VICTORIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
SHELF NUMBER
jACKMAN
\ STUDIA
SOURCE: The Friendly Gift
of '
Professor W. T. Jackman
Department of Political Economy
University of Toronto
1915-1941
RURAL RECONSTRUCTION
IN IRELAND
RURA.
RECONS' RUC ION
N RELAN D
A RECORD OF
CO-OPERATIVE ORGANIZATION
BY
LIONEL SMITH-GORDON, M.A. (OxoN.)
LIBRARIAN, CO-OPERATIVE REFERENCE LIBRARY;
ASSISTANT SECRETARY, IRISH AGRICULTURAL
ORGANIZATION SOCIETY
AND
LAURENCE C. STAPLES, A.M.
SOMETIME PARKER TRAVELING FELLOW,
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
WITH PREFACE BY
GEORGE W. RUSSELL ("A.E.")
LONDON:
P. S. KING & SON, LTD.
UNITED STATES: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, NEW HAVEN
MDCCCCXIX
V
PREFACE
THIS volume contains the most complete and accurate history of
a movement which has come to be of the highest importance to
Ireland. It has in it the promise of a more real unity among
Irish people than has before seemed possible. The unity of a people
may be brought about by acceptance of common religious, cul-
tural, or political ideals, but it is doubtful whether that unity can
be made real by any of these unless at the same time there is an
identity of economic interest among the majority of the citizens.
Without this identity of economic interest made obvious to the
average man the unity is without depth. The forces of the material
world are more powerful on their own plane than the forces of
light, and are continually thrusting into a kind of powerless pre-
eminence the religious, cultural, and political ideals ostensibly
ruling the minds of men. The material forces are stronger on their
own plane, but are not by their nature antagonistic to spiritual
forces. The need of the body to be fed, clothed and housed is a
need which for the vast majority pushes aside all cultural ideals
until it is first satisfied. The satisfaction of that need is the motive
prompting all economic organization, and by virtue of that neces-
sity which brings them into being they war successfully with
religion and culture where these do not afford practical solutions
of the economic problems of the ordinary man. The body of man
is the most egoistic of all things, and in winning satisfaction for
its desires its first natural manifestation is by way of economic
individualism, and every man is for himself and his family. Society
so constituted becomes full of petty antagonisms and is the very
antithesis in practice of those high spiritual principles which are
everywhere theoretically accepted and which aim at the subordi-
5
6 PREFACE
nation of the personal to the natural and an orchestration of
human activity for the common good. These ideals so thrust aside
come at last to be regarded cynically as fitting for Paradise, but
very unsuitable for Earth. Nothing could be more hopeful for the
triumph over the minds of men of spiritual ideals than a move-
ment which aims at superseding individualism in the economic
sphere by co-operation. It may seem at first thought incongruous
to associate the material activities described in this volume with
anything spiritual, but if we reflect a little we will find it is not so.
The great religions had their origin in a descent from Heaven to
Earth and the incarnation in bodily form of a ray from the Divine
mind, and spiritual and cultural ideas, if they are to exist as real
power, must in like manner descend and clothe themselves in a
material form and distribute the loaves and fishes to the multi-
tude. The idea of nationality is a cultural idea, but a man very
soon becomes cynical about nationality in practice if his neighbor
or his employer accepting the same national ideals do in fact
relegate him to poverty in the pursuit of their own interests. The
co-operative movement in large measure binds together the
economic interests of Irishmen, so that purchase, manufacture
and sale become less and less personal enterprises and more and
more communal or national activities. It illustrates in a practical
way the truth that the personal and economic interests of the
majority are served best by their incorporation in communal enter-
prises. So the mind of the citizen is predisposed to subordinate
his own interests and to identify them with the interests of the
nation. I believe that whatever may be the temporary strength of
other movements in Ireland, the co-operative movement, dealing
as it does with the daily lives of men, must finally have an
influence greater than any other in its effect upon the character
of the Irish nation. It occupies itself with things men must do
under whatever government they exist, whatever religion they
profess, whatever cultural interests they may have; and because
it deals with the permanent human occupations the principles
PREFACE 7
accepted in its organizations must affect national character in the
long run most powerfully. I emphasize these things more than the
very great economic advantages conferred on farmers and towns-
men by co-operative effort because that has been done admirably
by the authors of this book. Ireland to-day is in a very disturbed
condition when many people despair of its future under any form
of government which may be established, and it may cheer those
who are despairing and increase the hopes of those who have faith
to have their attention called to a movement so practical, so con-
ciliatory in its effects, and which is growing so rapidly that no
county in Ireland is without its thousands of adherents. Before
another generation has arisen I believe this movement will have
made a complete conquest of the Irish mind. Membership of
co-operative societies is a practical education in economics fitting
men for public service, and by its principles it fosters the spirit of
citizenship. When the fierce passions of the hour have foamed
themselves away I am convinced that this movement will come to
its own, and its principles of toleration and comradeship in work
will become the dominant factors in national life.
"A. E."
AUTHORS' NOTE AND DEDICATION
THIS book was of necessity written under conditions of unusual
difficulty consequent on a state of war. We are fully aware that
it has suffered thereby, and aware also that the same conditions
are most unfavorable to its introduction to the public. We know
that people are naturally averse at the present time from the
consideration of any subject not actually and directly connected
with war, and that those who realize that the subject of this book
is so connected are few and far between.
Yet we venture to hope that a realization of the penalties for
the neglect of agriculture and an understanding that organization
lies at the basis of all successful agricultural effort are now spring-
ing up. If that be the case we believe that, whatever the literary
defects of our work, it will introduce readers to an accurate study
of a movement which has been based for twenty-five years upon
this realization and understanding. We are assured that if the
public once grasps the underlying principle of agricultural
co-operation we shall have moved a very long way forward
towards seeing at least one of our industries likely to be improved
by the process of reconstruction. At present British governmental
policy — unlike that of practically every other nation — is either
thoroughly ignorant of, or actively hostile towards, the associa-
tive principle which forms the keynote of the successful work we
describe. Until this is altered the agriculture of these islands, no
matter how much be done towards either persuasion or compul-
sion, will remain a mockery for the nations.
If we may permit ourselves a brief personal note we would say
that our collaboration — between an Irishman and an American,
each of whom has enjoyed a considerable period in the country
9
io AUTHOR'S NOTE AND DEDICATION
of the other — was undertaken solely because we had each made
up our minds to write this book before we ever met, and we
thought it the part of discretion to contribute, the one his first-
hand knowledge and experience, the other his fresh observation
and impartiality, to a common effort, rather than to enter upon
a competition which could be useful neither to ourselves nor to
our readers. One of us has accepted official position with the
I.A.O.S. since the bulk of this book was written, and he is con-
scious that there are parts which could not have been written so
freely had this appointment preceded their writing; we wish it
to be clearly understood that the chapters dealing with that body
have no pretensions to official authority.
Finally, we would say that we have deliberately resisted the
temptation to strive at any improvement upon the straightforward
record of mere fact. The co-operative movement in Ireland admits
of a glowing treatment in which its real romance and its spiritual
appeal may be made to shine out. We are too conscious of our
limitations as craftsmen on the one hand, and of the crying need
for a more prosaic record on the other, to attempt this task.
The book must stand or fall, not by the merits or defects of its
authorship, but by the value of the work it records, and of this
we have little doubt.
We dedicate it to those Irishmen, "not followers of tradition,"
who are content in times of earthquake to lay the foundations
on which they themselves may never build — who neither heed
the danger of the falling edifice nor seek to add to it of their own
fancy nor stay to mock at those who built it, but go on silently,
patiently, with pity and with hope, at their own appointed task.
We find these men's work recorded in this book, and chief among
them we read the names of Sir Horace Plunkett, the inspiration,
and Mr. Anderson, the mainspring, of the co-operative movement.
LIONEL SMITH-GORDON
Dublin, 1917. LAURENCE C. STAPLES
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 15
Outlines of Irish history : Occupational statistics : Natural
resources : Land system : Ignorance of agriculture : Emigra-
tion : Home life : Obstacles to community life : Political
troubles : Education.
CHAPTER II: LAND LEGISLATION IN IRELAND 34
Deasy Act : Act of 1870 : Bessborough Commission : The
three F's : Tenant proprietorship, 1869 and 1885 : Acts of
1891 and 1896 : Dunraven Treaty : Acts of 1903 and 1909 :
Results : The Congested Districts Board and its work.
CHAPTER III: EARLY HISTORY OF THE IRISH CO-
OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 50
Previous experiments : The Co-operative Union : Mr. Gray
and Sir Horace Plunkett : Doneraile : Creameries : Mr.
Anderson appointed : Formation of the I.A.O.S. : Obstacles
to the movement : Sir Horace's personality.
CHAPTER IV: PRINCIPLES AND IDEALS OF THE IRISH
CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 66
A definite practical scheme : The Rochdale principle : Irish
farmers need combination : Methods of combination : Defini-
tion of co-operative society : Its structure : Its aims : Impor-
tance of the local unit : Community organization.
CHAPTER V: THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FORM AND FUNCTIONS 77
The first years : Aims of the society : Its methods of work :
The organizers : Audit department : Relations with the
State : Democratic machinery : Decentralization : The Irish
Homestead : The United Irishwomen : The Co-operative
Reference Library.
II
12 CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER VI: THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FINANCES 95
Financial struggles : The D. A.T.I. : The Development Com-
mission grant : Affiliation fees and subscriptions : Reasons for
weakness : Possible remedies.
CHAPTER VII: THE CREAMERIES 106
Revolution in butter-making : Causes and effects : The
Danish example : Form of co-operative creameries : The bind-
ing rule : Auxiliaries : Control : Method of payment :
"Profits" : Capital : Subsidiary business, milling, etc. : Suc-
cess of the system : The Agency Society, history, criticism and
suggestions : The Butter Control brand : Winter dairying :
Continuous cropping : Cow-testing : Services of the I.A.O.S.
CHAPTER VIII: AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 130
Early conditions : The "gombeen-man" : Advantages of co-
operation : Form, finance, methods : Possibilities of develop-
ment : Collective sale : General purpose societies : Implement
societies : Economic results : The Wholesale Society, history
and success : Relations with industrial societies : The credit
difficulty.
CHAPTER IX: THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 148
Early conditions : Credit facilities : The "gombeen-man" and
the money-lender : The trust auction : The Loan Fund
Board : The Raiffeisen model : Sources of capital : State
loans : The loans withdrawn : Unlimited liability : Its draw-
backs : History of the societies : Their rapid growth : The
appearance of defects : Suggestions for improvements : The
Central Co-operative Credit Society : The Departmental Com-
mittee on Credit.
CHAPTER X: MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 173
Their importance : Eggs and poultry : Flax : Beekeeping :
Live stock : Bacon factories : Wexford Meat Society : Co-
operative wheat-growing : Fishing : Insurance : Lime-
burning.
CONTENTS 13
PAGE
CHAPTER XI: HOME INDUSTRIES 192
Argument for home industries : The market problem : The
Irish Lace Depot : The C.D.B. and lace : The I.A.O.S. :
Decline of the lace industry : The Dalkey Co-operative Em-
broidery Society : Sweating in the linen industry : Hand-
knitting : Homespuns : Gweedore : Miscellaneous : Co-
operation and home industries : Obstacles to development.
CHAPTER XII: THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AND TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION 210
Technical education : The Recess Committee : The Depart-
ment established : Its constitution : Democratic control :
Funds : Activities : Co-ordinated work with the I.A.O.S. :
The principle vindicated : The change of policy : Attitude of
the Nationalist Party : Cleavage with the I.A.O.S. : Prosperity
retarded.
CHAPTER XIII: INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION AND ITS
RELATION TO THE AGRICULTURAL MOVEMENT 224
The controversy with the C.W.S. : Industrial co-operation in
Ireland, history and results : Unsuitability to conditions : The
Irish Co-operative Conference Association : Suggestions for
joint working : Intertrading through the wholesale societies :
A joint committee needed.
CHAPTER XIV: THE ECONOMIC RESULT OF THE CO-
OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 243
Improvement of conditions : Emigration checked : Statistics
of importance : Businesslike organization : Duffusion of
wealth : Position of the laborer : Honest trading encouraged :
New industries and employment : Latent business capacity :
Position of employees.
CHAPTER XV: THE SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RE-
SULTS OF THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 259
Business education of farmers : Sense of citizenship : Differ-
ences of religion and politics bridged over : Community life :
Co-operators look to the future : The Templecrone Society :
History and results.
14 CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER XVI: THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
MOVEMENT 274
Success spiritual more than material : Theory and practice :
Detailed suggestions : The I.A.O.S. as a democratic body :
Necessity for freedom : Difficulties of State aid : The trade-
union policy for farmers : Political action : Educational work
needed : Difficulties in the way : The call to young Irishmen.
RURAL RECONSTRUCTION
IN IRELAND
CHAPTER I
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS
THE co-operative movement in Ireland, which has attracted
attention throughout the world, is a practical attempt to deal
with some of the more fundamental Irish problems. It is con-
cerned primarily with the economic welfare of the country, and
its anticipated social and moral effects are dependent upon an
improvement in material conditions. In comparison, "THE IRISH
PROBLEM," capitalized and italicized by the strenuous efforts of
the professional politicians, sinks into a secondary position. The
real problem is one of poverty; not only economic poverty, but
also a poverty of industrial character and of social life. It is not
peculiar to Ireland, for other countries have faced similar condi-
tions. The combination of unfortunate circumstances may be
different and extreme, but the underlying elements are the same.
On the truth of this statement depends the value of the co-
operative movement as a general method of improving economic
conditions, not in Ireland alone, but in other countries where
similar problems occur in different surroundings. That it has such
a value is suggested by the number of inquirers who find their
way to its headquarters at the Plunkett House. A movement
which has been carried on without ostentation for the benefit of
one country alone has attracted attention, which it did not seek
and which seems out of proportion to its practical results, from
15
1 6 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
social reformers in other countries simply because they realized
that the difficulties and handicaps which it had to overcome
embraced almost all those which could arise in any country. It
is our task to show what these difficulties have been, and to do
this we must consider briefly the economic and social environment
into which this constructive programme was introduced. Only
by such a preliminary study can we emphasize the significance
of the work as a comprehensive measure of rural reconstruction.
From a past which embodies many glorious records, Ireland
has received a heritage of wrongs and evils which largely explains
the depressed and backward conditions of the late nineteenth
century. It is not our purpose to dwell upon history, for the
co-operative movement looks to the future, constructing anew
instead of reveling in the deeds and injuries of bygone genera-
tions. And yet it would be impossible to understand the economic
and social situation in Ireland, and so the true significance of the
co-operative movement, without a glance at the past.
The general outlines of Irish history are well known. Owing
to its isolated geographical position, Ireland was left undisturbed
by the Roman conquests, and achieved independently a com-
paratively high stage of civilization. Wars between the various
kingdoms were its curse, however, and ultimately led to the
destruction of its independence. For in 1169, at the invitation of
Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster, the English adventurer,
Richard, Earl of Pembroke, came to Ireland to assist in a war
against the Ard-Righ, or High King of Ireland. Richard was
shortly followed by King Henry II, who secured recognition as
overlord, and although he departed again forthwith, this event
determined the direction of later Irish history. The invasions
continued, and became more and more comprehensive, though
never complete. As the various Irish chieftains were defeated,
their lands were confiscated and distributed among English ad-
venturers. For more than five centuries the history of the country
is a long and distressful story of revolt and conquest and revolt.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 17
In order to strengthen their position, the English brought in a
considerable number of settlers, but only in Ulster were these
sufficient to dominate. There are three distinct ways of govern-
ing a tributary State: first, by the extermination of the original
inhabitants; second, by their complete subjugation; and, third,
by recognizing their independence under the mother country.
None of these policies was completely carried out in respect to
Ireland, although all of them were to a certain extent applied.
The result has been a long series of injuries and recriminations,
which have done much to prevent the development of a sound
economic and social life.
Among the injuries which Ireland suffered at the hands of her
alien ruler, the most apparent was that which so long and seriously
crippled her manufacturing industry and commerce. During the
latter half of the seventeenth century, the English, in accordance
with the Mercantilist theories then current throughout Europe,
enacted a series of restrictive laws which nipped in the bud a
promising and well-balanced industrial development. The rapid
expansion of Irish industry in the comparatively settled condi-
tions after the Cromwellian disturbances roused the jealousy of
English manufacturers. Their antagonism was embittered by all
the prevailing religious and political differences. They demanded
protection against the pauper labor of Ireland. The early efforts
at such protection in the Navigation Act of 1663, and in an Act
(humorously entitled "for the encouragement of trade") dealing
with the flourishing cattle export, had proved a boomerang. But
in regard to the woolen industry which the Act of 1663 had en-
couraged by increasing the production of Irish wool, this policy
was more successful. Woolen manufacture had progressed so
rapidly that by the end of the seventeenth century over fifty
thousand families throughout Ireland were engaged in it. But
the Acts of the English-dominated Irish Parliament in 1698, im-
posing a prohibitive duty on exports of cloth, and more especially
of the English Parliament the year following, "prohibiting per-
1 8 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
petually the exportation from Ireland of all goods made or mixed
with wool," had an immediately deadening effect. Though a
smuggling trade continued for a time — and there persists to this
day a cottage industry in the North and West of Ireland which
is the surviving remnant of an erstwhile prosperity — a virtual
deathblow had been given. Other industries suffered similar re-
strictions. Nor did the withdrawal of this meddling legislation
toward the end of the eighteenth century promote more than
temporary developments. The paralyzing Act of Union in 1800,
closely followed by the Industrial Revolution, proved an equally
effective if not so openly malicious hindrance to development.
Since 1824, when complete free trade between England and Ire-
land was attained, there has been a slow but steady growth of
manufacturing industry. But even though these industries now
play an important part in the economic life of the country, their
tardy development, for which the activities of a hostile legislature
were almost wholly responsible, reacted seriously on agricultural
development.
The occupational statistics of the country, inexact as they may
be, throw an interesting light on these conditions. While there
has been since the Famine of 1846 a slow but steady decrease
in the proportion of the population employed on the land, a
phenomenon not limited to Ireland, there remained in 1891, the
census year which we shall take as closest to the inauguration
of the co-operative movement, 936,759 persons who were reported
as directly employed in agriculture, out of a total population of
4,704,750. To these must be added 118,980 general laborers, the
greater part of whom were on the land. Manufacturing industry
claimed 537,430; commercial pursuits, 83,173; domestic service,
255,144; and the professions, 214,243. Thus the proportion in
agriculture of the definitely employed population amounted to
about 50 per cent., in comparison with 19 per cent, in England,
33 per cent, in the United States, and 41 per cent in Germany.
Manufacturing industry employed only half that proportion.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 19
Yet agriculture, the basis of the economic life of the nation, was
so unorganized, so undeveloped, that it failed to meet this situa-
tion. In the failure of her basic industry lies the fundamental
cause of the poverty and backwardness of Ireland.
As far as natural resources are concerned, Ireland might easily
have become a prosperous agricultural country. The fifteen and
a half million acres of arable land are of more than ordinary
fertility. Competent agricultural observers from Arthur Young
to those of our own day have agreed that its potential produc-
tivity is hardly equaled on the Continent of Europe. Sir Robert
Kane wrote that from the produce of the soil a population of
eighteen million might easily be supported. The broad green
stretches of Meath and Kildare, the Golden Vale of Tipperary,
and even the more rocky but carefully cultivated soil of Ulster,
against which it is only necessary to put the rock and bog of the
ragged western seaboard, indicate a bounty of Nature of which
few other countries can boast. A mild climate and an abundance
of rainfall produce a luxuriant foliage.
Yet these splendid natural resources have never been properly
utilized. The necessary human elements of the situation have been
lacking, and in place of a promised prosperity there has been the
greatest poverty and distress. Here, also, historical events have
been of primary importance. Following the various English con-
quests and confiscations, the original Celtic land system of
communal ownership with individual occupation was set aside.
For it was substituted a system which had nothing to recommend
it except its success under wholly different conditions in England.
The adjustments to local needs which might have made it equally
successful in Ireland were never applied. The land, divided among
the conquerors as the spoil of victory, became the property of
a comparatively small number of landlords. The original Irish
owners, except so far as they were exterminated or driven from
their homes altogether, remained as occupiers under a system of
yearly rents or leases. Since no manufacturing industry existed,
20 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
there was no alternative to the land as a source of livelihood.
The natural increase of the population flooded back upon the
fields. In this situation, the alien landlords, and indeed those of
Irish race who were able to secure holdings, were not slow to take
advantage of their monopoly position. Rents rose continuously,
depending, not on the quality of the soil, but on the quantity of
the population and the rapacity of the landlord. Wherever the
efforts of the tenant exacted a greater productivity from the soil,
wherever subsidiary industries existed, the increased income was
at once absorbed by the increase in rent. All above the very
lowest minimum for existence — and the low standards of living
in Ireland were both a cause and a result — was claimed by the
landlord or his agents. The nefarious class of middlemen rent-
collectors prospered quite as much as the actual owners. In a
situation in which governmental interference might have received
considerable justification, a complete policy of laissez-faire,
entailing many forms of abuse, prevailed.
This rack-renting was rendered more serious by the tendency
to use a large proportion of the land for grazing purposes. The
Irish climate makes the production of grass and the raising of
cattle a particularly easy and remunerative occupation. Moreover,
not only did market conditions favor this use of the land, but
also the exemption of pasture from ecclesiastical tithes, one of
the nefarious penal laws of 1735, gave artificial encouragement
to the tendency. During the Napoleonic wars, the high prices of
corn and the extension of the franchise to 405. freeholders brought
much land back into cultivation. But the movement was soon
reversed with the higher prices for beef and the drop in corn.
As a result, vast stretches of deserted prairie, populated only by
lazy bullocks, and comprising much of the best land of Ireland,
covered in 1891 more than two-thirds of the arable land of the
country. This proportion is not even approached in any other
long-settled country.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 21
Obviously, such a system of agriculture was most unadapted
for the support of a large population. And, moreover, the fact
that the cattle produced were shipped on the hoof for fattening
in England deprived the country, not only of the most remunera-
tive stage of beef production, but also of the many industries
which depend on the by-products of beef. Only the high prices
of another great European war, and indeed the compulsion of
governmental authority, have succeeded in checking the tendency
to devote an even greater percentage of the land to grazing.
From these facts — the absence of alternative occupations,
rack-rents, and the devotion of a large proportion of the land
to grazing — developed an extreme subdivision of holdings. As
the population grew and the increase of grazing reduced the area
available for cultivation, the obvious solution was a decrease in
the size of the individual farm. The ancient Brehon custom of
gavelkind, by which regular redistributions of the land took place,
acted as a precedent. In 1845, the year previous to the Great
Famine, the situation was at its worst. The population had
reached a maximum, estimated at eight and a half millions, for
the birth-rate had been greatly accelerated by the prosperity of
the Napoleonic era. On the other hand, the fall in the price of
corn following the declaration of peace in 1815 and the with-
drawal of the 405. franchise in 1829 had inaugurated a period of
clearances which continually reduced the amount of land avail-
able. But even after the tremendous reduction in population
which occurred before the end of the century, there remained
in 1891 many uneconomic holdings or deficit farms. It is impos-
sible, of course, to fix accurately the size of the economic holding.
Variations in quality as well as size govern the amount of land
which is necessary for the support of the ordinary family without
employing outside labor. Probably valuation is a better test than
size. But fixing fifteen acres as the dividing-point, about 43 per
cent, of Irish farms in 1891 did not exceed that size. Of these
22 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
small holdings practically a half were of five acres or less. Under
such conditions no profitable form of agriculture could be
practised.
The system of rack-rents, with coexisting evils of grazing
deserts and uneconomic holdings, was not the only handicap
from which Irish agriculture suffered. The lack of security of
tenure was an equally important reason for backward conditions.
A large proportion of the tenants held their land on a yearly
lease and might be summarily dispossessed. Longer leases existed,
but under the penal laws could not extend, in the case of Catholics,
beyond thirty years. Rack-rents, moreover, kept most of the
tenants perpetually in arrears. At any time the owner might press
for the rent, and when, as was often the case, it was not forth-
coming, could proceed to eviction. These evictions, which took
place in particularly large numbers following the Great Famine,
were a most important factor in embittering the peasantry against
the landlords. An increase in their number, such as occurred
about 1880, was immediately followed by an increase in agrarian
crime. These excesses, many of which were carried out with
frightful brutality, were a direct result of this, "the greatest
legalized crime which humanity has ever accomplished against
humanity."
Since the tenant enjoyed no security of tenure, and therefore
had no permanent interest in his land, his only aim was to exploit
its resources as much as possible. Irish landlords had never
accepted the obligation, acknowledged in England, of financing
permanent improvements. The tenant himself did not have the
capital to invest; the uncertainty of his tenure did not encourage
him to make the necessary exertions; he could claim no compen-
sation for improvements which he did make; and the increased
product which was his only incentive for such a step would merely
invite an increase of the rent. As a result, no permanent improve-
ments were undertaken, and the productivity of the soil pro-
gressively deteriorated.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 23
In Ulster, owing to the recognition of a custom of "tenant
right/' somewhat better conditions prevailed. The holder enjoyed
a comparative fixity of tenure; he was to be compensated for
any improvements which he undertook; and the rents, though
periodically revised, were never pushed to a competition level.
With the consent of the landlord, the tenant might sell his
"right" — that is, his interest in his holding — to another farmer.
While this system undoubtedly encouraged more careful and
scientific cultivation, the evils of competition were only trans-
ferred to the sale of the "right." Its great superiority over the
rack-rent system, however, accounts for the more advanced
position of agriculture in the northern counties.
Under conditions in which sufficient product to pay the rent
and to maintain the family at a minimum standard was all that
was required, no scientific or even efficient system of agriculture
was likely to develop. Little was known about the rotation of
crops, and few farmers understood the use of fertilizers, particu-
larly farmyard manure. Agencies for agricultural education were,
as we shall see, almost completely lacking. Thus the natural
resources of the soil were gradually exhausted by wasteful
methods. The extreme productivity of the potato, cultivated in
"lazy beds," encouraged its general introduction and made pos-
sible a rapid increase of the population. The failure of this single
crop in 1846 and succeeding years was the disastrous culmination
of a long-extended policy of soil exhaustion. This blackest period
of a dark and dismal history, when in five years the population
of Ireland shrank from almost 8,500,000 to 6,552,385, losing
1,240,737 by emigration, and an appalling number by starvation
and famine fever, still spreads its melancholy shadow over the
land. In the terrible years of the Great Famine, Ireland saw a
climax of the evils of landlordism.
If confirmation of the backward conditions of agriculture in
Ireland were necessary, the figures disclosed by the Census of
Production in 1908, over a score of years after the inauguration
24 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
of the period of ameliorative legislation, and hardly less of co-
operative history, would be conclusive. According to that inquiry,
the total value of the agricultural product of Ireland, in the
creation of which roughly a million persons were employed,
amounted to £45,570,000. This gives an average per capita
product of £46, in comparison with £113 for the agriculturists of
England and Wales, and £109 in Scotland. Such figures admit of
only one conclusion. Irish agriculture, on which the livelihood of
the great mass of the people depended, did not form a sound
economic basis for the national existence. And until this was
changed, no other efforts for the reconstruction of the country
could be really effective. The revival of manufacturing industry
might prove of advantage, but few would wish to see another
Lancashire reproduced in Ireland. Agriculture, first and foremost,
must be the concern of those who had a vision of the Ireland
that might be.
The economic situation we have outlined has been largely
responsible for the disastrous emigration which has so profoundly
affected the recent history of Ireland. Beginning in a small way
as the natural outcome of the opening up of the New World, and
as a protest, particularly among the Protestants of Ulster, against
England's economic policy, it became a real menace at the time
of the Great Famine, when flight to America, even by the medium
of the hideous coffin-ships, offered the only alternative to lingering
starvation at home. Two feelings which were strong in the minds
of the original emigrants — hatred of the conditions which had
driven them out, and loyalty to their own kin — led them to seek
every opportunity of encouraging and helping their relations and
neighbors to follow them and to share the comparative prosperity
which they often attained. Thus the exodus, begun in tragedy, has
continued to this day with varying degrees of intensity, till many
an Irish boy or girl, who would hesitate about changing his home
from one county of Ireland to another, has come to look upon
the journey to America as a normal incident of life, or even as
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 25
that voyage of which all peoples have dreamed, to the "land
beyond the sunset," the "El Dorado of the West." Boston, Massa-
chusetts, to which so many of his comrades have already gone, is
much more real to the Aran islander than Galway, hardly twenty
miles away at the head of the Bay. Thus in the course of the
period from May i, 1851, to December 31, 1913, there had
emigrated, largely to the United States, a total of 4,278,327 per-
sons at a yearly rate varying from 30.0 per thousand in 1852 to
6.7 per thousand in 1912. As a direct result the population of
Ireland has decreased from over eight millions in 1841 to about
four and half millions in 1911.
The loss of such a tremendous number of people is in itself
a great injury to a country, though in the case of Ireland, as we
have seen, emigration was for some years the only alternative
to starvation. But only when the constitution of this group is
considered does the full significance of the exodus become clear.
The emigration from Ireland was not a movement of families,
but of individuals. Herein lies the explanation for its particularly
harmful effects. Instead of merely subtracting a certain number
of units of average value to the community, the movement meant
the loss of a group containing an abnormally large proportion in
the productive years of life. Young men and young women just
at the age when they were most capable of adding to the pro-
ductive capacity of the country were chosen as the representatives
of their families in the great struggle to acquire a share of the
fabled riches of the New World. Thus the population remaining
in Ireland includes an unnaturally large proportion of unpro-
ductive units imposing an extra burden on the economic wealth
of the country.
Another peculiar characteristic of this emigration was the large
proportion of females. An agricultural community such as Ire-
land, where even the men often found an insufficiency of work
to occupy them, can seldom employ its women effectively. Thus,
whereas in most emigrations males preponderate heavily, in this
26 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
case almost 50 per cent, were women. In certain sections, outside
the linen manufacturing districts of Ulster, and particularly in
Connacht, the proportion is even larger. Combined with the
general poverty, this fact has had serious effects on the future of
the race. The desire to seek a fortune in the New World has
outweighed all other ambitions. Thus even those who do not go
away postpone marriage until late in life. The marriage-rate in
Ireland, as compared with 15.8 in England, 15.1 in France, is
only 10.0. As a natural result, the birth-rate, which previous to
the Famine had been exceedingly large, has progressively de-
creased throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century.
This birth-rate, the lowest in Europe with the exception of that
of France, is accompanied by a rather high death-rate, to be
explained partly by the large proportion of elderly persons in
the population, partly by the ignorance and absence of public
health work throughout the country. For this reason emigration,
though now little above a normal movement, still results in an
actual diminution of the population. The slight excess of births
over deaths is more than balanced by the present rate of emi-
gration. Even if this movement were to cease altogether, there-
fore, no rapid or large increase of population would for some time
be possible.
The record of many Irish emigrants in countries beyond the
seas raises further questions as to the composition of the group.
Can it be that conditions of environment have so completely
changed men of Irish blood as to make them active and energetic
in the New World while at home they remain lethargic and poor?
Undoubtedly the new start has meant much. But in addition it
must be realized that emigration, involving as it does a certain
amount of energy, initiative and courage, has selected the more
efficient and enterprising persons in the country. Many of the
natural leaders who might have been a potent force in the recon-
struction of the nation have forsaken the home country and gone
to create the life of the New World.
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 27
This vicious circle of economic depression and emigration
seriously reacted upon the social life and character of the people.
A deadening melancholy settled upon all forms of community
life, created by poverty, perpetuated by the lack of leadership,
and aggravated by an attempted Anglicization. No longer did one
hear the harp or the pipes or the fiddle in the cottages, or see the
people gathering for the evening ceilidhe. The various customs
which had brought them together for social enjoyment passed
into disuse. The color and the spirit which dances and festivals
and story- tellings had brought into the lives of the young people
faded away. Instead, the healthy spirit of abundant life turned
to less innocent pursuits. In many a small Irish town the public-
house became by lack of competition the centre of social life and
inevitably brought in its train a squalid atmosphere which con-
cealed from the casual visitor and too often even from the people
themselves the true spirit of the country. Combined as it usually
was with a general business, it was the one place at which the
people met frequently, and the change, after the purchase of
tea or sugar, if indeed there be any cash at all, was as often
returned from the keg as from the till.
The dull social life in the community at large reflected an
equally uninteresting home life. As the towns did not possess
facilities for community enjoyments, so many Irish cottages did
not form the proper environment for a pleasant home life. What
decencies, not to say comforts, were possible in the miserable
huts, built of mud or other perishable material, containing one
room with possibly a single window, a hole in the straw roof in
lieu of a chimney, and no floor but the bare earth? Happily, the
number of cabins of this class, which in 1841 had reached nearly
500,000, has been greatly reduced, by 1891 to hardly 20,000.
There remained in that year, however, over 300,000 of the next
or third class, which still represents a very low standard of living.
In such surroundings, a happy family life was almost impossible.
The husband found his enjoyments outside the home, the wife
28 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
was confined to its dreary and narrow walls. The woman was
thrown into the background. She brought the husband who had
been chosen for her a dowry, and thereafter settled down to her
normal function in life. But because she had only a very meagre
education, and because the decent facilities for a home did not
exist, even in her own sphere she did her work very badly. Only
by the regeneration of the economic life of the country could the
Irish home be raised to the position to which the fine natural
feelings of the people have entitled it.
A further obstacle to the development of a complete community
life lay in the social distinctions which, developed as they largely
were from the economic situation, afterwards did much to
aggravate its seriousness. Wherever one class of the population
is exploited in the interests of another, there inevitably arises an
ever-menacing antagonism. The alien landlords, who in many
cases looked upon their estates only as sources of revenue, and
who spent little time in the country, never enjoyed the sympathy
and respect of their tenants. Many turned over their estates to
middlemen, whose exploitations were even more severe. The few
who were aware of their obligations suffered for the abuses of
the less thoughtful members of the class. At the other extreme
of the economic order were the original Irish holders, having
nothing in common with the landlords but their differences. In
this class, but not of it, were the shopkeepers and gombeen-men
of the villages, who were for this reason more inimical than the
landlords themselves. In their pretended sympathy with the
peasantry, they had acquired the leadership of the class, and
were thus able to exploit it in their own way. The people were
bound to them in a virtual slavery, ever in debt for necessities
supplied or credit given. Landlords who saw their holdings
threatened by the land legislation of the late nineteenth century
declared that it would be perfectly easy for them to set them-
selves up as shopkeepers in the villages, and that within a genera-
tion they would be in possession of their lands again. Still another
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 29
group, the agricultural laborers, occupied an even lower position
in the economic scale. They received a miserable pittance for
their labor, and were correspondingly inefficient and unskilled.
Many of them emigrated to England and Scotland each year for
the harvests. Economic interests thus divided the Irish popula-
tion into several classes, particularly along the line of the owner-
ship or non-ownership of land.
This division was accentuated by coincident racial, political
and religious differences. The landlords were of an alien race and
owed their position to the forcible dispossession of the Irish
holders. Thrice over the soil of Ireland had been confiscated, and
the latest Cromwellian landlords were the most hated of all.
Moreover, Ireland has always remained faithful to the Catholic
Church. When the supremacy of the Pope was denied by the
English king, his subjects in Ireland refused to follow. And
despite many efforts to overcome this "perversity," their loyalty
has been unbending. The penal laws which discouraged the pro-
fession of Catholicism in every possible manner, which made
priests of that Church criminals, and hindered the activities of
its professors in every direction, which put premiums on family
disloyalty, and made every man suspicious of his neighbor, only
strengthened their devotion. In Ulster the Scottish planters, who
formed over 50 per cent, of the population, held as strongly to
their established religion. The approximate equality of the num-
bers professing the two religions aggravated the antagonism. The
ir religion of religious bigotry has been nowhere more clearly
displayed. Finally, the political problem, the eternal demand for
Home Rule, bitterly opposed for the most part by the landlords
and the Ulster Scots, was a never-ending source of difficulty. The
economic antagonism was aggravated by racial, political, and
religious differences, all combining to enforce each other.
These antagonisms have always tended sharply to divide the
Irish people and, particularly in Ulster, to limit the possibility of
common effort. There has been in Ireland no sense of social
30 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
solidarity. Class solidarity for class antagonism has prevailed.
In the South, where the Catholic Home Rulers were preponderant,
the Unionist, so long as he did not introduce his political opinions,
was not altogether shunned; in the North the feeling on both
sides was strong. In these circumstances a real community life,
uniting all classes together on the basis of common interests,
seemed impossible.
The real importance of these facts concerning the economic
basis of the life of the country and the social conditions lay, how-
ever, in their effect on the character of Irish men and Irish women.
The wealth of a nation lies, not in the material resources at its
command, but in the energy and initiative and moral fibre of its
people. Without these attributes no country can become perma-
nently prosperous; with them no unfavorable circumstance can
long prove an insuperable obstacle. But character is largely
molded by material conditions. To attribute to racial perversity
the lack in Irish character of those particular qualities which
make for economic success in the modern business world is unfair
to their equally undoubted mental and moral endowments. Some
explain the situation by the climate; which does not possess the
"electricity in the air" which is popularly believed to stimulate
their greater exertions in America. One notable English statesman
satisfied himself that the real cause of Irish distress lay in the
contiguity of a restlessly moaning ocean. But while these
explanations contain elements of truth which cannot be ignored,
the more immediate and important causes have already been
indicated.
The excessive importance attached to the political question
which has been so great a factor in weakening the character of
the Irish farmer as a producer of economic wealth was both a
cause and an effect. The lack of application to the more material
needs rendered the Irish mind receptive to more shadowy appeals,
while the interest of the people in this single problem turned their
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 31
minds away from more practical questions. No one would deny
the importance of the political problem in regard to Ireland, but
there is every reason to claim that its place in recent Irish history
has been out of all proportion to that importance. The Nationalist
Party had one aim and one aim only. It found in self-government
the panacea for the ills of Ireland. The economic difficulties
which we have been considering were, according to this point
of view, entirely the result of political causes and could not be
corrected without an enactment of Home Rule. Efforts in other
directions were not only wasted, but were dangerous as post-
poning the day of real comprehensive reform. Thus the programme
of the Party has been altogether lacking in constructive pro-
posals. Everything was subordinated and sacrificed to the single
claim. This policy had two unfortunate results. It created the
belief that the only hope of prosperity lay in political changes,
and it absorbed all the energy of the people. Few movements
have enjoyed a greater loyalty or enthusiasm on the part of their
followers than that with which the Irish have always supported
their demand for self-government. Could but a portion of this
loyalty and enthusiasm have been devoted to the practical prob-
lems of economic regeneration, the situation would have been far
different. But this disproportionate interest in politics created a
disproportionate belief in political remedies. Sir Horace Plunkett
tells the story of a peasant in the West of Ireland who ceased
planting potatoes on hearing that the Home Rule Bill of 1893
had become law. Spontaneous generation was but one of the many
improvements in the natural arrangement of affairs to be secured
through this panacea. What use was there in practical efforts
when at any moment the enactment of Home Rule might
inaugurate a new Utopia ?
Only one other factor in the situation — namely, the absence of
a satisfactory and effective educational system — need be men-
tioned. In few countries, indeed, has such a system been devised
32 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
for the rural districts. But in Ireland the existing facilities from
top to bottom were such as to aggravate rather than cure the
process of economic and social decay which was occurring. The
ordinary primary education, which was not compulsory at all
until the passage of the permissive Act of 1892, did not form the
necessary foundation. Secc dary schools were independent of
central authority and frequently unsatisfactory, while technical
education in agriculture was practically unknown. Finally, Trinity
College, Dublin, had never taken a real part in the life of the
country, and the other institutions of higher learning were of
comparatively little importance. The individual received no ade-
quate general or special training for his life as a wealth-producer
and as a citizen. In the latter connection, the autocratic system
of local government which prevailed up to 1898 was of very little
use for the development of a civic consciousness. The mass of the
people had no voice, and so no intelligent interest in the manner
in which they were governed. The complete inadequacy of educa-
tional agencies, formal and informal, was a constant and serious
handicap to the spread of the co-operative movement.
We have considered in this chapter some of the more important
economic and social facts which confronted the pioneers of the
co-operative movement. It has been impossible to cover every
element in the problem or to give each the attention which it has
deserved. In later chapters some points will receive further con-
sideration. However, this brief summary should have sufficed to
indicate that at bottom the Irish question is an economic question,
demanding primarily an economic remedy. Up to the last few
decades of the nineteenth century it had grown steadily worse,
reaching a crisis, as we shall see, in the eighties, when foreign
competition became very severe. For many this extreme case of
social and economic pathology was disheartening, and led them
to seek a panacea in political change. But happily, for a few
poverty and distress were a challenge to practical effort. For them
the real solution seemed to lie in the reawakening of the Irish
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 33
people. Their potentialities, as well as those of the country itself,
promised rapid developments once the burdens of an unhappy
past could be loosened and a constructive programme put into
operation. With such a programme, as found particularly in the
co-operative movement, we are concerned in the subsequent pages.
CHAPTER II
LAND LEGISLATION IN IRELAND
No Government, however unsympathetic, could altogether ignore
the many evils of the Irish situation. We have seen how at one
period the legislation of the English Parliament was directly
hostile to the best interests of Ireland. But this policy was tem-
porary and prompted by ideas prevalent throughout Europe at
the period. The same narrow attitude toward possessions which
lost Great Britain a large part of the American continent was
equally responsible for the course of English legislation in regard
to Ireland. There followed a period during which Irish interests
were not so much maliciously treated as blundered about or
ignored. The legislation to meet the distress of the Great Famine
was an instance of the former, Free Trade of the latter. But
since the latter half of the nineteenth century, the effort has on
the whole been better directed. Mistakes have been made and
many important matters too long ignored. But considering the
many difficulties and misunderstandings which it must be ad-
mitted the Irish themselves have tended rather to aggravate than
to remove, the activities of the English Government deserve more
credit than they generally receive. We shall now deal with certain
of these activities, which have had a considerable effect upon the
co-operative movement and which have combined with it for the
economic regeneration of the country.
