions such as affect the average milk farmer and
the great bulk of the farmers. It is on these average conditions alone
that the country community can depend.

Co-operation is the essential measure by which the producer of marginal
goods can be influenced. To raise the standard of his product it is
necessary to have a combination of producers. So long as the better
farmer is dependent by economic law upon those prices paid for marginal
goods, the only way for the better farmer to secure a better gain is to
engage in co-operation which shall include the poorer and the marginal
farmer.

In the Kentucky counties which raise Burley tobacco, a few years ago the
tenant farmer was an economic slave. He sold his crop at a price
dictated by a combination of buyers. He lived throughout the year on
credit. His wife and his children were obliged to work in the field in
summer. He had nothing for contribution to community institutions.
Indeed, he very frequently ended the year without paying his debts for
food and