nce 1890
the growth of consumers' cooeperation among European industrial
wage-earners has been phenomenal, especially in Belgium, Germany, and
Switzerland. American wage-workers, however, have made few and feeble
efforts in this direction.

In the period beginning 1867 many cooeperative stores were founded in
America by farmers in the Grange movement, who operated also grain
elevators, warehouses, and steamboat lines. But the movement failed
about 1877. This result is easily explained by lack of commercial
knowledge and lack of harmony among the members, selling on credit,
and inefficient management. A new era in consumers' cooeperation for
farmers began about 1900 and now in several widely separated parts
of the country--Minnesota, Kansas, California, Washington, and
elsewhere--the movement is spreading rapidly, supported in large part
by the same persons who are members of the selling associations.

Sec. 14. #Need of agricultural credit.# Banking originated in cities and
for the use of the merchant-class. It still retains pretty faithfully
its commercial character. The change of farming toward a more
commercial form[4] has been little aided by banking credit. National
banks and many others were forbidden in their charters to lend on the
security of real-estate, the farmer's one business asset.[5] A great
number of farms are always in course of being purchased, the balance
of purchase money being borrowed by the purchaser. A group of private
agencies such as life insurance and mortgage loan companies and local
money lenders has supplied in somewhat costly ways the need of farm
credits. Tho rates of interest have become more equalized throughout
the whole country, they still range between 7 and 10 per cent in the
Southern and Western states, averaging 7 per cent in the whole country
for interest and commission. The need of better opportunities for
credit in the agricultural districts has long been recognized. The
high rate of interest for borrowed money necessarily placed a limit on
improvements in equipment and methods of farming.[6]

Sec. 15. #Recent provisions for farm loans#. The Federal Reserve Act
made two important changes to improve agricultural credit.[7] Soon
afterward some of the states took more vigorous action to provide
a special system of agricultural credit, especially New York and
Missouri. In the latter state, on the initiative of a public-spirited
citizen of St. Louis, was passed in 1915 a notable