State action in Ireland has been concerned largely with the
problem of land tenure, a fundamental cause of the distress of
the country. Energetic as the Irish farmer might become, scien-
tifically as he might learn to apply his labor, completely as he
might organize for the conduct of his business, without a reform
34
LAND LEGISLATION IN IRELAND 35
in the land system no real improvement in his situation could be
assured. Tenancy under alien landlords who had never recognized
the obligations of their position, and among a peasantry who had
preserved a feeling of ownership in the land which they had so
long occupied, could not succeed. It had either to be reformed by
the addition of the indispensable conditions of a fair rent, free
sale, and fixity of tenure, or to give place to an entirely new
system. The course of land legislation in Ireland includes a trial
of both methods; for an effort to correct the evils in the existing
system led gradually but inevitably to the introduction of a new
system of peasant proprietorship.
After many years of legislation in favor of the landlords and
an attempt in the Deasy Act of 1860 to give the tenant the full
but illusory advantages of free contract, a real start in corrective
efforts was made by the Land Act of 1870. The most evident
agrarian abuse since the Great Famine had been the ruthless
process of eviction by which the landlords cleared their estates
of tenantry. These evictions had become more serious following
the Encumbered Estates Act of 1849, which, despite its advan-
tages, created a new class of proprietors even less interested in
the welfare of the tenants than their predecessors. The revolu-
tionary outbreak of the Fenians and the rapid growth of secret
societies throughout the country were the more apparent symp-
toms of a general discontent and disaffection. Only in Ulster,
where the inherited claim of a certain measure of ownership by
the peasant was recognized, were conditions somewhat better.
Yet elsewhere a very strong reason for the acknowledgment of
this claim lay in the fact that any improvements which were made
were the work of tenants. The English system under which the
landlord provided all the buildings and permanent investments
seldom applied. Nevertheless, the tenant had no legal protection
against eviction and the confiscation of the results of his work.
The Act of 1870 attempted to meet this situation. It applied
particularly to yearly tenancies up to the value of £100, the most
36 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
abused class of holding. By giving legal recognition to the cus-
tomary right which prevailed in Ulster, the tenant became, as
it were, co-owner with the landlord. In case of arbitrary eviction,
he was entitled to compensation for his disturbance. Also he might
claim payment for the improvements which he had carried out.
Thus the tenant was guaranteed a certain fixity of tenure and
might expect to realize something for his share in the holding.
The Land Commission provided a judicial machinery for the
purpose of determining such claims in cases where no voluntary
agreement could be reached. The Act did not interfere with the
sacred rights of property. It only protected the tenants against
some of the more obvious disadvantages of their position.
But half-way measures dealing with such a complex problem
neither deserve nor in fact often attain much success. Although
a certain measure of fixity of tenure and freedom of sale was
assured, and the arbitrary action of landlords thus received some
check, eviction for reason was still legally justified, and reasons
were not difficult to supply. The prosperity of agriculture during
the years following the enactment of the law made possible a
rapid increase in rents. But with the failure of the crops in 1878
and the consequent inability of the tenants to meet their obliga-
tions, evictions again grew in number. Yet of the 6163 appli-
cations for compensation before the Commission during the period
1871-1880, only 1808 were successful. Moreover, while eviction,
though made more expensive, was not prevented, it was always
possible for the landlord to claim competitive prices for the tenant
right, and thus the seeming privilege became really an additional
handicap. The importance of the Act of 1870 as a step in Irish
land reform lay, not in the results achieved, for they were negli-
gible, but in the recognition that the tenant had a claim upon his
holding.
The renewed agrarian agitation under the leadership of the
Land League, with the boycott as its effective weapon, and the
report of the Bessborough Commission in 1880, which pointed
LAND LEGISLATION IN IRELAND 37
out the above facts, convinced Gladstone of the necessity of
further legislation. "It is essential," declared the Report, "to
recognize the state of things existing in Ireland and to acknowl-
edge the co-ownership of the tenant with the landlord in a more
complete manner than did the law of 1870." The Act of 1881,
which has been called the Magna Charta of the Irish peasant,
carried out this recommendation. To free sale and fixity of tenure
was added the indispensable guarantee of a fair rent. The tenant
retained the right in his holding recognized by the preceding Act,
and at the same time might demand from the proper authority
the determination of a fair rent. The authorities in this matter
were the county courts and the reconstituted Land Commission.
Or the proprietor and tenant might arrange matters themselves,
and their agreement became valid and binding. This determina-
tion was to continue for a period of fifteen years, after which a
revision might take place. Thus the rent became a regular charge.
The tenant enjoyed complete security so long as he kept the
conditions of his contract; and whereas, hitherto, the power of
the landlord to raise the rent had virtually deprived the holder
of the power of free sale, under the new conditions there was no
such check. This was, in fact, the logical completion of the law
of 1870. The interdependence of the "Three F's"- — fair rent,
fixity of tenure, and free sale — was recognized, and with these
assured a satisfactory form of tenure was apparently achieved.
Yet despite the liberality of the law of 1881 and the enthusiasm
of the Irish people for the reform, its success was far from realiz-
ing the hopes which were based on it. Agitation, punctuated by
agrarian crimes of every description, continued. In 1886, the
publication of the Plan of Campaign intimated that the tenants
were bent on having things even more completely their own way.
In case rents were considered unfair, there was to be a general
no-rent strike on the estate in question, and the amounts withheld
were to furnish the means for obtaining further concessions. Nor
did attempted improvements of the law in 1887, 1891, and 1896
38 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
have appreciable results. Nevertheless, up to March 31, 1914,
determinations had been made by the civil courts and the Land
Commission in respect of 410,150 cases. Of these, 295,673 were
for the first period of fifteen years, 111,794 for the second, and
2683 for the third. These represent a very considerable propor-
tion of the total land holdings in Ireland. And the fact that already
a very considerable number of third-term determinations have
been made indicates that this legislation is still of importance.
Evidently a certain number of Irish occupiers prefer tenancy
to ownership, or believe that the present purchase prices are too
high. Still, on the whole, the attempt to create a system of dual
ownership has not been successful in solving the agrarian prob-
lem. In principle it seemed a good scheme. But writers of all
parties and the Fry Commission of 1897 have pointed out its
inadequacy. Laissez-faire had produced in rack-rents an intoler-
able situation; governmental control under a system of judicial
rents had a hardly more satisfactory outcome.
The reasons for this failure are not difficult to discover. In the
first place, the landlords had a grievance. The judicial rents
represented decreases over the previous payments averaging 20,
19, and 9 per cent, for the three determinations. It seemed a legal
confiscation of property, for in many cases the income of the
owner was all but completely absorbed. Nevertheless, no measure
of Irish reform could be withheld on that account. Irish conditions
were so serious as to merit unusual treatment. Vested interests
can never continue indefinitely to prey on any community; they
must sooner or later suffer a reaction proportionate to their privi-
leges. So long as the judicial represented a decrease over the
competitive rents, this legislation was naturally popular with the
tenant class. But it was not clear what the attitude of the tenants
would be in the event of a market of rising prices. The measure
of success attained by the rent-fixing legislation was the outcome
of its incidental or particular results rather than a justification
of its principles.
LAND LEGISLATION IN IRELAND 39
On this account, rather than because of any paucity of results,
the law of 1881 must be looked upon as a failure. The rents were
not fixed upon any particular or just principle. The decreases
bore no real relation to the fluctuations in prices. What was deter-
mined was not so much a judicial as a popular rent. Out of this
lack of a sound basis for the determination developed a dangerous
abuse, calculated not to strengthen Irish industrial character as
was necessary, but in fact to weaken it further. A most important
factor in the determination of the rent came to be the evident
prosperity of the tenant. One of the chief abuses of the rack-rent
system reappeared in a new form. Thus of two brothers on similar
holdings, the more lazy and inefficient paid a lower rent than the
more enterprising. Not productivity, but production, and more
especially the evidences of production at the fifteenth year, were
the determining factors. The decrease in agricultural prices during
the eighties was a great spur to increased efficiency of production
in other countries, hastening the introduction of scientific agri-
culture, up-to-date machinery, and better methods of business
organization. But in Ireland this quickening impulse was not felt
for the reason that the depression was met largely through the
decrease in rents. The attempt to put the landlord-tenant system
on a fair basis by artificial means evidently did not meet the
situation. A more comprehensive and revolutionary form of
legislation was demanded.
The creation of a system of tenant proprietors as an alternative
to the landlord system had early engaged the attention of reform-
ers in Ireland. John Bright's land purchase scheme of 1866 did
not materialize, but his propaganda bore fruit soon afterwards.
The disestablishment of the Irish Church and the consequent
sale of ecclesiastical holdings provided an opportunity for inau-
gurating the new system. An arrangement by which the State was
to advance three- fourths of the purchase money to tenants on
the Church estates who wished to purchase their farms was put
into operation in 1869. Under these provisions over six thousand
40 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
holders came forward and were created peasant proprietors. The
Land Act of 1870 likewise contained a clause providing for land
purchase, as did the Act of 1881. But none of these Acts was
largely successful. Even where the tenant was provided with all
but a quarter of the purchase cost, this capital outlay was an
insuperable obstacle. Further, the lack of land registration in
Ireland involved heavy expenses for transfer, which the tenant
could not meet. The total number of proprietors created by these
early experiments was only 7665. Evidently a much more liberal
measure was necessary if land reform was to be carried far in
this direction.
With the Ashbourne Act of 1885 the purchase system became
of real importance, and immediately proved that the more con-
servative measures would not suffice. A Committee of the House
of Lords had proposed a comprehensive programme in 1882,
suggesting the loan of the entire purchase money in order to
create a peasantry of small holders. Though there was much
opposition to this revolutionary step, the only alternative, that
of land nationalization (for which Henry George had found an
ardent disciple in Michael Davitt), secured little encouragement
from any quarter. The Ashbourne Act provided a fund of
£5,000,000, from which loans were to be made to such tenants
as might secure the sanction of the Land Commission for the
purchase of their holdings. The yearly annuity paid by the pur-
chasers for this loan was fixed at 4 per cent. Three per cent, of
this was allocated to interest charges; the remainder was to
accumulate as a sinking fund to pay off the principal. This
arrangement secured complete ownership for the occupier after
payments of the annuity for forty-nine years. Such immediate
success attended the promulgation of this Act that a further
grant of £5,000,000 was made early in 1888.
This vindication of the policy of tenant purchase led to an
even more comprehensive measure in 1891. An issue of land stock
up to the value of £33,000,000, to be paid over to the landlords
41
in this form rather than in cash as provided in the previous Acts,
was authorized. The allocation of die 4 per cent, yearly annuity
differed somewhat from that under the previous Acts. The money
was secured at a lower rate of interest (2^4 per cent.), and the
J4 per cent, surplus was placed in a fund for the construction of
laborers' cottages. This excellent provision was abandoned after
the amending Act of 1896, by which the J4 per cent, was added
to the sinking fund. In this way the period of payment was re-
duced to forty- two years. Another change introduced by the
amending Act provided for decadal reductions in the annuity, a
wise foresight in case of a further drop in the prices of agricul-
tural produce. Under this arrangement, the possible period of
purchase was extended to seventy years. Yet despite their various
advantages and the large resources available, these Acts were
comparatively unsuccessful. Over the period to 1903, only 38,251
tenants had been converted into proprietors, in the aggregate a
large, but relatively a rather meagre result.
The chief reason for the ineffectiveness of the Acts of 1891
and 1896 was the fact that the sale was not made sufficiently
enticing for the landlord. While the land stock in which the pur-
chase price was paid was at par or a premium, the transaction
was profitable enough. But the heavy issues of Consols at the
time of the war in the Transvaal seriously depreciated these
kindred securities. Whereas in 1895 Irish land stock stood at a
premium (it went as high as 114), it had fallen by 1900 to a
position permanently below par. This fact quickly clogged the
machinery of purchase, and by 1902 the new sales were reduced
to an almost negligible number. Besides, there were many legal
difficulties which were a constant hindrance. The purchases pro-
ceeded at such a slow rate that the completion of the change
which had been considered a matter of a few years was relegated
into the dim, distant future.
But the principle had been enthusiastically accepted by the
Irish peasantry, and once started there was no turning back. The
42 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
annuities paid by the purchasers had been considerably lower
than the judicial rents of their non-purchasing neighbors. This
fact alone insured a continued agitation for further measures.
There was even a considerable clamor for compulsory sale, which
was demanded by the reunited Irish Party in 1900 under the
influence of the United Irish League. The agitation began to
assume the proportions of a land war. On their side the landlords
organized and seemed determined to stand by their convictions
to the last. Happily, however, the moderate people on both sides
prevailed. It was proposed by Captain Shaw-Taylor to form a
voluntary conference to consider this difficult problem, and his
suggestion was immediately adopted. Representatives of land-
lords and tenants assembled under the chairmanship of Lord
Dunraven, and eventually agreed upon a series of recommenda-
tions. This reconciliation, known as the Dunraven Treaty, marks
a new epoch in Irish land legislation. It indicated the recognition
of the common interest of landlords and tenants in the welfare
of the country, and showed that the bitter antagonisms between
the two groups of the population were gradually softening. Both
sides conceded various points, and the compromise finally effected
was embodied in the comprehensive Land Act of 1903.
The Wyndham Act, which took its name from the Chief
Secretary for Ireland by whom it was introduced into Parliament,
did not depart from the voluntary principle. It attempted rather
to hasten the completion of land purchase which the Nationalists
demanded, by gilding the transaction for the landlord as the low
annuities had gilded it for the tenants. The sum of £100,000,000
which was considered necessary to complete the change was voted.
This money was to be raised by an issue of stock at 2 J4 per cent.,
and in case of its falling below par the deficit in the amount
realized was to be made up by a grant from the Irish Develop-
ment Fund. The annuity paid by the purchaser was considerably
below that provided in previous legislation — namely, 3^4 per
cent. — and extended the period of payment, without decadal
LAND LEGISLATION IN IRELAND 43
reductions, to 68 J^ years. A new body, the Estates Commission-
ers, was created to administer the Act. It was authorized to pur-
chase whole estates, which were then to be sold to the occupiers.
Various provisions were introduced to stimulate sale by the land-
lords. It was stipulated that all payments were to be in cash, thus
obviating the danger of fluctuating stock values which had so
seriously interfered with operations under the Act of 1891.
Further, the landlord was to be paid a bonus on his sale out of
a special Treasury grant of £12,000,000, which amounted, there-
fore, to 12 per cent. Also, he was entitled to include his own
demesne in the sale of his estate, buying it back from the Com-
missioners on the usual terms of a 3% Per cent, annuity. In
cases where the demesne had been mortgaged at a high rate of
interest, this was a considerable additional advantage. The Act
of 1903 marks the culminating point of Irish land legislation,
and is, perhaps, the most important and suggestive enactment
of its kind which has been passed in any country.
But the slowness of the transfer, caused by a provision of the
law of 1903 which limited the issue of stock to £5,000,000 yearly,
was a source of considerable criticism. The Estates Commissioners
fell more and more behind in dealing with the applications made
to them. For the tenants, the arrangements did not seem as satis-
factory as in previous Acts. The zone system, which fixed the
purchase price according to the existing judicial rents and in-
volved a considerable increase over existing standards, was not
popular. Meanwhile, the financial arrangements broke down com-
pletely. The stock issued at 2^ per cent, fell in the markets to
a very considerable discount, requiring large inroads upon the
Irish Development Fund to make up the deficit. Moreover, the
law did not deal adequately with the problem of congested dis-
tricts, many of which were found to exist outside the areas
officially known by that name.
The law of 1909 grappled with several of these shortcomings.
The interest rate on the stock issued was increased to 3 per cent.,
44 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
and the annuities were raised correspondingly to 3^ per cent.
The heavy deficit already existing was to be settled by the inter-
vention of the Treasury. In place of a fixed bonus of 12 per cent.,
this additional payment to the landlord was now graded accord-
ing to the price paid. The problem of congestion and the unwill-
ingness of certain landlords to sell was partially solved by the
extension of the area under the jurisdiction of the Congested
Districts Board and the investiture of that body with compulsory
powers. The Estates Commissioners were given the same powers
in respect to "congested districts" outside the jurisdiction of the
Board. These modifications and additions have brought the
programme laid down in 1903 much nearer completion.
The actual result of the land purchase Acts in Ireland has been
to create a country of peasant proprietors. By March 31, 1915,
nearly 300,000 holdings had passed into the hands of their occu-
piers. These represented nearly ten million acres of land. At the
same time, an additional 100,000 holdings of over three million
acres were in process of negotiation. Together these comprised
more than three-quarters of the soil of the country. A sum of
nearly £100,000,000 had been advanced by the Government in
order to achieve this remarkable result. Ireland has, it is true,
not yet seen the end of agrarian legislation. There have already
been several efforts to amend further the Act of 1903. Of the
proposals made, the most important seems to be the extension
of compulsory sale throughout the country. Such a measure,
however, would be a last resort against a small and recalcitrant
minority. The effects of the present heavy issues of Government
securities at a high rate of interest is another matter which will
inevitably require adjustment after the war. On the whole, how-
ever, the problem of agrarian tenures in Ireland has been solved.
The Irish problem is now chiefly a problem of small peasant
proprietors.
Several details in connection with Irish land purchase legisla-
tion merit passing attention. There was a very considerable
LAND LEGISLATION IN IRELAND 45
danger that the newly created proprietors would be induced to
mortgage their holdings, and thus fall into the clutches of the
money-lenders. Likewise the practice of subdivision, which had
already brought baleful results on the country, might as well
occur in cases of ownership as of tenancy. These very real dangers
were guarded against by provisions of the various purchase Acts.
Mortgage for any considerable amount and subdivision of holding
were forbidden without the consent of the authorities concerned
in the sale. Another matter in which difficulty was anticipated
was the payment of the annuities. It was pointed out that "No
annuities" was as practical, if not as euphonious, a cry as "No
rents." The possibility of a general strike against the payment of
the yearly instalments was not remote. And yet the purchasers
have shown exemplary promptitude and regularity. The out-
standing payments in arrears have never reached a large figure.
Thus in 1914 there was due under this head only £12,500, of
which the greater part was only temporarily in arrear. The atti-
tude of the Irish people in regard to their purchases has been
of a very encouraging nature.
Closely connected with this legislation concerning the system
of land tenure, and in fact enacted in the same statutes, have
been the efforts to deal with the problem of the "congested dis-
tricts." Along the western seaboard the poverty and wretched-
ness of the people were particularly acute. Generously as Ireland
has been endowed by nature, the variations in the productive
power of the land are great. In the west the arable soil which finds
lodgment among the islands of rock and the seas of bog is both
scant and poor. Thus the evils which affected Ireland generally
appeared there in an aggravated form. Competition for the miser-
able holdings was intensified by the clearances, which as else-
where turned over the better lands to grazing. Even the best
holdings in Ulster commanded no higher rents. A birth-rate above
that in any other section of the country increased the hopelessness
of the situation. The economic holding was almost unknown, so
46 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
repeated had been the subdivisions. Only the returns from
subsidiary occupations, such as kelp-burning, fishing, and home
industries, kept many from starvation. Others depended on
remittances from America, whither large numbers from this
section of the country had been forced to emigrate. Another group
traveled regularly to England and Scotland as laborers for the
harvests, returning with sometimes as much as £10 which they
had saved to live in luxurious idleness in the rude cottages which
served as their winter homes. Only very comprehensive measures,
entailing a complete reconstruction of their social and economic
life, could free these people of the congested districts from their
hopeless situation.
The first legislation dealing particularly with this problem
formed a section of the Land Act of 1891, and provided for the
establishment of the Congested Districts Board. All electoral
divisions where the average valuation did not exceed £i los. per
head, provided that more than 20 per cent, of the population of
the county lived under these conditions, were constituted as
special districts under the jurisdiction of the Board. Other areas
might be added by the Lord-Lieutenant at his discretion, and in
fact the changes made following upon the Report of the Royal
Commission appointed to inquire into the work of the Board in
1908 increased the scope of its activity until at present it embraces
practically a third of the country. The population of these dis-
tricts, more than doubled by the provisions of the Act of 1909,
was in that year considerably over a million. The Board, under
whose jurisdiction these people were placed, was composed of ten
members (later fourteen) selected irrespective of party consider-
ations, and was made quite independent of outside control. Their
annual income has varied from £41,250 to £231,000, and since
1909 has been increased to £250,000. The powers granted were
commensurate with the problem faced. The Board might aid in
emigration or in migration to more fertile holdings; it was to
develop agriculture, forestry, fishing, weaving; was, in fact, t
LAND LEGISLATION IN IRELAND 47
concern itself in every possible way with the welfare of these
peoples. The aim was not the immediate relief of exceptional dis-
tress— a policy whose worthlessness had been indicated by various
activities of the Board of Works — but rather the employment of
constructive measures for the development and lasting improve-
ment of backward districts.
Under the provisions of this Act, the Board now deals with a
total of 429 electoral divisions, practically confined to the West
of Ireland. So constituted as to secure the confidence of the people,
it has succeeded in carrying out its programme of amelioration in
a generally successful manner. Its largest work has been the pur-
chase and resettlement of many large estates in the congested
districts. The problem was very largely one of the redistribution
of the land, of which the better portions had been devoted to
grazing. By the Act of 1909 compulsory powers for the purchase
of land were given, which added considerably to the effectiveness
of this work. For the entire period during which the Board has
been in operation, a total of 13,048 holdings aggregating 351,479
acres has been sold to tenants, in many cases after considerable
permanent improvements had been made. The distribution of the
"Congests" into economic holdings has been of primary impor-
tance in preparing these districts for work of a more educational
nature.
The educational work of the Board has, since the Act of 1909,
been very largely transferred to the Department of Agriculture
and Technical Instruction, with which we shall deal in a later
chapter. In the early days, however, this activity formed one of
the most important features of its work. The maintenance of
"example plots," the popularizing of potato spraying, the improve-
ment of live stock and poultry, the provision of good seeds, the
introduction of new methods of cultivation to replace the primitive
methods in use, and many other measures calculated to develop
a more scientific and successful agriculture were undertaken.
The third general form of the activities of the Congested Dis-
48 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
tricts Board has been the development of subsidiary industries.
The backward state of the sea fisheries off the West coast of
Ireland was early recognized, and an attempt made to secure for
Irish fishermen some of the natural wealth which has always
attracted fishermen from other countries to that district. Both in
the provision of nets and boats, and in developing markets the
Board has done a considerable work. Likewise an attempt has
been made to reach the women by the development of various
home industries, such as lace- and crochet-making, knitting,
embroidery, and the weaving of tweeds. Some effort has also been
made to restore the kelp industry, but unfavorable market con-
ditions have steadily diminished its importance as a source of
subsidiary income.
The work of the Congested Districts Board has undoubtedly
been of great value in these specially distressed districts of the
West. The improvement in dwellings, the extirpation of disease,
a higher standard of living — all these indicate a real success. The
tendency toward paternalism, with the corresponding discourage-
ment of self-reliance and independence among the people them-
selves, has been the greatest danger. But the Board has recognized
this, and has endeavored to do its work in a way which would
encourage individual initiative. It justifies its paternalistic
methods by the extreme conditions among the people with whom
it deals. It recognizes the necessity of educational and organizing
work. Still, the fact that the Board is a State agency, financed by
a Government grant, and not an activity by and of the people
themselves, is ever a possible danger which must be neutralized
by other forces if the really great potentialities of the people of
these districts are to be developed.
Land legislation and the activities of the Congested Districts
Board have thus effectively met some of the fundamental causes
of Irish distress. The application of a reasonable system of land
tenure was undoubtedly essential to the development of agricul-
ture. Likewise, only a certain amount of paternalism could meet
LAND LEGISLATION IN IRELAND 49
the extreme conditions of the Congested Districts. But successful
as this legislation has been, it was not without limitations, nor
without features which, unless balanced by other efforts, would
have eventually led to still greater economic depression. The
establishment of a system of peasant proprietorships taken by
itself was quite incapable of solving the problem. In fact, the set-
tlement of the question of land tenure only increased the urgency
of other steps. The real criterion of the land legislation must be
found in its effect on the character of Irish farmers. This, as we
have seen, was the fundamental problem. From such a point of
view, all forms of legislative action in Ireland were to be looked
upon with suspicion. The Acts which we have discussed seemed
particularly dangerous. In order to secure the ready acceptance
by the peasantry of the land purchase scheme, the annuities
required were reduced considerably below even the judicial rents.
Thus the new lords of the soil owed their position, not to long-
continued and earnest efforts, but rather to forced legislation
which made them, almost in spite of themselves, the debtors of the
State for a reduced yearly charge. For many of them the annuity
remains a "rent," and they have little real understanding of their
true position. The tenants bought largely because it was to their
immediate advantage in yearly expenditure to do so. To the
additional advantages of ownership over tenancy they paid little
attention. Thus the danger of a drop in productivity, commensu-
rate with the decrease in payments, was very great. For these
reasons it may be said that alone the Irish Land Acts would have
had little advantageous effect on the economic situation; that
only because other measures were contemporaneously taken has
this activity of the State been successful. The most striking and
most successful of these measures was that movement to whose
history and principles and achievements the remainder of this
book is devoted.
CHAPTER III
EARLY HISTORY OF THE IRISH CO-OPERATIVE
MOVEMENT
IN the crisis into which Ireland had fallen by the last quarter of
the nineteenth century, and for which the land legislation was only
a partial remedy, there fortunately appeared a man with a con-
structive policy and with the energy and courage to put it into
effect. Sir Horace Plunkett will be known among the great states-
men of Ireland because the co-operative system which he inaugu-
rated and so largely carried out is the basis of the new economic
and social structure of the country. This policy was built to meet
the peculiar difficulties under which, as we have seen, Ireland was
laboring. It knew, consciously at least, no European model. It
gained much in principle and encouragement, but little in practical
direction from the co-operative movement in England. It was an
Irish movement, created by Irishmen to meet Irish conditions.
Nevertheless, its success has already won for it the recognition of
social reformers everywhere, and the programme of rural recon-
struction for which it stands has found acceptance, not alone in
England and Scotland, but in countries as remote as Finland and
India. To meet the manifold problems of economic distress and
social instability upon which the activities of the State alone could
have but a slight effect, Sir Horace Plunkett proposed a new
agency, entirely voluntary, and based upon the principle of co-
operation.
The principle may be defined in more general terms as organi-
zation for common effort on a basis of equality. In Ireland, as
elsewhere, it had been of primary importance under earlier and
50
HISTORY OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 51
more primitive conditions. Anthropologists have yet to discover
a race which has not depended on mutual aid in its early struggles
for survival. The long persistence of primitive conditions in Ire-
land, which some one has said seemed to have emerged late from
the hands of the Creator, was accompanied by the late contin-
uance of institutions and customs founded on co-operative effort.
The land system in vogue, by which ownership was vested in the
tribe or sept, has already been noted. Likewise, the social life of
the people was organized on a community basis. Though modern
co-operation in the more specialized sense has very little resem-
blance to this tribal organization, it does depend on the same
fundamental qualities of human nature. The heritage of associ-
ative faculties which had been developed was of the greatest
value in the new movement.
Already in the early part of the nineteenth century, the persist-
ence of this trait in Irish character had been proved. The success
and tragic failure of the Ralahine community is among the
romances of co-operative history. Strangely enough, that experi-
ment, which was connected with the early pre-Rochdale move-
ment, took place in the country districts of Ireland, not far from
the site of the first co-operative creamery. It developed out of a
visit to Dublin in 1823 by Robert Owen, who, if not the father
of the Rochdale movement, was certainly its forerunner.* Seldom
does the missionary of a new gospel secure a more enthusiastic
follower. The meeting in the Rotunda at which Owen exposed the
theory of a co-operative commonwealth was attended by John
Scott Vandeleur, a large landowner in County Clare. Aroused
to enthusiasm by the Utopian dream which was set forth, and
convinced, after some years of deliberation, of its practicability,
* Previous to 1844, the date of the foundation of the Rochdale Society, which
is generally looked upon as the beginning of the co-operative movement as we
know it to-day, there were many co-operative societies in England. These largely
followed the teachings of Robert Owen, and were far more Utopian than the
present co-operative movement. They were to lead very shortly to the Co-operative
Commonwealth .
52 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
he determined to put the scheme into operation. In 1831 J. C.
Craig, a disciple of Owen, was brought over from England to take
charge of the experiment. He was confronted by a situation which
would have daunted a less resolute champion. The whole country-
side was in a state of unrest bordering upon revolution. Now and
again, as their abject condition became unbearable, the peasantry
burst forth into all forms of excess and outrage. Craig himself
first succeeded to a position as overseer left vacant through the
murder of his predecessor, and on more than one occasion his own
life was threatened. However, an association was formed which
took over a large section of Vandeleur's estate and proceeded to
conduct it on a communistic basis. The land was tilled in common
and, while family life was not destroyed, its interests were subor-
dinated to those of the group. A system of labor cheques such as
Owen had devised for his so-called labor exchanges formed the
currency of the community. "Under this regime the landlord was
relieved of anxiety and care for his property and person; the
laborer was industrious, cheerful, and contented; machinery was
hailed as a blessing instead of being denounced and destroyed
as a curse; the land already under cultivation was improved, and
a large tract of that which had hitherto been waste was brought
into a state of high tilth by spade labor. The people were in-
structed and amused; idleness, drunkenness, quarreling, men-
dicity, and a host of kindred evils were utterly banished, whilst
the effect upon the surrounding population was of the best pos-
sible kind, repressing revenge and raising hope in moody and
discontented breasts, from which the former had never been
absent and the latter had never dawned."*
This amazing success of the co-operative principle, though
applied in a form quite different from that taken by the modern
movement, indicated the natural aptitude of the Irish peasantry
for combined action. And though, through no fault of its own,
this little co-operative commonwealth on the Shannon finally
* William Pare, "Co-operative Agriculture" (Longmans, 1870), p. xviii.
HISTORY OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 53
failed, after two years of most encouraging development, its short
life had illumined for a moment the future of Irish co-operation.
In 1888, after a long absence in America, Sir Horace Plunkett
returned to his home in Ireland. The situation was critical. To
all manner of evils within the country itself was now added the
competition of the foreigner. Ireland no longer enjoyed extraordi-
nary advantages on account of her close proximity to the markets
of England. The adoption of Free Trade in the interests of the
English manufacturing classes in 1846 had put an end to artificial
barriers against foreign competition; science and inventive genius
had now reduced the natural barriers until they were negligible.
Grain freights from Chicago to Liverpool were more than halved
between 1871 and 1884; the price of wheat dropped 41 per cent.
At the same time Irish transport facilities did not keep pace with
these improvements. The rates for carriage from many points in
Ireland to the English markets exceeded those from the more
distant parts of America.* In this way, not only were the virgin
resources of new lands arrayed against the Irish farmer, but also
the more efficient and scientific production of old countries which
had already met the problem of a declining agriculture. Beef from
the Americas and butter from Denmark were rapidly displacing
Irish products. The latter country, after a period of depression
and poverty quite as serious as that from which Ireland was
suffering, was now rapidly rebuilding its economic structure by
means of co-operative organization and agricultural education.
Quite independently, Sir Horace came to the conclusion that in
these two agencies — and primarily the former — lay the salvation
of his own country.
The Co-operative Union, the propagandist body of the English
industrial movement, had already recognized the possibility of
*The Vice-Regal Commission on Irish Railways in 1910 declared that a reduc-
tion hi rates was urgently needed. But it also pointed out that this was impossible
without Government purchase and so Government subsidy, and that the most
immediately practicable step was to improve the methods by which Irish produce
was prepared for shipment, and the regularity with which consignments were sent.
54 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
co-operation in Ireland. In 1888, at a meeting held at the Irish
Exhibition in London, much interest had been aroused by a paper
read by Benjamin Jones, a leading English co-operator, on "The
Possibility of Developing the Resources of Ireland by a Scheme
of Co-operative Production," and a committee, known as the
"Irish Co-operative Aid Association," was formed to give practi-
cal effect to his suggestions. This body was almost immediately
dissolved, however, when it was found that the Co-operative
Union was ready and willing to undertake the proposed work.
In pursuance of this undertaking, its secretary, J. C. Gray, made
two visits to Ireland, and his report on the number and condition
of the existing societies at the Congress of 1889 was followed by
a grant to the North- Western Section, of which Ireland was con-
sidered a part, of £50 for a vigorous propaganda.
Mr. Gray found that there were thirteen co-operative stores
already at work in Ireland; some of these had achieved a measure
of success; others, like the Dublin Society, were on the verge of
failure. "The miserable poverty of most of the people makes it
almost impossible," he stated, "that they should commence co-
operation on their own initiative; and were even that possible,
they lack the confidence in each other necessary to success."
Nevertheless, his outlook was not hopeless. "That the time is
ripe for co-operative work in Ireland I am fully convinced. The
Traders' Defence Association of Scotland has already been on
the ground before us, and is giving us gratuitous advertisements
in the Irish newspapers, as will be seen by the following example
which has been cut from the General Advertiser:
^CO-OPERATION v. PRIVATE ENTERPRISE
'To the Editor, General Advertiser.
'Traders' Defence Association of Scotland,
C3 West Campbell Street, Glasgow,
'2 3rd August, 1888.
'SiR, — Allow me to draw the attention of your readers to the
HISTORY OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 55
following: On Wednesday, ist August, at a meeting of co-opera-
tors held at the Irish Exhibition, London, a committee was
appointed "To endeavor to carry the system of co-operation into
practical operation among the Irish agricultural and industrial
classes." Speakers at the meeting said they wished to see co-opera-
tion worked out in Ireland the same as in England and Scotland,
so the traders in Ireland may know what will be the result should
the scheme be carried out.
'I draw your readers' attention to this that the manufacturers
and wholesale and retail traders in Ireland may be warned in
time, and that they may not make the mistake made by
their brethren in Scotland and England, in allowing this delusive
system of trade to take hold and increase; but take action in time,
and prevent it gaining a foothold at all.
'The above association has been formed by the Scottish traders
to do all that legitimately can be done to free our trade from the
unfair competition of co-operative stores as at present conducted,
and we will be glad to communicate with any similar association
that may be formed in Ireland.
'I am, etc.,
'ROBERT WALKER,
'Organizing Agent.'
"On behalf of the co-operative movement generally, I should
like to thank the Traders' Association for this splendid testimony
to the efficacy of the co-operative system."
During his visit to Ireland Mr. Gray had come in contact with
a number of sympathizers in the co-operative movement, including
Sir Horace Plunkett. An article by the latter had recently
appeared in the Nineteenth Century on Co-operative Stores in
Ireland, in which he showed the particular value of the movement
for that country, and the necessity of a strong propagandist effort.
He referred to the success of the experiment at Dunsany which he
had started before going out to America. Again we quote Mr.
56 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
Gray's report: "This store has been established eleven years. It
owes its origin to the efforts of Mr. Plunkett, who, by reading an
account of the co-operative system in some work on political
economy, endeavored to put these principles into practice by start-
ing a store. The difficulties at starting were great. The light of
the Central Board had not penetrated thus far, consequently the
promoters knew not where to turn for advice as to the best method
of constituting a society. It thus came about that the store was
registered as a company under the Joint-Stock Act, instead of
taking advantage of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act.
When I state that capital has enjoyed a dividend of 10 per cent,
under this constitution, and although a dividend has been made
for the customers, the members have been compelled to take it
out either in cash or goods, you will understand what I mean when
I say that the advantages of thorough co-operation have not been
enjoyed by the members of this store. Since my visit, the directors
have decided to adopt the suggestion then made that the company
should be converted into a society on our model, giving capital 5
per cent, and letting the members share the full benefits of their
purchases and accumulate their profits. They have also paid the
full subscription to the Co-operative Union, and promised to
co-operate with us in any work of organization."
The first efforts in Ireland were, therefore, modeled upon the
English pattern almost exactly, and for a time Sir Horace Plunkett
shared the view that co-operation by consumers was the first step;
yet little success attended the efforts which were now made in
this direction. Even in England, where co-operation was thriving,
the rural districts were barren of societies. The country trader
was not to be displaced so easily, especially since a large part of
the community was in his power. On the whole, for such districts
general stores seem to be a later step, a development out of other
co-operative undertakings.
In this connection, the history of the Doneraile Society, one of
the two new stores established as the result of this new propa-
HISTORY OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 57
ganda, is illuminating. Only the strategy of the committee upset
the plans of the traders to wreck the society at the start. Then
difficulty was experienced in the matter of supplies. The Irish
wholesale houses — no doubt under pressure — boycotted the new
store, so that goods had to be brought from England. Likewise,
the local bakers refused to sell bread to the society, which was
equal to the emergency and proceeded to build its own ovens. The
masons employed on this work received many intimidating letters.
Against such bitter opposition, coupled with the inertia of the
farmers, there was apparently little hope of progress.
Fortunately, greater success seemed possible in another direc-
tion. At this time, among the industries of the Irish countryside,
which were in imminent danger of ruin on account of the competi-
tion of more advanced and better organized neighbors, was that
of butter-making. Irish butter, which at one time enjoyed an
unchallenged supremacy in the English markets, had already lost
that position. The home-made article, fine as it sometimes was,
could not compete with the standardized product of the cream-
eries of Denmark and Normandy. Beside the uniform unvarying
product of the centrifugal separator and the mechanical churn,
the household product seemed unsightly and unpleasant. At its
best, it hardly surpassed the creamery product; at its worst, it
was unfit to adulterate margarine. Yet Irish farmers showed no
inclination to make use of the new methods. Canon Bagot, who
zealously devoted an active life to an effort to arouse them, met
with very slight success. His enlightened proposal to establish
co-operative — or, more properly, joint-stock — dairies, together
with a central executive council to be elected by the local associa-
tions for the purpose of superintendence, advice, and assistance in
marketing, was a close anticipation of the developments soon to be
realized. But, despite the fact that his propaganda extended
through the country, it was found impossible to overcome the
general inertia. The conservative agricultural class preferred to
await the capitalist entrepreneur who would lead the way — and
58 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
absorb the profits. And, indeed, by 1889 private enterprise was
already entering the field, and the proprietary creamery seemed
destined to become the chosen, though inefficient, instrument for
the rehabilitation of the Irish butter industry.
In this situation Sir Horace Plunkett perceived an opportunity
for a more successful application of the co-operative principle.
While societies of consumers for the purchase of general necessi-
ties might be difficult to establish in the country districts of Ire-
land as elsewhere, organization on the productive side of the
farmers7 business was an alternative worth consideration. In this
modification of his original co-operative programme, Sir Horace
was following — although unconsciously — experience already
gained on the Continent. In dairying, a new method of business
organization could be combined with an equally novel and more
efficient method of production. And, though the application of
co-operation along this line was bound to encounter the additional
obstacle of a general aversion toward new methods, the arguments
for the proposed system were thereby strengthened. Moreover,
while the Irish butter trade was undoubtedly in the hands of
vested interests, these were not so seriously or immediately
affected as in the case of the country traders. The challenge was
greater, but the potential advantage to Irish farmers, and so to
Ireland generally, was increased to an even greater extent.
For these reasons, the propaganda of the new Irish Section of
the Co-operative Union was not confined to the formation of
co-operative stores, but was directed as well to the organization
of societies for the construction of creameries. Sir Horace read a
paper at the Congress of 1890 on "The Best Means of Promoting
both Distributive and Productive Co-operation in Ireland," in
which he indicated the possibilities in both directions. The dis-
cussion which followed showed the deep interest taken by the
English co-operators in this new effort. While two stores had been
established during 1889, the more significant and important
achievement was the Drumcollogher Co-operative Creamery
HISTORY OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 59
Society. It represented the firstfruit of an arduous and at times
discouraging campaign. The persistence and patience of Sir
Horace Plunkett and his loyal band of supporters was tried and
tested in every way by the ignorance and suspiciousness of the
Irish farmers. The first meeting in Lord Monteagle's dining-
room at Foynes, Co. Limerick, was followed by fifty more, with-
out visible results. At cross-roads, in cottages, in the houses,
wherever an audience could be gathered, the strange "foreigner"
preached his gospel. On one occasion the agricultural community
was represented by the dispensary doctor, the schoolmaster and
the head constable. Sometimes the seemingly enthusiastic recep-
tion proved to be the work of scoffers, and proceedings had to
be adjourned to more quiet quarters. Still, the workers perse-
vered, gaining a few new sympathizers here and there; and
though the year's achievement was not remarkable, it was the
beginning. The Drumcollogher Creamery Society, to whose
organization we shall return in a later chapter, was immediately
successful, paying the highest price for milk in its neighborhood,
and emerging at the end of the year with a profit of £417 on a
turnover of £9660. Convinced of the value of the new Irish move-
ment, the Co-operative Union made a grant of £150 for two years,
which, with £250 from Sir Horace Plunkett, made possible a
more vigorous propaganda in 1890.
In that year the workers devoted all their energies to the cream-
eries, and definitely abandoned organization of farmers as con-
sumers. The difficulties were great, however, and no new creamery
was actually established, though eleven were reported in the
course of formation. Drumcollogher continued successfully, mak-
ing a good profit. The Co-operative Union indicated its confidence
by an additional grant of £200 to the Irish Section for 1891. This
made possible the employment of a paid organizer, and Mr. R. A.
Anderson, who was selected for the position, was a most fortunate
choice. He set to work with characteristic energy, holding over
two hundred meetings, and, in addition, he paid a visit to Sweden,
6o RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
then far in advance of other countries in machinery, skill and
organization. At the Co-operative Congress of 1892 he was able
to report a total of seventeen creameries in operation. When he
had begun his work in 1891 there were only two. The progress
was continued in the following years, and the Irish Section
reported at succeeding Congresses the steady spread of co-opera-
tive principle. Mr. Anderson, in his report for 1892, declared that
the country was showing "a far greater interest in the co-operative
movement than hitherto." In 1893 special investigation revealed
the fact that there were twenty-five creameries in operation, and
that this success had been achieved despite the greatest difficulties.
