ly made its way in rural life. But "rampant individualism" dies
hard; and most farm communities are still competitive rather than
cooperative.

In recent years however there has been a most encouraging increase of
cooperation in all important rural interests, which indicates that the old
individualism is doomed. In 1907 there were over 85,000 agricultural
cooperative societies with a membership of three million different farmers
(excluding duplicates); a large proportion of the total farm operators of
the country, and doubtless the most progressive of them all. This number
included 1,000 cooperative selling agencies; 2,400 cooperative creameries
and cheese factories; 1,800 community grain elevators; 4,000 purchasing
societies; 15,000 telephone companies on cooperative lines; 15,650
cooperative insurance companies and some 30,000 cooperative irrigation
projects.

Not only has this vast development of cooperation served to unite farmers
and develop common initiative and community spirit; it has greatly reduced
the expense of farm business and the cost of living. Professor Valgren
estimates that mutual fire insurance saves the Minnesota farmers annually
$750,000. Cooperative telephones save often one-half the cost of the
service. Cooperation reduced the price of reapers from $275 to $175; of
sewing machines from $75 to $40; of wagons from $150 to $90; and of
threshers from $300 to $200. The Pepin County Cooperative Company of
Wisconsin did about a quarter of a million business in the year 1909 in
its nine retail stores. A far greater cooperative plan is the Right
Relationship League which has a hundred successful stores in Minnesota and
Wisconsin, though incorporated but six years ago.

_Cooperation Among Fruit Growers_

It is safe to say that the great success of fruit growing on the Pacific
slope would have been impossible without cooperation. Individual growers
were at the mercy of the railroads and the middlemen; but unitedly they
have mastered the situation and control the New York market. The fruit is
inspected, sorted and packed by the company, not by the individual
growers, and thus the standard is maintained and all trickery eliminated.
The organization is able to get all possible advantages in the way of low
rates for large shipments, to secure ideal accommodations in refrigerated
fast freights and storage warehouses; and to keep in touch, by telegraph,
with the market conditions in all eastern centers, thus