from the
workingmen of the towns.

Besides such legislative reforms as the above, the Socialists generally
favor legislative encouragement for every form of agricultural
cooeperation. Kautsky says that cooeperative associations limited to
purchase or sale, or for financing purposes, have no special connection
with Socialism, but favors _productive_ cooeperation, and in France this
is one of the chief measures advocated by the most ardent of the
Socialist agriculturist agitators, Compere-Morel, who was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies from an agricultural district. Compere-Morel notes
that the above-mentioned governmental measures of the State Socialistic
variety are likely to be introduced by reformers who have no sympathy
either with Socialism or with labor unions, and _as a counterweight_ he
lays a great emphasis on cooeperative organizations for production, which
could work with the labor unions and their cooeperative stores and also
with Socialist municipalities. In France and elsewhere there is already
a strong movement to municipalize the milk supply, the municipalization
of slaughterhouses is far advanced, and municipal bakeries are a
probability of the near future. Such cooeperative organizations, however,
like the legislative proposals above mentioned, are already so widely in
actual operation and are so generally supported by powerful
non-Socialist organizations that Socialist support can be of
comparatively little value.

There is no reason why a collectivist but capitalist democracy should
not favor both associations for productive cooeperation and friendly
relations between these and collectivist municipalities; nor why they
should fail to favor an enlightened labor policy in such cases, at least
as far as the resulting increase of efficiency in the laborer justified
it, _i.e._ as long as his product rises, as a result of such reforms,
faster than what it costs to introduce them.

Socialists also favor the nationalization of the land, but without the
expropriation of self-employing farmers, as these are felt to be more
sinned against than sinning. "With the present conservative nature of
our farmers, it is highly probable that a number of them would [under
Socialism] continue to work in the present manner," Kautsky says. "The
proletarian governmental power would have absolutely no inclination to
take over such little businesses. As yet no Socialist who is to be taken
seriously has ever demanded that t