On account of Mr. Anderson's illness, the advance reported in
1894 was less rapid, but sustained. At the end of that year there
were registered fifty-six dairy societies, with eight branches. In
the meantime a federation, the Irish Co-operative Agency Society,
had been established, and had, after a disastrous beginning,
re-established itself on a firm basis. Ten co-operative agricultural
societies, for the supply of agricultural necessities, had been
formed, largely with the help of the Rev. T. A. Finlay, S J., who
had joined the movement at this time, and one agricultural bank.
We shall return to these developments in later chapters. This total
of sixty-seven societies with about four thousand members repre-
sented a movement far beyond the powers of individuals or
a comparatively informal group to direct and supervise. Moreover,
the Co-operative Union, largely an association of industrial socie-
ties, became involved in the struggle between the Co-operative
Wholesale Society and the Irish creameries — a chapter of consid-
erable importance in co-operative history to which we shall recur
later. This was the more immediate cause for the decision of the
leaders of the Irish Section to withdraw and assume a more
independent position. Further, it was clear that if the new move-
ment was to play a real part in the life of the country, it must be
more thoroughly self-directed and more completely organized. Up
HISTORY OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 61
to this time it had been too much a philanthropy, too little an
activity of Irish farmers themselves. Home rule and democratic
rule were essential for further development. The result of this
necessity was the formation in 1894 of the Irish Agricultural
Organization Society, which from that time has directed the devel-
opment of the movement.
The forces with which the co-operative movement in Ireland
has contended were such as would have effectively discouraged
less resolute pioneers. It was a perpetual struggle, not only against
the natural enemies of a new form of economic organization, but
also against those who might have been expected to give it their
support. In the first category were the traders, whose position as
the middlemen of the agricultural community was threatened.
Co-operative creameries, only slightly less than co-operative
stores, constituted a menace to their established interests. The
principle that men should unite to carry on business, which might
be conducted for them on an individualistic basis, was bound
sooner or later to interfere in a more serious manner. Thus the
societies for the supply of the requisites of production, which
followed the creameries very shortly, were a direct attack upon
their position. They used every means — not always fair — to com-
bat and discredit the co-operative system. The Press formed the
medium for constant and bitter attacks. Even to this day the
Skibbereen Eagle screams occasionally, and the Mid-Ulster Mail
brings alarming reports of the iniquities of co-operation. But this
opposition, serious as it was in the early days, was overcome, and
is now an asset rather than a hindrance to the movement. Co-oper-
ation attacks the individualistic system, and the opposition of the
representatives of that system is inevitable. No co-operative move-
ment can be established without it, and since it is more easy to
understand, it is not so difficult to combat.
It is not so easy to explain the position of the Nationalist Party,
which has — with a few honorable exceptions — stood in frank
62 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
opposition. This attitude indicated a lack of faith in their own
appeal. From their point of view, co-operation, like all other
agencies for the improvement of the economic and social condi-
tions of the country, was a menace to Home Rule. No other re-
form which might bring prosperity could precede this. To attempt
such was to draw a red herring across the path. There must be
poverty and distress in the country in order to maintain the
unrest which seemed to be regarded as necessary for the Nation-
alist propaganda. The status quo was their vested interest. It had
been enough to see the powerful lever of the land agitations
weakened by agrarian legislation. To improve the position of the
people further was to destroy Home Rule utterly. This political
antagonism to what has always aimed to be a non-political move-
ment has been very serious, as will become apparent in later
chapters. The power of the Nationalist Press has been ranged
against co-operation, and when the movement has been in a
position to be affected for good or ill by legislative action, the
Party has always been consistent in its attitude. It was often
claimed that co-operation was a work of the Unionists, a plot to
undermine the true principles of nationality. On the other hand,
some Unionists, with equal vehemence and perhaps greater fore-
sight, have asserted that it was a new form of Nationalism. At
an early meeting in County Tipperary a promising project for
a co-operative creamery was wrecked by the declaration of an
excited listener that "Butter must be made on Nationalist lines,
or not at all." But while the official Party point of view was no
doubt sincerely held by many, this opposition was fundamentally
a trade opposition. Since farmers were pacified by success in the
land war, the traders have dominated the political life of the
country. In its conflict with the Party, therefore, the co-operative
movement has been fighting for more than its own existence. It
has been working for the recognition in political matters of a
certain large class of the population, whose interests in the hands
of another group had not been properly protected. As a demo-
HISTORY OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 63
cratic movement co-operation has been opposed by the opponents
of the true democracy.*
But the most serious obstacle to the co-operative movement
was and remains the conservatism of the Irish farmer. Many
projects which would have brought great benefit to the country
have been abandoned because the lords of the soil were suspicious,
or did not understand. Every sign pointed to a similar fate for
co-operation. In the early days it was usual for Sir Horace
Plunkett and Mr. Anderson to be asked to come along and build
creameries of their own at which the farmers might sell their
produce. The failure of a creamery in one place poisoned the
ground for miles around; success was as often incomprehensible.
Those who see to-day the movement which has been created, and
who find even in non-co-operative districts the vague belief that
it has proved of great benefit to the country, little realize the
discouraging reception of the new gospel in the early days. Then
it was often almost forcible persuasion. The priest and the school-
master, and perhaps the gentry, were convinced; the others fol-
lowed their lead because it was their custom to do so. It is a great
tribute to the perseverance of the pioneers that despite this inertia
on the part of the people whom they aimed to benefit such a large
measure of success has been attained.
The credit belongs largely to Sir Horace Plunkett. It has been
his untiring zeal and the inspiration of his leadership which has
brought, despite every form of opposition, the gradual accept-
ance of the co-operative principle, and its practical application
throughout the country. His own personality and connections
seemed very much against him. Avowed convictions on other
questions which were not in line with those of the mass of his
countrymen, in a country in which nothing was deemed extraneous
to the matter in hand, apparently precluded the success of his
*In support of this view it is interesting to note that the modern Sinn Fein
movement, which represents to a large extent a democratic revolt against the Party
machine, reckons many staunch advocates of co-operation among its leaders.
64 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
activities. He was of the Ascendancy, a Protestant, a Unionist,
and of a family which held large domains in County Meath. No
more damning qualifications for the leadership of a movement
among the Irish peasantry could have been combined. Parnell,
Protestant and landowner though he was, shared the political
convictions of the mass of the people. The echoes of the Land
War still reverberated throughout the country, and many would
not believe that co-operation was not a deep-laid scheme to make
possible an increase in rents. Others were rendered suspicious
by Sir Horace's avowed Unionism. How a person of his politics
and religion and class could be unselfishly interested in the wel-
fare of Ireland and the Irish peasantry was beyond comprehen-
sion. And withal, he was a quiet man, not given to the boisterous
geniality which was an essential of popularity among many of the
farmers. Yet notwithstanding, Sir Horace Plunkett successfully
attacked as difficult a problem as any reformer ever faced — the
awakening of a people from their lethargy to an active and reso-
lute effort in their own behalf.
This accomplishment is to be attributed to two reasons: the
correctness and appeal of the co-operative principle as Sir Horace
adapted it for Ireland, and the magnetism of his own personality.
Few movements which have depended so much on voluntary sup-
port have enjoyed greater loyalty on the part of all connected
with it. And this has largely been due to the honesty and straight-
forwardness of its leader. "Why, you ask, am I content to leave
a pleasant home in the city and to travel about among these hills
in this weather, with so little to show for my work when the night
has come? I often ask myself that question. It is that I see back
there in Merrion Square a man who is still working at his desk.
He has even less incentive for his work than I. With perfect truth
I can say that it is he who has led me to spend my life in this
way. And it is a good way." That is the way one of the foremost
enthusiasts of the movement put it; a man who has given his best
services for twenty years, without payment, to practical work in
HISTORY OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 65
the field. Likewise, Sir Horace Plunkett has been able to enlist
the sympathy and active support of many of his own class in the
co-operative movement. The Irish aristocracy had been forced
into a position in which its undoubted capacities could not be
employed for the benefit of the country. Their every activity was
looked upon with suspicion. But, with the enactment of the land
legislation, the fundamental cause of antagonism was settled. The
gentry were now released to take a real part in the life of the
country. Of course, this could only be in connection with some
form of non-political activity, such as was offered in the co-
operative movement. "New duties — or I would rather call them
opportunities — are emerging from the present social revolution,
which far exceed in interest and importance those appertaining
to the former relation of landlord and tenant."* The Irish aris-
tocracy has answered this challenge by Sir Horace, and is proving
its capacity and power in the support and active interest which
it has displayed in the co-operative movement. Other groups have
been equally responsive to the call. The clergy, Catholic and
Protestant alike, have been among the strongest and surest sup-
porters. They have displayed an interest in the material as well
as the spiritual welfare of the people, recognizing the intimate
relation between the two and the ideal aims of the movement. In
many cases their leadership has kept the people together. Like-
wise, the National schoolmasters have been of much assistance.
In fact, men of every class and of every political and religious
persuasion have been enlisted in the co-operative cause. Under
the leadership of Sir Horace Plunkett they have taken up willingly
and enthusiastically the burden of the work which he inaugurated.
Irish co-operation has been rich in their loyalty and patriotism.
* "Noblesse Oblige."
CHAPTER IV
PRINCIPLES AND IDEALS OF THE IRISH
CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT
IN the previous chapter we have described the early history
co-operation in Ireland, and have enumerated the practical re-
sults of the preliminary propaganda. We now propose to consider
the theory upon which the societies were formed — their under-
lying principles, their practical structure, and their ultimate
ideals. The word "co-operation" is so frequently used in the broad
sense of "working together" that it is important to define clearly
its more exact meaning as a method of social reconstruction. The
programme which Sir Horace Plunkett and his friends proposed
was not a broad principle without an immediate application; it
was a definite practical scheme which in one form had already
been proved of great advantage to English working men. Its
application in Ireland, although it involved no new principle and
little change in structural detail, did represent a development in
the theory and in the application of the more ideal aims of the
co-operative movement.
The flannel weavers of Rochdale, to whom modern co-operation
everywhere largely owes its practical success, if not its inspira-
tion, were gifted with rare discernment and good common sense.
They had learned in the failure of Chartism the impotence of
political agitation to improve their economic situation. Benevolent
persons, however good their intentions, for the most part aggra-
vated rather than helped their distressful condition. As individ-
uals they had been completely worsted in the competitive struggle.
From such a situation there was only one avenue of escape.
Where the individual was weak, many organized for practical
66
IDEALS OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 67
effort might prove strong. And so, without memorials to a com-
placent Government, without an appeal to disregarding employers
or well-intentioned philanthropists, they formed an association
"for the pecuniary benefit and the improvement of the social and
domestic condition of its members." Relying on nothing but their
own united exertions, they set up — with many misgivings, but an
earnest purpose — their little shop in Toad Lane; an insignificant
beginning, but containing in the principle of "self-help through
mutual help" the foundation of the now world- wide co-operative
movement.
The position of the Irish farmer in 1888 was, in many respects,
analogous to that of the Lancashire weaver nearly half a century
earlier; his industry seemed no longer capable of providing him
with the necessaries of life. Efforts to improve his situation
through legislative action had done little more than prepare the
way for constructive reforms; for the chief requirements of prog-
ress among Irish farmers were individual energy and initiative.
Their greatest hope lay in themselves. Indeed, owing to a long-
cultivated belief in the omnipotence of political change, their own
responsibility in the matter had been almost completely ignored.
Dissatisfied as they were with the Government under which they
lived, its aid was invoked in every contingency. No meeting for
dealing with distress in the country was ever held without the
ubiquitous question: "What is the Government going to do about
it?" Or, if the appeal to Government failed, the "great heart of
America" might be aroused in their behalf. As long as the devel-
opment of Ireland was considered to be entirely within the keep-
ing of others, there could be no real progress. It was only when
the responsibility of Irish men and women for the conditions of
their country was realized and accepted that a brighter day could
be said to be dawning.
But this individual energy and initiative only became effective,
as the Rochdale Pioneers had found, through combined action
with other individuals. It is a truth which is applicable in every
68 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
age that a person, or many unorganized people working inde-
pendently, can seldom secure any large result. Just as mutual
aid has been an equally important factor with the struggle for
survival in the development of civilization, so in the modern
world association and organization are necessary for continued
progress. Not alone in the conduct of war, but in the arts of peace
as well, the principle of "self-help through mutual help" is of
primary importance.
Valuable as this principle was for the Lancashire weavers, and
the thousands of English working men who have since accepted
it in practice, it was of an even greater advantage for the Irish
farmer. From the nature of his occupation, his life was an isolated
one. A large portion of his day was inevitably spent in the fields
alone. He had little opportunity to discuss matters affecting his
industrial life with his fellows. Farm labor at its best offered very
little time for association, and the leisure which was at times
possible was employed in more relaxing pursuits.
Furthermore, the Irish farmer was not a wage-earner, but a
business man — an entrepreneur. Co-operation, as conceived in
England, was a method of improving the position of the con-
sumer; the same principle of organization might also be useful
as a means of raising wages, but a special form of association
along occupational lines was necessary for this purpose. On the
other hand, the whole economic life of the farmer depended on
the efficient conduct of his varied business interests. A purchaser
of raw materials, and a producer of other raw materials or of food-
stuffs as well as a purchaser of the necessities of life, as a con-
sumer, he was necessarily involved in relations with various
middlemen. If in any one of these directions he failed to bargain
effectively, no amount of zeal in other directions could make up
for the loss. Yet the group with whom he dealt was more com-
pletely organized and more experienced in its own particular
field than he, in the isolated life which he lived, could ever be.
Occupied in an industry which required the greatest amount of
IDEALS OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 69
business as well as technical education, the agriculturist was
handicapped by a complete lack of knowledge and individual
impotence. No matter how carefully he might conduct his affairs
as an individual, alone he could not deal with the forces con-
fronting him. The land legislation, which we have examined, had
gradually created in Ireland a great number of small peasant
proprietors. The scale of operations of each of these men was
comparatively small; the artificial manures which the individual
bought, the amount of product which he had for sale, were rela-
tively insignificant. But he depended on this sale for his very
livelihood, and his position as a bargainer was therefore as weak
as that of the ordinary wage-earner. The only way he could
protect himself was by adopting the same method of combination,
finding in this union the strength which, as an individual, he
lacked.
Such a combination for business purposes may be achieved
in several ways. We have alluded to the efforts of Canon Bagot
to establish an Irish creamery system upon joint-stock lines, and
to the failure of his scheme. The joint-stock company is a method
of combining many small capitals to achieve a common end.
Through its agency the farmers might succeed in carrying on
their business in many directions in a way which would measur-
ably improve their situation. And yet, despite its advantages and
its proven usefulness in the development of industry, it was
inferior — as we shall see — to the alternative scheme of co-
operative organization adopted in 1844 by the English working
men, and adapted to the needs of Irish farmers by Sir Horace
Plunkettin 1889.
A co-operative society may be defined as a voluntary associa-
tion of individuals, combining to achieve an improvement in their
social and economic condition, through the common ownership
and democratic management of the instruments of wealth. It is
outwardly similar to the joint-stock company. In both schemes
membership is voluntary, a feature which strengthens individual
70 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
responsibility. This fact differentiates them from any schemes of
social reform such as State socialism, where the individual be-
comes, whether he will or not, a partner in a great State enter-
prise. The danger in such a system is the fact that the individual
will fail to realize his personal responsibilities, notwithstanding
the fact that this is essential. Co-operation and the joint-stock
company as well, by preserving the voluntary feature, encourage
individual activity and self-reliance, without which no people
can become prosperous and no scheme for the reconstruction of
society successful.
But membership in a co-operative society is a far different
matter from the ownership of one or more snares in a company.
In the one case, the important factor is the individual; in the
other case, the share capital. Thus, in order to join a co-operative
society, it is necessary to receive the approval of the committee,
who judge, not by the capital contribution, but by the individual
character, business reputation and civic standing of the applicant.
No test of race, religion or politics is imposed, but only those
who are deemed worthy partners in a common enterprise are
admitted. While many agricultural societies trade on character,
the ideal of the industrial societies is to trade for cash only.
Agricultural necessities, such as fertilizers and seeds, from which
the returns are secured only after a period, must frequently be
sold on credit. The ordinary trader protects himself from the
losses which are likely to occur from this business by charging
higher prices. The co-operative society, by choosing its members
and by continuing an oversight as to the relations between them
and the society, ensures that no losses will occur, and can reduce
its prices accordingly.
Capital, in the joint-stock company and the co-operative society
alike, is secured on the basis of limited liability.* In both cases
*This applies by law to all trading societies (in Great Britain and Ireland)
but not to credit societies, which, as will be seen later, may be organized with
unlimited liability.
IDEALS OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 71
the holders of shares are not responsible beyond the investment
which they have nominally — if not actually — made, and in case
of liquidation cannot be assessed. But while this capital is in the
joint-stock company the chief reason for which the society is
formed, and the amount which may be subscribed is unlimited,
in the co-operative society, where membership is the important
consideration, not only is the holding of a member limited to
£200, but, in fact, it seldom approaches anywhere near that
figure. The joint-stock company may, and the co-operative society
must, be a union of small capitals, and in practice the capital of
the latter is usually composed of very small amounts. In most
cases only a small portion of the actual shares is called up.
The essential difference between the two methods of business
organization which we have been considering is even more clearly
shown in the treatment of the share capital. In the one case, where
it is the primary consideration, the interest is practically unlim-
ited. Profits are divided entirely on the basis of the capital sup-
plied. But in the co-operative society this payment is strictly
limited, usually to 5 per cent. It is felt that this is a fair return,
compensating the holder for his abstinence, and that any addi-
tional profit should be for the benefit of the group. The profits
over and above this amount are to be divided among the members
and the employees on the basis, in the one case, of the trade done
with the society, and in the other, of the wage received. In prac-
tice, few of the Irish societies have allocated their profits in this
way, preferring to retain any surplus as a reserve fund, for which
a ready use is found in the natural expansion of the business.
These reserves are in effect community property, and while they
raise problems which we shall discuss elsewhere, their existence
gives strength to the sense of a common enterprise.
So also, in the management of a co-operative society, the indi-
vidual rather than the capital is the important point. The voting
unit is not the share, as in the joint-stock company, but the mem-
ber. The committee, which is the managing authority, and exer-
72 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
cises general control over the affairs of the society, is elected on
the democratic principle of one man, one vote. Each individual —
be he the holder of two hundred shares or of one — occupies the
same position so far as determining the conduct of the society
is concerned. Where, as in Ireland, there has been a deep chasm
between the interests and activities of two groups in the popu-
lation, and where the distribution of wealth was quite unequal,
the existence of an organization in which all men could meet on
equal terms was of great importance in developing community
consciousness.
These various differences of structural detail indicate some
of the advantages of the co-operative society over the joint-stock
company as a method of organizing Irish farmers. Membership
based on character and without any other restrictions, a fixed rate
of interest on shares, democratic management, and division of
profits on a novel basis give a distinct character and spirit to a
co-operative society, which is absent in other schemes of organi-
zation. The loyalty of the members must extend beyond their
investment in the enterprise; it is their undertaking, requires
their constant support and interest, and its return to them will
depend on the measure in which they accept these obligations.
But it is rather in the fact — on which we have already in-
sisted— that a co-operative society is an organization of indi-
viduals that its great superiority over the joint-stock company
lies. Its greatest social and educational results are achieved
through this particular feature.
The decay of rural life which has spread throughout the world,
and which in many respects is more serious and more inimical
in new countries than in the older lands of Europe, has occurred
through the weakening of community institutions and community
life. We have already pointed out the comprehensive nature of
the Irish rural problem, that it was not merely a question of
economic decay. In Ireland, as A. E. has put it, "we have not had
a social organization since the time of the clans." The landlord
IDEALS OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 73
system never provided a complete or stable substitute for the
tribal organization; and, with the establishment of many peasant
proprietors, even its pretensions in that direction came to an end.
Yet such community organization is necessary, not only for the
more effective conduct of its business interests, but also for edu-
cating the people in their industry and their duties and respon-
sibilities as members of a social order.
The formula which Sir Horace Plunkett found to express his
idea for agricultural reconstruction in Ireland, "Better farming,
better business, better living," covers a wide field. The first neces-
sity, he declared, was "Better business." No improvement in the
technical methods of farmers would avail until they carried on
their own business for themselves. Only in this way would they
be protected from the abuses to which their business ignorance
and individual helplessness laid them open. Organization alone
would solve this difficulty; and we have already explained the
method by which this was to be done.
Organization was also important, however, for carrying out
the first portion of Sir Horace's aim, "better farming" — and was
essential to increase the product of the farmer, as well as the
share in the ultimate return which he might secure through his
co-operative society. The organizations in Ireland — unlike the
urban industrial societies in England — are almost wholly com-
posed of persons engaged in the same occupation. Their technical
interests are therefore very much the same. As workers on the
land, they are all concerned with new methods of agricultural
production, the more scientific application of their labor, the use
of spraying materials and artificial manures, improvements in
live stock, and the like. Their association forms an excellent
medium for the distribution of information of this kind. More-
over, the farmer, very properly, will not change his methods
without being assured that these changes will yield him a com-
mensurate return. As a member of a co-operative society he knows
that any increase in production will accrue to his own advantage.
74 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
More efficient methods of production will not be neutralized by
increased levies from middlemen. Such information makes a far
greater appeal to the farmer (who is by nature conservative)
when it has been tried under local conditions. The readiest agency
for such an experiment is to be found in the co-operative society.
And the opportunity for common discussion and mutual obser-
vation which is thus given brings the most ignorant member up
to the level of those who have shown themselves more receptive
of the new ideas.
The ultimate aim of all these co-operative activities and of
community organization generally is the development of a sound
individual and social life. If Better Business only was to be at-
tained, efficiency experts might find considerable interest in the
Irish societies; if Better Farming was the ultimate goal, agricul-
tural experts and teachers might gain valuable hints from Irish
experience. But the Irish co-operative movement is of real interest
to rural reformers everywhere, and to all who look forward to
a better civilization, because its ultimate concern is Better Life.
Unless the more efficient business organization and the improve-
ment in agricultural technique can do more than change the
material returns to the farmers, it falls short of its ideal. It must
attain that complete community organization, which is the under-
lying necessity of a new rural civilization, and upon which the
development of a sound individual and social life depends.
The modern world generally has ignored the importance of the
local unit in every direction. Its business is run on the individual-
ist principle. Its educational effort is largely in the hands of cen-
tral authorities, and local needs are too often set aside. Its social
life is on a class basis, dividing and weakening the social unit.
Its political organization does not truly represent the community
which it governs. "We often hear the expression 'the rural com-
munity/ " writes A. E., "but where do we find such rural com-
munities? There are rural populations, but that is altogether a
different thing. The word 'community' implies an association of
IDEALS OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 75
people having common interests and common possessions, bound
together by laws and regulations which express these common
interests and ideals, and define the relation of the individual
to the community. Our rural populations are no more closely
connected, for the most part, than the shifting sands of the sea-
shore. Their life is almost entirely individualistic. There are per-
sonal friendships, of course, but few economic or social partner-
ships. Everybody pursues his own occupation without regard to
the occupations of his neighbors."*
And yet the most effective action in every direction may be
taken by the local unit.
Co-operation stands between the two extremes. On the one
hand is a crude individualism which has proved in every way
ineffective and inefficient. On the other is socialism, which, in
constructing a State organization, endangers individual expres-
sion and destroys individual responsibility. The via media is
co-operation or community organization. Such organization gives
scope for a finer individualism, made possible by association with
one's fellows. Through common effort greater self-expression is
to be attained. Likewise, the more perfect social organization will
be created by giving the local unit its proper place. In the
neighborhood the individual must realize his own responsibilities
towards the group, and so his obligations in the larger unit of
which the community forms a part. In its combination of the
finer individualism and the more practical socialism, the co-
operative ideal as worked out in Ireland forms a complete pro-
gramme of rural and, in fact, social reconstruction.
The community organization of the co-operative society is
comprehensive and practical. It starts with the fundamental
economic problems which are common to all. On this basis it
builds the complete edifice. It secures the greatest facilities for
individual self-expression and development, and at the same time
the true social structure which is necessary for the new rural
* A. E., "The Rural Community," p. 5.
76 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
civilization. In the consideration of the actual co-operative
societies to which we now turn, these ideals may often seem
remote and hidden. And yet it is this vision of the yet unrealized
aims, this dream of the future which carries far beyond the walls
of the creamery and outside the portals of the store, which has
won for the Irish co-operative movement the constant loyalty and
unflagging zeal of its supporters. In the practical work of the
actual societies which have been formed are to be found the first
steps toward that finer rural civilization for which they are
striving and which yet will be.
CHAPTER V
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FORM AND FUNCTIONS
WITH the foundation in 1894 of the Irish Agricultural Organi-
zation Society, the birth-pangs of the movement were at an end,
and its theory, as we have outlined it in the previous chapter,
was sufficiently well determined to admit of continuous prac-
tical development. Although the IA.O.S. has had to fight un-
ceasingly against every form of opposition — some of it ignorant,
more of it based on the hostility of vested interests — its leaders
and officials and most of its supporters have known exactly what
they were fighting for, and there has never been any likelihood
of their being permanently defeated. We may compare the
struggles which took place before 1894 to the effort involved in
clearing woodland to make way for crops, and those which have
gone on since, to the labor of tending the crops as they grow,
and protecting them against every form of depredation.
In this and the following chapters, accordingly, we shall take
a survey of the co-operative movement from the point of view
of the work accomplished by the various types of society. It will
be found that in the essentials of organization and conduct the
local societies have undergone little change. It is only in number,
efficiency, and technical methods that great changes have taken
place. This applies even to the I.A.O.S., though necessarily to a
somewhat less degree.
After the first five years of co-operative propaganda several
points upon which we have already commented became clear.
In the first place, co-operation of the kind contemplated by Sir
Horace Plunkett and his followers, as especially adapted to the
77
78 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
interests of the Irish producer, developed necessarily along dif-
ferent lines from those followed in England by the artisans of
the large industrial centres. The movement was not at that time
sufficiently strong to overcome the instinctive jealousy which
exists between the producer and the consumer, and a separate
form of organization seemed to be necessary for each. Thus it
was not possible to expect the Co-operative Union to continue
to take the responsibility for an Irish Section which was following
a different programme, and was openly discouraging the forma-
tion of co-operative stores on the English model. On the other
hand, so much progress had already been made with the work
that it was beyond the powers of a few individual workers to
carry it on for themselves, or to provide the funds necessary to
employ trained officials for the purpose. The only alternatives
which remained were the creation either of a philanthropic society
or of a federation of existing societies. The former alternative was
naturally distasteful to advocates of "self-help through mutual
help/' but the latter appeared to be practically impossible. The
outlook of the movement was most promising, but the forty
creameries existing in 1894-95 were not as yet in a sufficiently
strong financial position to support a central federation with any-
thing more than a minute income. The expenses to be borne in this
year can be measured by the fact that three hundred and fifteen
meetings were held, as a result of which thirty-four societies were
brought into existence, and fifteen more were in contemplation.
The plan actually adopted was one of the most striking in-
stances of Sir Horace Plunkett's genius for dealing with what
most people would consider very discouraging circumstances.
The public was appealed to to provide a fund to maintain a
central organizing federation for a period of five years at the
rate of £2000 a year, by means of shares, subscriptions and dona-
tions, payable in instalments. The societies brought into exist-
ence during these five years were to be affiliated to the central
body and contribute to it an amount proportioned to their
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FORM AND FUNCTIONS 79
resources. Arrangements were to be made by which they would
gradually receive representation and take over the control, so
that the I.A.O.S. would in time become a true federation.
The response to this appeal must have surprised even the
enthusiastic. The fears of vested interests had not yet been ex-
cited, the scarecrow of political and religious difference had not
yet been erected in this new field of labor. The inaugural meeting
was attended by men of all classes and opinions, but there was
no dissenting note. The explanation of the aims of the Society
given by the founder may stand to this day as a comprehensive
creed for all agricultural co-operators.
"The keynote of our proposals," wrote Sir Horace Plunkett,
"is the proposition that the Irish farmers must work out their
own salvation, and further, that this can only be done by com-
bination among themselves. I am quite aware of the difficulty
which at once suggests itself. It will be pointed out that effective
combination for productive or commercial purposes is not to be
accomplished simply by the recognition of the fact that it is
necessary to combine. An association which is not to be a mere
debating society, but which is to be capable of joint action, must
be organized on certain well-known but rather complicated lines
in order to be permanent. The farmers, from the nature of their
occupation, are incapable of evolving for themselves the prin-
ciples which must be observed in framing such rules as will do
justice between man and man, and harmonize the interests of all
concerned. Even when a farmer grasps the idea that he ought
to combine with his neighbors, he cannot put before them an
intelligible and workable scheme. Now here is the point at which
without any interference with his business, without weakening
his spirit of independence, without any departure from the prin-
ciples of political economy, we can do the Irish farmer a great
service. To bring to the help of those whose life is passed in the
quiet of the field the experience which belongs to wider oppor-
8o RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
tunities of observation and a larger acquaintance with commercial
and industrial affairs — that, gentlemen, is the object and aim of
this Society. Patriotism and philanthropy alone will not avail,
or the work would have been done long ago. I admit that this
is no easy task. We have got to turn the current of national
thought on these subjects into new channels. It will take the best
men in Ireland to fulfil such a mission, but the best men in
Ireland are with us, and the task will be performed."
Such was the spirit of the inaugural meeting. The £10,000
which the founders believed would suffice for five years was
guaranteed at once. But long before the end of the experimental
period the expenses of the I.A.O.S. were largely in excess of
£2000 a year. Meanwhile, though the number of societies was
rapidly increasing, their contributions were in no way propor-
tioned to this outlay — nor was there any likelihood that a better
position could be reached for some years. Thus from the very
beginning the I.A.O.S., which owed its existence to the need for
a self-supporting democratic federation of farmers, assumed the
financial aspect of a charitable society. As a result it has since
spent much valuable energy in the attempt to find sources of
income to meet its expenditure. This handicap has, in fact, per-
sisted up to the present day, in spite of determined efforts to give
practical effect to the idea that local societies, which were formed
and helped by the I.A.O.S., should in turn render it self-
supporting. The whole question of finances is of such vital im-
portance to those who wish to understand the structure of the
co-operative movement that we have thought best to deal with
it in detail in the following chapter. The reader to whom such
technicalities are distasteful may omit that chapter without
breaking the sequence of thought if he will remember that local
societies formed by the I.A.O.S. are bound by their rules to pay
an annual affiliation fee in accordance with the scale laid down
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FORM AND FUNCTIONS 81
from time to time by the annual general meeting of the central
body.
Primarily the I.A.O.S. was, and still is, a propagandist body.
Its work in this direction is carried out by the free distribution
of literature, by the addressing of meetings, and by all such
forms of publicity as the funds will allow. Emphasis is laid
throughout on the necessity of organizing farmers for business
purposes in order to supplement the help given by the State
in the provision of land and of technical education. The slogan
of the movement is the formula "Better farming, better business,
better living." The first is believed to be the function of the State,
the second of the I.A.O.S., while the third should result from a
proper combination of the other two. It is further pointed out
that the co-operative method is the only one properly applicable
to the farmer's business, and a careful exposition of the advan-
tages derived from joining the movement is given. This work,
except for the negligible amount derived from the sale of publi-
cations, brings no financial return.
The next function, arising directly out of this, is the organi-
zation of new societies. As soon as a demand for a society arises
from any district, the organizer who is responsible for that dis-
trict will proceed to the spot, interview leading farmers, and
arrange a preliminary meeting, which he will attend and address.
If possible, a provisional committee is then formed, and the
organizer will help this committee in every way, by providing the
necessary forms, rules, and so on, and by instructing them in
the best methods of getting the society started. It may be several
months or even a year from the time when the project was first
mooted to the day when a society can begin to work under local
management, and during this period the organizer must always
be prepared to cope with any emergencies which may arise, to
repair mistakes due to lack of business experience, and to ward
off the open or insidious attacks of enemies. The amount of time,
skill, tact and patience involved in this task can only be dimly
82 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
imagined by those who have not seen the process at first hand.
This work also brings no return, being a service provided free
by the I.A.O.S. When the society is actually registered, however,
it binds itself by its rules to affiliate with the central body. The
rules are provided by the I.A.O.S., and registration is effected
through it at a less cost than by applying directly to the Registrar
of Friendly Societies.*
The chief work of the central body at the present time lies in
the inspection and general supervision of existing societies.
Whenever the affiliated societies find themselves in any trouble,
whether through lack of knowledge, unexpected emergencies,
breakdown of machinery, or any other cause, they bring their
troubles to the I.A.O.S., which at once sends the proper person
to visit and help them if, as is usually the case, it is not possible
to remove the difficulties by correspondence. In addition to these
special visits, the organizer in charge of any district will as often
as time will permit and as the circumstances of the society seem
to demand make regular rounds and pay a call on every society
in his charge. It will be his business to have all kinds of local
information at his fingers' ends — to know where the priest is
friendly and where he is not, where the schoolmaster is compe-
tent, and where the "gombeen-man" is threatening. He must also
know the weak points of the societies, and so be able to locate
trouble without waste of time. Above all, he must know how to
adjust his methods to the peculiarities of temper of the manager
or secretary in each case. To go out on his rounds with one of
these men is a liberal education for any one interested in human
nature.
Generally speaking, the organizers have had an all-round
training in co-operative methods, and the limitation of their
spheres is geographical and not technical. Special men have,
*The actual cost is £2, £i registration fee and £i preliminary affiliation fee to
the I.A.O.S. Unaffiliated societies pay £5 registration fee as their rules are not
standardized and must therefore be examined in detail.
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FORM AND FUNCTIONS 83
however, been assigned from time to time for certain types of
work; in the earlier days of the movement there were special
organizers for banks, and also for poultry and home industry
societies. At present the I.A.O.S. has a creamery expert with
three assistants who supplement by technical advice the work of
the regular organizers in connection with dairy machinery and
scientific butter-making. There are also specialists in the use
of agricultural machinery by co-operative societies. But the most
highly specialized department is naturally that of accounting and
auditing. It is probably in the keeping of accounts that the local
societies meet with the greater part of their difficulties, and it
is certainly in this way that the central body is most plainly able
to help them. The work of the Audit Office at the Plunkett House
is kept quite separate from the other activities of the I.A.O.S.,
except that the staff is under the general direction of the com-
mittee acting through the secretary. The department charges
reasonable fees for work done and is practically self-supporting.
There is no compulsion on affiliated societies to have their audit-
ing done by the I.A.O.S., but all societies are bound by law to
have their accounts audited at least once a year by a duly quali-
fied public auditor, and most of them are able to see the advantage
of employing an auditor who possesses a sympathetic under-
standing of co-operative principles as well as a knowledge of
accounting.
Audits are conducted in two ways: either the books are sent
up to the Plunkett House and there examined and dealt with, or
in cases where more detailed attention is required the auditor
visits the society in person and spends as much time on the spot
as may be required. The latter is evidently the more satisfactory
method, as the society gets much useful advice and help in addi-
tion to the actual audit; but the demands which it makes on time
and money render it prohibitive except in cases where it is most
obviously needed. However, during the period when the work
in the office is not so heavy, two or three of the staff are employed
84 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
by the I.A.O.S. as traveling inspectors and visit the societies with
particular attention to book-keeping and financial details. There
is no doubt that the help thus given is extremely beneficial and
is appreciated by the societies.
In addition to these activities, the I.A.O.S. in its earlier stages,
as we have seen, bore the burden of practically all the technical
education in agricultural matters which was done in Ireland;
instructors were sent out to deal with butter-making, poultry-
keeping, egg-production, bee-keeping, lace-making, and many
other such subjects. Questions relating to live stock and kindred
matters were earnestly discussed at general meetings, and while
this work was a heavy tax on the society both financially and
otherwise, there is no doubt that it made its position very strong
in the country. These functions were actually handed over to
the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction after
1900, and the I.A.O.S. was thus left free to devote more time
and energy to the single purpose of co-operative organization.
The expense was somewhat reduced, but probably the revenue
also decreased, as farmers, finding that they had to look to the
Department for these services, began to believe that the State
would take up the much desired role of universal provider, and
thus render the I.A.O.S. (and its affiliation fees) an unnecessary
luxury. However, those who did not take this view soon came
to the conclusion that in many ways State assistance was un-
satisfactory, and began to clamor for the I.A.O.S. to resume some
of its original functions. This tendency was very much increased
after the change of policy on Sir Horace's retirement, when it
became apparent that the Department was not sympathetically
inclined towards co-operative societies. As a result, the voluntary
body shortly returned to the practice of giving technical advice
and inspection to creameries in addition to that given by the
State, and has also employed experts to advise on the use of
agricultural machinery and the tillage problems connected there-
with. The charge has been made from time to time by the Depart-
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FORM AND FUNCTIONS 85
ment that in these ways the I.A.O.S. overlaps with its work, or
tries to supersede it. On the other hand, co-operators assert that
the officials of the Department are not encouraged to give the
same help to co-operative societies as to individual farmers, and
that their teaching is anti-co-operative. A certain amount of
technical teaching is inseparable from the work of organizing
co-operative societies, and as long as the two bodies are not in
harmony friction is bound to arise on this point. The I.A.O.S.,
however, tries as far as possible to avoid overlapping and to work
in conjunction with the county agents; the measure of success
depends largely on the personality of the men employed in the
various districts.
The final and by no means the least important function of the
I.A.O.S. is to act as the legal and political representative of the
organized farmer. Such questions as the disposal of creamery
sewage and the validity of certain rules are frequently brought
to the courts, and in these cases the co-operative societies can
look to the central body for expert assistance. The levying of
the excess profits tax recently has afforded a good example of
the necessity of such help from a strong and competent federa-
tion. In the same way the I.A.O.S. is able to advise farmers as
to the progress of Bills in Parliament which affect their interests,
and to voice their protests or approval. Irish farmers have not
yet sufficiently recognized the necessity of this kind of self-
expression and have suffered severely by the neglect of their
interests on the part of their parliamentary representatives. No
doubt, however, the time will come when they will seek to follow
the example of the agrarians of Germany, or of organized labor
in England, and to make themselves articulate by combined
pressure. When that time comes it is to the I.A.O.S. they must
look for the proper medium of expression, and it will then become
what it should be and is quite competent to be — the official mouth-
piece of a strong farmers' party, political, not in the sense of
adhering to an established political party, but as representing in
86 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
a political sphere the interests of a large and important section
of the community.
We come now to consider the internal organization of the
I.A.O.S. In this connection it is worth while to repeat one state-
ment which has figured largely in recent controversies. The
I.A.O.S. is not and never has been a trading body. The funds
entrusted to it are devoted solely to propagandist, educational and
supervisory work, and in no case have they been either expended
for trade purposes, or lent or given to any local society for the
purpose of strengthening its capital or helping it in a financial
way. It is worth while emphasizing this point, as ignorant or
disingenuous persons have repeatedly made the statement that
the State subsidized the I.A.O.S. to engage in trade at the expense
of other ratepayers. Confusion has always existed in the minds
of the public between the I.A.O.S. and the Wholesale Society
(known as the I.A.W.S.), which is, of course, a purely trading
federation, but in no case have funds of the I.A.O.S. been used
in support of this body.
Since the reconstruction which was completed in 1904 the
I.A.O.S has been a purely democratic body. Its general com-
mittee is simply a federal council of the delegates of local
societies, just as the Federal Government of the United States
is a council of the delegates of the separate States. The elected
members of the committee are twenty in number ; four are elected
by the societies of each of the four provinces, and four by the
individual subscribers. There are also four members co-opted by
the whole committee, and the Development Commissioners have
a right to propose not more than eleven persons for co-option.
They have at present six representatives, of whom three are
members of their own body. The president and vice-president
are additional to the committee (of which they are ex-officio
members) : they retire annually, and are elected by the affiliated
societies. This is an important point to observe, as by reason of
the fact that these officers have been unchanged for many years
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FORM AND FUNCTIONS 87
the fact that they are democratically elected each year is apt to
be overlooked. Of the provincial members, eight retire each year
in order of seniority, and are eligible for re-election, and the same
applies to two of the subscribers' representatives.
Nomination papers are sent to all affiliated societies, with a
list of the existing committee and officers, and an indication of
those who retire, at least two months before the date of the annual
general meeting. These papers must be returned within a fort-
night, and from them voting papers are prepared for each
province and sent to the affiliated societies. The committee
scrutinizes the votes and declares the result in the Irish Home-
stead. Subscribers' representatives are similarly elected after the
other elections have taken place. Any person is considered to be
an individual member of the I.A.O.S. who has paid a subscription
of not less than £i for the current year, the first pound being
taken as a non-interest-bearing share.
The committee thus elected "shall have control of all business
carried on by or on account of the I.A.O.S., subject to the pro-
visions herein contained. It shall arrange the hours and place of
meeting, and shall meet as often as it is found necessary for the
transaction of the business of the I.A.O.S., provided that it shall
meet at least once a quarter." It "shall present an annual report
to the annual meeting," and may appoint sub-committees.
There are several sub-committees, of which the most important
is the office and finance committee, which carries on all the
routine business from month to month. It includes one repre-
sentative of each province, and four co-opted members. There
is also a creameries sub-committee made up in the same way,
and a smaller one to deal with the credit societies. The members
of the committee and all officers except the secretary and his
assistants are unpaid. The secretary and assistant secretaries are
appointed and removable by the committee.
The chief objection which appears to this constitution is that
it tends to overmuch centralization. All the executive work is
88 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
done from Dublin, and it is a very long journey from most of
the societies. Consequently the members of the office and finance
committee must be chosen from the very small number of those
who have opportunity to attend it; and as it is not practical for
the general committee to meet very frequently, power tends to
concentrate in the hands of two or three members and officials.
To meet this tendency of democracy to develop into bureau-
cracy, various efforts at decentralization have been made. The
final scheme was worked out by the committee and put into effect
in the early part of 1914, and was somewhat overshadowed by
the subsequent outbreak of war. Four provincial sub-committees
were organized, each consisting of the representatives of the
several provinces on the central committee, and having an office
in the centre of the province, with the senior organizer as secre-
tary. These bodies discuss local questions, and all proposals for
new societies, organizers7 reports and so forth come before them
in the first place. A system of devolution while retaining central
control is thus provided. In order to give further local repre-
sentation, each province is split up into "conference districts"
covering a certain number of societies. Each society sends a
delegate to the conference held in the centre of this district;
each conference elects a representative to the advisory committee
for the province. The advisory committee sits jointly with the
provincial sub-committee, and its members, though they have
no votes, have a strong consultative and advisory power. The
method by which this scheme should work is described as follows
in a leading article in the Irish Homestead (June 27, 1914):
"It is one of the chief arguments against this kind of meet-
ings . . . that the resolutions passed by them are carried no
further. This is unfortunately only too true; but now at least
there is no shadow of excuse for such a state of things. A confer-
ence is called at which, say, twenty-five to thirty societies are
represented, each by a delegate. These people will mostly be
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FORM AND FUNCTIONS 89
known to one another — they are in their own country on their own
business; we may expect they will pass such resolutions as are
important for them; we saw that at various recent conferences
resolutions were passed requiring figures of milk receipts and
butter returns to be incorporated into the auditor's return for
creameries. Very good. The resolution must be presented to the
provincial sub-committee at its next meeting; meanwhile the
same conference has chosen an advisory representative to assist
this sub-committee. It is his business, from which he should allow
nothing to turn him aside, to see that the resolution of his con-
ference receives thorough attention from the sub-committee. If
it is of local importance, it should be put into operation at once.
If it affects the whole country it is the business and duty of the
sub-committee to see that it is brought before the central com-
mittee at its next meeting; members of the sub-committee should
be there and should behave towards the resolution as if it was
a Bill they were introducing into Parliament. The committee
must consider it, and if it is approved it becomes the business of
the executive to act upon it. Then when the general meeting comes
along, if nothing has been done, we may confidently expect that
our advisory representative will have something to say. ..."
The constitution as outlined is apparently a model attempt to
solve the problem of providing democratic and decentralized
government without abolishing co-ordination and central control.
Its working in practice must depend upon the ability, goodwill
and enthusiasm with which the local bodies take it up, and as to
this it is at present too early to pass judgment.
In addition to the I.A.O.S. and to the trading bodies of the
movement, three further agencies of rural reconstruction in Ire-
land call for notice, all of them being, as it were, offshoots from
the parent stock. We may mention first the Irish Homestead, the
agricultural and co-operative paper which was founded in 1895
as the organ of the new movement, and has appeared weekly
go RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
ever since at the modest price of a penny. It has had many vicis-
situdes, alike in its editorship, ownership and finances, but finally
settled down in 1905 as an independent co-operatively owned
paper with Mr. George Russell (A. E.)* as editor. This versatile
man has had experience as bank organizer, assistant secretary of
the I.A.O.S., and many other things, and has earned fame as
painter, poet and mystical writer in addition to his reputation
as a brilliant yet practical journalist. As a result of his work in
its columns the Homestead has become known and widely quoted
in many countries, and is acknowledged by all who study the
subject to be one of the most inspiring papers of its kind in the
world. Unfortunately the state of co-operative education is not
yet sufficiently advanced to ensure a large paid circulation among
Irish farmers, and with the natural difficulty in getting advertise-
ments experienced by every propagandist paper, the Irish Home-
stead has never been in a particularly prosperous condition from
the financial point of view. As an educational and propagandist
medium it has, however, rendered incalculable service. The rela-
tions between the I.A.O.S. and the Irish Homestead have been
various and complicated, but since Mr. Russell became the editor,
the I.A.O.S. has exercised no control and has taken no respon-
sibility for its views, nor has it given the paper any subsidy. The
Homestead has thus been able, while continuing to act as the
organ of the movement and to work in close harmony with the
I.A.O.S., to speak as an independent observer. To this fact the
movement has been indebted for some candid and useful criti-
cism of its own work, and also for some outspoken comments on
other matters which could not have been uttered by officials or
by the I.A.O.S. as a whole. The editorial office is found in the
Plunkett House, and is made the goal of frequent pilgrimage
by inquirers from far and near who have heard of Mr. Russell's
* We beg the reader to avoid confusing the identities of Mr. George Russell and
Sir Thomas Russell, Vice-President of the Department of Agriculture, who, as will
appear in later chapters, are in all but name as widely sundered as the poles.
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FORM AND FUNCTIONS 91
fame, or know by personal experience the inspiration which he
can impart. The walls with their hand-painted mysteries are an
added attraction, and the range of subjects discussed in this
room is no narrow one.
Mr. Russell's influence was largely effective in the founding
of the society known as the United Irishwomen, which first began
work in the Plunkett House in November, 1911. This society, as
its name indicates, constitutes the women's branch of the co-
operative movement, and its object is to complete Sir Horace
Plunkett's formula by the achievement of "better living." In
pursuit of this object, the United Irishwomen have organized
between forty and fifty local societies or branches throughout
Ireland. The branches are composed of farmers' wives and
daughters and the women of the smaller country towns, who
receive lectures and instruction from organizers of the central
body in such useful subjects as home-brightening, poultry-
keeping and egg-production, gardening, village industries, and
so forth. Important work has also been done in the organization
of milk depots where fresh milk can be obtained for poor children
who have hitherto lacked it owing to scarcity or ignorance. Cocoa
is also supplied to school children, and village nurses have been
installed in co-operation with existing agencies. In one or two
places, co-operative egg societies have been started, and there is
one successful store which owes its origin to the United Irish-
women. The I.A.O.S. has also recently handed over its home
industries societies to the care of this body.
The work has been of an uphill nature owing to the apathy of
the country women, whose position in Ireland is a very hopeless
one, to the difficulty of obtaining suitable workers, and, above
all, to the lack of funds. The greatest success has been attained
in those places where it has been possible to have an organizer
living for some time among the people in a small cottage and
showing them how to make the most of their circumstances. A
notable example of this was seen in the home-brightening experi-
92 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
ment carried on at Dromore in Ulster. This work was done under
a special fund before the formation of the United Irishwomen,
and the latter body having to cover the whole of Ireland has had
a greater problem to face. The response to appeals for subscrip-
tions (the only method of supporting such work) has not been
very great, and the work has been kept going mainly by the
Pembroke Charities Fund and other special grants. In 1915,
however, a grant was received from the Carnegie United Kingdom
Trustees, which it is hoped will give the society new life and
enable it to realize its admirable ideals. The United Irishwomen
moved into new quarters in 1914 to allow more room for expan-
sion, and their place in the Plunkett House was taken by the
Co-operative Reference Library.
This newest foundation of the Irish co-operative movement
suffers to some extent from a misleading name. It is, in fact,
rather an economic institute than a mere library, its object being
to collect information from all countries as to the progress and
development of co-operation. The material is then treated in such
a way as to make it serviceable to practical workers in the British
Isles and to inquirers and students of the subject coming from
other countries. The library has had to fight against adverse
conditions since its foundation, owing to the outbreak of the
European War, which has rendered correspondence and exchange
of information exceedingly difficult. Nevertheless it has had a
rapid development and is beginning to be well known outside the
boundaries of the Irish movement. Some thousands of books and
pamphlets have been collected and scientifically classified so as
to be available for ready reference, and the staff has done a con-
siderable amount of research work in response to inquiries of the
co-operative societies, individual members, and even Government
Departments and Commissions. Thus a report was made at the
request of the I.A.O.S. and the I.A.W.S. and the Irish Co-
operative Conference Association on the capitalization of trade
federations, and a Commission appointed by the Government of
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FORM AND FUNCTIONS 93
Canada has employed the services of the librarian to report upon
agricultural co-operation in Europe and its possibilities in Canada.
During the first year a monthly bulletin was published dealing
with special subjects of interest to co-operators, and in 1915 this
was replaced by a quarterly magazine called Better Business,
which, though it has not yet had time to build up a large circu-
lation, has been very well received by students, and has contained
articles covering a wide range of economic subjects allied to
co-operation.
The library does not confine itself to the agricultural side of
the movement, but is also closely in touch with the industrial co-
operators, and endeavors to act as a connecting link between the
two. It deals in addition with various technical questions which
are vital to co-operators. Thus the dairying experts of the I.A.O.S.
are supplied with technical information from other countries, and
the questions of production, distribution and trade which have
arisen during the war have received considerable attention.
Inquirers from abroad — notably America and India — have visited
the library in considerable numbers, and several students have
spent periods varying from a few days to six months or more in
research work with this as their headquarters. Being situated
in the Plunkett House, in close touch with the practical work of
the I.A.O.S., the library is able to offer exceptional opportunities
to those who wish for a general co-operative training, and it is
interesting to note that the newly formed National Agricultural
Organization Society of America availed itself of these oppor-
tunities by sending over two men to be instructed in European
methods before taking up work as organizers in the United States.
The financial resources of this institution have been almost
wholly derived up to the present from the Carnegie United King-
dom Trustees, who have seen its potentialities for economic
education. The number of subscribing members is necessarily
small, but it is increasing and may be expected to reach a respect-
able total in times of peace. It is unfortunate that at present the
94
RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
central co-operative bodies of the United Kingdom have not been
able to render it independent of outside aid, but this will no doubt
follow on an improvement of their own financial position, and a
fuller realization of the usefulness of an institution which is still
in its infancy.
CHAPTER VI
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FINANCES
REFERENCE has been made in the previous chapter to the diffi-
culty experienced by the I A.O.S. in making itself financially self-
supporting. Those who have had experience of the same problem
in other countries will realize the necessity of the detailed analysis
which we shall now attempt and will not condemn the Irish move-
ment because it is here revealed in its least successful aspect.
In the first year after the foundation of the I. A.O.S. the avail-
able income was only £1427, which represented a fifth part of
the paid-up subscriptions. The next year's income was anticipated
slightly, and £1579 was spent. The same thing took place to a
greater extent the year following, and an appeal was made for
voluntary organizers. At the same time the leaders of the move-
ment insisted that societies must affiliate if they were to receive
benefits. Payment of a fee of £3 admitted a society to member-
ship in the LA.O.S., and an annual conference of co-operative
societies was held to which each affiliated society was entitled to
send one delegate for every hundred members.
In 1897 the number of affiliated societies was sixty-one, the
expenses were about £5500, and the central body was only saved
from bankruptcy by the timely generosity of Sir Henry Cochrane,
a Dublin manufacturer, who made a special donation of £5000.
But by the time of the annual general meeting of the next year
the funds were again practically exhausted. Yet all the leaders
of the movement were determined that the work must go on, and
there was an ever-increasing demand for organization coming
from the country districts. It was decided to issue a further
appeal for subscriptions for another period of five years, begin-
95
96 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
ning on January i, 1899. I*1 moving the report, Sir Horace said
he did so under peculiar circumstances:
"On the one hand I shall be able to show you that our Society
has, so far, fulfilled its purpose with astonishing success, and that
its power for good in the future is apparently unbounded. On
the other hand, the main question which will be before us to-day
is whether the existence of the Society can be continued. For,
long before another annual meeting can be held, the last of the
guaranteed subscriptions will have been paid, and our movement
will be arrested for having no visible means of support."
In the end, Sir Horace himself guaranteed f 1000, an anony-
mous donor promised an equal amount, and with aid from other
persons who responded to the appeal the crisis was overcome.
One cannot help being struck by the fact that the turnover of the
societies which owed everything to the I.A.O.S. was at this time
£400,000, and a contribution of i per cent., or about 2^d. in the
pound, would have made the central body almost self-supporting.
No such suggestion, however, was made during the discussion,
and we find in the next year that £500 was considered a most
encouraging total for the affiliation fees. As a natural conse-
quence, the original scheme for converting the I.A.O.S. into a
body controlled by the local societies was postponed for a further
five years.
In 1899 the whole question of finance was discussed. It was
decided that no help whatever should be given to unaffiliated
societies, and a definite rate of affiliation fees was fixed. Cream-
eries and agricultural societies were assessed los. per £1000
turnover, with a minimum of £3 and £i respectively, while credit
societies paid a minimum of 55., increasing by 25. 6d. to £i. It is
noticeable that even this moderate proposal brought out a number
of societies which absolutely refused to affiliate.
With the inauguration of the Department of Agriculture in
1900, and the appointment of Sir Horace Plunkett as its Vice-
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FINANCES 97
President, the position of the I.A.O.S. underwent a material
change. Up to this period the Society had taken upon itself a
large share of the burden of technical education in agriculture,
in addition to the work of organizing co-operative societies, and
a great deal of its energies had been devoted to this tremendous
and expensive task. It was apparent that the work should prop-
erly be undertaken by the State Department, and, in fact, this
was one of the fundamentals of the programme laid down for it.
But it was also apparent that in the period of organization it
would not be possible for the new body to assume all these func-
tions, and accordingly a grant was made to the I.A.O.S. to pay
for the cost of this work until such time as it could be handed
over. At the same time an anonymous gift of £1350 a year was
made, and it is now an open secret that this represented Sir
Horace's official salary as well as his ordinary subscription. With
a further gift of £1000 from Lord Dunsany, and Mr. Carnegie's
£500, the finances of the I.A.O.S. were vastly improved.
In 1901 some slight alterations in the scale of affiliation fees
were made, and the principle of non-assistance to unaffiliated
societies reaffirmed, but in the next year the income from this
source was only £623, although the turnover of the societies had
reached nearly a million and a quarter. In this year (1902) the
Society was again faced with increasing expenditure, and the
grants from Lord Dunsany and Mr. Carnegie were to cease. A
special circular was sent out to about 25,000 people, offering them
membership in the I.A.O.S. and free copies of its publications
(including the Irish Homestead) for £i a year. The experiment
cost £463, and the return was only £336, but some of the sub-
scriptions continued in after years. A more profitable appeal was
made by a deputation which collected £1500 from America.
The long-promised reorganization of the I.A.O.S. was carried
out in the beginning of the year 1904, when the election of the
committee was practically handed over to the affiliated societies.
The discussion which took place at the annual general meeting
98 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
revealed the fact that some of the larger and more flourishing
societies were dissatisfied and unwilling to pay affiliation fees
even on the modest scale in force at the time, claiming apparently
that they did not need assistance and that the I.A.O.S. was not
sufficiently representative. An attempt was made to limit the
affiliation fee payable by any one society to a maximum of £5.
This was defeated, but it was apparent that the committee was
unwilling to put any further pressure on societies to support the
movement. A significant feature was the reading of two papers
advocating on slightly different lines the extension of the co-
operative credit societies in such a way that they might provide
capital for the movement and work in closer connection with the
trade federations. This idea, which has proved most successful
in Germany, was not, however, followed up. During the next two
years the I.A.O.S. was in better circumstances, owing partly to
the formulation of a definite scheme by which the Department
provided funds for organizing co-operative credit and home in-
dustry societies, and more to the efforts of a special committee
under Mr. W. E. Holmes, who collected donations to the amount
of £7750 in one year. At the same time it began to be realized
that the I.A.O.S. must soon expect to stand independently of
State aid, and efforts were made to increase the affiliation fees
and to supplement them by special subscriptions to be collected
from individual members of societies in proportion to their turn-
over. The break with the Department, which took place on Sir
Horace's retirement, and which is discussed elsewhere, brought
this matter to a head. By 1908 this break was complete and the
I.A.O.S., which had been in receipt of about £3700 a year or
£18,000 in all, from this source, was left to stand alone. At the
same time it was able to discard most of the work of technical
instruction, and the arousing of a new spirit of independence
among farmers who had been inclined to rely upon Government
aid was a valuable asset. Considerable progress was made on a
smaller income, and the scheme of special subscriptions took
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FINANCES 99
practical shape. However, by 1909 we find things again growing
desperate, and the Society was only saved by the interposition
of the Pembroke Charities Trust with a grant of £2000. Further
help was given by Mr. Samuel Figgis, a London merchant, and
by a voluntary committee in Ulster.
Meanwhile the British Government had set up a body known
as the Developing Commissioners, which was empowered to spend
a certain sum of money each year for the purpose of aiding and
developing agriculture in the United Kingdom. One of the
methods expressly suggested was that of the "organization of
co-operation," and it was felt that this could best be accomplished
by making grants in aid of the bodies which were already under-
taking that work. Accordingly in 1910, the committee of the
I.A.O.S. submitted a case for such a grant to the Develop-
ment Commissioners. The report announces this decision in the
following words:
"Affiliation fees and special subscriptions from societies, while
showing a satisfactory increase over the previous year, still fall
short of the figure which should represent the contribution of the
beneficiaries of the movement. [They were, as a matter of fact,
£1200 on a turnover of £2,395,000.] It is scarcely to be expected
that existing societies should find all the funds required to extend
co-operative organization to new districts, but it is disappointing
to find that the funds contributed from this source still fall short
of what is needed to provide efficient and regular supervision over
the existing societies, or even to furnish such advice and help as
the affiliated societies demand. The situation calls for a better
system of levying contributions from societies. Some — and those
by no means the most prosperous — contribute liberally and un-
grudgingly, while others either give nothing at all or at most
pay affiliation fees on the scale laid down without making any
attempt to levy subscriptions from their members. The move-
ment does not yet realize that, if it is to be held together, to say
ioo RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
nothing of giving expression to its views and making its wants
known, it is necessary to maintain in a state of active efficiency
a central body, through which it can speak and act, which will
safeguard its interests and perform all the functions of a farmers7
trade union. . . ."
The application for £6612 went forward to the Treasury in
January, 1911, was referred to the Department of Agriculture
for Ireland, and was promptly held up. The kindred societies in
England and Scotland received grants immediately; the I.A.O.S.
waited some two years while Mr. T. W. Russell (now Sir
Thomas), the new Vice-President, exploited every means which
the trading interests who dictated his policy were able to devise
to block the whole grant. His efforts included the putting forward
of a scheme of "non-controversial co-operation" which was of so
ridiculous a nature that it received consideration from no one,
least of all the Development Commissioners. The application was
passed, with certain conditions, by this body in 1912, and the
Treasury then instituted a further period of delay. Fortunately
the American Commission appointed to investigate agricultural
co-operation in Europe visited Ireland in June, 1913, and when
the authorities realized that the programme would include a
public discussion of the relations between governmental and
voluntary agencies in promoting co-operation, they decided to
adopt a safer policy.
The first instalment of the grant reached Ireland in the same
week as the Commission of Inquiry. The history of the two years
of delay was one of constant begging from philanthropic sup-
porters, payment of debts by Sir Horace Plunkett, perpetual
excess of expenditure over income, and appeals to the societies
to increase their contributions. The whole movement suffered
considerably as a result of this period of suspense and tension.
The first grant made was for £2000 arrears in respect of the
period ending July i, 1912, and £1500 for the nine months ending
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FINANCES 101
March 31, 1913. A further grant not exceeding £4000 was sanc-
tioned for the year 1913-1914 on the basis of £i for every £i
received in affiliation fees, subscriptions and donations. The
amount actually earned was £3822; the Development Commis-
sioners approved of the expenditure, and the grant was renewed
for the years 1915 and 1916. The original terms were found to
be unsatisfactory in two respects: in the first place, it was felt
that the amount of the grant should be made to depend on the
contributions of the societies themselves rather than on those
of philanthropists; and, in the second place, it was discovered
that there was no provision made for the paying off of any
arrears, as the Treasury would only allow for the actual excess
of expenditure over income within the financial year, so that
the Society was constantly liable to increase, and could never
diminish, its accumulated debt. These difficulties have now been
got over by modifications in the terms of the grant.
The conditions attached to this grant were more strict than
those imposed in the case of either the English or the Scottish
societies. The I.A.O.S. was called upon "to eschew party politics
and to restrict its operations to purely agricultural business,"
but a demand that it should expel societies which without its
"suggestion, advice or assistance" embarked upon other kinds
of co-operation was withdrawn. It was prohibited from giving
any assistance whatever to affiliated societies, and new societies
must embody in their rules an undertaking to affiliate. The
Development Commissioners are entitled to a representation on
the I.A.O.S. committee of not more than eleven nominees, and
are empowered "by audit and inspection (to) satisfy all who
may have any doubt upon the matter that the work of the office
and organizing staff is strictly limited to aiding and developing
agriculture."
In two respects these conditions hamper the work of the
I.A.O.S. First, they render it unable to meet the great demand
for general co-operative stores which undoubtedly exists in the
102 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
country. Secondly, the presence of nominees on the committee
obviously implies a danger to free development. These consid-
erations, taken together with the natural feeling that the I.A.O.S.
should now be independent of any outside help, have caused
the leaders to persevere in the attempt to make the farmers
support their own movement. Furthermore, the past debts of
the Society remain to be paid off (notably large obligations to
the President) while the expenditure continues to increase and
the contributions from individuals have naturally fallen off under
the pressure of war conditions. In any case, it is doubtful
whether the Treasury, although somewhat reluctantly consenting
to an emergency grant to meet the effects of the war, will con-
tinue to subsidize the I.A.O.S. on the present scale in face of
the growing demand for economy of public moneys.
The task of arousing societies to a realization of these facts
has fallen largely upon the secretary of the I.A.O.S. Mr. Anderson
has used both the report and the annual meeting, as well as
many committee meetings, as media for an attempt to stir up
an enthusiasm on the point. The result is not altogether satis-
factory. A full analysis is given in the report for the year ending
June 30, 1914, from which the following table is taken:
Average
Classification
Creameries
Agricultural
Credit
Poultry
Industries
Pig and cattle
Flax
Federations
Miscellaneous
No.
Members
430
46,106
193
19,970
235
2O,2 1 1
18
5,294
18
1,212
52
1,730
10
470
2
28l
27
9,492
Contri-
per F
bution
Society Men
£
£ s. d. <
1425
363 7}
184
O 19 O 2*
85
072 I
f!
i 14 5 i/
2
009 3
6
ffi
O 12 O 3j
d.
985 104,766 £1791
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FINANCES 103
The following comment is made:
"Had all the societies making returns (exclusive of the federa-
tions) paid their proper quota in affiliation fees, the income from
this source alone would have amounted to £1475, whereas the
total sum received under this head was but £918. . . . A sub-
scription of even is. per head from the 46,106 members of the
dairy societies would have produced £2305, while 6d. per head
from the members of all the other societies would have repre-
sented no less than £1457, or a total individual subscription from
the movement of £3762, whereas the total special subscription
from societies' members amounted to £873."
The suggestion to levy a shilling from individuals, and a
further attempt by means of a special "debt of honor fund" to
collect sufficient from the societies to pay off the obligations to
the President were unsuccessful, and a new scheme is now in
operation by which societies are urged to collect one halfpenny
in the pound from each individual on his transactions. That the
affiliation fees and subscriptions are gradually increasing is shown
by the following statement:
Average
Contri- per per
Year Societies butions Society Member
£ £ s. d. d.
1912 947 1587 i 13 6 3.74
1913 985 1791 i 16 3 4.10
1914 . . 1023 1970 i 18 6 4.45
1915 . . 991 2595 2 12 4 6.07
But this increased support has coincided with a greater in-
crease in expenditure, which was £6000 in 1912, £8500 in 1913,
£10,000 in 1914, and £11,000 in 1915. The turnover in 1915,
exclusive of the federations, was £4,100,000.
Naturally the facts which we have set down have given an
opportunity to enemies as well as to friendly critics to point out
that the "self-help" feature is not prominent in the finances of
104 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
the movement. The question may always be asked: If this move-
ment has done so much for the farmers, why do they not support
it themselves? Several answers may be suggested. In the first
place, there has evidently been a certain lack of discipline in the
Irish co-operative movement, as compared with that of other
countries. Farmers have been allowed to enjoy the privileges of
membership without being brought to recognize their source and
without sufficient insistence upon the attendant responsibilities,
and like all people who have had the opportunity of getting some-
thing for nothing they are now unwilling to pay full value. This
state of things arose out of the enthusiasm of the earlier workers,
who were determined that the movement should go ahead, and
found it impossible to move the farmers by any except the most
gentle and persuasive methods. In other countries, where the idea
of discipline was far more acceptable, the process has been easier.
Secondly, the State has done infinite harm by its rapid alter-
nations between subsidizing and violent opposition. The former
attitude, which is only too readily accepted in Ireland, tended to
weaken the spirit of self-reliance and hamper the free develop-
ment of policy. The latter has prevented the movement from
attaining its full usefulness and has confused the minds of the
farmers and the people generally.
In the third place, the failure of the credit societies to expand
and to become the centres of deposit for the people's savings has
prevented the establishment of a strong central credit society.
At the same time, the creameries have never achieved a real
marketing agency, so that it may be said that federation is weak
in the movement. In most countries the central credit societies
are able to provide capital for trading federations, and these in
their turn can support the propagandist work. The complete
separation of function and finances of the I.A.O.S. and the
I.A.W.S. is another cause of weakness. These questions will be
further discussed in subsequent chapters.
Finally, it should be noted that there exists a very clear dis-
THE I.A.O.S.: ITS FINANCES 105
tinction, which has frequently been alluded to in the reports of
recent years, between the two functions of the I.A.O.S., that of
supporting and advising existing societies and that of organizing
new ones. It is probable that if a clear division could be made
between the moneys appropriated to these two functions the
existing societies could be persuaded to contribute sufficient to
pay for the services rendered to them (as, for instance, they now
make the Auditing Department of the I.A.O.S. practically
self-supporting), and the work of breaking new ground would
then become a proper object for State aid and philanthropic
contribution.
CHAPTER VII
THE CREAMERIES
No greater silent revolution has been effected in Ireland than
that which has transformed the butter-making industry during
the last twenty-five years from an unorganized, slovenly and
unprofitable process, which went far to strengthen the English
suspicion of the "dirtiness" of all that came out of Ireland, into
a thoroughly organized and profitable one, which bids fair to
give Irish butter a leading position on the British market. The
chief credit for this revolution must undoubtedly be given to the
co-operative movement, which is here seen in its most successful
aspect.
In the early part of the nineteenth century, when the making
of butter in all countries was carried out by the individual farmer
without the aid of machinery, and when the facilities of cold
storage and quick transport were undeveloped, the Irish farmer
enjoyed an enormous advantage by reason of his close proximity
to the great markets of England and Scotland. In those days
successful and profitable dairy farming could be carried on in
the rich valleys of Tipperary and Limerick without the necessity
of any undue exertion or the application of modern methods
of tillage or manufacture. The consumer had not yet come to
demand uniformity of quality, flavor or output, and consequently,
if the farmer was able to make a large amount in the summer
season, he could afford to remain idle during the winter, con-
fident in the fact that he would be equally well off next year, as
soon as the milk began to flow again. "Shop butter" was con-
demned by all discriminating persons, who bought direct from
106
THE CREAMERIES 107
farmers wherever possible, and worried very little about occa-
sional variations in flavor, which were always ascribed to inju-
dicious experiments in pastures new on the part of the cows.
This happy state of things began to be rudely disturbed from
about 1860 onwards. The war between Prussia and Denmark,
coming at a time when agriculture was already beginning to
change its character under pressure from distant countries, was
just what was needed to show the businesslike Dane that his
methods required complete overhauling. Denmark, once a coun-
try of extensive cultivation of wheat and other cereals, began
with startling rapidity to devote her attention to the production
of breakfast-table requirements, and was soon covered with a
network of creameries equipped with the most modern and
scientific appliances.
At the same time various broad changes in agricultural methods
began to take place. Improvements, both in the speed of trans-
port and in the facilities for cold storage during long voyages,
brought other hemispheres close to the English markets — the
greatest centre of consumption in the world. Thus, on the one
hand, the farmer found that the market for some of his produce
was destroyed, and that he must specialize in certain things, and,
on the other hand, the possibility of importing food-stuffs and
artificial fertilizers (and, later, machinery) at reasonable prices
made the old methods of farming cumbrous and uneconomic.
Most European nations profited very quickly by these lessons,
but the majority of Irish farmers, who had no one to instruct or
help them, and comparatively little contact with the outside
world, and who were still more or less crushed by the effects of
the Great Famine, paid little or no heed to the changes. While
the Danes and the French learnt to feed their cows on imported
food and on crops grown on their tilled and fertilized land, and
to standardize and ensure both the quality and quantity of their
butter, the Irish went on opening and shutting gates, trusting
to Providence to send good green grass, and to the public to keep
io8 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
on buying the butter they had been accustomed to buy. When
they found that the public would not pay the old prices for this
butter, they laid the blame on the tariffs, the railway companies,
the landlords — anything but their own methods. And the Govern-
ment, as is usual with a British Government where agriculture
is in question, did nothing to enlighten them.
Meanwhile the butter from Denmark and France, and later,
as transport facilities improved, that from Canada and New
Zealand, began to make itself favorably known on the English
markets. The consumer soon got a new idea of what butter
should be, and began to demand a uniform product which could
always be bought all the year round, and would always taste the
same. A few countrybred people remained, and still remain, con-
stant to the idea that good "farmer's" or "home-made" butter
was the only kind that had "a real taste of butter"; but the vast
majority, once introduced to modern creamery butter, refused
to tolerate anything else. This fact was soon reflected in the price,
and by about 1885 Irish butter was the cheapest on the market,
and universally condemned — having to be sold surreptitiously
under some other name. As a natural consequence the making
of it — having become unprofitable and, therefore, unpopular — was
abandoned by the better farmers, and it rapidly deteriorated.
So it is that in the eighties we find a Member of Parliament
stating that Irish butter was chiefly used for the adulteration of
oleomargarine; and this remark, which was quit§ seriously
intended, was almost literally true.
By the year 1889, when the pioneers of the co-operative move-
ment first came upon the scene, the Irish dairying industry was
threatened with ruin. Sir Horace Plunkett and his followers were
not slow to realize what this would mean to Ireland; they saw
that it could only be averted by a complete change in two direc-
tions: first, technique; and, secondly, marketing. The co-opera-
tive idea was already in their minds, but only as associated with
THE CREAMERIES 109
distribution after the English model.* They saw, however, that
the same principles could probably be applied to dairying, and
would be specially effective in dealing with both these points;
and they felt that if this were so, it would be the most important
use to which co-operation could be turned in Ireland. An investi-
gation of dairying conditions in Scandinavia carried out by Mr.
Anderson thoroughly confirmed this impression, and the effort
at organization was immediately begun.
At this point it is worth while to make a brief digression to
consider exactly what Denmark had done and has done in respect
to these two points of technique and marketing.
Up to about 1850 Danish butter, whose pungent nature earned
it the title of "forty-rod butter," was so bad that the best of it
was sold at about 6d. a pound to German merchants; but the
practice was brought to an end by the war of 1848. Thereafter
a certain amount of butter from large estates was exported
direct to England in sailing ships, but the average farmer's
product remained very indifferent. At the same time a host of
middlemen flourished on the trade. After the second war of 1865,
however, in which Schleswig-Holstein was lost to Denmark, and
the German market practically closed, Danish agriculture rapidly
changed its character, and the production of butter became one
of the most important sources of income.
"Individual Danish wholesale butter merchants specialized
their trade, and arranged with the estate dairies for the weekly
delivery of their butter production; others started export butter-
packing factories. On certain days the farmers delivered their
butter to these factories, where it was sorted, remade, and packed
in small wooden casks for immediate shipment to England. These
wholesale butter exporters quickly realized the advantage of
selling direct to the English wholesale and retail butter merchants,
and avoiding the expense of English commission agents. They
* See pages 53 ff .
no RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
traveled to England, interviewed the English wholesale and
retail butter merchants, and henceforward they did their business
direct, at first with the English wholesale merchants, later with
the English retail merchants. The English buyers arranged to
wire every Wednesday the quantity of butter that should be
shipped to them next day f.o.b. Copenhagen. The English buyers
paid the freight, and the price was to be that current on the
Copenhagen butter market on the day of shipment." *
In 1879 the introduction of the separator made it desirable
to set up creameries that would buy raw milk from small farmers
and manufacture butter from it. This work was undertaken at
first by capitalists, who met with little success because the interest
of the farmers did not extend beyond the milk, and "because
these private dairies were unable to turn the dairy offal, skim-
milk, etc., to profitable account." These points were met by the
co-operative dairies which sprang up between 1880 and 1890. At
first their standard was low, but by 1895, by their speedy adop-
tion of the new methods of refrigeration, pasteurization and
"starters," they advanced beyond the estate dairies. The holding
of butter shows under State supervision, together with the enforce-
ment of loyalty among suppliers, paved the way to the present
complete system of co-operative marketing of a standardized
product.
It is not surprising that on Mr. Anderson's return from observ-
ing the beginnings of these developments, the Irish reformers
should have been stirred to emulation. We have seen how during
the years 1889 and 1890 fifty fruitless meetings were held in the
attempt to organize a creamery. The first success came in 1890;
there were seventeen in 1891, and no less than sixty-seven (sell-
ing £185,000 worth of butter) by 1895.
The form of organization of a co-operative creamery in Ireland
* J. J. Dunne, "Dairying in Denmark," Better Business, vol. ii, No. 2, February,
1917-
THE CREAMERIES in
has changed very little since that date. The Rochdale principles,
which we have described already, were adopted, and have been
preserved. Shares were fixed in proportion to the number of cows
owned by the intending shareholder. The original number pre-
scribed was one £i share for every cow, and although the amount
seems to have become less adequate in the face of the increased
expense required by a modern creamery, it has remained un-
altered.
The most obvious requirement for the success of a co-operative
creamery is that it should be assured of a steady supply of milk
adequate to its equipment. A creamery built and equipped to
cope with the supply from 1000 cows must almost certainly be
wrecked if it ceases to obtain the milk of more than 500. For
this reason it is essential that farmers who take part in the promo-
tion of a creamery should continue to support it. Unfortunately
it was found that neither the business sense nor the loyalty of
co-operators was always proof against the temptations offered
by rival buyers, or even against the mere capricious desire to try
a new market. Consequently it became necessary to learn another
lesson from Denmark, and to enforce the loyalty of members
by a rule binding them to supply to their creamery all the milk
not required for domestic consumption. In 1900 we find the fol-
lowing passage in the I.A.O.S. report:
"A very important and significant step has been taken by some
of the new societies. Their members have given an undertaking
to supply milk to their creamery for a term of years sufficiently
long to ensure its success. The committee of a society which holds
such a guarantee from its members can, with perfect safety,
pledge their credit to obtain a sufficient overdraft from their
bankers."
By the next year a considerable advance had been made, the
new societies having voluntarily adopted the following rule :
ii2 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
"Any member who shall without the consent in writing of the
committee supply milk to any creamery other than that owned
by the society, for the space of three years from the date of his
admission to membership, shall forfeit his shares, together with
all money credited thereon."
Considerable legal controversy took place as to the validity of
this "binding rule," and the I.A.O.S. was advised that the enforce-
ment of the penalty was ultra vires. After taking the best advice,
it was decided to incorporate in all the new creamery rules a form
of contract. Every member who agrees to be bound by the rules
automatically accepts this contract. The society is bound, on the
one hand, to accept all the milk of its members, provided it is
delivered fresh and in good condition, and to pay for it at the
rate fixed by the committee. The individual member, on the other
hand, is bound not to sell milk to any other "creamery company,
person, or persons who sell milk or manufacture butter for sale."
Any breach entails a payment "as and for liquidated damages
and not by way of penalty" of one shilling per cow per day in
respect of all cows involved. Exceptions are provided in case of
accident, labor or trade dispute, or infectious disease, and the
committee has the power to refuse further purchases instead of
levying the damages. Action has been taken from time to time
under this rule, and has been frequently challenged in the law
courts, with varying results; but recent decisions in the Court
of Appeal seem to have established its validity beyond further
dispute. The rule is undoubtedly of the greatest value in ensuring
the safety of a creamery, but so long as non-members — who, of
course, are not bound by the rules — are allowed to supply milk,
there will always be a number of farmers who, from unwillingness
to bind themselves, will refuse to take shares. This practice intro-
duces a distinctly unco-operative and even unbusinesslike element
into the working of the creameries. Unfortunately, in spite of the
THE CREAMERIES 113
exhortations of the I.A.O.S. and the provisions of the Act,* there
are many creameries in which the number of members remains
stationary while the number of suppliers increases.
The same rule contains a clause dealing with overlapping,
which lays down the principle that no society shall receive sup-
plies from an area already covered by a similar creamery. No
hard-and-fast rule can be enforced as to the area to be covered,
but the organizers of the I.A.O.S. usually demand a guaranteed
supply from 800 to 1200 cows within a radius of from five to six
miles before starting a central creamery. In large areas with a
scattered population it has been found desirable to build auxiliary
creameries which merely separate the member's milk and forward
the cream to a central society within easy hauling distance. These
are of two kinds, either separately managed and registered
societies, working in conjunction with a central, or mere branch
establishments entirely owned by the members of the central
society. The latter are known as "part and parcel auxiliaries,"
and are, of course, not separately registered.
There has been very considerable difference of opinion as to
the relative merits of the two forms of auxiliary; but on the whole
the arguments in favor of the separately registered type have
gained the day. Separate registration enables members of the
auxiliary to carry on other business, such as collective purchase,
and also to obtain credit. It ensures a better supervision owing
to keener local interest, and also enables the auxiliary to effect
a new affiliation should its central give up the business, or fail
to give satisfaction. The "part and parcel" system is apt to lead
to that spreading of control over an area too large for personal
intercourse which co-operative societies should always seek to
avoid. On the other hand, there is some difficulty in arranging
the relations between a central and a separately registered aux-
* Under the provisions of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act a society
is liable to income tax if it limits the number of its members and at the same time
does business with non-members.
ii4 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
iliary in such a way as to avoid disputes, and in spite of a very
carefully drawn model form of agreement, the I.A.O.S. is fre-
quently called in to arbitrate. The testing of the amount of the
butter-fat in the cream sent to the central, which is the basis of
payment, requires delicate handling, and originally caused so
much difficulty as to make the system seem somewhat unwork-
able; but with increased experience this difficulty has been
largely overcome. The reports of the I.A.O.S. for 1900-1902 show
considerable enthusiasm for the auxiliary system, and it seems
to have been felt that the future of co-operative dairying lay
largely in this direction. There has, however, been a gradual
revulsion, caused by the failure of some auxiliaries which were
started with insufficient reason, where cartage would have solved
the problem, and by the feeling that all co-operative societies
should, if possible, be locally controlled and independent. Unless
500 gallons a day can be ensured, it is probable that cart-
ing— which can be done for id. to 3d. a gallon — is more economi-
cal for any distance up to eight miles. Shipping cream by rail is
rendered almost prohibitive by the rates charged, and this
method is only employed in one or two cases in the whole country.
For a successful auxiliary it is estimated that the supply from
500 to 600 cows should be available, and the cost of erection and
equipment will be about £1000, as compared with £2000 to £2500
for a central.* These considerations seem to suggest that the
development of the auxiliary system in future will be strictly
limited.
The control of a co-operative creamery is in the hands of a
committee of management elected by the members at a general
meeting. The committee appoints its chairman, and also the man-
ager, secretary, and other employees of the society. A general
meeting of the members is held yearly, and one-fourth of the
committee retire by rote at each such meeting, and are eligible
* Under present conditions, which we may hope are abnormal, these figures are
well below the mark.
THE CREAMERIES 115
for re-election. The powers of the committee are very wide,
including that of entering into all engagements and making loans
or borrowing money on behalf of the society. The general meet-
ing is bound to elect a public auditor who will submit a certified
statement to each annual general meeting.
The price of milk is fixed from time to time by the committee
at so much per gallon, according to the percentage of butter-fat
contained in it. The price should be based on the amount received
for butter, with a reasonable margin for all standing charges,
working expenses, reserves, etc. A sample of each member's milk
is taken on delivery, and tested for butter-fat, and at the end of
each month (or in some cases each fortnight) payment is made
on the basis of this test for the amount of butter-fat actually
received by the society, according to the price fixed. The skim-
milk is returned to the supplier, and is used for the feeding of
pigs, calves, etc. In spite of an idea which is still held by some old-
fashioned people that skim-milk is bad for calves, this privilege
is very greatly appreciated, and has the effect of drawing many
suppliers to the co-operative creamery.*
Any surplus accumulated during the year as a result of paying
a lower price than the milk actually earned is appropriated in
accordance with Rule 72, which reads:
"The net profits of the society, after payment of interest on
loan capital, shall be applied as follows:
"(a) To the payment of interest, which shall not be cumula-
tive, on paid-up share capital, not exceeding 5 per cent.
"(£) To reserve fund, at the rate of not less than 10 per cent,
of the total net profit, until such reserve fund shall at least equal
the nominal share capital of the society.
"(c) To a dividend to persons employed by the society and
to members at an equal rate in the pound, calculated on the
*It may be mentioned that in Danish creameries a good deal of the working
capital is derived by charging a small price for this separated milk.
n6 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
amount of their wages and their trade respectively, during
period to which the division relates.
"(d) To the creation of a fund for promoting co-operative
organization."
There are two unfortunate features connected with this rule.
In the first place, by the use of the word "profits" it lends the
authority of the co-operative movement itself to the prevalent
theory that co-operative societies make profits. As a natural
corollary, these societies have now been brought within the scope
of the excess profits duty, and the old agitation conducted by
interested parties against the exemption from income tax has
been renewed with great vigor. Properly speaking, there is no
such thing as profit in a co-operative society; the apparent sur-
plus represents an amount held back from the price due for milk,
which is kept as a reserve against risks, and, if not required for
this purpose, must be returned to the persons to whom it be-
longs— namely, the suppliers. The idea of profit involves an
absurdity, as it suggests that the members in their corporate
capacity are trying to get the better of themselves in their
individual capacity.
In the second place, the term "reserve fund" has never been
defined, and as a consequence the vast majority of Irish cream-
eries do not comply with the spirit of the rules at all, but simply
carry forward their accumulated surplus year by year as "balance
disposable," and the I.A.O.S. has tacitly encouraged this practice
by including these sums in its statistics under the heading
"reserve funds." This gives a misleading idea of the financial
position of the societies, and the members frequently think that
the whole amount under this head is available for division in
cash, and should be so used, whereas it is usually locked up in
buildings and equipment and offset by a bank overdraft. An
energetic effort is now being made for reform in this direction,
THE CREAMERIES 117
and several progressive societies have written off the whole value
of their buildings and plant.
This brings us naturally to a consideration of the financial
methods of a co-operative creamery. The problem of capital has
always been a difficult one, and it is held by many that the
present methods are inadequate. Shares, as we have remarked,
are of the value of £i, and are usually held in the proportion of
one share per cow. But of this amount only 2s. 6d. is payable on
allotment, and further calls are at the discretion of the com-
mittee, and are seldom made. It follows that the money required
for equipment must be largely borrowed. By an arrangement
made between the I.A.O.S. and the joint-stock banks, the latter
agree to lend money at a flat rate of 4 per cent, to all affiliated
co-operative societies, and practically all the creameries avail
themselves of these favorable terms. Unfortunately, however, the
banks do not recognize the societies as such, but insist upon a
collective note from the members of the committee, so that in
case of necessity they will be able to proceed against one or two
prominent persons for the whole amount of the loan. The com-
mittee members in turn must protect themselves, and this they
do as a rule by the issue of loan guarantee shares. Every
member may be obliged to take one of these shares with every
ordinary share he holds. The nominal value is £i, but only is.
is paid, and the rest is payable only on liquidation, when the
amount so raised is applied to paying off the debts of the society.
Another method is for the members to sign a collective letter of
indemnity to the committee, but the process of collection would
probably be slow. The unsatisfactory feature of this arrange-
ment, apart from the fact that the stability of the creameries is
made dependent on the goodwill of the banks, lies in the fact
that no committee man can be removed from office as long as
he is a guarantor, and thus the feature of democratic control
tends to be weakened. As a working arrangement, however, it
has so far proved to be satisfactory.
n8 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
Figures are given in Appendix I showing the proportion of
owned capital to loan capital and turnover respectively in the
four provinces. While they reveal the fact that the capital of
the societies is small, it will be found to compare favorably with
that obtained in other countries, and it must be remembered that
the creameries have a great advantage over supply societies or
stores, in that they usually get paid for their butter before they
pay for the milk from which it is made. They are, however,
frequently slow in paying off overdrafts, writing down their
equipment, and paying for goods purchased, and it seems as if
for this and other reasons there would be a great deal to be said
for adopting the practice usual in other countries of having shares
fully paid up in the course of three or four years by means of
instalments withheld from the price paid for milk. The figures
show that the capital per member at present is very small when
we consider that dairy farmers are a comparatively prosperous
class, and are deriving great material benefit from the creameries.
The actual amount of benefit accruing to farmers is hard to
estimate definitely. But the decrease in the number of proprietary
factories and creameries, and the diminished production of
"farmers' butter," taken in conjunction with the greatly increased
output, both in quantity and value, of Irish butter, shows that to
this form of organization more than to any other credit is due
for the improvement which has taken place in the last twenty
years. The official statistics of exports and imports, from which
extracts are given in Appendix VII, illustrate the increase
referred to, and the rise of butter in importance, as compared
with other Irish products. Meanwhile the number of creamery
societies has increased steadily, and though the end is not yet,
there are no large dairying sections in the country where the
co-operative seed has not been planted. The details of this growth,
as well as a table showing the geographical distribution of the
existing societies, will be found in Appendix I. In number,
membership and value of business the creameries are the most
THE CREAMERIES 119
important group of co-operative societies in Ireland, and their
success alone would justify the policy inaugurated by Sir Horace
Plunkett.
In addition to the actual production of butter, many of these
creameries carry on various subsidiary enterprises for the benefit
of their members. Of these the most common is the collective
purchase of agricultural requirements of all kinds, in districts
where no special society has been formed for that purpose. The
creameries also do a large trade in eggs and poultry, which they
collect from their members and sell either through the Irish
Agricultural Wholesale Society or direct. An important develop-
ment, which has received a new impetus under war conditions,
is that of setting up mills to be worked by the power which is
already available at the creamery. There is no doubt that wheat-
growing could be largely stimulated in many parts of the country
if facilities were provided for converting the crop into flour for
home consumption. At present it is frequently forty miles or
more to the nearest mill, and after the wheat reaches the mill
the producer is entirely in the hands of the miller. Irish wheat
is not well adapted for making modern white bread, unless mixed
with foreign varieties; but it is excellent for home-made whole-
meal bread, which is much more nourishing and wholesome.
Every encouragement is therefore being given by the I.A.O.S.
to creameries to undertake this business, as they can do it in a
safer and more economical way than a new society which would
have to erect a special plant. Even in districts where there is
little prospect of wheat-growing there is usually an opportunity
for a simpler form of crushing-mill for converting home-grown
oats into fodder, making maize meal, and for similar purposes,
and there are already many creameries deriving great advantages
from an inexpensive equipment of this kind.
One further activity of the creameries is the lending of money
to suppliers at some periods of the year, against the security of
their milk. This practice might be a very useful one if it were
120 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
regularized by the addition of a proper banking branch to the
society; but as it stands at present it is discouraged by the
I.A.O.S., as abuses — among others, those of lending for unpro-
ductive purposes, and to suppliers who are not members — are
liable to spring up.
The success of the co-operative movement is shown very
clearly by the gradual elimination of its competitors. The output
of factories and proprietary creameries is on the decline, al-
though, unfortunately, no figures on the subject are available.
The word "creamery" has come to be synonymous with co-
operative society throughout the country. But, in spite of this,
the creameries are scarcely more free from competition in sale
than they were at the beginning of the movement, for the unfor-
tunate reason that they have not yet been convinced of the neces-
sity of not competing with one another. In other words, although
the process of manufacture has been organized and the technique
improved to a degree which rivals the progress of Denmark, the
problem of marketing the product remains almost untouched.
Yet the importance of this problem was understood from the very
beginning, and several attempts were made to deal with it.
As early as the year 1892 a federation was established under
the name of the Irish Co-operative Agency Society, Ltd., with
headquarters at Limerick, and offices and stores at Manchester,
whose main purpose was to market the butter of co-operative
creameries, and incidentally to purchase the requirements of
affiliated societies. During the first year of its existence it was
involved in one of the perennial lawsuits which have always
afflicted co-operative pioneers, and was also crippled by bad
debts. Between these two causes all of its capital disappeared
before the end of the year. Its leaders, however, persevered, and
were able to act as a purchasing agency for the first agricultural
societies which bought guaranteed and tested manures. With this
help the Agency finally recovered and worked up a turnover of
£77,000 by the year 1895. The membership in this year increased
THE CREAMERIES 121
from sixteen to forty- two societies, each of which took twenty £i
shares, on which 55. od. a share was payable on application, the
remainder being made up out of profits due the societies. A dis-
cussion on the subject of the federation at the annual conference
of co-operative societies in this year revealed a feeling among
some delegates that they ought not to be bound to the Agency
in any way, and unfortunately this point was conceded without
argument. The natural result was that all societies, except those
of strong co-operative faith, sold through the Agency only when
the market was bad, and at other times cheerfully accepted high
prices from other quarters. Consequently, the Agency was unable
to do its business in the most effective way, and soon got a bad
name for its prices. Several delegates, however, generously
acknowledged the great services which the Agency had already
rendered to farmers, and it was stated that it had made the keep-
ing of a cow 25 per cent, more profitable. A sub-committee of
inquiry was appointed to investigate the prospects, and reported
in 1897. Its conclusions were that the work of the Agency was
being well done, but that the support accorded to it in the matter
both of trade and of capital was inadequate. The creameries
were said to show indifference to it, and a tendency to dump bad
butter on it. The recommendations made to meet this state of
things were: First, more trade should be done with retailers, and
more advertisement should be indulged in. As a preliminary to
these developments a strenuous effort was to be made to increase
the capital. Secondly, a commission of 2^2 per cent, should be
charged on regular consignments from members, while irregular
ones should be dealt with according to circumstances. Thirdly,
headquarters should be moved to Dublin and augmented by a
retail department. Fourthly, provincial representation on the
committee was to be accorded in proportion as dairying increased
in the various districts. The establishment of an ice-making
company, and the issuing of a prospectus were also urged. Mean-
while, in 1896 an attempt on the part of the Agency to market
122 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
barley for its members had ended disastrously, and other agri-
cultural trade had led to losses. It was decided that this trade
could be better handled by a separate organization, and a new
federation was accordingly formed. The new body was first
known as the Irish Co-operative Agricultural Agency, and after
a year became the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society.
Most of the recommendations of the sub-committee seem to
have remained inoperative. The headquarters of the Agency
remained at Limerick, and the lack of capital and other difficulties
continued from year to year in greater or less degree. Satisfactory
progress was made, however, by dint of careful and persevering
effort on the part of the management, and in 1899 the Agency
bought a creamery to stabilize its supplies.
The subsequent history of the society has been one of mod-
erate progress. In the direction of selling to retailers it has
carried out to a very large extent the recommendations of the
sub-committee of 1895, but until the support which the cream-
eries give to it both in regard to capital and trade is greatly
improved the Agency cannot be considered to fulfil the functions
of a proper marketing federation. In the 1914 report of the
I.A.O.S. the committee says: "The question of marketing still
remains unsolved, but it must be dealt with thoroughly in the near
future if the control of that part of the business is not to pass
into the hands of others than the representatives of the cream-
eries." The point is thoroughly illustrated by the statistics of
1915, which show the total sales of the Agency as £177,531,
compared with butter sales to the amount of £3,167,686 made
by the 300 creameries affiliated to the I.A.O.S. The vast majority
of the creameries, to quote the report again, "have done little or
nothing to remedy the evils of the system of marketing which
still admits of every creamery competing with the rest in 'cutting'
prices."
Creamery managers are inclined to lay the blame for this state
of things at the door of the Agency itself, on the ground that it
THE CREAMERIES 123
does not get satisfactory prices on the commission system, and
that they can do much better by selling direct. But the officers
of the federation deserve every praise for the way in which they
have built up a paying business in spite of every difficulty. The
fault must be looked for in the attitude of the creameries, whose
committees persist in regarding the Agency as an outside trading
body rather than as their own federation, and whose managers
are unable to resist the temptation of sheaves of telegrams from
English and Scottish houses which greet them in a time of
scarcity. In times of glutted markets they fall back upon the
Agency.
The main difficulty seems to have arisen from the fact that the
Agency was started too early in the development of the movement,
when there were not enough creameries to give it adequate sup-
port. It was consequently driven into a weak position from the
beginning, and has never been able to assert itself as a real fed-
eration with disciplinary powers. Of late years the Irish Agri-
cultural Wholesale Society has entered into competition with it
to some extent, by marketing butter on a commission basis
through its agricultural produce department. But here again it
is obvious that managers who are making first-class butter and
selling direct at high prices are not at all likely to wish to sell
on commission. Consequently, the Wholesale cannot look forward
to anything but the produce of less energetic or capable societies,
and perhaps the surplus of others when the market is bad.
Nothing short of a complete reorganization will suffice to meet
these difficulties, and in carrying out such a change it would be
well to take a lesson from the large co-operative selling associa-
tions which have been successfully established in California and
some other parts of the United States. In these the federation
never actually handles the goods sold, and does not, as a rule,
fix the price ; it simply acts as a clearing house for offers on either
side. On the other hand, its officers are directly elected by the
organized producers, and no produce is sold except through its
124 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
medium. Expenses are met by a definite assessment, fixed each
year by the directors, on every unit sold. Thus there is no pos-
sibility of "dumping," and no questions can arise as to the price
obtained by the federation.
In the case of a strong federation of this kind, the produce is
invariably sold under a brand. As it is essential to success that
such a brand should inspire confidence as implying a certain
standard, a staff of inspectors is employed to see that this standard
is maintained. This question of standardization is inseparably
bound up with marketing, and here again Ireland has been
behindhand. The I.A.O.S. has long recognized that Irish butter
would gain a far higher position on the market if it were sold
under a well-recognized brand which was a guarantee of high
and uniform quality. It was hoped that any federation which
took charge of the marketing would rapidly establish such a
brand, and the question was frequently discussed at general
meetings and conferences. Failing this development it was
decided, as the result of an excellent paper read by Mr. Anderson
in 1910, that the Organization Society should take up standard-
ization as an educational matter, and accordingly regulations
were drawn up for a "butter control" scheme on the lines of that
in operation in Denmark and Holland, but, of course, without
any support, or even approval, from the State.
Creameries which adhere to the Control must pay their affilia-
tion fees and the special subscription fixed for the year by the
I.A.O.S. They are bound to produce their butter in conformity
with certain strict regulations, designed to ensure, not only first-
class flavor and purity, but also keeping quality without the use
of preservatives other than salt and not more than *^ per cent,
of borax. Samples are sent to the central office once a month, and
are examined by an expert bacteriologist. Surprise examinations
and inspections may also be made. One pound of butter of each
day's churning, free from preservatives, must be kept by the
creamery manager for fourteen days (not in cold storage) in
THE CREAMERIES 125
order to check its keeping qualities in case of complaint. Labels,
bearing the Butter Control brand, are issued by the I.A.O.S.,
and remain their property. They must be affixed to all butter
made under Control conditions, and not to any other. The samples
sent in are reported upon in due course. Any faults must be
looked into at once, and in case of butter which fails to come up
to the required standard, the use of the label is withdrawn from
the offending creamery until the deficiency is made good. Samples
of water, salt and parchment are also analyzed, and in some
cases special investigation is made of the milk or cream in order
to trace any failings. A weekly report is sent out to all participat-
ing creameries, giving the results obtained in respect of output,
average price, and so on, each creamery being designated by a
number varying each week. The report also contains brief
observations by the officials in charge.
A system of this kind should go a long way towards standard-
izing Irish butter, improving its quality, and giving it an assured
position on the British market. Up to the present it has been
surprisingly difficult to induce creameries to conform to the con-
ditions of the Control. The price of butter has been high, and
it has been easy to sell. Managers who have participated in the
Control system, while acknowledging its benefits in improving
butter and giving the clue to difficulties, have not found that it
brought them an increased price. Other managers, failing to
realize that it cannot do this until a larger number join, have
stayed outside in order to save themselves what they regard as
unrewarded trouble. The number, however, is gradually increas-
ing, and the Control brand is beginning to be known. A good sign
of progress is that somewhat apprehensive references to the
system have appeared in Danish papers. The quality of the butter
produced under the Control is illustrated by the fact that con-
signments have been successfully sent to Cape Town and to the
internment camp at Ruhleben, while some which went to Spain
and was returned failing delivery was afterwards sold over the
126 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
counter without complaint. Butter to the value of about £2 50,0
was made under the Control system in 1915 by thirty
creameries; 283 analyses were made, 175 visits paid by organ-
izers, and 65 supplies of pure culture for ripening were forwarded
to participants.
The chief difficulty of a technical nature which obstructs the
progress of Irish creameries is the falling off of the milk supply
during the months from October to April. During a large part of
this period the whole of the creameries are working no more than
half-time, and many of them are closed altogether for a month
or two. This, of course, means that they lose their position on
the British market, and have to buy it back each spring. As a
result of this system it also comes about that suppliers get less
for their milk at the very time when butter is highest, and there
is little inducement for them to go in for winter dairying. It has
been suggested that some of the summer prices should be with-
held to meet this, but few committee men would consent to such
a scheme. Meanwhile the difficulty is met either by cold storage,
or by the importation of foreign butter. The reason for the
shortage of milk lies in the system of grass-feeding, which is
practically universal, and a remedy must be sought in the intro-
duction of tillage under a system suited to small dairy farms.
This need has been accentuated by war conditions, with the
increased price of imported feeding-stuffs, and the authoritative
demand for more home-grown production. The I.A.O.S. has
sought to stimulate tillage by recommending the system of
"continuous cropping," a development of catch-cropping evolved
by Mr. T. Wibberley, who was for some time the Society's
agricultural expert. It is beyond our province to go into the tech-
nicalities of this system, but it may be said that experiment seems
to show that it is well suited to the conditions of Irish soil,
climate and holdings, and would go far to increase the production
of winter milk. It has a special value in that it will meet the
existing shortage of labor, by enabling the work to be done with
THE CREAMERIES 127
simple modern machines, and the provision of these machines
is essentially a matter which can best be dealt with by co-
operative organization. The societies formed for this purpose will
be considered later. The question of winter dairying is one which
we should naturally expect would receive vigorous attention from
the Department of Agriculture, but although officials universally
admit its vital importance, the result of their efforts has not been
striking.
In the same way the average yield of the cow is a point of the
greatest possible importance in a dairying country, and in this
respect Ireland has still much to learn. A cow-testing association
or milk record society is an inseparable adjunct of a creamery in
Denmark and other progressive countries. It enables farmers
to discover year by year exactly how much the various cows in
their herds are worth to them as producers of milk, and whether
they are returning a profit or not. In this way the unprofitable
ones are weeded out and the strain constantly improved in respect
both of quantity and fat content of the milk. Many Irish farmers
are still under the impression that one milch cow is as good as
another, and take little or no trouble to keep their herds up to
a high standard. Both the I.A.O.S. and the Department have
tried to organize cow-testing associations in connection with
creameries, and the latter body is prepared to give them a small
grant in aid. The advantages of cow-testing are well illustrated
by a passage in the I.A.O.S. report, which recounts how two
farmers who joined an association in absolute ignorance as to
the yield of their cows discovered, in one case, that the best cow
gave milk valued at £19 and the worst only £9 worth, while in
the other case the figures were £12 and £5 respectively. About
250,000 cows provide the milk for the co-operative creameries
alone, and the average yield is probably not more than 400
gallons per cow, as against about 700 in Denmark. The difference,
which represents an enormous sum in actual money, could prob-
ably be made up by a judicious application of the testing process.
128 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
In spite of these impressive facts, there are probably not more
than six or seven successful cow-testing associations in Ireland
at present, and there is very little sign of enthusiasm. The reason
may probably be found in the fact that the managers of cream-
eries, especially the more able ones, are already overworked, and
they are almost the only people who could be expected to organize
such associations. The difficulty will only be got over by deter-
mined action on the part of the State, working in close harmony
with the I.A.O.S.
We may bring this chapter to a close by a brief summary of
the services which the I.A.O.S. is in a position to render to the
creameries. In addition to the work of organization and super-
vision in the early stages, the central body provides them with
expert technical advice as to machinery and equipment, and also
provides plans and specifications for the buildings themselves. For
these purposes the services of an expert in dairy engineering, and
an architect specially familiar with the problems, are retained.
Inspections are carried out from time to time, both with regard
to the production of butter and also the keeping of the books.
Questions affecting the organization of auxiliaries, agreements
between auxiliaries and centrals, and arbitrations in case of dis-
pute of any kind, are taken care of. Creameries are kept informed
of their responsibilities in respect of such matters as insurance
of workmen, etc., and are advised as to the insurance of their
produce. In legal and parliamentary matters particularly, the
I.A.O.S. is helpful by bearing the expenses of test cases, or by
representing the creameries in respect to Bills affecting their wel-
fare. In this way the "binding rule" has been established, and
amendments have been secured to several Bills, such as the
Dairies and Cowsheds Act. One matter in which the creameries
have suffered greatly is the disposal of their sewage. It is believed
that the effluent, which is certainly unpleasant, is harmful to
cattle, and many creameries have been prosecuted and forced
THE CREAMERIES 129
to pay heavy damages on this account, usually at the instigation
of interested persons. The I.A.O.S. has made, and is making,
determined efforts to find a solution for this problem, and has
also been of assistance in defending the creameries in the courts.
CHAPTER VIII
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES
THE "co-operative agricultural society" of Ireland is similar in
general aspect to the "supply society" of Germany, and, to a less
extent, to the syndicat agricole of France and the Italian consorzio
agrario. The purpose of these societies is the collective purchase
of the agricultural requirements of their members at reasonable
rates, and with a guarantee of quality. The chief articles dealt
with in this way have been fertilizers, feeding-stuffs, seeds, and
a certain amount of machinery.
The conditions which gave rise to the development of these
societies were quite as deplorable as those which affected the
production of Irish butter. The farmer, as has been pointed out
by A. E., is essentially a manufacturer who is creating a finished
or partially finished article of consumption from raw materials.
He is consequently entitled to the privilege enjoyed by any other
manufacturer, of buying his requirements at the lowest prices.
In spite of this fact, it has been customary for him to buy habit-
ually in the dearest market in retail quantities, and to sell his
produce in the cheapest market. In the early days of the co-
operative movement all small farmers bought everything they
required from the village store, which was usually an adjunct
to the public-house. The owner of the store, in many cases, com-
bined the function of a general provider with those of purchaser
of produce and money-lender to the community. Under this last
aspect he was known as the "gombeen-man," and was a familiar
and disastrous feature of Irish life. The gradual elimination of
the "gombeen-man," who is now, though still prevalent, far less
130
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 131
powerful, may be largely ascribed to co-operative activities. The
actual function of money-lending, which earned him his name,
was attacked by means of the credit societies which will be dis-
cussed in the next chapter, but in his capacity as storekeeper he
was able to do a great deal of harm, which was countered to some
extent by the agricultural societies.
Practically no transaction at the village store, or even at the
large trader's shop in the country town, was accompanied by any
transfer of cash. All that the customer bought, including liquid
refreshment, was entered on the ledger — at the price fixed by the
seller. The opposite page contained entries of credits for a certain
amount of produce — the price on this occasion being dictated by
the buyer. In the more poverty-stricken districts work done for
the storekeeper was also entered on the credit side of the ledger.
From time to time a balance was struck, and it was no uncommon
thing for interest, calculated at an arbitrary rate, to be added
to the sums outstanding. When it is realized that the victims of
this system had no knowledge of accounting whatever, and were
many of them scarcely proficient in reading and writing, it is
easy to see that they were entirely at the mercy of the trader.
In some instances, no doubt, the local storekeeper proved a shelter
to the poorer people in times of distress, and carried them over
periods when they could not otherwise have survived; but he
was, as a rule, well paid for his services in the long run, and such
cases must have been few in comparison with cases of extortion.
In any event, the existence of such a tyranny, even if beneficently
exercised in some districts, could not be good for the character
or business capacity of the people, and certainly the large for-
tunes accumulated by traders in out-of-the-way and impoverished
communities show that something has been seriously wrong with
the system of distribution. Even the larger farmer, who, by virtue
of superior education and greater purchasing power, was able to
pass by the local trader or to meet him on a more equal footing,
132 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
had no real means of obtaining his requirements on reasonable
terms. The rings of wholesalers and manufacturers dictated the
prices without opposition. But this was not the most serious
difficulty. In no case were either seeds or manures accompanied
by any sort of guarantee, so that the farmer who purchased
them was not in the least certain of getting any good results.
Most of the seeds sold were thoroughly worthless as regards
both purity and germination, while the fertilizers were almost
invariably deficient in the most valuable elements. It is true
that an Act of Parliament was in existence under which the pur-
chaser was entitled to have an analysis made of the materials,
but it is safe to say that nine-tenths of the Irish farmers were
totally unaware of this fact, and in any case it was most im-
probable that an individual small farmer would be sufficiently
bold or energetic to undertake the trouble and expense of such
a process.
The organization of co-operative societies for joint purchase
of such requirements offered, therefore, the following advantages:
First, wholesale purchase on contract at low rates; secondly, a
possibility of insisting upon a guarantee with the goods, and of
getting samples analyzed from the bulk consignment at very
small cost to the individual; and, thirdly, reductions in costs of
freight and expenses of handling. The idea of starting societies
for this purpose, as distinct from creameries, seems to have
originated after the meeting between Sir Horace Plunkett and
Father Finlay, to which reference has been made. The latter,
with the idea of German supply societies fresh in his mind, at
once urged the organization of similar associations in Ireland.
A group of five of these societies was founded about October,
1894, on the border of Tipperary and Kilkenny, and met with
immediate success. A table in the first report of the I.A.O.S. shows
the remarkable savings per ton on various kinds of fertilizers
made in the first purchases, and at a joint meeting of the societies
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 133
held on April 27, 1895, ft was stated that a saving of £5000 had
been effected in six months by joint purchasing.*
The form of organization of these societies was similar in
practically all respects to that of the creameries. The same fea-
tures of democratic control, limited shareholdings and interest
and management by an elective committee held good. In fact, the
rules for a co-operative creamery will serve for an agricultural
society, with very slight modifications. The method of financing
the societies is also the same in theory, but a certain added diffi-
culty is found in practice. There is no obvious basis for the taking
of shares, such as is provided by the number of cows in the case
of a creamery. Efforts have been made to fix the holdings in pro-
portion to some standard, such as poor law valuation or acreage
farmed, but there is no universal practice, and in most societies
the number of shares taken seems to be left to the free will of
members. As a consequence of this, the amount of capital sub-
scribed in these societies varies very largely, even when they
are in the same neighborhood and organized within a short time
of one another. The point is well illustrated by the following
table, which deals with ten agricultural societies, all organized by
the same person, with the same objects:
Date of r No. of No. of
Registration Members Shares Taken
27.10.14 Kildare 93 171
14.12.14 Wicklow 116 131
n. 1.15 Wicklow 66 642
ii. 1.15 Meath. 63 67
13. 1.15 Louth 44 70
17. 2.15 Wicklow 94 199
19. 2.15 Meath 100 158
20. 2.15 Kildare 72 242
6. 3.15 Louth 61 323
i. 3.15 Westmeath 37 57
* See Irish Homestead of that date.
134 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
In all cases the shares are of the nominal value of fi; a first
call of 2s. 6d. is made, and it is very unusual for more than this
amount to be paid up. Consequently a society with 200 shares,
which will not be much below the average, has a paid-up capital
of only £25. This was, in fact, the average amount in the case of
sixty-three societies of this kind in Connacht in 1914. Evidently,
such a capital does not suffice to carry on the society's business,
even with very low working expenses. The difficulty is got over,
as in the case of creameries, by borrowing from the bank on the
joint and several guarantee of the members of the committee.
Practically every society in Ireland has an overdraft of this kind,
on which as a rule 4 per cent, interest is paid. The average over-
draft in Connacht amounts to about £200, and in Leinster, where
the turnover is larger, to £350. The other provinces lie between
these limits. The defects of this system of financing societies have
already been touched on in the chapter on creameries, and the
argument need not be repeated here.
Even with the overdraft system, however, the agricultural
societies are not as well off in respect to capital as they should
be. They are obliged to give a considerable amount of credit to
their members, and consequently are frequently behindhand in
payments to their wholesalers. The member who purchases goods
from such a society does not expect to have to pay for them until
he has had some benefit from their use. This may be conceded to
be a reasonable point of view on the part of the small farmer; in
any case, there is no likelihood of its being altered. It follows,
therefore, that as long as the society deals in fertilizers, seeds and
feeding-stuffs, the members will require considerable credit. In
the case of basic slag, which forms a large part of the turnover
of many societies, at least six months' credit must be given, and
it may be taken as the usual practice that members of agricultural
societies get, on the average, at least three or four months' credit
for all the goods they buy from them. Unfortunately, in practice
this period is often extended and sometimes stretches to a year
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 135
or more. The society which gets such treatment for its members
must necessarily lose many of the benefits of cash payment, as
well as weakening the position of its federation, unless it has a
considerable reserve capital, and in very few societies is this
forthcoming. The fact that as a rule no buildings or equipment
are required, and that the members of the society take little
interest in its existence except at the particular season of the year
when their requirements are bought, tends to make the raising
of more capital particularly difficult.
Two ways of getting over this difficulty suggest themselves;
either the functions of an agricultural society might be largely
delegated to creameries, or their scope might be enlarged by the
addition of some other activity which would evoke continuous
interest. The former plan has been adopted steadily and with
great success since the beginning of the movement. Immediately
after the foundation of the first agricultural societies many
creameries took up collective purchase, and the I.C.A.S. acted
as the wholesale body. At the present time practically all the
creameries do a good deal of this business, and are consequently
known as co-operative agricultural and dairy societies. But there
are naturally many districts where local conditions do not admit
of the establishment of a creamery, and it is in these places that
an agricultural society proper will be found. As we have said,
unless something is added to the function of buying fertilizers,
seeds and manures, such a society will be comatose most of the
year, thus losing the real spirit of co-operative endeavor and
becoming a somewhat fortuitous combination for a limited
business purpose.
The first intention was that agricultural societies should act
to some extent as centres of technical improvement, and also as
channels for the sale of their members' produce. A good deal was
done by the pioneer societies in the direction of buying good bulls
and other breeding stock for the improvement of local strains,
and one or two miniature experiment stations were also carried
136 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
on. The foundation of the Department of Agriculture, however,
with the special purpose of dealing with such matters, naturally
put an end to these undertakings, which were only begun by the
societies in the absence of a better medium. The collective sale
of produce proved in Ireland, as in all other countries, a far more
difficult matter than any other form of co-operation. Difficulties
of grading and standardization, jealousies between members, need
of capital and of finding a ready market for perishable commodi-
ties make this an enterprise only to be attempted where the co-
operative spirit is thoroughly awakened and the standard of
professional education is high. In Ireland there is little to be sold
with the exception of butter (which was already dealt with by
the creameries), live stock, barley, and a certain amount of
potatoes.* An experiment in the selling of barley by the I.C.A.S.
ended in disaster, owing to the uncertainty of the market, and
the few efforts which were made to form live-stock-selling asso-
ciations did not attain any permanent success. The loyalty of
members was not proof against competitive bidding, and they had
no facilities for finding any market for themselves independently
of the Dublin buyers. One or two attempts have been made to
promote collective sale of fresh milk in the neighborhood of cities,
but this is a proverbially hazardous enterprise, and so far has not
succeeded. A certain amount of sale of potatoes and eggs can,
no doubt, be effected through a society, just as it used to be
through the village shop, but this cannot be done unless the
society has headquarters always open, and it will not be enough
in itself to create the need for such headquarters.
Two further methods of widening the scope of an agricultural
society are developing rapidly in Ireland. The first is to increase
the range of articles which the society will buy for its members;
the second, to combine it with what is called an implement society.
The question whether or not farmers' co-operative societies
* War conditions have caused the oat crop to assume abnormal importance and
the co-operative marketing of grain is now a possibility of the near future.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 137
should concern themselves with the purchase of other than pro-
fessional requirements has been hotly debated, both from the
ethical and from the practical standpoint. There are those who
hold that it is not fair to what is known with unconscious irony
as the "legitimate trade," and these are many in Ireland; there
are others who believe that it is not good business that the farmer
should indulge in speculations outside his own profession — ne
sutor ultra crepidam. In Germany every co-operative society
(including the Raiffeisen banks) holds this power in reserve, as
a weapon of defence against bad behavior on the part of traders;
but it is not largely exercised except in one or two provinces,
partly for business reasons and partly because the State, which
has done much to foster co-operation, looks askance upon this
form. In France and Belgium, and to a less extent in Italy, the
tradition of the "professional union" is strong enough to make
excursion into general trading still somewhat heterodox. But in
Denmark, which is the nearest model for Ireland, the supply
societies which cover the country districts, with a membership
80 per cent, of which is agricultural, make the supply of domestic
requirements a leading feature of their trade. The example seems
to be worth following in any country of small-holders. Their
various economic needs cannot be separated into watertight
compartments, and in the case of laborers, the general store is
almost the only way of bringing them in touch with the movement.
In Ireland, although the first society Sir Horace Plunkett ever
organized was a general store, the policy of the I.A.O.S. was to
discourage this form of association, or at least to leave it to the
Co-operative Union, and confine its own activities to agricultural
business. This policy worked well enough so long as the cream-
eries held the field, but with the appearance of the supply
societies the question at once arose whether they should not
purchase all their members needed. The development was
hastened in many cases by the action of local traders who, when
they found that the members of the society went elsewhere for
138 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
their fertilizers, attempted to boycott them, and refused to sell
them tea and sugar. The obvious method of retaliation was for
the society to go in for general storekeeping, and this was fre-
quently done. The advantages obtained in attracting more
membership, ensuring continuous activity, bringing in increased
support to the federation, and reaching a poorer class of people,
appealed strongly to the I.A.O.S., and such societies were freely
admitted to affiliation. They provoked violent opposition, how-
ever, on the part of the "legitimate trader," and it was round
them that the most bitter controversy raged. With the coming
of the grant from the Development Commissioners, the vested
interests were sufficiently powerful to have it made a condition
that societies for other than agricultural purposes should not be
promoted or admitted to recognition. There is no bar, however,
on agricultural societies, once organized, voluntarily adding a
general department, and this is frequently done with most
satisfactory results. Among other advantages it enables the
secretary or manager, who in a purely agricultural society must
be content with a very small percentage on sales, to be compara-
tively well paid. The whole question of these stores will be dealt
with in subsequent chapters.
The second method of widening the scope of an agricultural
society is that of combining it with an implement society, which
will buy collectively the machinery and implements which its
members require for the improvement of their tillage, and which
they are unable to purchase individually. Under this system the
society obtains an overdraft from the bank and buys, say, a
tractor worth £300. This machine would be quite beyond the
reach of an individual member, but is of very great value to all
of them. It is hired out to them in turn for a certain time at a
rate fixed by the committee, so as to allow a margin over and
above working expenses. This margin is accumulated and applied
to paying off the overdraft. Several societies have paid for the
less expensive machines in this way during the course of one year,
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 139
after doing their members' work at reasonable rates. The most
obvious difficulty is that there may be a number of members
wishing to use the machine at the same time; but in practice this
has never yet been a source of trouble. The procedure has been,
when two people applied simultaneously, to give precedence to
the man with the smaller acreage, or, failing this, to draw lots
for the privilege. Societies of this kind for the common ownership
of threshing machines, either in combination with agricultural
societies or creameries, or as separate bodies, have existed for
many years, particularly in County Wexford. They have been
fairly successful, but there is always difficulty in getting the
members' corn threshed before the market weakens. The actual
implement societies are a very recent development, brought
about largely by Mr. Wibberley's campaign for "continuous
cropping," to which we referred in a previous chapter in dis-
cussing winter dairying. This system of tillage in a district of
poor small-holders such as is found in the West of Ireland makes
a co-operative implement society a most desirable form of organ-
ization. The recent demand for a great increase in the area under
tillage has stimulated the formation of such societies, which in
many cases can be shown to have caused an improvement of as
much as 100 per cent, in the tilled area within the sphere of their
operations. The chief difficulty which has to be faced is that of
providing persons with expert knowledge of machines, not only
to organize the societies, but to keep in touch with them after-
wards, in order to see that the implements are properly treated.
This latter function should be performed by the field workers
of the Department of Agriculture; but in Ireland no special
training in such matters has been available, and the lack of
harmony between the Department and the I.A.O.S. has been a
stumbling-block to progress.
It will be seen that an agricultural supply society is not in itself
a very definite form of association. The business of buying agri-
cultural requirements may easily be taken up by a creamery, or
i4o RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
if the law permits, as in Germany, by a credit society. On the
other hand, a society started for this purpose may expand into
other occupations, or it may sink into the position of only taking
on corporate shape once or twice a year, in which case an informal
association which would automatically dissolve when the trans-
action was completed would be equally satisfactory but for the
problem of credit.
The economic results achieved by agricultural societies in Ire-
land are not very easily distinguished. We can only point to a
continuous improvement in the conditions of sale of the principal
articles in which these societies deal. Prices have been lowered,
rings have been broken, and, what is perhaps more important,
guarantees of quality have been made a sine qua non.
These things have been accomplished, not so much perhaps
by the individual action of local societies, as by their joint action
through the medium of their trade federation. We have already
stated that ten agricultural societies were organized during the
first year in which this idea was introduced, and that of these
five were situated close together, and did their buying in common
on most advantageous terms. From this venture arose the first
pitched battle with the organized middlemen, and also the first
effort at federation for trade purposes. It is interesting to turn
to the early numbers of the Irish Homestead and see the progress
of the battle. In March, 1895, we nnd a report of the meeting of
the Mercantile Traders' Association, Thurles Branch (the dis-
trict in which the five societies lay), at which the following
resolutions were passed:
"(i) That the traders at this meeting assembled form them-
selves into an association to be called the 'Mercantile Traders'
Association.'
"(2) That we call upon the mercantile traders throughout
Ireland to form branches of this association in all the principal
towns.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 141
"(3) That we invite the co-operation of all traders in towns
and country districts to support us, and that every trader in this
association do withdraw orders and close accounts with any
manufacturer or producer who tenders in future or supplies,
directly or indirectly, co-operative societies."
The immediate answer was the formation of another society
near Thurles in the course of the following week. At the same
time the Irish Co-operative Agency Society took up the work of
acting as a wholesale agency for the societies, and some of the
manure manufacturers proved quite ready to tender for contracts,
in spite of pious resolutions. The result was that in 1896 the
Manure Manufacturers7 Association, unable to hold its members
together, collapsed entirely, and prices were reduced fully 25
per cent., not only to co-operative societies, but to all the farmers
in the country.
In 1897 the disastrous attempt to sell barley, combined with
inadequate organization of the agricultural supply business,
brought serious losses to the I.C.A.S., and it was decided to give
over the agricultural business to a new federation known as the
Irish Co-operative Agricultural Agency. After a year's work as
a mere agency on a cash basis, this body developed in 1898 into
the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society, Ltd., and became a
true co-operative trade federation.
Its constitution is similar to that of local societies organized
under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act, but it has the
exceptional feature of issuing preference shares. These shares
are of the value of £5 each, and are issued to individuals only;
no person is allowed to take less than ten, and they must be fully
paid up on allotment. The ordinary shares are tenable only by
registered co-operative societies, which must take one share for
each member. The value of the shares is f i, of which is. is pay-
able on allotment, and the remainder can only be called if the
i42 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
society goes into liquidation. Shares are transferable only, and
bear the usual 5 per cent, maximum interest.
The directors are elected in part by the affiliated societies, and
in part by the preference shareholders, on a democratic basis.
Each society has one vote for every 100 members, and six out
of the ten directors must be representatives of the ordinary
shareholders, and nominated by them. The preference share-
holders nominate four of their own number to fill the other four
places. The chairman is elected by the directors, but must be a
representative of the ordinary shareholders. In order further to
guard the rights of the ordinary shareholders, it is provided that
"the votes of both preference and ordinary shareholders shall be
recorded collectively in the election of the four directors repre-
senting preference shareholders," while "the election of the six
directors representing ordinary shareholders shall be decided by
the votes of the ordinary shareholders alone." There is obviously
no danger that individuals will invade the society in such a way
as to obtain harmful control of it — in fact, the restriction of
allotment to those who are willing to take up ten fully paid
shares, together with the limitation of voting privileges, ensures
that only persons who genuinely wish to help the movement by
investing capital in it are likely to seek admission.
The history of the I.A.W.S. has been one of continuous
progress, in the face of very severe difficulties imposed upon it
almost as much from within the movement itself as from outside.
Its objects are those common to all co-operative trade federa-
tions— to supply the affiliated societies with goods of guaranteed
quality for re-sale to their members at as low rates as possible,
and also to market the produce of agricultural societies. At the
very beginning of its career the Wholesale found itself face to
face with powerful and extremely hostile rings of manufacturers,
particularly in the fertilizer and machinery trades, so that certain
supplies had to be imported even from America. By persistent
effort these rings were broken, and the I.A.W.S. is now able to
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 143
make the proud boast that it has been successful in ensuring to
the farmer a reduction of no less than 50 per cent, in the price
of guaranteed manures. Something like a revolution has been
caused in the seed trade of the country by the same agency.
Before the advent of this society, seeds were universally sold
without any guarantee either of purity or of germinating quality,
and as a consequence the farmer was continually subjected to
severe disappointments. The I.A.W.S. made arrangements with
a seed-testing station in Switzerland, which enabled it to have
all seeds sold tested and certified, and thus compelled other
merchants to adopt the same practice.
The main trade of the society is in these directions of fertilizers,
seeds and machinery, as is natural in what is primarily a federa-
tion of agricultural societies. It has, however, assumed a position
which gives it a far greater interest for those who look at it from
the standpoint of general co-operative organization. It has become
the only apparent link between the two classes of co-operative
societies; those whose members are producers, co-operating to
get good prices for their produce, and those which combine con-
sumers for the purpose of effecting a saving in purchase. The
reconciliation of these two apparently conflicting interests has
always been one of the difficulties of the co-operative movement.
It has been especially difficult in Ireland, owing to the restrictions
put upon the I.A.O.S. by the Development Commissioners, which
prevent that body from organizing anything except the producing
classes. These restrictions, however, do not apply to the I.A.W.S.,
which is purely a trading body, and receives no subsidy from the
Government.
So long as the I.A.O.S. is debarred from acting as an advisory
body both for producers and consumers, their interests will con-
tinue to be divergent, with the harmful effects already seen in
England, unless some material bond can be found. This bond can
only be provided by the existence of a joint wholesale society,
owned by co-operative societies of both kinds, buying from one
144 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
and selling to the other. If properly handled, such a body would
go far to remove friction and to benefit both parties, and success-
ful results in this direction have been accomplished both in Den-
mark and in Hungary. In Ireland, as we have seen, the wholesale
agency arose in the first place as a federation of agricultural
societies, and this fact is reflected in its name. It was not long,
however, before these societies began to be attracted or compelled
to take up a general store policy in certain districts, and they
naturally looked to the federation to supply their requirements.
Thus a grocery and a hardware department came to be added to
the activities of the I.A.W.S. Meanwhile, a certain number of dis-
tributive societies after the English model had been organized,
particularly in the industrial centres of Ulster. These societies
would naturally depend to a great extent on the Co-operative
Wholesale Societies of Manchester and Glasgow, but they were
not sufficiently numerous to lead to a branch of either of these
federations being established in Ireland. The Irish movement
owes it to the foresight of the directors of the I.A.W.S., and more
particularly to Mr. Barbour, the present chairman, that steps
were quickly taken to attract these societies into the federation.
If this object is fully achieved, Ireland will be able to claim that
she has advanced further towards solving the problem of conflict
within the movement than almost any other country. Some of
the difficulties in the way of such a conclusion will be discussed
in another chapter.
One of them merits brief consideration here. There is always
a great temptation for agricultural societies to sell direct to the
highest bidder, and if they are favorably situated to the market
they will regard any federation as being an unnecessary middle-
man. Thus, an agricultural society near Belfast with potatoes to
sell would be more likely to sell them to the Belfast society of
consumers than to the I.A.W.S., which must take some profit out
of the transaction. This particularly applies to the creameries,
which, as we pointed out, are accustomed to sell their butter
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 145
without reference to any other body, and in many cases choose
their managers mainly on account of their capacities as salesmen.
The I.A.W.S. has tried the experiment of acting as a commission
agent for these creameries, just as the Agency did. Theoretically,
this was the proper course for it to pursue, but in practice it has
been found that it led to the usual dumping of bad butter, or
to the custom only of creameries whose managers were not suffi-
ciently trained as salesmen. This was bad for the I.A.W.S., and
was further aggravated by the fact that the more successful
creamery managers are hostile to this department, because they
believe that it spoils their market and bolsters up inefficient
creameries.
The recent demand of the troops in Ireland for large quantities
of supplies has, however, given the federation an opportunity of
disposing of a considerable amount of agricultural produce on
behalf of the societies, and also of individual members thereof,
and the directors have been quick to make use of the occasion.
The military authorities find this a cheap and efficient source of
supply, and the farmers and the societies also have profited, so
this may be claimed as a good example of the services which a
co-operative federation is able to render both to its members and
to the nation. It may be hoped that the precedent will make the
federated societies and also the authorities appreciate more fully
the advantages of such a body as the I.A.W.S.
The main difficulty by which this federation, like most others
of the same kind, has been beset, is the lack of sufficient capital
to carry on the business effectively. The trade turnover has
increased with remarkable rapidity, but the paid-up capital,
always inadequate, has not by any means kept pace with this
increase, nor has it been found possible to induce the societies
to do business on anything like a cash basis.
In 1915, with a turnover of £375,000, the I.A.W.S. was only
able to show a paid-up share capital of £12,000, of which £7000
was derived from preference shares, and only £5000 from the
i46 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
societies. The remainder of the capital was derived from a guar-
antee given by individual well-wishers, and from the accumulated
reserve fund of £5000, in addition to the £25,000 or so held as
deposits in the banking department, which is able to offer attrac-
tive terms to societies and individuals. Even by calling upon all
these resources, the society is always in a difficulty for sufficient
liquid capital to handle its business on the most economical lines,
and there is obviously little or no room for fresh developments.
When it is further realized that the outstanding debts run as high
as £35,000, a large part of which represents accounts several
months in arrears, it may be seen that the federated societies
are making a very heavy demand on the wholesale body, and
hardly treating it in a true co-operative spirit.
As we have said, the societies which are ordinary shareholders
in the federation are only obliged to pay up is. per share on
allotment, and the remainder cannot be called unless the I.A.W.S.
goes into liquidation. Taken in conjunction with the fact that
the shares are transferable only, this rule makes societies regard
the payments which they make on their shares simply as a sub-
scription to the Wholesale, enabling them to trade with it. They
frequently neglect to increase their payments voluntarily year
by year, as they know that they cannot be compelled to do so, and
they regard the money so locked up as being practically lost to
them. The position would not bear so hardly on the I.A.W.S. if
these societies could be induced to pay their accounts quickly;
but, as we have pointed out, the members expect long credit
from their societies, and the burden is, of course, transferred to
the federation, thus greatly aggravating the shortage of capital.
Meanwhile, the societies, to a large extent, continue to look upon
their own federation as if it were an outside trading body, and
frequently do a considerable amount of their trade elsewhere,
sometimes even using the I.A.W.S. quotations as a lever, while
they are quick to protest at any mistake which may be made.
If we dwell rather on the gloomy side of the picture, it is
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES 147
chiefly in order to throw into sharper relief the splendid work
which the Wholesale Society has accomplished in the face of all
its difficulties. Its trade is constantly expanding, and new depart-
ments being undertaken, and even societies which grumble most
must realize, if they face the facts, that they would have been
very badly .off without the efforts of the federation. These diffi-
culties can and will be met by a sustained educational campaign
in which the societies must be shown their duties to the Whole-
sale, and the advantages they derive from it. A great step in this
direction has already been taken by the directors in arranging
for monthly meetings of managers and secretaries of co-operative
societies on the central premises, when they are able to see and
hear about all the developments and difficulties of the work.*
* See App. IV. for statistics illustrating the development of the IA.W.S.
CHAPTER IX
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES
IN the previous chapter some account was given of the activities
of the "gombeen-man" in rural Ireland, and the impetus thus
afforded to the formation of agricultural societies. Plainly, it
was not sufficient — at any rate in the more backward districts —
to set up such societies. One of the chief reasons which drove the
people into the hands of the "gombeen-man" was that he alone
provided them with a source of credit, either by actually lending
them money, or more frequently by charging the goods against
them for an indefinite period. The agricultural society would
afford little relief for such a state of things, and a large number
of the people it was intended to benefit would have to continue
dealing with the local "gombeen-man" on account of their past
indebtedness to him and the necessity of borrowing further in
the future.
The joint-stock banks had branches at infrequent intervals
throughout the country, usually in the market towns, and open
perhaps only one or two days in the week. The borrower had
to take with him two sureties if he wished to get money from this
source, and the expense involved, as well as the necessity of dis-
cussing his affairs with the bank manager, made the undertaking
practically impossible. Nor is it likely that the banks on their
side would show any eagerness to attract such business; the
amounts involved would, as a rule, be too small even to repay
the book-keeping of the transaction, much less the tedious and
very difficult task of making researches into the credit-worthiness
of each borrower. Moreover, it is no reflection on the banks to
148
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 149
say that their best friends were in most cases the traders and
publicans of the towns and the large depositing farmers. The
former class would, as a rule, be hostile, and the latter more or
less indifferent to the needs of the poorer people, and where com-
petition between one bank and another was keen, and the town
hardly sufficed to support more than one, almost any bank
manager would be bound to be swayed by such considerations.
It must also be remembered that the present extension of the
banking system throughout the country is comparatively recent.
In 1890 there were only 569 branches in Ireland, as against 819
in 1910. Even now we find that: "There are in all Ireland only
242 centres where a permanent branch bank is established.
There is, therefore, only one such centre to every 18,000 persons.
If the sub-branches, which are open only on certain days, be
also included, there is one such banking centre for every 9000
persons."* And again: "We have had brought before us instances
where persons, in order to reach the nearest branch bank, would
have to travel forty miles. This is doubtless an extreme case, but
it is not at all unusual for farmers to have to make a journey of
ten or fifteen miles to the nearest bank."
Other methods of obtaining loans were by resorting to money-
lenders, to "trust auctions," and to the Loan Fund Board Socie-
ties. All of these are dealt with at length in the Report already
quoted, but the facts about them may be summarized here.
The money-lender is distinguished from the "gombeen-man"
by the fact that he does not combine shopkeeping, or any similar
occupation, with the practice of usury. His advertisements fill the
columns of the newspapers and astonish the reader by their
dazzling visions of philanthropy and their careless indifference
as to the amount of money to be lent, or the rate of interest to
be charged. His great power of attraction lies in the fact of the
secrecy offered. The rural population of Ireland have a very
* "Report of Departmental Committee on Agricultural Credit in Ireland, 1914,"
C.D. 7375, p. 19.
150 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
strong objection to allowing their neighbors to know that they
are borrowing money, and this can be avoided best by dealing
with the money-lender. The type is a familiar one in all countries,
but the conditions of Irish life are particularly favorable to its
growth and, while the "gombeen-man" is gradually disappearing,
the money-lenders tend to multiply.
The "trust auction" system, which prevails mainly in the
northern counties (having apparently first appeared in Co.
Donegal in 1898), represents one of the most ingenious and also
most ruinous methods of obtaining cash ever practised. The worst
type, in which the sale is entirely fictitious, is thus described:
"A farmer in need of, say, £10 ready cash, with little prospect
of obtaining the same from a bank or a friendly neighbor, brings
in one of his cows to the auction. The animal is put up for sale,
and is bought by a friend (often by a son or brother) of the
seller. In many cases friends of the latter, by their bidding, run
the price up to a much higher figure than the animal is worth.
A bill at three, four, or six months, signed by one or two sureties,
is given by the purchaser to the auctioneer, who usually dis-
counts it in a joint-stock bank, and pays cash, less the discount,
to the seller, charging the usual 5 per cent, auction fees. The
seller of the cow then brings home the money, the obtaining of
which was his sole object in going to the auction, while the nomi-
nal purchaser drives the cow back to the field or byre from which
she came. The proceeds of the transaction are, in some cases,
divided between the parties. One witness told us of a case where
a farmer raised £10 on a cow by thus selling her to his son at an
auction. Next day the same cow was sold by the son and bought
by the father, so that £20 was raised on the one animal in two
days. But other animals have, we are informed, superseded this
record by bringing in £70 or £80 to the owner in a short space of
time, through peregrinations from one auction to another."
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 151
The results of such a system, both to the farmer and the
auctioneer, must necessarily be disastrous in the long run. The
above is a somewhat exaggerated form of trust auction; in the
majority of cases the animal really changes hands, but it is sold
by the purchaser at the next fair for a sum considerably less
than he gave for it. He gives his note for the purchase, and it is
discounted by the auctioneer, while the purchaser gets his cash
out of the sale, paying 5 per cent, to the auctioneer, losing about
10 per cent, on the price, and probably having to renew the bill
subsequently. One of the many undesirable features about this
method is that the man in need of money is determined to buy
at all costs, so that the auctions afford an opportunity to cattle
dealers to dispose of inferior beasts at inflated prices. The
practice also makes it possible for the less reputable firms of
auctioneers to carry on every form of usury and extortion under
the guise of their profession. Evidence was given that even honest
and industrious farmers were frequently to be found at these
auctions, and the system is occasionally extended to land and
crops as well as cattle, with almost equally injurious results.
The Loan Fund Board system, the only remaining source of
rural credit besides the co-operative credit societies, represents
the moribund survival of some very early charitable efforts. Dean
Swift seems to have inaugurated it by handing over £500 to be
loaned by trustees to Dublin artisans. Various benevolent persons,
and notably the Musical Society of Ireland, followed this example,
and the societies thus formed were partially protected by the
Irish Parliament. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the
moneys available were increased by the establishment of asso-
ciations in London to improve the condition of the Irish peas-
antry, known as the "Irish Reproductive Loan Funds." Laxity
and dishonesty soon crept in, and with the dissolution of the
Musical Society, Parliament found it necessary to interfere. A
series of Acts resulted in the establishment in 1836 of an Irish
152 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
Loan Fund Board to supervise the system, the members being
appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant.
No loans of over £10 were permitted, and interest at the rate
of 12 per cent, was legalized. A further Act was necessary in 1843,
in which the rate was lowered, but no effective check seems to
have been found on irregularities and abuses. Since that time the
system has been the subject of various commissions and inquiries,
the universal testimony being that the central board, owing to its
lack of continuity and effective powers, was quite unable to con-
trol the system, and that the local societies were badly and often
dishonestly managed. The income of the Board, which was mainly
derived from the sale of forms and documents, diminished
rapidly, and investments had to be sacrificed, while the spread
of branch banks did away with the usefulness of many of the
societies.
The history of the system since the inquiry of 1896 has been
very fully set forth in the Report alluded to, and need not be
reproduced here. The conclusions reached are that in practi-
cally every respect the societies are unsatisfactory, particularly
because of a widespread delusion to the effect that Government
stands behind them. There is in fact "a total lack of security for
debenture-holders and depositors save in so far as this is supplied
by the good management of a society, by any accumulated
reserve, and by any guarantee furnished by the treasurer and
clerk. . . . The imagined Government security was a main in-
fluence in attracting depositors in former years, until disillusion-
ment came." This in itself is sufficient condemnation of a system
which in any case was never intended to be spread throughout
the rural districts, but simply to afford temporary relief to
workers in the great industrial centres. The final recommendation
of the Departmental Committee on the subject of these societies
is as follows:
"Seeing that in every respect co-operative credit societies are
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 153
more suitable agencies of rural credit than Loan Fund societies
. . . legislation should . . . provide for the utilization of the
funds of the latter in the establishment of credit societies in the
same district or county. Debenture-holders should, as far as
possible, be paid off."
Such were the available sources of credit for small farmers in
the early days of the co-operative movement. It is not surprising
that the pioneers soon began to look for a remedy. A model was
found in the systems of popular credit which had already been
established in Germany with striking success. Nothing was
actually done until after the establishment of the I.A.O.S. in
1894. By this time a good number of creameries and agricultural
societies were already in existence, and the need for credit
facilities could be easily seen. The committee therefore decided
to call in expert assistance, and was fortunate enough to obtain
that of Mr. H. W. Wolff, then (and still) acknowledged as the
leading authority on the subject. He visited Dublin in 1894 and
gave a full explanation of the various systems of co-operative
credit practised on the Continent. Later in the same year a visit
was paid by Mr. R. A. Yerburgh, M.P., and Mr. Thomas
Farrow, president and secretary respectively of the English
Agricultural Banks Association, and the former delivered a
lecture on the subject before the Royal Dublin Society. As a
result of these visits it was decided to make an experiment at
Doneraile, Co. Cork, and after considerable delays, caused by
difficulties in drafting rules, a co-operative credit society started
operations there early in the year 1895.
This society was modeled upon the German Raiffeisen system.
That system is the basis of rural organization in Germany, and
the type has remained more or less fixed. The members under-
take an unlimited liability, jointly and severally, for the obliga-
tions of the society; there is no share capital, and only a small
entrance fee. The essential features are that membership shall
154 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
be limited to so small an area that it is possible for the committee
to judge the character of the applicants, and that the granting
of loans shall be largely conditioned by this judgment. Loans
are made only for reproductive purposes, such as the holding
over of stock, the purchase of breeding animals, etc., and not
for anything of a wasteful nature. The sums lent are very small
as a rule, ranging from £i to £50, and the period of the loan is
from three months to a year, only exceeding this time in very
exceptional cases. The rate of interest charged varies between
5 per cent, and 7 per cent. There is a tendency to try to keep
it down to the lowest figure, which too often brings a loss on
the year's working. The I.A.O.S. recommends 6% per cent., or
i J^d. on a pound per month, assuming that the capital is obtained
at 4 per cent.
The sources of capital are three in all, namely, members'
deposits, loans from Government Departments, and other loans,
mainly bank overdrafts. The ideal method of capitalizing the
societies is, of course, by means of members' deposits, thus
ensuring that the savings of the district should be reinvested in
that district. The Raiffeisen banks in Germany are called thrift
and credit banks (Spar-und Darlehenskassen) , and the emphasis
is distinctly on the thrift. In fact, these societies attract almost
more deposits than they can safely use, and during the war they
have been able to make very large contributions to the war loans.
In Ireland, thrift has been omitted, not only from the name, but
in too many cases from the practice of these societies. It is true
that the total amount of deposits has increased from year to year,
but this increase has been almost entirely achieved by a few
successful societies. The Irish agriculturist is abnormally cautious
as to the security behind any institution with which he leaves
money, and he only recognizes two chief forms of security,
namely, Government backing, or the presence of a president or
secretary in whom he has complete confidence. Societies which
are fortunate enough to possess such an official are able to com-
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 155
mand a considerable amount of local deposits, the others suffer
by comparison with the Post Office Savings Banks, with their
Government guarantee, and with the joint-stock banks which,
like the Loan Fund Board societies, are often vaguely supposed
to have the Government behind them. There need not neces-
sarily be any reason for supposing that the secretaries of the
societies which do not get deposits are in any way less responsible
than those of the successful ones. They simply lack the valuable
capacity for inspiring the same confidence in the people. The
figures for 1911 show that out of a total capital of £55,000 the
deposits totaled £27,290. This amount was divided among ninety-
eight societies, and of these fourteen held between them no less
than £14,154, one having over £2000. For purposes of compari-
son, it may be remarked that in 1910 deposits in German rural
credit societies averaged £6375 per society, and £64 per member.
We shall return to this point in further detail; meanwhile, we may
consider the other sources from which the banks get their capital.
In the early days of the movement it was generally held that
co-operative credit societies, as distinct from those engaged in
any form of trade, might reasonably receive a certain amount
of direct aid from the State. This principle was recognized before
the foundation of the Department of Agriculture by the Con-
gested Districts Board, which saw in these societies a very proper
method of alleviating distress in the districts under its charge.
The Board was aware of the necessarily unremunerative nature
of the work done in these backward parts of the country, and
of the difficulties of obtaining capital. Accordingly it contributed
to the expenses of organization, and in 1898 agreed to furnish
loans not exceeding £100 each at the low rate of 3 per cent, to
form the nucleus of capital for societies within its jurisdiction.
This example was found worthy of imitation by the Department
of Agriculture in the first year of its work, and in 1901 the loans
outstanding from it were £1350, divided among eighteen societies.
In the same year, the Congested Districts Board had lent £2980
1 56 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
to thirty-six societies. The Department's report for 1904-05 con-
tains the following passage:
"The Department advance loans varying in amount from £25
to £100 to approved banks, on which interest is charged at the
rate of 3 per cent, per annum. The advances are made under a
bond given by the bank for the due payment of the loan, and
this bond forms a continuing security until the loan is paid off.
Loans are granted for eighteen months, and may be called in at
the expiration of that period; but as the security holds good until
the principal is fully repaid, it has not been deemed advisable
to call in loans until they are no longer required, and sufficient
deposits for the working of the bank have been subscribed locally.
When a loan is repaid by a bank the amount is issued to another
approved applicant so that the loan capital is kept in circulation.
"For the work of organizing agricultural banks, the Depart-
ment make use of the services of the bank organizers employed
by the Irish Agricultural Organization Society, and the receipt
in each case of a certificate from these officers, endorsed by the
secretary of the society, to the effect that a satisfactory committee
has been appointed, and that the bank has been properly organ-
ized and shows promise of being worked with success, is a con-
dition precedent to the granting of a loan."
The maximum of these loans was reached in 1907 when the
Department had £12,913 and the Board £5872 outstanding. The
number of societies benefiting was 181, or 96 per cent, of all
which furnished returns. The total capital of all the societies was
£48,700, so that the proportion of State loans to other capital
was considerably less than one-half, whereas in 1905 it had been
as high as four-sevenths.
The I.A.O.S. fully recognized that it was undesirable to in-
crease the amount of these loans. A number of societies existed
merely for the purpose of administering the distribution of a
certain amount of Government money which they regarded more
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 157
as a windfall from a mysterious providence than as a loan given
to encourage self-help and repayable within a comparatively
short time. The following passage from the Departmental Com-
mittee's Report gives a fair picture of the attitude adopted:
"[There is] a widespread feeling that the loan is in reality a
permanent gift, owing to its being made from the State's assumed
limitless resources. In some circumstances the borrowing societies
seem to have considered that they had a right to the use of the
capital of the loan so long as they paid the interest regularly;
and to have felt rather aggrieved that a Government Department
should expect to receive its money back again from the borrower.
One suggestive phrase used in this connection was the charge
made against the Department of 'evicting' a society out of its
loan!"
It was evidently desirable that the State should cease to sup-
port societies which had no intention of doing anything for
themselves and were leading a purely parasitic existence; while
in the case of the progressive societies the point should quickly
be reached where they could depend on their own capital. The
fact, therefore, that from 1908 onward the policy of loans was
discontinued, and the Department set about to reduce the
amounts outstanding, calls for no criticism, nor in fact did the
I.A.O.S. take exception to these proceedings. What is unfortunate
is that the Department was unable to carry out this change
without creating friction and controversy, with which we shall
deal later. The amount of the loans was reduced by 1913 to
£6500 from the Department and £5000 from the Congested Dis-
tricts Board, which had pursued a more negative policy. With the
outbreak of the war both these bodies, faced by the need for
strict economy, decided to withdraw all their loans as far as
possible. The time was obviously inopportune, and considerable
apprehension was felt by the Department that the money would
158 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
not be recoverable, and by the I.A.O.S. that many societies would
collapse.*
In spite of these forebodings the process has been wonderfully
successful. The whole of the sums outstanding, with the excep-
tion of a few small loans, has been already repaid. The net loss
to the Department on the fifteen years' experiment was £91, or
less than one year's interest. The C.D.B. has been even more
fortunate, having lost practically nothing. These facts form a
remarkable testimony to the honesty of the much-abused small
farmer.
The third source of capital available lies in overdrafts from
the joint-stock banks. At the beginning of the movement there
was very naturally some hesitation on the part of these agencies
to welcome societies which seemed likely to interfere with their
own functions. It is to the credit of the banks that they soon
realized that there was little or no competition threatened, and
that the credit societies would actually help them by borrowing
money in comparatively large sums and taking charge of the
dangerous and tedious task of distributing it in very small loans.
These considerations caused them to agree to grant overdrafts
on favorable terms. A joint and several guarantee is provided
by the committee, and interest is charged at 4 per cent. The
advice of the I.A.O.S. is usually sought, and where it is favorable
there are very few cases where societies are unable to obtain all
the accommodation they require. This fact has, of course, mili-
tated against the formation of a central credit society, and has
perhaps had an indirect influence in discouraging deposits, but
on the whole it may be said that the movement owes a good deal
to the friendly attitude of the joint-stock banks.
In organization the credit societies differ from other Irish
*The need of economy in war time has been made an excuse for many very
uneconomical proceedings. It is interesting to compare the example of France,
where the Government has increased the State loans to credit societies in order to
stimulate them to renewed helpfulness in a time of crisis.
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 159
co-operative societies in that they are registered under the
Friendly Societies Act instead of under that governing industrial
and provident societies. They are thus confined to the particular
business of taking deposits and making loans, and have no trad-
ing powers, while the liability of their members is unlimited.
They are not actually friendly societies, but are "specially
authorized societies" under a clause which provides for the regis-
tration of "Societies for any purpose which the Treasury may
authorize as a purpose to which the provisions of the Act, or
such of them as are specified in the authority, ought to be ex-
tended." Certain sections of the Act only are extended to them
and they do not enjoy some exemptions allowed to other friendly
societies.*
The original reason for registering under this Act lay in the
fact that unlimited liability was considered necessary. The mem-
bers of the first societies were in the main very poor men, and the
only security they could offer which would warrant loans from
any outside source was that of unlimited and collective liability.
At the same time, the knowledge that there was no limit to their
liability stimulated members to feel a real responsibility for the
affairs of the society. Moreover, the influence of Raiffeisen's
example was very great; dealing with much the same problems
he had achieved marked success by means of societies with un-
limited liability, so that it seemed reasonable to argue that the
same pattern should be adopted in Ireland.
Undoubtedly this form of society was well adapted to deal with
conditions as they were in 1894. But as time went on and the
pioneer societies had almost done their work it began to be
apparent that there were some serious defects in the method.
In the first place, when societies began to spread into districts
where comparatively well-to-do farmers might have joined them
* A remarkable instance of the methods of the law is to be seen in the fact that
these societies are held liable to the income tax from which industrial and provident
societies on the one hand and friendly societies on the other are exempt.
160 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
these men were frightened away by the prospect of being respon-
sible to an unlimited extent for their neighbors. Serious doubts
also arose as to whether it would be possible to liquidate one of
these societies if there were reason for doing so to recover money,
without a long and tedious legal process. Moreover, the impos-
sibility of paying a secretary properly militated against the
success of the societies, and they tended to become dormant.
These difficulties might have been met by adding trading powers;
but under the Friendly Societies Act this was impossible, and the
Thrift and Credit Banks Bill promoted by Lord Shaftesbury to
legalize the combination broke down under official distrust and
opposition. Consequently the leaders of the I.A.O.S. have for
some time been contemplating the possibility of registering credit
societies under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act with
limited liability and trading powers. As a preliminary step a
clause has been incorporated in the rules of agricultural societies
giving them power to do a banking business. Meanwhile the
organization of societies of the old type has been suspended for
two or three years past. This does not by any means imply that
the credit societies have been a failure. In many districts they
served their purpose and are no longer so urgently required,
while a considerable number are still thoroughly successful. A
brief sketch of their history will illustrate the point.
The first bank, as we have seen, was organized in 1895 at
Doneraile. In the following year a special bank organizer was
appointed in the person of Mr. D. L. Roche, who succeeded in
forming societies at Kyle and Belmullet, the latter forty miles
from a railway station. Nothing was done in 1897 owing to Mr.
Roche's promotion to the position of manager of the I.C.A.S. At
the close of this year, however, the I.A.O.S. approached the
Congested Districts Board with a request for help in establishing
these societies throughout the poorest parts of the West, where
"extreme poverty forbade any scheme of self-help involving any
large preliminary outlay of capital." The success of the society
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 161
already started at Belmullet was good evidence both of the
material benefits and the educational value of this work in a
backward district, and the Board readily assented to the scheme
and granted £100 towards organization expenses. With this help
societies were formed in six villages in Mayo and three in Galway.
In many cases it was not possible to raise the necessary capital
for loans locally, and it was at this point that the practice of
granting State loans for the purpose began. The Board had power
to grant loans for the advancement of agriculture, and decided
to make such grants to credit societies on the same terms as they
had been accustomed to make in the case of fishery loans. Here,
however, an unexpected difficulty arose, for it was discovered
that under the Act the funds of the societies must be raised by
contributions from members only, and there were no borrowing
powers. Consequently it was necessary that loans should be made
to individual members of committees, and by them deposited
with societies in their own names. Such a system put an undue
share of responsibility upon individuals while relaxing the sense
of joint liability of the members, and to meet it Sir Horace
Plunkett (then a Member of Parliament) introduced a short Bill
which passed into law under the name of the Societies Borrowing
Powers Act. Under this Act societies which declared no dividend
and lent only for approved purposes were enabled to borrow from
non-members, whether individuals or corporate bodies.
In their report for this year, the I.A.O.S. stated: "We attach
very great importance to the introduction of the Raiffeisen system
into Ireland and are inclined to put it in the forefront of our
propaganda." They were influenced chiefly by the great educa-
tional value of the system, the necessity for combating the
increasing power of usury, and the desirability of introducing a
principle of responsibility and a better understanding of business
methods into the agricultural slums of Ireland. "Only those who
know the amazing economics of the small Irish farmer in the
West can realize to what an extent the sharpening of his business
1 62 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
wits will benefit him and prepare him for further organization.
This sharpening is brought about, not only by the unlimited
liability, but also by the method of lending."
As a result of this attitude a rapid advance was made, and the
report for 1899 records the formation of thirty-three new socie-
ties, making a total of forty-eight. "The audited accounts of the
new banks are very satisfactory, and the reports furnished on
their working by the organizers, together with the enthusiasm of
the members, lead us to believe that though the transactions of
other societies may be larger, no form of co-operation which we
have advocated is so suited to the character of Irish rural life or
so productive of moral and material good." And again: "No bad
debts have been incurred. Punctuality in payment has been the
rule, many members paying up before the loans became due."
Some typical instances are given of the benefits achieved by
membership in one of these societies. We may quote one which
is characteristic. A member writes: "The loan of £3 which I
borrowed from the Kilcommon Bank on August 22, 1898, I
applied as follows: On August 27 I purchased three young pigs
for £i 155.; on February 15 following I sold two pigs at £3 153.
I have kept one, a sow, for breeding. She is now within three
weeks of young ones, and is valued at £4. The balance of the loan,
£i 53., enabled me to hold over sale of a calf which at the time
would only have fetched £i los. This is still in my possession and
is well worth £3. The feeding for pigs would have been worthless
to me without them, the potatoes being small and black." This
is surely testimony which might make a powerful appeal even
to a prince of finance; it shows so clearly what a vast difference
the possibility of obtaining the smallest loan may make to a
farmer in some districts. Several other such letters are quoted.
In this year an Irish-speaking organizer was appointed, as
many of these banks were formed in districts where English was
little spoken. A leaflet was also printed in Gaelic. About the same
time a complete revision of the rules was carried out, bringing
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 163
them into their present shape. An interesting experiment was
attempted in Wexford, where the large Enniscorthy Agricultural
Society registered three credit societies with limited liability under
the Industrial and Provident Societies Act. These societies were
intended to finance the trade of branch agricultural societies,
but only one of them, that at Ballindaggin, actually began work.
It is still in existence and remains the unique example of its type
in Ireland, but for several years it has had only ten or twelve
members, and seems, though perfectly solvent, to have outlived
its usefulness.
The enthusiasm of the I.A.O.S. for credit societies resulted in
a steady and perhaps over-rapid increase for the next few years.
This was helped by the increased facilities for obtaining capital.
The Department began to contribute loans in 1901, and the Con-
gested Districts Board continued to do so in increasing amounts,
while by 1902 the joint-stock banks, which at first had held aloof,
became fully reconciled to the societies and willing to advance
money to them. At the same time one or two county councils
contributed toward the expenses of organization.
By 1904 the total capital of the societies amounted to over
£28,000, but of this amount over half was furnished by State
loans. In their report for this year the I.A.O.S. wrote: "Local
money is coming to be more relied on, and whenever possible,
the I.A.O.S. organizers deprecate applications to the Department
if capital is otherwise procurable. . . . The Congested Districts
Board and the Department still continue their aid to credit socie-
ties in districts where local capital is not at first available, and
it almost always follows that confidence is established, and
depositors appear after some months or a year has elapsed."
In these circumstances it was comparatively easy to organize
credit societies which would give promise of being useful and
effective. It was far more difficult to ensure that this promise
should be realized. The ease with which capital could be obtained
and the lack of funds to pay an efficient secretary tended to
1 64 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
slackness, while the fact that these banks had not funds to enable
them to pay the cost of inspection and audit made it impossible
for the I.A.O.S. to keep up a proper supervision of all of them
except with the aid of State subsidies. Consequently it is not sur-
prising that during the period from 1904 to 1908, when their
number reached its maximum, defects began to appear, and
that subsequently to this time when the Department cut off the
subsidy of the I.A.O.S. and reduced the loans to the banks, as
well as assuming a critical attitude towards them, the societies
began to decrease.
The chief defects were renewals of loans, failure to attract
deposits, the making of losses on the year's work, failure to
furnish returns either to the Registrar or to the I.A.O.S., and
general apathy or inefficiency.
Protests against the policy of renewing loans begin to appear
in the reports of the I.A.O.S. in the year 1905, and since that time
vigorous attempts have been made to discountenance this prac-
tice. By a renewal is meant the reissuing or extension of a loan
beyond the period for which it was originally granted, without
proof that the money will be applied to any new purpose or that
any additional profits will follow from its repayment being with-
held. In some cases actual renewal is avoided by the money being
repaid formally on the due date and borrowed again almost
immediately for the same purpose. This practice strikes directly
at the fundamental principle by which loans are granted under
the Raiffeisen system, namely, that the purposes to which they
are applied should be purely reproductive. Furthermore by with-
drawing capital from free circulation it diminishes the usefulness
of the society and inflicts an injustice on new members or on
those who have not needed loans previously. Finally, the small
credit society can only succeed when it is based upon principles
of punctuality and discipline. The borrower who finds he can
renew a loan indefinitely is not benefited ethically, and the
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 165
authority of the committee falls into contempt, with a probable
decrease in its efficiency.
The temptation to connive at renewals arises naturally wher-
ever the people entrusted with the management of the society
have an insufficient appreciation of their responsibilities or are
not competent to discharge them. In small country districts it
is inevitable that the tone of the committee will be mainly in-
fluenced by the attitude of the secretary. Practically all the other
defects which we have noted may be traced to the same point.
The failure to furnish any proper returns is obviously a sign of
apathy or incompetence in the secretary, and the same cause
usually leads to losses, to failure to attract deposits, and to
general stagnation.
It would not be reasonable to blame individual secretaries for
these failures; in the majority of cases they are doing their best,
and where they are not, it is probably because they have received
no support from the members or have been forced into a task for
which they had no inclination. Nor should the members be criti-
cized for inefficiency in carrying on what seems to them a com-
plicated business, or losing interest in the society when they no
longer have need of it. The two chief reasons for the backward-
ness of a number of the societies are the lack of possibilities of
expansion and the absence of a sufficiently close supervision from
some authoritative body. To a great extent the policy of the State
Department must bear the primary responsibility for both these
defects. They go together almost entirely.
As we have seen, the expansion of the societies was at one time
extremely rapid; Government capital and subsidies to the
I.A.O.S. made such expansion easy, and a number of such socie-
ties was needed to deal with the circumstances of the time. But
small societies in backward districts, based on unlimited liability
and relying largely on Government loans, with no trading powers,
could not continue indefinitely active. A time was bound to come
when either the members would have been relieved of their dis-
1 66 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
tress and the work of the bank done, or the secretary would
require payment which the funds could not provide, or possibly
an energetic official would leave the neighborhood and give place
to an apathetic or unsuitable one. To meet these probabilities,
provision should have been made either for liquidating a society
when it seemed to have fulfilled its purpose or reached a point
of stagnation, or for giving it such increased functions as would
stimulate renewed interest in it. The former policy obviously
involves frequent inspection and strict control by the central
authority, while the latter involves a considerable structural
change in the societies.
Credit societies of the Raiffeisen type throughout Europe have
a more active existence than those in Ireland for one or both of
two reasons. In the first place, they are the great centres of thrift
for the rural population, and the funds so accumulated enable
them either locally (as in Italy) or through a federation (as in
Austria) to capitalize and finance the trading side of the move-
ment. In the second place, they have trading powers and act
(as in Germany) as important agencies for the collective pur-
chase of farmers' requirements in the way of fertilizers, feeding-
stuffs, and so forth.
We have seen that there are legal reasons which prevent Irish
credit societies so long as they are organized with unlimited
liability from enjoying trading powers, and that the attempt to
remove this disability was unsuccessful largely owing to official
opposition. We have also seen that there are various obstacles
to the accumulation of large funds by the credit societies. Every-
thing points to the fact that far greater supervision and control
of these societies are required. The controlling authority might be
expected either to reorganize them on a basis of limited liability,
or to strengthen their financial methods in such a way that they
could command and dispose of larger deposits. This work cannot
be undertaken by the I.A.O.S. as at present constituted, for two
reasons: in the first place, it would require a great increase in
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 167
the staff for which the credit societies are certainly not in a posi-
tion to pay, while no other funds are available; in the second
place, if the central authority is to encourage the accumulation
of surplus deposits, it must be prepared to act as a clearing house
for them in order to ensure that they are profitably used and at
the same time it must provide some sort of a guarantee for their
safety. These functions are outside the scope of the I.A.O.S. as
an educational body. They are performed in Germany and Austria
by central credit societies, and there is a great deal to be said
for following this example in Ireland.
The chief arguments against it are the probability of antag-
onizing the joint-stock banks, and the dangers which have been
found to beset co-operative central banks with large funds in
other countries. The Departmental Committee opposed the
scheme for these reasons and maintained that there was no neces-
sity for such a central body, as it would not be able to give the
credit societies more advantageous terms than they already
enjoyed from the joint-stock banks. In saying this the Committee
were undoubtedly considering the credit societies purely as
making loans, and from this point of view they were no doubt
right. But they had no conception of the possibilities of the credit
societies as sources for the collection of funds to finance the whole
movement, which is really the most important development to
be expected from them. The Central Credit Society of the prov-
ince of Lower Austria has collected deposits from affiliated
societies to the extent of £2,000,000, and practically all of this
is reinvested in the interests of agricultural co-operators. In
Ireland the Post Office Savings Banks hold deposits to the amount
of £18,000,000, and the long term deposits in the joint-stock
banks amount to £65,000,000. A great proportion of this money
is derived from agricultural sources, but most of it leaves the
country altogether. If a central co-operative bank existed which
was able to attract even i per cent, of this money, the lack
of capital from which the movement suffers could be remedied
1 68 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
at once, even if the joint-stock banks were to some extent
alienated.
Meanwhile a Central Co-operative Credit Society has been
established under the auspices of the I.A.O.S., apparently with
a view to keeping open the possibility of development in the
future. This society is inadequate, however, for the reason that
it is not in any sense a federation of the local societies, and there-
fore has no control over them. Its operations at present are
almost negligible, and there is little reason to suppose that in its
present form it can cope with the needs of the movement even
if it succeeded in getting more closely into touch with the
societies.
Frequent references have been made throughout this chapter
to the Departmental Committee's Report and its effect upon the
movement. It is necessary now to deal with this matter in more
detail.
On his accession to the Vice-Presidency of the Department of
Agriculture, Mr. T. W. Russell set himself to break the links
between that body and the I.A.O.S. which his predecessor had
created. The subsidy to the I.A.O.S. for organizing purposes was
soon disposed of, but there remained the £13,000 or so of loans
which the Department had outstanding with the credit societies.
It was agreed between the I.A.O.S. and the Department that
these loans should be withdrawn, but it was quite apparent that
the process must be a gradual one. Meanwhile the existence of
the loans gave the Department the right to inspect these societies
and to claim some sort of authority over them. As friction in-
creased, Mr. Russell seems to have felt that this connection
afforded him an opportunity of attacking the co-operative move-
ment at its weakest point. The credit societies were admittedly
a weak point, for the withdrawal of the Government subsidy
had made it difficult to continue the unremunerative work of
inspecting them.
In 1910, at a meeting of the Congested Districts Board, Mr.
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 169
Russell announced that the system was "rotten and indefensible"
and that the societies, if wound up, would not realize 2s. 6d. in
the pound. Sir Horace Plunkett, who was present at the meeting,
naturally felt that a serious attack was made upon him as the
person chiefly responsible both for the foundation of these
societies and for the State loans to them. In a correspondence
which was subsequently published both in the public Press and
the I.A.O.S. Report, he sought unsuccessfully to obtain some
justification or explanation of the statement. The corrrespond-
ence is worth reading as an authentic example of the contemptu-
ous flippancy with which highly placed Government officials
occasionally treat their responsibilities. In 1910 the Department
sent out one of their officers to inspect the credit societies to which
they had granted loans. He reported that twenty- two of them
were satisfactory, thirty-six fair, and forty-five unsatisfactory.
There is no means of knowing by what methods this classification
was arrived at, and the vague terms used are not rendered much
more definite by the explanations given in the Report, which tells
us that "satisfactory" means that the bank was well managed,
"unsatisfactory" that it was badly managed, while "fair" includes
everything between these two.
For two years Mr. Russell continued to bemoan the difficulties
of recovering the loans and to make dark announcements as to
the amount of bad debts incurred and the necessity of frequent
legal proceedings. In recovering these debts he was supposed to
act, as would be only reasonable, on the advice of the I.A.O.S.,
but he steadily refused to take that body into his confidence, and
it is still in the dark as to the identity of many of the societies
which caused him so much difficulty.
In January, 1912, Mr. Russell decided that a formal inquiry
might be held into the position of the credit societies which he
had already so unsparingly condemned. The Departmental Com-
mittee on Agricultural Credit was accordingly appointed. It
included one representative from the I.A.O.S., namely, the
i;o RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
Reverend T. A. Finlay, two officers of the Department, and
several gentlemen whose eminence was due to quite other causes
than their knowledge of the principles of either co-operation or
agricultural credit. Its report was finally published in 1914 after
a period of two years, during which the credit movement remained
in abeyance. Its findings contained a most excellent and pains-
taking summary of the general history of the movement with
many useful facts and figures, and, from this point of view, it
deserves to take rank as a standard work of reference. It also
showed clearly that the work of the credit societies as organized
by the I.A.O.S. had been of great benefit to the country, and that
the defects which existed were as freely admitted by the I.A.O.S.
as by its critics. A sympathetic student of the subject reading
the main body of this report would conclude that with harmony
between the State and the voluntary body, and the devotion of
a reasonable subsidy to the organization of these societies a great
future lay before them. The Committee, however, drew no such
conclusions. Ignoring the evidence of such experts as Messrs.
Wolff and Cahill, to say nothing of the officials of the I.A.O.S.,
they decided that the I.A.O.S. had failed in its duties, and that
the credit societies could only be restored to life by Government
control. They therefore proposed to set up a branch of the
Department of Agriculture to organize credit societies in com-
petition with the I.A.O.S., and threw out as a bribe free audit at
the expense of the Treasury. What was thought of these proposals
by those who had heard the Vice-President's frenzied protests
against overlapping wherever the I.A.O.S. showed signs of
encouraging farmers to farm, or his indignation at the idea of
any State assistance to the co-operative movement, remains
untold. Nor have the Lords of the Treasury expressed their
opinion of this ingenuous attempt to make them support two rival
forms of co-operative credit in the same country. But the Minor-
ity Report, signed by Father Finlay, expresses the views of the
THE CREDIT SOCIETIES 171
experts of all countries on the matter and has obtained wider
recognition than the suggestions of the Majority.
It is a question whether Mr. Russell really intended to put the
scheme into operation. If he did he was delayed, probably by
unforeseen technical difficulties, until the outbreak of war, since
when it has been the consistent policy of most officials connected
with agriculture to act only under the pressure of enforced
economy or of enraged public opinion. Thus a deadlock exists
for the present and the credit societies have become the neglected
orphans of the movement. A certain number of them are still
extremely prosperous, and the majority of them have served a
useful purpose, so that the I.A.O.S. has no need to feel any
remorse on this head. But with the withdrawal of Government
loans and the gradual creeping in of defects due to unbusinesslike
habits and insufficient supervision, many of them are in such a
position that they must either be reorganized or liquidated if
they are not to become dead branches on an otherwise healthy
tree. The I.A.O.S. fully admits this, but its leaders feel that when
the threat of State interference is still held over them, it would
be unwise to spend on these societies time and money which are
urgently needed in other directions. The whole staff of the
I.A.O.S. is fully occupied, and the financial position forbids any
additions to it. In these circumstances, so long as the I.A.O.S.
stands prepared to audit the accounts of the credit societies, to
send inspectors to them in cases of urgent necessity, to carry out
the liquidation of the most hopeless, and to safeguard as far as
possible the interests of depositors and creditors where they exist,
it must be held to be doing all that can be expected of it. No new
credit societies on the Raiffeisen basis have been organized for
the last four years, and beyond inserting a clause providing for
banking operations in the rules of the agricultural societies, no
steps have been taken towards the creation of a new type, al-
though the matter has often been discussed by the Committee
and the organizers.
172 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
If, when normal conditions are restored, the recommendations
of the Departmental Committee can be conveniently forgotten
and the facts made the basis of reconstruction by a committee
of people who both understand and sympathize with the move-
ment, the credit societies may yet become the keystone of Irish
co-operation. But even if this is not done, and many of them
have to be allowed to pass away, the testimony of thousands of
small farmers, reciting such plain facts as we have quoted on
a previous page, will suffice to show that the efforts spent in
creating these societies and maintaining them during the times
of economic stress were by no means spent in vain.
CHAPTER X
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES
THE three types of co-operative societies which we have con-
sidered in detail in the previous chapters — the creameries, the
agricultural societies, and the credit banks — comprise the major
portion of the Irish co-operative movement. In the remaining
group is to be found a very considerable variety of enterprises,
but in none of them is there any important modification or novel
application of the co-operative principle. Some of these miscel-
laneous societies may become of great importance in the later
development of the co-operative movement, while others, con-
cerned with subsidiary occupations, must remain in a secondary
position. All of them, however, are associations for the general
purposes of manufacture or purchase and sale which we have
already considered. Thus while this chapter will indicate the
facility with which the co-operative system is applied over a wide
field, and will lead us to conclude, perhaps, that no new enterprise
is likely to engage the attention of the farming community in
which the local organization afforded by the societies is not of
the greatest value and importance, it will reveal little in the
practice of co-operative organization which is not already clear.
The success of the various societies here considered, including
those of a more experimental nature, will serve as additional
evidence of the value of this principle, which has already been
so completely justified.
On practically every farm, be it the large holding of a thou-
sand acres or the corner of one which the agricultural laborer
has been able to secure, is to be found a stock of poultry. No
173
174 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
form of farm production is capable of wider expansion; no form
is so often neglected. The position of Ireland in close proximity
to the English markets would seem to have offered a particular
advantage and incentive to this industry. Nevertheless it had
never assumed its proper position in the industrial life of the
country. The reputation of Irish eggs in England was no more
savory than that of Irish butter. Time and again the Glasgow
and Liverpool merchants were forced to announce that they found
it impossible to deal in Irish eggs as supplied to them. Likewise
Irish poultry, which was later taken to England and fattened
as Surrey fowl, was in such poor condition that it brought very
low prices. The yearly loss to Irish farmers, distributed among
all classes of the population, and most serious for the poorest,
reached into thousands of pounds.
Complete ignorance of the technical details of the industry,
and a lack of proper arrangements for marketing, the two
ubiquitous evils of Irish agriculture, largely accounted for this
situation. The women, into whose hands this part of the farming
operations naturally fell, were even less in touch with modern
developments than the men. The hens roamed at large over the
estate or picked up their living along the "long pasture." Winter
egg production was as unusual as winter dairying. An expert
would have found great difficulty in identifying the constituent
breeds of the ordinary Irish fowl; its chief characteristic was a
ripe and unprofitable old age. The marketing arrangements were
crude and inefficient. Eggs were collected from the fields and
hedges as the necessities of the moment, the visits of the egg
collector, and the energies of the owner directed. No attempt
was made to keep them clean or sizeable, no attempt to ensure
a really fresh product. The egg collector was among the most
virulent of the middleman class. He traveled about die country
with his miscellaneous stock of household necessaries and un-
necessaries, and for these received in payment the collected eggs
of the period intervening between his visits. His profit was thus
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 175
doubled. If there were no egg collector, the shopkeeper at the
crossroads played his role with equal distinction. Eventually the
eggs found their way to the markets; dirty, ungraded, and badly
packed. This last fact accounted, partially at least, for the large
percentage of breakages en route of which Irish shippers were
ever complaining. Both producers and middlemen paid little
attention to the freshness of the eggs. In times of a rising market
they were held outrageously by both parties. As long as this
system of organization and technique continued, the Irish egg
and poultry trade was destined to maintain its insignificant and
backward position.
The situation was one in which the application of the co-
operative principle seemed likely to prove particularly advan-
tageous. Through common effort the twofold problem of technique
and marketing might be solved. Thus in the early years of the
movement the addition of eggs and poultry to the business of
the existing creamery societies was recommended, and in 1897
the formation of independent societies for this purpose proposed.
Later a poultry expert was added to the staff of the I.A.O.S., and
a Dane, M. Viggo Schwarz, was brought over to introduce the
methods of grading and packing which had established the
Danish egg at the head of the English market. The societies
collect, grade, pack and market the eggs for their members, and
in many cases have engaged in the dressing of poultry. They
perform these services so far as possible along the most modern
and scientific lines. The eggs are collected regularly by the vans
of the society, are then graded according to size or weight, and
in some cases paid for on that basis. Dirty eggs are discounte-
nanced and often refused altogether. The packing is in dry wood
wool and in non-returnable crates of standard pattern. They are
marketed either direct to the retailer or through the I.A.W.S.
Where societies have embarked on the dressing of poultry, the
proper methods for high-class trade are followed. Attempts to
add the business of poultry fattening, saving for Ireland and
176 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
Irish farmers the large profits usually surrendered to England,
have met with a certain measure of success in a few societies.
Co-operative organization seemed, therefore, to form a com-
prehensive and useful agency for the establishment of the egg
and poultry business on a proper basis. Though the I.A.O.S. has
never been in a position to devote the attention to this industry
which it has deserved, its efforts have not been without fruit. In
1915 there were eleven active societies, with a membership of
4000, and a turnover for the year of £85,000.* Reserves had been
accumulated totaling £6669, and the net profits were £1806 as
against a loss in a single society of £20. These statistics indicate
that existing societies have succeeded to a considerable degree
and are doing a large and useful business.
Though in the beginning it was proposed to establish small
societies on a parish basis, success has more often come with a
large unit, covering a considerable area and embracing a large
membership. This type of society provides a turnover which
makes possible the employment of an expert manager. The North
Kilkenny Society at Ballyragget, for instance, has a membership
of 390, and draws its eggs and poultry from a wide district. It
has been able through the skill of its manager to take up the
business of table poultry and fattening on a large scale. But even
with this advantage the large society has drawbacks. The members
are not bound together with the same community loyalties, and
there may be friction between the various localities. Moreover,
even with addition of poultry the large egg society is not immune
from the danger of starvation — the lack, that is, of sufficient
produce to keep the society on a paying basis. For these reasons,
co-operative egg and poultry societies of this description, though
they have proved quite successful, do not seem likely to become
numerous.
There are two alternative schemes for the co-operative organ-
* These figures actually represent only seven of the societies, no returns except as
to number of members being available from the others.
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 177
ization of this industry which obviate some of the difficulties
mentioned. The small parochial society may be rehabilitated in
a different form. As the more frequent concern of the womenfolk,
this problem has been turned over to the United Irishwomen.
Their modest efforts have met with some success and seem to
indicate considerable possibilities. Once or twice a week the
members take in their eggs to a central point where under the
direction of a member they are packed for shipment. The running
expenses are small, therefore, and the product suitable for a very
high class of trade. These egg circles suffer from their neces-
sarily limited size, but for the particular demands of a certain
class of trade they may prove most useful. Much depends on
the executive ability of the members, which may be stimulated
by careful guidance. But an even more promising solution of the
problem is to be found by returning to the original plan of making
the egg and poultry business one feature of a more general
society.
The manager of a creamery has all the necessary facilities at
hand to deal with this additional business. It can usually be
undertaken without any increase in standing plant or the number
of workers. No system of collectors is necessary, since the milk
suppliers call regularly at the creamery. A market is usually at
hand in the business connections already established. This ex-
ceedingly economical and satisfactory way of dealing with the
problem has already been successful in many of the creameries
and general societies throughout Ireland. It is chiefly in this
direction that future developments are to be expected.
The organization of the egg and poultry business involves
many other difficulties, however, in addition to those of particular
co-operative procedure. The fact that this industry is largely in
the hands of the women has endowed it with particular problems
of its own. They have considered it their perquisite and resented
the introduction of the societies, whose members are usually
men, thus putting an end to a source of "pin" money.
1 78 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
Thus far experience would indicate that Irishwomen are far
less co-operative than Irishmen. The sex, largely on account of
the nature of its life hitherto, has generally shown a lack of asso-
ciative qualities. Trade-unionism makes slow progress among
them, for the same reasons which make them poor co-operators.
The allurement of the glittering pan of the pedlar or of the half-
penny more per dozen he willingly offers for a time in order to
put an end to the co-operative society is often too much. The
bargain is made with the result that the society starves and dis-
appears. A binding rule such as exists in the creameries would,
if it were practicable, meet this danger. The necessity of a co-
operative spirit among the members is nowhere better illustrated.
A further difficulty exists in the continued lack of technical
knowledge which has here, as in other directions, hampered the
development of co-operation. Not only are properly qualified
managers uncommon, but also the members have been slow to
grasp the importance of more careful production. Advances have
no doubt been made. The eggs are cleaner and are packed better;
the breed of poultry has been improved. Some societies succeed
in getting as good prices as do their Danish competitors. It is
reported that an English buyer on one occasion telegraphed to
his supplier, the Mallow society, "Asked for Irish eggs. Why did
you send Danish?"
Purchase of eggs on the basis of weight rather than count en-
courages a better quality, but at present, unfortunately, the
practice has been pretty generally abandoned. It has proved
impossible to introduce date stamping on the eggs, the system
which has revolutionized Danish egg production. Nothing seems
to convince the Irish farmer that it is not good business to hold
over eggs in the autumn for the inevitable rise. Energetic and
long-continued efforts will be necessary to overcome these
obstacles. Much may be accomplished by the improvement of
marketing facilities. While many societies sell direct to the
retailers, some form of central organization is necessary. For a
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 179
time a special agency for this purpose existed, but it was later
absorbed by the I.A.W.S. Unfortunately the tendency is for the
farmers to unload only surplus or inferior stocks on this body,
which on its side has been remiss in not insisting on standards.
The brand which the I.A.W.S. established and advertised has
scarcely acquired that reputation for good grading, dry packing
and freshness at which its promoters aimed. A system of control
such as has already been introduced for the marketing of butter
is a possible development. The consumption of eggs, unlike other
products for which substitutes are available, seems likely to
increase. If Irish farmers and agricultural laborers, and espe-
cially Irishwomen, are to profit from this increased demand, the
great potentialities of the industry must be developed by a wider
application of the co-operative principle, combined with a better
understanding of the technical details.
Co-operative organization has also proved its value in the flax
industry. When the English put an end through Mercantilist
legislation to the manufacturing of woolens, the success of the
venture in linen brought much prosperity to the north-east of
the country. Not only was the industry itself beneficial, but the
cultivation of its raw material, flax, was of great advantage in
the country districts. However, this valuable crop declined
seriously during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Whereas in 1869, 229,178 acres of flax were under cultivation,
in 1887 there were only 130,284 acres; 1893, 67,487, and in 1899,
34,989. On the other hand, the importation of foreign flax and
yarn had increased in an equal ratio, while the manufacture of
yarn in Ireland had decreased. The decline in the cultivation of
flax threatened the existence of the linen trade, which was of the
greatest importance to the country.
Many explanations for the situation were offered. Most im-
portant, perhaps, was the competition of Continental countries,
where technical education, both in the manufacture of linen and
in the cultivation of flax, was constantly improving the methods
i8o RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
of production. Without a good supply of Irish flax the Ulster
linen trade was doomed, but the best qualities of flax came from
Belgium. Some growers claimed scarcity of labor as the essential
cause, while others were of the opinion that the seeds supplied,
practically all of which were imported from Russia and Holland,
were of an inferior quality. The system of marketing was crude
and dangerous, giving opportunity for all sorts of abuses to the
great detriment of the producers. No doubt all these factors con-
tributed to the result. The cultivation of flax requires not only
a great deal of labor, but also a very skilled form of labor. Tech-
nical education and a better organization of the trade were
essential.
The attention of the I.A.O.S. was called to the flax industry
by Mr. Frank B arbour, who presented a report at the conference
of 1900 on "Co-operation and Flax Cultivation in Ireland,"
pointing out the serious situation existing and the unfortunate
effects on the leading manufacture of the country. As the way out,
he suggested the co-operative method. This report, followed in
the same year by a conference between growers and manufac-
turers, led to the devotion of considerable attention to this in-
dustry and to the employment for a time of a special organizer
for co-operative flax societies.
These flax societies, five of which were started in 1900, were
concerned with four points: the purchase of seed, the production
of best quality flax, proper scutching, and the sale of the product.
Instead of buying seed from the local traders, one of whom had
admitted at a conference mentioned above that he knew or cared
nothing about its quality, these societies purchased direct from
either Holland or Russia. The actual money saving for farmers
in an industry where seed was a large item of expense was a step
toward greater efficiency.
More important, however, were the efforts to improve the
methods of production. Mr. Barbour had proposed the employ-
ment by groups of co-operative societies of traveling instructors.
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 181
This was, in effect, done through the agency of the I.A.W.S.
And this industry, now becoming through the co-operative socie-
ties more articulate, was able to secure assistance from the newly
established Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction.
Expert advice was valuable, not only in the production of the
flax, but also in the after-treatment known as retting and
scutching. In the latter direction, too, co-operation was of con-
siderable advantage. Many of the societies purchased or built,
while others rented, a scutch mill and were able to carry out that
rather expensive process at a greatly reduced rate. There re-
mained the problem of marketing. Under the existing system it
was claimed that the buyers formed a ring, and that the growers
were at their mercy. Cases where only one buyer attended the
market were not unusual, especially in districts remote from
Belfast. Therefore, the new societies, without forming a market-
ing federation, did for some time combine to maintain an agent
in Belfast. They also did away with private buying on the mill
premises in favor of an open market.
The number of flax societies has not grown in any degree, and
the flax industry, despite considerable efforts, has not advanced
far out of the depression into which it had fallen. The area under
flax has shown a tendency to increase slightly, and a Committee
of the Department of Agriculture in 1910 reported good pros-
pects. It was stated in this report that while organizations of
farmers were of great advantage as media for technical education,
they "should not, unless in exceptional circumstances, undertake
the owning or renting of mills for the scutching of their members'
flax." Since co-operative societies had already proved of value
for this very purpose, the influence of the Department has been
arrayed here as in other cases in direct opposition to the
movement.
The statistics for 1914 name ten co-operative flax societies,
only seven of which furnished any returns. The most successful,
at Castlefinn, Co. Donegal, had a plant valued at over £2000,
1 82 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
and made a net profit for the season of about 10 per cent, of that
amount. Several societies have reserve funds, though none have
accumulated large amounts. Perhaps the most interesting recent
development is the formation of a society at Avoca, in Co. Wick-
low. At one time there was considerable flax production in the
southern counties, but it had long since disappeared. By the
formation of a co-operative society, a considerable number of
farmers have taken up the production of flax, and after a year's
experience are enthusiastic over the results. Flax-growing as a
field for co-operative organization undoubtedly possesses large
but unrealized possibilities.
Just as many industrial processes have succeeded largely
through the value of certain by-products, so there are certain
subsidiary industries connected with agriculture which may be
advantageously developed. In addition to poultry, which has
already been considered, the keeping of bees offers an oppor-
tunity for a considerable profit with very little trouble. At present
much honey goes to waste, or, rather, is not produced at all. And
yet the demand is good and capable of great expansion. Aside
from the fact that the ordinary layman approaches the subject
rather cautiously, the causes of the lack of the development have
been prohibitive prices of the few requisites and the low returns
for honey as sold in the usual way.
Beekeepers' co-operative societies are easily formed, since they
require practically no capital. Their work is largely done through
the central federation, of which they are the constituent local
units. In 1902 the Irish Beekeepers' Federation, Ltd., was created
with a depot in Dublin. It dealt with the requisites of the industry,
and sold the product, carefully graded. It reported that prices
obtained were from 70 to 100 per cent, higher, and that the cost
of appliances was reduced from 2 5 to 50 per cent. Unfortunately,
however, interest in this industry was allowed to lapse, and the
few societies which were formed have now disappeared. The
I.B.K.F. has been superseded by a honey depot of the I.A.W.S.,
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 183
and a special society for the encouragement of beekeeping and the
proper grading of the honey produced has been formed. The
history of co-operation in this industry indicates that separate
societies for comparatively subsidiary industries do not succeed.
Such undertakings are to be provided for in the development of
the more general type of society.
It is surprising to find that the largest industry in agricultural
Ireland has been of practically no importance from the co-opera-
tive point of view. Cattle forms the largest item among the agri-
cultural produce exported from the country, while the value of
the sheep and pigs sent alive across the Irish Channel is of but
slightly less importance. Some of the more undesirable features
of this trade have already been pointed out. Not only is the pro-
duction of beef an accompaniment of the sparsely populated
districts of Central Ireland, where the few inhabitants have no
more stimulating occupation than to watch their cattle, but also
export on the hoof is a great loss to the country. The more profit-
able stages of beef production are resigned to the cross-Channel
traders. In transit to England they lose in value on an average
£i to £i i os. And the many industries which centre around cattle-
slaughtering establishments, the making of fertilizers, tanning,
the use of hides, and so on, are lost to the country.
The lamentable facts concerning the Irish cattle trade do not
end here. An extremely costly and inefficient system of marketing
prevails. The numbers of middlemen connected with the trade are
very numerous and powerful. An attempt of the Midland Great
Western Railway to start an abattoir at Dromod in 1883 failed
on account of their opposition.
In Waterford in 1896 it is stated that there were three hundred
pig buyers, and a large proportion of them not bona fide. In the
markets the producer came off very badly. Not only were there
often combinations against him, but also the accepted practices
were all to his disadvantage. Purchase was not by the weight,
which would have given the seller some assurance of a fair return,
1 84 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
but by the beast. Inasmuch as the buyers were interested in
nothing else, their estimate was much more likely to be exact
than that of the producer, who in this matter was a comparative
amateur. Furthermore, the custom had been established that as
long as a buyer was attempting to make a deal no other buyer
should intervene. Thus there appeared the class known as
blockers, who stood by a seller throughout the market, and,
finally, when no other alternative save the expensive process of
taking the beast home again was left, bought him at their own
price. In the pig trade there were no less than three interme-
diaries: jobber, broker and buyer, all of whom exacted a tribute.
The live-stock trade may be of the greatest importance in Ire-
land, but it is not conducted in such a way as to give the pro-
ducers on the land a fair share of the ultimate return.
The importance of these industries secured much attention
as to the manner in which they might be organized on a co-
operative basis, while the extent and value of the business made
the problem exceedingly difficult. At first some attention was
given to co-operation for breeding purposes, but that work was
later taken over by the Department and the County Committees
of Agriculture. The real place for co-operation was in the
slaughter of this live stock for the markets. Obviously the capital
needs of this industry, and the necessity of organization on a large
scale, constituted a problem quite distinct from any hitherto
discussed. An investigator who had visited Denmark in 1895 to
study the organization of the co-operative bacon factories there,
reported against any rapid developments in Ireland. It was not
until 1909, by the formation of the Roscrea Co-operative Bacon
Factory, that the experiment was made. The capital supplied by
the members was not sufficient, but friends of the movement
made up the deficit. Though very severe competition was faced,
Roscrea bacon immediately found a ready market. The farmers
realized the new scheme was of advantage, and have supported
it with enthusiasm. In 1914 the total membership was nearly
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 185
4000, the share capital invested by members £13,000, and the
turnover on which a profit of £1600 was made reached the
impressive figure of £58,500.*
The chief problem in connection with societies of this nature,
once the initial difficulty of capital has been overcome, is the
maintenance of the supply of raw materials. For this purpose the
binding rule, which, as we have seen, is of great value in connec-
tion with other types of societies, has been employed. The society
has the right of pre-emption on all pigs of a certain weight which
members may have for sale, and for each infringement of this
rule a penalty of IDS. may be imposed. Another important con-
sideration is the method of payment for pigs supplied. In the
ordinary markets the producer received cash on the spot, and
so naturally demanded the same treatment from his own society.
This practice has several disadvantages from the point of view
of the society, since it ties up a considerable amount of capital,
and, moreover, requires an assessment of costs before the actual
results from the purchase are attained. By buying at the market
price the society runs a danger from fluctuations in prices, which
in this industry are very great. A more satisfactory procedure
would be the withholding of at least a portion of the price until
the product has been sold on the market. But as far as Roscrea
is concerned this must be a later development.
The dressed meat trade offered even more serious problems
commensurate with the larger scale of the operations.
Various efforts have been made, including an effort to set up
a large abattoir in Dublin on semi-co-operative lines, but of these
only one has been successful. The Wexford Meat Society, Ltd.,
was founded in 1909, soon after Roscrea. A large number of
so-called pig and cattle societies were first formed throughout
the country as an expedient to raise the necessary capital and to
organize tie supply. Though such local organization seems to
*The success of Roscrea Bacon Factory has recently been demonstrated by its
undertaking the supply of electric light to the town.
1 86 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
have been of value in the early stages, these societies are now
quiescent. The Wexford Meat Supply, Ltd., deals with cattle,
sheep and pigs. In addition to fresh meat, it produces sausages,
pork-pies, brawn, etc. The by-products department is of increas-
ing importance, already making fertilizers, refined beef suet, oleo
oil, stearine and soap. The report for 1914 showed a turnover of
£116,000, of which £1600 was clear profit. Payment for live stock
supplied is, unlike Roscrea, by result. In addition to insuring fair
payments, this society as well as Roscrea has had several inci-
dental results. As this type of business is done by large farmers,
they have been brought into the movement, proving that co-
operation is not only a poor man's remedy. The payment by
weight and results has encouraged an improvement in the class
of stock kept. It is said that the apparently better prices paid
at Roscrea are largely from this cause. Since fattening for
slaughter may now take place in Ireland, tillage, which is neces-
sary for stall-feeding in the last stages, has been encouraged.
And, moreover, the Irish farmers are protected from the
danger of restrictions on export such as occurred during the out-
break of the foot-and-mouth disease in 1912. Wexford farmers,
on account of their society, were unaffected by the general dis-
location of the live-stock trade which took place throughout the
country.
While extreme centralization has been carried out in these two
important instances, co-operation may be effectively applied to
the live-stock trade on a local basis with considerable success.
Bacon curing and slaughtering on a small scale by more general
societies and for local consumption have already been taken up
in some places, and this seems a step in that local organization
which is the ideal aim of the co-operative movement. It is a
remarkable fact that Ireland, an agricultural country, imports a
very large variety and value of agricultural produce. This is
particularly surprising in view of the fact that these imports are
largely of the same nature as her exports. One is not surprised
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 187
to see rice and bananas on the unloading ways at Irish ports, but
to see one ship loading with Irish bacon, while another discharges
a cargo of American bacon, which eventually finds its way into
the very communities from which export was made, is more diffi-
cult to explain. By local curing, the superior Irish product may
be secured for the Irish farmer at no increased price over that
demanded for the inferior product of the Chicago packing house.
To add this activity to the work of a creamery or an agricultural
store does not involve large outlays or new machinery of organ-
ization. The co-operative society of whatever form must event-
ually organize all the business interests of the community, and
by engaging in bacon curing and slaughtering on a small scale
for its local business, as is done already at Athenry, Lombards-
town, Belleek, and other places, a step in that direction is effected.
This same principle of local food production for local needs is
applied in the business of milling their members' grain, which
several societies are now taking up. In fact, one society has been
formed for this single purpose. As a commercial undertaking on
a large scale this innovation would hardly succeed under normal
conditions of world competition; but the grinding of wheat and
oats for local consumption does not seem to involve any question.
In our haste to establish industry on a large scale, we have too
often overlooked the possibility of the small local unit. Milling
of this sort may best be carried on as subsidiary to societies
already in existence, utilizing effectively their machinery and
staff.
An interesting experiment in co-operative wheat growing,
another development which may be attributed to war conditions,
is now being carried on at Foynes, County Limerick.
Although in other countries, such as Italy, Rumania and Hun-
gary, co-operative farming has been carried on with great success,
in Ireland there has been nothing along this line, since the ill-
fated experiment at Ralahine, except for several attempts in the
early years of the movement to form co-operative grazing socie-
1 88 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
ties. In the societies which we have already discussed, the organ-
ization has been for carrying out some particular business in
connection with agriculture, not for carrying on agriculture itself.
The Foynes Society is, therefore, a new departure. Started with
the help of Lord Monteagle, who has been one of the most con-
stant and enthusiastic of the co-operative leaders, and whose
particular interest in the problem of the agricultural laborer was
the chief reason for undertaking this experiment, it has now com-
pleted a successful year. Twenty-eight men — a number already
significant in co-operative history — most of them laborers, with-
out land for wheat growing, were carefully chosen. The land was
hired, manures and seeds secured, and the ground prepared by
the society, and the members shared the good crop which was
made into flour and used by them in their own homes. Combined
with the general store which has been started in the same district,
this society seems to promise much for the agricultural laborer.
Co-operative agriculture is, some people have claimed, the
logical step after agricultural co-operation. As the Rochdale
pioneers proposed that eventually their society should attack the
question of production directly, so it is said agricultural co-
operators will find that they can best carry on their production
in common. But the facts of the situation in Ireland do not seem
likely to encourage a large development in this direction. For the
landless laborers, no doubt, enterprises like the Co-operative
Wheat-growing Society at Foynes have a great value, and this
organization may well be copied in other parts of the country.
But for the rest, the existence of a system of peasant proprietors
is an effective bar. Co-operation for them is a method which will
help to conduct certain of their business interests more success-
fully; they will not, however, surrender their land or their
primary occupation as farmers to any kind of community
organization.
Among the industries along the West coast of Ireland, to which
the unfavorable conditions for agriculture have given a consider-
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 189
able importance, is sea-fishing. The Congested Districts Board
has always devoted attention to this activity and has striven to
aid in the provision of boats, nets, landing-stages, and marketing
facilities. But recognizing the necessity of stimulating individual
effort if permanent improvements were to be attained, and dis-
countenancing its own position as a trading body in this matter,
the Board in 1916 assisted in the formation of a co-operative
society of fishermen in the Aran Isles. This society, which is
mainly for carrying out marketing arrangements, has already
proved of considerable advantage to fishermen.
The prices paid have been from 50 to 100 per cent, larger than
before the society came into existence, and this does not include
the profit on the first year's trade. The middleman buyer has
been eliminated, and the closer organization and relationship to
distant markets — even Boston, Massachusetts, offering a good
market for the salt mackerel and herring of the new "Shamrock"
brand — have enabled a longer season and more advantageous
sales. This society has bound its members to sell their catch to
it on penalty of a severe fine, as in the case of the dairy societies.
This position has been most successful, and has insured the
loyalty of all members at all times. It is now proposed to take
up the manufacture of the barrels which are used — a form of
rural industry which will serve to fill the gaps between the fishing
seasons. The success of the Aran Islands Fishing Society indicates
large possibilities in the organization of this industry along the
western coast of the country.
One of the more obvious applications of the co-operative prin-
ciple lies in the field of insurance. Many, in fact, of the existing
companies are co-operative or mutual, and the holders of the
policies share to an extent in the profits. The necessity of various
forms of insurance in connection with agriculture in Ireland is
clear.
There are certain contingencies in this, as in other businesses,
for which the individual alone cannot make adequate allowance.
RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
Inasmuch as the farmer's business is in most cases on a small
scale, insurance is for him of special importance. It may cover
various fields, such as workmen's compensation, live stock, fire
and fidelity guarantees. The machinery for this insurance is not
an Irish creation, but is carried out through the Co-operative
Insurance Company of England, now a branch of the C.W.S. Its
particular mode of working is not important. Suffice it to say that
in insurance schemes large numbers are essential. The scheme
must, therefore, in most cases be worked by a large central body,
and is a development of co-operation which can come only when
the movement as a whole has acquired some strength.
While co-operative insurance is on the whole a matter for the
central organization rather than local co-operative societies,
under some conditions the local unit may be very effectively em-
ployed. Live-stock insurance has always proved a serious prob-
lem for large insurance companies. So many facts must be taken
into consideration that the outsider may be very badly taken in.
Yet this form of insurance is of extreme importance, especially
for small farmers who have invested a comparatively large capital
in live stock. Many efforts have been made to introduce such
insurance into Ireland, and of these, the so-called Whitecross
system seems most successful. This system has now been in
operation in the Whitecross Dairy Society for the past six years.
The contributions are fixed annually, and are deducted from
each monthly milk payment on the basis of the value of the milk
supplied by each individual. For the first year of membership in
the scheme no compensation will be paid, but thereafter, on cer-
tain conditions, payment based on the average value per cow of
the milk supplied by the member in the preceding year is made.
Thus far no other societies have adopted the scheme, and rein-
surance in a central society, which would strengthen the system,
has, therefore, been impossible.
This chapter would hardly be complete without mention of
the important lime-burning societies. Their importance does not
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES 191
lie in the fact that they are particularly numerous, or particularly
successful, or that their work has been of extraordinary value
in the economic regeneration of the country. There were two such
societies reported in 1915 having a membership of about 800, and
a turnover for the year of about £600. But these societies possess
the unique distinction of having received the official commenda-
tion and encouragement of the Department of Agriculture under
its present regime. They embrace the familiar group of non-
controversial co-operative societies. The burning of limestone had
practically disappeared from Ireland, and new societies formed
for this purpose would be an injury to none. No doubt previous
owners of lime-kilns turned in their graves, but progress could
safely ignore them.
The achievements of co-operation in Ireland have been meas-
urably increased by this dangerously revolutionary and highly
successful excursion of the Department.
From time to time various experiments in co-operative organ-
ization, such as those in connection with tobacco-growing and
fruit culture, have been made. Their importance consists rather
in indicating the further potentialities of the movement than in
their practical achievements. All of the industries which we have
considered, and many others, may profit from some form of
co-operative organization, and in the few cases in which societies
have been formed have so profited. But the I.A.O.S. has never
been in a position to devote much attention to them, and has
directed its efforts along lines of proven utility. The business of
the agriculturist offers a wide field for the application of the
co-operative ideal. As the co-operative principle comes to be
understood and accepted throughout the country, this experi-
mental work in a large number of directions will come to fruition.
CHAPTER XI
HOME INDUSTRIES
IN every country where the greater part of the population is
engaged in agriculture on a small scale the need is felt for the
preservation of certain more or less primitive industries. It is
true that in such countries as Belgium and Denmark where agri-
culture is fully developed, these industries are practically extinct.
Their place is taken in Belgium by the large number of indus-
trial centres which exist in the midst of the agricultural popu-
lation, while in Denmark the system of popular education and
the intensive business organization of agriculture have taken the
place of everything else.
In Ireland, however, we have great expanses of country un-
redeemed by any outlet for the energies of the people beyond
the somewhat wearisome work of an unremunerative small
holding, and in these districts it is most natural to expect that
cottage industries will be found. These industries are of two
main types; those which have survived and carried on an un-
broken tradition since the days when they were a part of the
economic life of the community, and those which may or may
not have been traditional at one time but which would not exist
under modern conditions were it not for the determined efforts
by which philanthropic or aesthetic enthusiasts have either revived
or created them.
Ireland is a country in which both these types are certain to
be found. The first type, that is to say the survival of the primi-
tive, is natural in districts which have not been swept by a gener-
ation of strangers seeking some easy road to prosperity, and the
192
HOME INDUSTRIES 193
West coast of Ireland fulfils this condition as well as almost any
district in Europe. Here there are no minerals, or at any rate
none have so far been thought worth exploiting, no great facto-
ries, and no great commercial centres. Even tourist traffic is in
its infancy, and no people pass through this part of the country
on their way to anywhere else for the simple reason that the next
place is 3000 miles away and no communications have been
established except by wireless telegraphy. For a population which
has been less disturbed by the advantages and also the disad-
vantages of civilization we should have to go to Quebec or parts
of the Russian Empire.
The second type of home industry, that which owes its origin
to sentimental or aesthetic considerations, has also a favorable
field in Ireland. There are a very large number of people who
wish above all things to revive anything which they consider
traditionally Irish, and to these people the idea of the peasant
art must necessarily appeal. Since industry on a large scale has
for many years been practically a monopoly of the predominant
partner in the United Kingdom, those who seek for a genuinely
Irish manifestation must go to some form of art or industry
which by its nature is adapted only to operations on a small scale.
Quite apart from these academic arguments there are various
practical reasons why we might expect that home industries
would be particularly valuable in Ireland. In the first place, the
majority of the holdings which exist in the more backward parts
of the Congested Districts — among the mountains and along the
sea coast of Donegal, Mayo, Clare, and Kerry — are uneconomic
holdings which do not produce sufficient to maintain the occupier
and his family above the level of primary poverty. In these cir-
cumstances a source of income beyond that derived from farming
is necessary, and such subsidiary income might well be earned
by the women of the family practising some form of cottage
industry. Secondly, in those districts where farming is in a more
advanced stage, it is often urged that the introduction of such
194 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
innovations as creamery butter-making in the place of the old-
fashioned churning process has robbed the women of the family
of their chief occupation and left them in a state of undesirable
idleness. It is certainly true that the whole economic control of
life tends more and more to become concentrated in the man of
the family on the average Irish farm, and it is arguable that a
remedy for this may be found in the organization of the women.
These are the premises which would lead us to expect a con-
siderable development of home industries in Ireland. The advo-
cate of such a development will have many strong arguments to
put forward. It is widely realized that one of the chief reasons
which drives the most enterprising of the young men and, even
more noticeably of late years, the young women of Ireland to
emigrate to the United States or Canada is the low standard
of comfort in the home life of the average farmer, which is
accompanied by a monotony of work and a lack of any outlet
for superfluous energies. These conditions weigh more heavily
on the women than on the men, for the latter may be rendered
less sensitive by the very hardness of their daily work, or in too
many cases they may find a refuge in that never-failing meeting-
place, the village public-house. To meet this depressing state of
things for the women and to counteract the tendency to emi-
grate, the organization of home industries is claimed to be essen-
tial. Further arguments based upon the necessity of supplement-
ing the income of the family, of improving the standard of
women's intelligence and energy and thereby raising the con-
sideration (now lamentably small) in which they are held by the
men of the country, of reviving artistic tradition and the appre-
ciation of cleanliness and neatness, and so bringing about the
brightness of the home and of the social atmosphere generally,
can easily be supplied.
The only home industries existing in Ireland on a scale suffi-
ciently large to command attention are those of the manufacture
of homespuns, hand-knitting, lace-making, embroidery and
HOME INDUSTRIES 195
carpet-making. Of these only the first two, and more particularly
the manufacture of homespun, locally known as frieze, are
genuine home industries in the sense of being survivals of a craft
designed to meet the needs of the people themselves. The others
depend entirely, and even the first two depend largely, upon the
possibility of finding a suitable market. Those who practise these
industries are producing not for use but for exchange. It is argu-
able that in this fact lies the secret of the difficulties which have
beset the development of these industries of late years. When a
group of people are producing for exchange they are brought
sharply into competition with commercial bodies which are thor-
oughly organized and in touch with the markets of the world.
If the unskilled peasantry who develop these home industries
are to meet this competition they must have some form of assist-
ance. This assistance may take the form of Government aid,
philanthropic support, or co-operative organization. On the other
hand, it may be possible for a limited number of producers to
rely upon the aesthetic appeal of their products to bring them into
touch with a special class of purchasers. Such a system, however,
must necessarily be very limited in its application under modern
conditions. The number of people who really appreciate the
difference between the hand-made and the machine-made article
in the case of either tweed or lace is comparatively speaking
small; the number of those who are prepared to back up their
appreciation to the extent of paying the higher price of the home
product is much smaller. Industries based on this personal appeal
frequently spring up as a result of some local patronage and
flourish exceedingly for a few years, only to decay when fashions
change or the particular circle of people who supported them is
dispersed.
But those cottagers who produce by their own labors an article
which is seen to have some commercial value, and who do not
enjoy any of the forms of assistance we have named, are inevi-
tably threatened with the evils of sweating and with the tempta-
1 96 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
tion to turn out quicker and more remunerative but less genuine
and artistic work. Very frequently both these evils overtake them
simultaneously.
All the forms of development, both good and bad, which we
have described, are illustrated in the history of Irish home in-
dustries. Without going into them in detail we may sketch briefly
what has taken place of recent years in regard to the more
important of the industries.
Irish hand-made lace has enjoyed for many years a consider-
able reputation both in England and in America, and some
varieties have always commanded a ready sale in Paris. The
greater part of this lace is made by young girls under the instruc-
tion either of the Congested Districts Board, the Department,
or the various religious orders. Before the days of the Congested
Districts Board lace-making was encouraged by a committee
formed in London by Mr. A. S. Cole, which awarded prizes for
good designs. This committee arose out of a visit paid to the
Cork Exhibition in 1888, where a large amount of lace was
exhibited by the Convents in the South of Ireland. Mr. James
Brennan, R.H.A., accompanied Mr. Cole on this occasion, and
they noticed that though the needlework was excellent the design
and drawing were very bad. As a result Mr. Cole formed the
committee alluded to, while Mr. Brennan persuaded the South
Kensington Department of Science and Art to form classes in
connection with the Convents in which the art of design should
be taught. These classes were the genesis of the modern system
of instruction under the Congested Districts Board.
Meanwhile the work of encouragement begun by Mr. Cole
was carried on by the Irish Lace Depot which was established
in Dublin by Mr. Lindsay. After the latter's death it was taken
over by Lady Aberdeen, who made it into a limited liability com-
pany with a provision in the constitution that no dividend should
be paid on the shares. This Depot supplied designs to lace-
workers' organizations, paid market prices for their lace, and
HOME INDUSTRIES 197
sold it as well as possible. After expenses were paid the surplus
was returned to the workers in proportion to the amount of lace
supplied, on the true co-operative principle. The Depot also
provided teachers free for organizations which were too poor to
pay for such service. The sales of lace from this Depot in 1900
amounted to £23,000 and the grants to workers £400. Work of
a similar nature was done in London by the Irish Industries
Association for which Lady Cadogan was largely responsible,
and prizes have been given each year by the Royal Dublin
Society. It may be seen, therefore, that Irish lace-workers were
provided with every stimulus to increase production.
Nor was the co-operative movement behindhand in playing its
part. The anonymous writer of an article on the marketing of
Irish lace, written in 1901,* to whom we are indebted for many
of these facts, has this to say: "At the same time that Lady
Aberdeen was carrying out this scheme (i.e. the reorganization
of the Lace Depot) Mr. Horace Plunkett and his associates were
spreading the knowledge of co-operative methods and organizing
co-operative societies in the rural districts of Ireland. Co-
operative associations of lace-workers were formed early in the
movement and these increased in number and efficiency as the
movement spread and took firmer and firmer hold of the country.
In the co-operative societies the directors of the Lace Depot
found steady sources of supply. Instruction could be readily given
to societies thus organized, the execution of large orders could
be counted on, and the development of a trade constantly increas-
ing in volume and value became possible. The organization intro-
duced by the Congested Districts Board coincided with the
growth of co-operation and helped to the same end." The same
writer concludes his article with the following sentence: "With
twenty-three co-operative societies of lace-workers, sixteen suc-
cessful schools under the Congested Districts Board, and a large
* "The Marketing of Irish Lace" ("Ireland, Industrial and Agricultural") , Dublin,
1902, p. 434.
i g8 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
number of unorganized workers furnishing an abundant supply,
and the Lace Depot and other agencies opening the way to the
market, the prospects of the lace industries in Ireland are
distinctly hopeful."*
Unfortunately these bright hopes have not been fully realized
owing to the difficulties connected with the marketing of the
lace. The classes of the Congested Districts Board increased with
great rapidity, and their turnover reached as high a figure as
£30,000 in a year. But the Board had to complain year by year
of the difficulty of inducing workers either to adopt new patterns
in obedience to the demands of the market, or to observe those
habits of punctuality and accuracy which were necessary for suc-
cess in dealing with large commercial buyers. As fashions changed
and the competition of machine-made lace grew keener, these
factors told seriously against the Irish producer, and there were
soon ominous signs that the market was being glutted. The
I.A.O.S. realized this at an early stage, and after vainly trying to
bring about some trade federation which would enable the socie-
ties to find favorable markets, it decided to discontinue this form
of organization. Before very long the existing societies began to
fade away, and there are now apparently none left. The Con-
gested Districts Board began to feel the danger of the situation
rather later, and we find a serious decline taking place from the
year 1913. In this year the earnings were over £29,000, but in
1913-14 they fell as low as £17,500. The Board's Report contains
the following observations: "The falling off in the receipts of
lace and crochet must be attributed to the quantity of Austrian
hand-made lace or crochet and of machine-made English lace
which has been put on the market in competition with Irish
hand-made lace. So far no attempts have been made by lace-
workers in Ireland to produce machine-made lace, but it may
become desirable to consider the question of doing so. Expert
makers of the best kind of Irish lace will always, it is thought,
* id., p. 435.
HOME INDUSTRIES 199
be able to sell their work at a fair price, but change of fashion
and machine competition tell most severely against coarse work
and workers of inferior quality."
How serious the situation was is illustrated by the fact that
the earnings at one of the best centres fell in one year from
£1160 to £147. To meet this state of things the Board reduced
their lace classes as rapidly as possible and substituted classes
for embroidery and hand-knitting. It need hardly be said that
war conditions have completed the destruction of the market for
lace, while they have given a considerable stimulus to the demand
for knitted goods. There is still a limited market for really good
lace and, as is suggested in the remarks quoted, this demand will
probably be permanent, but there is little reason to suppose that
anything but the best will be able to compete with the machine-
made article in the future. The moral seems to be that such a
body as the Irish Lace Depot, keeping a high standard and
appealing on aesthetic and perhaps sentimental grounds to a
limited class of customers, can sustain a flourishing industry on
a rather small scale, but any attempt to go beyond the limits
of such a depot means commercializing the industry, and thus
bringing it face to face with a competition which it cannot over-
come. There is a constant risk of overproduction and deterioration
in quality which with any change of conditions may lead to
sudden disaster.
The making of lace has been to some extent replaced by fancy
needlework and embroidery. This industry has been carried on
in much the same way, and with about the same results, as the
manufacture of lace. Most of the Home Industries Societies
started by the I.A.O.S. carried out a good deal of work of this
kind in addition to the production of lace, and there was also a
considerable output from the classes controlled by the religious
orders and those held under the Congested Districts Board and
the Department of Agriculture. Much the same conditions
obtain in this industry as we have already described in dealing
200 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
with lace. We may mention, however, as an example of organi-
zation which was successfully carried out over a number of years,
the Dalkey Co-operative Embroidery Society. This Society was
one of the first two home industries associations started by the
I.A.O.S. It attracted the attention of Lady Betty Balfour, who
gives a description of its work, from which we take the following
quotation:
"A number of girls who in school and afterwards had shown
themselves capable of doing very highly finished needlework,
whose skill should have been to them a source of income, yet
found themselves without the means of exercising their talents
to profitable purpose. Manufacturers and other employers could
not help them. It remained for them to help themselves. The
friends of the co-operative movement, which was spreading so
rapidly among the farmers of the country, came to their rescue.
A meeting was held at the convent of Dalkey, and a society
formed to develop and improve the general needlework and art-
embroidery in Ireland, to improve the moral and social status of
the workers engaged in such occupations by imparting to them
technical education in all branches of their business, and obtain-
ing a market for their work, and saving for them the profits
derived from the sale.
"The Loretto Nuns of Dalkey gave the workers the use of a
building in the convent grounds, which was fitted up as a work-
room. One of the nuns undertook the management, competent
teachers were secured, and the society started in October, 1895.
"A small capital was subscribed to start the society, and it is
now self-supporting. Workers are not required on entering the
society to pay anything, but they are all obliged to become share-
holders. This they can do by allowing their share of profits to
be devoted to the purchase of shares till they are fully paid up.
This does not, however, diminish in any way their ordinary
wages. The workers are paid according to the amount and
HOME INDUSTRIES 201
quality of their work. The profits of the society as ascertained
when the accounts are made up at the end of each half-year are
divided among the workers in proportion to the wages that each
has earned during the time.
"A committee is elected by the members of the society, and
the rules for hours of labor and the general conduct of business
are made by the committee. A member cannot be dismissed for
any cause whatsoever except by a vote of the whole society.
Before a worker is admitted a member of the society she must
first enter the workroom as an apprentice or as a paid hand. If
she does not prove herself capable and industrious she will not
be admitted into the society."*
This society undoubtedly furnishes a model form of organiza-
tion, and it gained great practical success, employing as many
as fifty to sixty workers with an output of over £1000 a year. It
was largely helped in this by the influential patronage which its
origin and its situation near Dublin enabled it to command. After
figuring for twelve years in the I.A.O.S. returns it ceased to exist
as a co-operative society, having no doubt passed entirely into
the hands of the nuns.
Throughout the North of Ireland a large amount of white
embroidery or "sprigging" is done, chiefly to the order of the
Belfast linen firms, which send out the materials and designs
to the cottagers. Writing on this subject Mr. Rolleston says:
"Hand embroidery in its more artistic developments is still fortu-
nately incapable of satisfactory imitation by machinery, and
must rank in Ireland as a very considerable and by no means
decaying industry. The white embroidery and drawn-work pro-
duced for the large Belfast firms, as well as at various independent
centres throughout the country, is of admirable quality in design
and execution. In this whole department of Irish art-work it
* See "Art and Cottage Industries" ("Ireland, Industrial and Agricultural") , p.
440.
202 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
may safely be said that nothing approaching it for excellence is
to be found anywhere else in the United Kingdom, and not very
much even in France or Belgium."*
Unfortunately, however, the conditions under which this work
has been done for various large firms have been anything but
satisfactory. The Royal Commission appointed in 1912 to inquire
into the linen industry revealed the fact that these outworkers
earned the terrible wages of a penny to a penny farthing an hour
for work which had to be done indoors in stuffy cabins and in-
volved a serious danger to the eyesight of the workers. Moreover,
they were never fully convinced of the necessity of punctuality,
and frequently failed for this reason to get paid for their work.
A certain improvement has been effected in some districts, notably
in parts of Donegal where co-operative stores and agricultural
societies have made themselves responsible for the distribution
of this work.
The hand-knitting industry is also of long standing in Ireland,
particularly in the counties Donegal and Mayo. The demands
of war have given a great stimulus to it, and the Congested Dis-
tricts Board have been rapidly replacing their lace-making
classes by classes in hand-knitting. The most successful of Irish
co-operative experiments in home industries has been carried out
at Dungloe in County Donegal. Here, through the energy and en-
thusiasm of several small farmers, of whom Mr. "Paddy" Gal-
lagher has made himself famous throughout Ireland, a large and
flourishing agricultural society and a general store, in addition
to two credit societies, have been established in a most poverty-
stricken and gombeen-ridden district. Within the last two or
three years Mr. Gallagher has added to these enterprises a model
factory for hand-knitted goods, which is now filling large con-
tracts for gloves, socks, etc., for both the British and Belgian War
Departments. A hundred girls are employed in a clean, airy and
comfortable workshop which was originally a village hall, built
* Op. dt., p. 438.
HOME INDUSTRIES 203
by the co-operative society. They work eight hours a day with
an hour for lunch, and earn on an average one pound a week,
where before the society intervened they worked ten or twelve
hours a day for five or six shillings a week. In addition to these
a large number of home workers are employed. The excellent
quality and moderate price of the goods are testified to by the
keen competition among buyers to secure contracts with the
society for its output, which is replacing a corresponding amount
of German manufactures.
We come now to the homespun industry, which is the most
important and most characteristic of all. Throughout the western
counties of Ireland, the spinning, weaving and dyeing of tweeds
are universal. The fishermen and laborers of these counties are
clothed in frieze made in their own homes, and the fishing tourist
in Connemara or Donegal is sure to be accosted sooner or later
by an old lady who seems to have sprung mysteriously from the
bog with a large roll of tweed under her arm, on the sale of which,
she asserts, the payment of her rent or the purchase of a pig must
depend. The demand thus created — for the suits made from this
material are attractive enough to excite envy in the minds of
fellow-tourists — has led to a considerable industry on the part
of small hotel-keepers and other middlemen, and it is to be
feared that a good deal of sweating and profiteering goes on under
the guise of philanthropic support of home industry. The Con-
gested Districts Board has given considerable help in providing
looms, instruction and markets for the tweed, and a very large
amount is sold to English buyers every year in two large markets
in South Donegal, where sheds and inspectors are now provided
by the Board. The commercialization of the industry has led to
a deterioration in the originality and artistic merit of the product,
and there has been a certain amount of machine spinning intro-
duced in the attempt to produce the cloth more rapidly.
An interesting experiment has been tried in the more northern
part of Donegal under the influence of Mrs. Kennedy, whose son
204 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
owns a property in the neighborhood of Gweedore.* Here the
workers were first formed into an association which secured a
contract with Messrs. Burberry for a considerable quantity of
the highest quality of hand-made tweed. The results were so
satisfactory that many more workers applied for membership
than could be employed under this contract. In 1914, therefore,
a co-operative society was formed, which has been turning out
most artistic and well-made tweed. The chief difficulty encoun-
tered by the society was naturally that of finding a market, and
this difficulty is accentuated by the attitude of the tailors, who
persistently refuse to encourage the production of homespun
cloth. No tailor will buy from an association which sends out
patterns to individual clients; but if the whole output is sold
at wholesale, it is found that the demand for originality and good
workmanship ceases, and the price, failing the stimulus of com-
petition, becomes unremunerative. It seems to be necessary,
therefore, that the society should depend for its market upon
the goodwill of those individuals who really appreciate good and
original workmanship, and are prepared to brave their tailors
and pay almost as much for having a suit made out of their own
material as for one in which the material is provided by the tailor.
As in the case of lace, this market is limited and capricious.
During the war it has practically ceased to exist, but has been
replaced by the demands of the army. If the industry is to be
carried on successfully after the war it will probably be neces-
sary to reorganize it by creating some such body as that curious
but eminently successful council of philanthropists and merchants
which is responsible for the excellent market commanded by
Harris tweeds.
The remaining home industries of Ireland are easily disposed
of. Most important is that of hand-made carpets, for which
*The work has been well described in two articles by Mrs. Kennedy and her
son in the Bulletin of the Co-operative Reference Library for December, 1914, to
which the reader should refer for detailed information.
HOME INDUSTRIES 205
Donegal has achieved a certain fame. These carpets are made
in three factories established by a Scottish firm about the year
1895 w^h a certain amount of assistance from the Congested
Districts Board. The work shows considerable artistic merit and
durability, but the wages earned are by no means ideal. Mention
must also be made of the carpets, rugs, tapestries, etc., made by
hand by the Dun Emer Guild in Dublin, whose products have
been largely bought by the Canadian Pacific Railway.
In the neighborhood of Belfast and Dublin a certain amount
of work is carried on in stained glass, wood-carving, leather-
working, and bookbinding. A considerable industry in repousse
brass- and copper-work has been developed under the patronage
of Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery at Five Mile Town in County
Tyrone. Basket-work is carried on in some parts of the South
and West, though difficulties are found with the supply of suitable
osiers for the purpose. Belleek has established a certain reputa-
tion for pottery, and the traditional Irish industries of cabinet-
making, silver- and gold-smith's work, and illuminating and en-
graving are still practised to some extent, although there is a
notable absence of any native originality of design. The making
of dolls and toys has also been undertaken from time to time,
and the effect of the war in weakening competition has resulted
in a revival of this industry.
It remains only to summarize briefly the efforts made by the
I.A.O.S. to include the organization of home industries in its
programme, and to suggest the reasons which have led to the
comparative failure of this scheme. The first two societies were
organized in the years 1895-96, one being the Embroidery Society
at Dalkey which we have described, and the other, more general
in its scope, at Ballinagleragh. During the next few years con-
siderable importance was attached to this form of organization.
As we have noted, the criticism was frequently made that the
I.A.O.S. by organizing creameries was depriving the women of
the country of their natural occupation, namely, the making of
206 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
butter, and so driving them into enforced idleness or emigration.
It was thought that the formation of home industry societies
would meet this criticism while at the same time helping to stem
the flood of emigration, to supplement the incomes of the poorest
families, and to raise the standard of neatness in home life. In
1898 an arrangement was come to by which the Irish Industries
Association, of which Lady Cadogan was president and Sir
Horace Plunkett a member, should work in close conjunction
with the I.A.O.S. and attempt to market the produce of the
co-operative societies organized by the latter body. By 1900 the
number of these societies had increased so much that it was found
desirable to appoint a special organizer to supervise them. As
a result there were within a year or two from fifty to fifty-five
societies in existence. How large their turnover was it is impos-
sible to say, owing to the failure of most of them to send in any-
thing like complete statistical returns. In 1902 there were fifty
societies on the list with a membership of almost 3000. Thirty-
two of them stated the amount of their trade, which totaled
£12,000, the largest turnover being that of Carrickmacross with
£1429. By 1904, though the number of societies had increased
to fifty-five, returns of trade were only secured from twenty of
them, totaling in all £4147. This year is the high-water mark
of the societies as far as numbers are concerned, but the decline
in efficiency had already set in, and the remaining history is one
of decay. By 1909-10 the societies had practically ceased to play
any part in the programme of the I.A.O.S. The organizer passed
into the service of the United Irishwomen on the foundation of
that body, and the I.A.O.S. has several times recommended that
the United Irishwomen should take control of the societies also.
The suggestion certainly seems appropriate, but so far no re-
sponse has been forthcoming. The United Irishwomen have been
either too busy with other tilings or too deeply convinced of the
hopelessness of the situation, and the home industries societies
appear to be condemned to a gradual death. In 1914 there were
HOME INDUSTRIES 207
sixteen still in existence with a membership of 910 and a turnover
given as £2234. Of this sum, however, £1500 was due to the Cuala
Press and the Dun Emer Guild, which are really philanthropic
associations more than co-operative societies. Only two other
societies stated their trade at all, and it is doubtful whether more
than half of them are really working.
The reasons which have led to the collapse of what seemed at
one time a promising programme are fairly simple, and are mostly
foreshadowed in the I.A.O.S. report for 1904, from which we
quote: "The fall in the demand and prices for Irish lace made it
undesirable to push the formation of societies. The securing of
markets for societies is not really a work which the I.A.O.S. or
its officials should undertake, but in the absence of a federation
of home industry societies it has been found absolutely necessary
in some cases if societies were to continue in existence that an
effort should be made to find an outlet for their work. It is worse
than useless to instruct workers if there is no visible prospect of
a market being found for their work. The work of bodies like
the Irish Industries Association, while valuable, is too spasmodic
in its character really to solve the problem. The great sales organ-
ized with so much enthusiasm, while they undoubtedly lead to a
great deal of money being returned to workers, are not in the
long run the most reliable way to assist industries. Among the
defects in the societies which can and ought to be remedied from
within are indifference to a high standard of workmanship and
disregard of time. Inferior lace is often turned out and naturally
the demand and price fall. Orders given by business houses to
be executed within certain dates are disregarded and the workers
suit their own convenience, and consequently the customers
instead of pressing the sale of Irish work are forced to press
foreign, as they cannot count on getting the Irish, while the
foreign can be relied on. To compete with the people versed in
such work and trained to it from infancy is no small undertaking,
and the teachers are often discouraged not only by the deficiencies
208 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
of their pupils but by the fact that their own remuneration is
often arranged on a most unsatisfactory basis."
All this when summarized simply amounts to restating what
has become apparent in our consideration of the particular in-
dustries, namely, that although a certain amount of work may
be produced which is of such excellence that it commands a sure
market, when the industry is more widespread the standard falls
and it is necessary to adopt a commercial method of marketing.
This was an undertaking which the I.A.O.S. could not face in
addition to all the work it was called upon to do for creameries
and agricultural societies. The efforts made by the Irish Indus-
tries Association and the Lace Depot began with philanthropy and
degenerated into shopkeeping. A federation of home industries
societies might have solved the problem, but such a federation
would always have been on the horns of a dilemma. If the socie-
ties affiliated to it had all produced lace and embroidery (and in
the case of those organized by the I.A.O.S. 90 per cent, of their
turnover was of this nature) any fall such as frequently occurred
in the market would have ruined it, while if their output had
been diversified, bulk would have been so small that the federa-
tion would have had difficulty in finding a market at all.
There were also serious difficulties with the local societies. In
practically all cases, especially the more successful ones, these
societies were the outcome of the energy and enthusiasm of some
one or two ladies or of a religious order. The bulk of the workers
were young girls who could not be expected to have any under-
standing of co-operative principles or to do anything except
follow the instructions of those who provided them with work.
Under these circumstances, the whole essence of co-operation,
which lies in equality and mutual help, was lacking. The results
are seen in the columns of blank spaces which adorn the I.A.O.S.
reports in the place where the statistics of the home industries
societies ought to be. It is to be feared that many of the pa-
tronesses, after getting registered under the Industrial and Provi-
HOME INDUSTRIES 209
dent Societies Act at the advice of the I.A.O.S., thought very
little more of their duties as co-operators. Certainly the contribu-
tions from these societies to the I.A.O.S. would not in most years
have supported an organizer for a month, and this in itself was
sufficient to make it impossible to keep them going. In any case,
they were less relevant to the general programme of the I.A.O.S.
than any other form of society, and a separate body like the
United Irishwomen might well have been formed to look after
them. It is natural that various experiments should attend the
early years of a movement of this kind and should subsequently
have to give way to a more restricted but more businesslike
programme.
Nevertheless this chapter has not been wasted in giving the
history of a failure. The home industries societies played their
part in a general and continued revival of energy in Ireland.
They were undoubtedly successful in adding to the earnings of
many thousands of girls and in checking emigration. And it does
not follow because their names have disappeared from the list
of co-operative societies that the industry has died. In almost all
cases they have passed into the hands of philanthropic persons
or religious bodies and the work goes on. The method was perhaps
unsuccessful, but if the effort had not been made the country in
general would have suffered a considerable loss.
CHAPTER XII
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION
ATTENTION has been drawn at various points in the preceding
chapters to the backwardness of the Irish farmer concerning the
technical details of his industry, and to the handicap thus im-
posed upon the co-operative movement. For reasons already
given, he was content with the traditional crops, the traditional
tools, the traditional methods. He did not understand the use of
artificial fertilizers, and spraying potatoes was a practice which
he considered not only unnecessary but undesirable. Of the agri-
cultural revolution which was effecting as great a change in the
productivity of the soil as the harnessing of steam and the works
of inventive genius had done in the industrial sphere, he was
sublimely ignorant. Whereas on the Continent the yield of
potatoes per acre reached 15 tons, in Ireland the average was 2.6
tons. This single fact was characteristic of the general situation.
Whatever else might be done to improve the condition of Irish
agriculture, no great prosperity could be attained without a large
improvement in agricultural methods, and for this purpose a
comprehensive measure of agricultural education was necessary.
The efforts which had already been made in this direction had
proved quite inadequate. A certain amount of useful work was
done by the Royal Dublin Society, which from 1731 had admin-
istered various State funds for the improvement of agriculture.
Its activity consisted largely in efforts to improve the stock of
the country, particularly the horses, though some attempts were
made to increase and develop tillage operations. To this society
210
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 211
may be attributed the establishment of the Royal College of
Science, which has now assumed an important place in the general
educational scheme. Likewise, the National Board of Education
inaugurated in 1838 a comprehensive system of agricultural
education, with a large number of model farms. But these were
abandoned largely on account of the hostility of the Manchester
school of economists, who stigmatized this action as subversive
to the well-established principles of political economy. The net
result was only a very slight impression upon this important
problem.
In the beginning, and indeed at the present time, the co-
operative movement itself has been forced to devote much effort
in this direction. Technical instruction was so essential that the
I.A.O.S. found it necessary to combine this with its proper work
of organization. Only by such a combination was it possible to
achieve any results at all. The first co-operative societies, the
creameries, were created largely by convincing the farmers of
the technical advantages of this method of butter-making, and
have been made successful by the constant assistance given them
by the creamery staff of the I.A.O.S. Likewise the agricultural
experts of the society have done a splendid work in introducing
new methods of crop rotation, and various forms of agricultural
machinery. This extraneous but inevitable and necessary activity
was a serious drain on a movement which was never overburdened
with resources. In the more restricted field of co-operative organ-
ization the I.A.O.S. found ample room for its activities. Never-
theless the combination and co-ordination of education and
organizing work seemed essential. If State aid was to be intro-
duced— and only the Government with its large resources and
ample powers seemed competent to deal with the problem — it
must be applied in a way to encourage the spirit of self-reliance
and individual capacity, and must be used in connection with the
agencies of self-help already existing.
This was the broad conclusion of the "Recess Committee on
212 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
the establishment of a Department of Agriculture and Technical
Instruction for Ireland," a body unique in the history of the
country. It had been gathered together during the parliamentary
recess of 1895-96 — hence the name — by Sir Horace Plunkett,
whose activities in the co-operative movement had already won
for him considerable influence. His experiences in starting socie-
ties had convinced him of the necessity of governmental action.
The terms under which this committee was assembled were
significant. In his letter to the Irish Press proposing the confer-
ence, Sir Horace Plunkett declared:
"The time has arrived when we Unionists, without abating one
jot of our Unionism, and Nationalists, without abating one jot
of their Nationalism, can each show our faith in the cause for
which we have fought so bitterly and so long by sinking our party
differences for our country's good, and leaving our respective
policies for the justification of Time. ... If it be agreed that it
will be good patriotism and good policy alike to work for the
material and social advancement of our country, what is to make
us hesitate to enter at once upon that united action between Irish-
men of both parties which alone can produce the desired result?"
The response to this appeal was exceedingly encouraging.
Practically all shades of political opinion and all interests in the
country were represented in the committee which was formed.
Nationalists and Unionists, Ulstermen and Southerners, agri-
culturists and manufacturers, joined in its deliberations. A
special committee in Ulster studied particularly the question of
industrial development. Only those groups in the Nationalist and
Unionist parties led respectively by Justin McCarthy and Colonel
Saunderson refused to participate. That these men should have
come together at all to discuss and formulate a constructive policy
for Ireland was in itself remarkable; that they should have
presented a unanimous report would seem little short of miracu-
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 213
lous, had not the subject of their deliberations been a fundamental
matter to all classes.
Two problems which Sir Horace had suggested for the delib-
erations of the committee were considered — the establishment of
a State Department of Agriculture and the facilities for technical
education. Their report, both from the point of view of the
material gathered and the policy recommended, is of the greatest
importance. After describing the economic conditions and the
available resources of Ireland, it goes on to formulate a policy
of State aid for agriculture. This policy was based on careful
inquiries into the experience of various European countries.
Investigators were sent out, and their reports, indicating the
causes of industrial revival elsewhere, were carefully considered.
It was shown that the development of agriculture had depended
on three factors: organization, representation and education. In
Ireland the first principle had been recognized in the formation
of co-operative societies, but as for the others, the country was
altogether backward. If Irish agriculture was to assume its proper
position in the economic life of the country, it was clear that an
advance must be made in these directions.
It was proposed, therefore, to establish a new Government
Department, dealing with the two problems of agricultural and
technical education, advised by a body representative of the
farmers, and sufficiently endowed to perform the educational and
experimental work essential for the development of the country.
In view of the ridiculous number of Government agencies already
existing, this proposition seemed only to complicate the problem.
And, indeed, had the new Department been of the usual sort,
misgivings would have been justified. To endow Castle govern-
ment, out of touch as it was with the interests of the people and
enjoying so little of their sympathy and support, would have
proved an irritant and not a remedy. As a matter of fact, no little
difficulty was experienced in the early activities of the Depart-
ment because the people did not understand its independent
214 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
position. For, happily, the new Department, through the wisdom
of the Recess Committee, and particularly of Sir Horace
Plunkett, was constituted in a way quite different from those
already existing. The scheme was enthusiastically received by all
classes of the people, and the demand for the necessary legislation
was practically unanimous. After a delay of some years, occa-
sioned by the prior claims of the Local Government Bill, the
recommendations of the Recess Committee were realized by the
establishment in 1899 of the Department of Agriculture and
Technical Instruction for Ireland.
The constitution and organization of this new body are remark-
able in many respects, differentiating it from all other State
agencies in Ireland, and giving it considerable importance from
the point of view of political organization generally. At its head
is a Vice-President,* who represents the Department in Parlia-
ment, and is regarded as a member of the Government. All other
State bodies in Ireland are represented only by the Chief Secre-
tary. But the feature of the Act which merits special attention is
the provision to make its control representative of the people
whose interests are concerned. A Department of Agriculture run
by a predominantly non-agricultural group may or may not con-
tribute to the welfare of the class for whom it was intended. But
control by the class concerned will at any rate reflect their own
opinions and desires. For this reason the Act of 1899 provided
for a number of representative bodies, who enjoy considerable
control over the activities of the Department. The first of these,
known as the Council of Agriculture, has 104 members, two-
thirds of whom are elected by the county councils, established
under the Local Government Act of 1898. The remainder are
nominated by the Department. This body is largely advisory.
It holds at least one general meeting each year at which the policy
of the Department and various matters of importance to the
*The President of the Department is the Chief Secretary for Ireland, but the
post is a nominal one, and he exercises practically no control.
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 215
farming community are considered. But through two smaller
boards, a majority of whose members are chosen by the council,
it exerts much direct power. The Board of Agriculture and the
Board of Technical Instruction have an immediate control over
the activities of the Department, not only as active advisory
bodies, but also as the final authorities in determining the dis-
position of the annual revenue. The Department would thus seem
to enjoy a large measure of popular control.
This control is further secured through the arrangements made
for the application of the funds. Except in extraordinary circum-
stances, no aid was to be applied locally unless the local authori-
ties themselves contributed to the expense. Since such a contribu-
tion involved additional taxation, authorized by the Act up to
a penny on the pound, together with the penny already authorized
for technical education, the farmers had a real incentive to
demand a voice in determining the employment of their money.
To ensure this result, committees named by the county councils
were to arrange, in consultation with the officials of the Depart-
ment, the apportionment of the funds and to administer the
various projects. The danger of a large number of independent
and amateurish local schemes was thus obviated, while local, and
so individual, initiative and energy were in every way encouraged
and demanded.
The ordinary Government Board or Department, especially
when it is an organ of the national unit, enjoys very little loyalty
or support from the individuals with whom it deals. As a part of
a huge machine, it works independently, while the people who
enjoy its assistance look upon these services as their prerogative.
By nature governmental activity, in performing for individuals
services which otherwise they would find it necessary to do for
themselves, apparently releases them from responsibility. For this
reason the greatest problem in connection with all forms of State
activity and State socialism is the preservation of individual
initiative and self-reliance. The founders of the Department
2i6 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
realized this inherent danger of governmental activity, as the
following quotation from the first Annual Report will indicate:
"It is a chief aim of the Department to stimulate rather than to
weaken the spirit of industrial self-help, and its action will be
governed by this idea. Its endeavors will be mainly confined to
removing the obstacles which at present hinder in Ireland the due
exercise of initiative in industrial matters, and to creating a state
of things in which private enterprise can act with confidence and
freedom." The provisions for popular control and administration
which we have examined were in accordance with that far-seeing
policy.
In carrying out its important work, the Department has en-
joyed very liberal support from the Government. In addition to
an endowment fund of about £200,000, annual Parliamentary
grants of from £166,000 to £400,000 have been made. These
funds have been increased by contributions from the local rates
in the manner we have described, which amount to over £100,000.
The disposition of the grants is largely in the hands of the Boards
of Agriculture and of Technical Instruction, though certain
assignments within broad limits, such as £55,000 for technical
instruction, and £10,000 for sea fisheries, are made by law. The
remainder, a very considerable amount, is for the general purpose
of the development of agriculture. Until the law of 1903 no por-
tion of this money was to be spent in the Congested Districts,
but in view of the complications and inequalities which this
limitation had introduced, it was then withdrawn.
The activities of the Department cover a wide field, embracing
many forms of educational and experimental work. Wherever its
operations can be carried out more advantageously on a local
basis, the details are arranged and the schemes administered by
the county agricultural committees. Of this nature are the various
schemes of instruction in agriculture, horticulture (including bee-
keeping), poultry-keeping, and so on. A large number of itinerant
instructors are employed who give practical assistance wherever
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 217
it is required. As a feature of this work, many field experiments
are conducted in the various districts. Special demonstration
plots to give practical effect to the recommended purchase of good
seeds and artificial manures are arranged. Potato spraying is most
assiduously taught throughout the country, in order to prevent
further disastrous failures of this important crop. Likewise the
improvement of live stock, by the introduction of high-grade
stallions, bulls, etc., has been carried on in connection with the
county committees. On the other hand are the activities of less
immediate significance and of national rather than local impor-
tance. Here the Department works more independently, subject
always, however, to the advice and criticism of the representative
bodies. The higher and more specialized branches of agricultural
education, experiments and investigations into new crops and
new methods, the administration of various laws relating to
agriculture, loans for special agricultural purposes, the encourage-
ment of forestry, information as to markets and methods of
transit are provided in this way. A fisheries branch of the
Department has done much to improve the sea- and fresh- water
fisheries of the country. In the sphere of technical education there
are large grants to both primary and secondary schools. Finally,
the Department maintains a statistics and intelligence branch
which collects and disseminates information by means of reports
and leaflets. The combined action between the Department of
Agriculture and the co-operative movement, recommended by
the Recess Committee, was facilitated by the close similarity in
the principles upon which both were founded. While the two
fields were quite distinct, each agency having its own proper
function, it was clear that only by a proper co-ordination and
cordial sympathy could the best results be obtained. The two
were complementary and supplementary. In order to ensure to
the farmers the full advantages of new methods and ideas, co-
operative organization was necessary. Otherwise the increased
product would be in large measure absorbed by the middlemen.
2i8 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
.
Moreover, in the co-operative society was to be found the local
organization necessary to make many schemes successful. It was
impossible to obtain any very large results while working through
individuals. Only when a number of farmers were gathered
together and could compare results could this be done. Much of
the work of the Department was made effective only through the
existence and assistance of the co-operative societies.
The value of this co-ordinated effort between these two agencies
was indicated by the early history of the Department. Sir Horace
Plunkett, who had been appointed to the vice-presidency, the
chief executive office, carried out with faithfulness and energy
the recommendations for which he had been so largely respon-
sible. On the one hand, the Department at once took over the
agents of the I.A.O.S. who had been engaged chiefly in the work
of technical education. Since this change could not be accom-
plished at once, a direct subsidy was given, in order to relieve
the Organization Society from this heavy expense. We have
already examined in detail this policy of the Department. On the
other hand, a great part of the work of the new educational body
was carried out through the local co-operative societies. "As it
was on the basis of the work of those societies that the new De-
partment was erected," runs the first Annual Report, "so also
it was through their co-operation that the early phases of the
work, by no means easy work, were rendered in any degree fruit-
ful; in some cases indeed one might say rendered effectively
possible." The lecturers sent out through the country testified
that only where local organization existed were the audiences
large and the discussion intelligent. Likewise the medium of the
societies was used for various forms of experimental work. Local
conditions vary very markedly, and in recommending the use of
artificial fertilizers and the like, it was particularly important to
take them into consideration. Of about two thousand potato tests
made throughout the country, practically 90 per cent, were
arranged through co-operative societies. Voluntary local organi-
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 219
zation immediately proved itself a most important if not essential
accompaniment of the work of the new Department.
These early years of its history were altogether successful as
a vindication of the principles and ideals on which it had been
founded. The Report of the Departmental Committee of Inquiry
in 1907 was generally favorable. It was shown that the repre-
sentative boards and council, even though possessing advisory
powers only, had been a most valuable feature of the scheme,
and that the combination of elective and nominated elements had
been of general advantage. The demands from some quarters for
complete popular representation and for increased powers were
not upheld. Much had been accomplished in the education of
experts, in the provision of itinerant instructors, and along many
of the other lines which we have described. Only in respect to
the work in the Congested Districts, which had been taken over
from the Congested Districts Board in 1904, was the achievement
considered unsatisfactory. "We believe," stated the report, athe
Department has been successful in stimulating throughout Ire-
land a sense that in various directions improved conditions of
agriculture are within reach of the farmer, and a desire to take
advantage of the methods by which that improvement may be
in some measure obtained. ... In this work the Department has
been aided by the cordial co-operation of the local authorities
throughout Ireland with very few exceptions."
Unfortunately the happy and mutually advantageous relations
between the Department and the co-operative movement were
not continued, and the cleavage which has existed between the
two agencies has been the greatest obvious obstacle to the
development of Irish agriculture during the last few years. Soon
after his appointment, Sir Horace Plunkett lost his seat in Parlia-
ment, but though it had been intended that the vice-presidency
should be filled by a Member, by general consent he continued
at the post. In commenting upon this practical modification of
the original Act, the Majority Report of the Committee of
220 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
Inquiry, 1907, stated that the fact that the Vice-President had
not been a Member of Parliament had proved an advantage
rather than otherwise. To his independence from party politics
was in large measure to be attributed "the absence of friction
arising from political and religious differences." At any rate, the
retirement of Sir Horace Plunkett in 1907, a step which he felt
it necessary to take in view of many attacks by the Nationalists,
and the restoration of this provision in the appointment of Mr.
T. W. Russell, M.P., to the vacancy, has been accompanied by far
less happy results. Mr. Russell inaugurated a complete change
of policy. Upon an unfounded charge of political action against
Sir Horace Plunkett, who had resumed the presidency of the
I.A.O.S., the subsidy to that organization from the Department
was withdrawn. Co-operation was anathema, and thereafter the
two agencies, which were originally conceived as co-workers in
the economic regeneration of Ireland, have struggled along dif-
ferent paths and often been directly opposed to each other. The
work of both has suffered immeasurably in consequence.
For this situation, Irishmen, and particularly the chosen repre-
sentatives of the Irish people, are responsible. The Nationalist
Party, though it had never given whole-hearted support to the
co-operative movement, had concurred in the programme of the
Recess Committee. Home Rule was, for the moment, impossible,
and all parties might reasonably unite to formulate a practical
measure of reform. But by 1904 the attitude toward the co-
operative movement had changed. John Redmond, leader of the
reunited Irish Party, who had been a member of the Recess Com-
mittee, had then declared that "the real object of the [co-
operative] movement ... is to undermine the National Party
and divert the minds of our people from Home Rule, which is
the only thing which can ever lead to a real revival of Irish indus-
tries." Perpetually and everlastingly, in the face of facts again
and again reiterated, they have raised this empty spectre of
co-operation as a political movement, intended to wean Ireland
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 221
from her just demand for Home Rule. The testimony of nearly
three hundred societies in an investigation made in 1901 did not
convince them, though every answer to the circular sent out
denied that the I.A.O.S. had ever interfered in politics, and stated,
on the other hand, that it had been a thoroughly beneficial agency.
No amount of evidence from those directly concerned has been
sufficient, no argument has availed until quite recently to modify
this unfair and damaging attitude of hostility which the Party
has assumed.
Many indications of this hostility have been and continue to
be given. We have already traversed the thorny ground of the
controversy between the Department and the I.A.O.S. on the
question of financial support, and have shown in the restrictions
imposed upon the grant from the Development Commissioners
through the activities of the Department the way in which the
Irish movement, in contrast with its English and Scottish imita-
tors, has been hampered. Likewise the attack upon the co-
operative credit societies, culminating in the recommendations of
the Departmental Committee on Agricultural Credit, has already
received sufficient attention. One or two additional incidents may
be narrated here.
In 1909, as the result of an inquiry into the position of the
Irish butter trade by a Departmental Committee, a Bill was
drawn up and submitted to Parliament. The I.A.O.S., which
represented creameries making more than half the butter ex-
ported from the country, was not consulted in this matter, and
even though the Bill proposed received little sympathy among
the farmers, its carefully formulated recommendations were com-
pletely ignored. The same unwillingness to recognize the co-
operative movement was displayed soon after the outbreak of
war. It was to be hoped that in such a time of national crisis
petty differences would be set aside, and the co-ordinated action
which alone would ensure the most effective activity on the part
of Irish farmers would be realized. Yet despite every effort on
222 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
the part of the I.A.O.S. the Department refused to modify its
attitude. The great need in Ireland has always been increased
tillage, and this was rendered many times more necessary by the
war conditions. The Organization Society constructed a pro-
gramme to attain this end, which required for its thorough appli-
cation the assistance of the Department. Mr. Wibberley's scheme
for continuous cropping was to be taught throughout the country,
and was to be made possible for the small-holders by the co-
operative purchase of the necessary machines. But the Depart-
ment refused to connect itself with anything of this nature, and
the result was the comparative failure of the campaign for
increased tillage.
This constant and continued opposition of the Department is
to be explained only in one way. The claim of political action on
the part of the I.A.O.S. is the pretext and not the real cause. The
fact is that the Department, and indeed the Nationalist Party
itself, is in the hands of the traders. Defeated in the economic
field, the vested interests have maintained their hold on the
political life of the people, and have from this side been able to
attack the co-operative movement with much greater effect. The
Council of Agriculture, which was intended to represent the
farmers, is now in their hands, and they have thus been able to
direct the policy of the Department in accordance with their own
interests.
As long as this situation continues, the rapid reconstruction
of Irish agriculture, in such a way as to bring prosperity to the
country, is rendered practically impossible. Only by the accept-
ance of the principle of combined action, laid down in the Report
of the Recess Committee, can the end for which both agencies
were created be attained. The Department has the resources and
the powers, and is constituted in such a way as to act as a most
effective educational medium. But its efficiency may be many
times increased if its antagonism to co-operative organization,
which is subversive in every way to progress and prosperity, and
THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 223
it may be the favorable outcome of the world struggle, can be
set aside. After two and a half years of war, some steps seem
to have been taken in that direction. May this new policy be
continued, for only by the restoration of co-ordinated effort can
Irish agriculture become the sound basis of the economic life of
a prosperous and happy nation!
CHAPTER XIII
INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION AND ITS RELATION TO
THE AGRICULTURAL MOVEMENT
WE have seen in a previous chapter how the co-operative move-
ment in Ireland owed its first development to a happy combina-
tion between Sir Horace Plunkett and the Co-operative Union;
we have traced the natural process by which the agricultural
co-operators of Ireland gradually withdrew from the English
industrial movement, and have followed in detail their history and
progress. In order to complete the picture it remains to sketch
the development of industrial co-operation in Ireland, the differ-
ences of opinion which have arisen, and the possibilities of closer
relationship which the future has to offer.
The separation of the I.A.O.S. from the Co-operative Union
was rendered almost inevitable by the circumstances. The old
controversy between the individualists, who believe in the organi-
zation of man in his productive capacity, and the federalists, who
refer everything to the standpoint of the consumer, arose here in
its most acute form. The question might have been definitely
settled had the whole of the work lain either in England or in
Ireland, or had England been less predominantly industrial, or
Ireland less absolutely agricultural. As it was, the difference
between the two schools of thought was accentuated by geographi-
cal barriers, by racial, temperamental and political difficulties,
and even by a certain degree of class feeling — for the organization
of poverty-stricken agriculturists in Ireland could not proceed
upon the democratic basis of the English movement, and the
motive of "landlordism" was freely imputed.
224
INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION 225
Yet the two bodies might have worked side by side, each in
its own sphere, with mutual benefit, had it not been for an unfor-
tunate conflict which arose. Before the pioneers of agricultural
co-operation began their work in Ireland the Co-operative Whole-
sale Society of Manchester had seen the possibility of that
country as a source of agricultural produce, and had established
an agency there for the buying of supplies, notably butter. During
the first four or five years of the work preliminary to the founda-
tion of the I.A.O.S., the attitude of the C.W.S. was friendly, and
its chief agent in Ireland, recognizing the value of creameries in
improving the output of butter, gave considerable assistance in
organizing them. But the C.W.S. had to consider primarily the
interests of the consumers for whom it existed, and only con-
cerned itself in a less degree with the welfare of the producer.
Thus while the Co-operative Union was genuinely desirous of
spreading the doctrine of co-operation in Ireland, the C.W.S.,
as its buyer, Mr. Stokes, frankly stated in a speech to Congress,
was only anxious as a matter of business for the establishment
of creameries, "co-operative or otherwise," from which it might
draw supplies.
In these circumstances friction was certain to arise. The forma-
tion in the early days of 1895 of the Irish Co-operative Agency
Society, with a depot in Manchester, must have presented itself
to the agents of the C.W.S. as a direct challenge to their prospects
of unfettered buying in Ireland, and caused them to feel the new
movement as a competitive menace rather than an addition to
the co-operative ranks. Co-operators are only human, and they
value their business perquisites as highly as other men. The
C.W.S. was almost committed to a policy of self-defence. Unfor-
tunately, in the same year, a creamery at Castlemahon, which had
been organized by the I.A.O.S. and had been supplying the
C.W.S. with butter, fell into a condition of absolute collapse. The
reason seems to have been the inefficiency of the committee, who,
according to Mr. Anderson, spent their time squabbling over
226 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
political matters instead of attending to the manufacture of
butter.* When it was seen that there was no hope of the creamery
being revived, and that it would probably be sold, the C.W.S.
stepped in and leased it for a year, after which, having given the
farmers an opportunity to resume control, and having found them
unwilling to do so, it bought the creamery outright, and pro-
ceeded to run it on ordinary proprietary lines. Having taken this
step, the English co-operators saw no reason why the practice
should not be extended. The C.W.S. announced its intention of
establishing three or four more creameries in various parts of
Ireland. To the leaders of the I.A.O.S. this seemed a flagrant
attack upon the agricultural movement. A creamery owned by the
C.W.S. did not provide Irish farmers with any opportunity for
practising improved business methods, or for learning the great
lesson of mutual help and democratic control. In fact, a farmer
dealing with such a creamery was no more co-operating than
when he dealt with an ordinary merchant, and was not in a posi-
tion to get any better terms except in so far as the spirit of the
C.W.S. might be better than that of the average trading company.
The Irish section of the Co-operative Union, which was then
dominated by agricultural co-operators, protested vigorously, and
a pitched battle was waged in the Congress of 1895. Irish co-
operators found many supporters in the English movement.
Those members, in particular, whose interest in co-operation
proceeded rather from idealism than from practical necessity
tended to identify themselves with the individualist policy, and
looked with apprehension on the all-embracing ambitions of the
C.W.S. Prominent among these were such men as Mr. Greening,
Mr. Wolff, and the celebrated Judge Hughes. But the speech of
Mr. Stokes carried great authority with the rank and file, and
after a heated discussion the C.W.S. came out victorious. As a
natural result the same policy was continued, and a source of
* This appears to be the only case in the history of the I.A.O.S. in which political
dissensions have been fatal to a society.
INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION 227
friction created which led to the speedy separation of the I.A.O.S.
from the Irish section of the Co-operative Union, although the
latter body remained on friendly terms with the agricultural co-
operators long after the breach with the C.W.S.
These happenings were disastrous enough, but the terms in
which the controversy was conducted were even more unfortu-
nate. As these events are well within the memory of a large
number of persons who are still leaders in the movement, and
the scars seem now to be happily healing, it would be highly
inexpedient to revive bitter memories by quoting the heated
speeches made at Congress, or the violent letters and leading
articles which appeared in the columns of the Irish Homestead
on the one side and the Co-operative News on the other. Many
motives were imputed to either party which certainly never
existed in the minds of the great mass of co-operators. The facts
also were variously represented, probably not from any desire
to deceive, but because they were not thoroughly known.
There is no need to dwell on the history of these creameries.
For two or three years their number increased until there were
altogether about twenty. Many were undoubtedly established
in places where co-operative creameries might have been organ-
ized, while others overlapped the territory of existing societies
and competed with them for supplies of milk. At first the C.W.S.
had no difficulty in establishing them. In fact, it was one of the
arguments used at Congress that the farmers actually invited it
to do so — to which Sir Horace Plunkett and Mr. Anderson
retorted that in the beginning Irish farmers were so unused to
combination that they themselves on going into a district had
often been implored to start a creamery of their own instead of
organizing a co-operative society. But as the propaganda of the
I.A.O.S. began to gain ground, and the co-operative creameries
became really successful, the pressure on the C.W.S. concerns
increased tremendously, and their owners began to realize the
serious difficulties of doing business with Irish farmers from a
228 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
distance in competition with organized bodies which enjoyed all
the advantages of co-operative association and of the supervision
of the I.A.O.S. The balance-sheets showed increasing losses year
by year, the consumers began to get restless and to suggest that
this was an expensive method of acquiring butter, and finally the
C.W.S. decided to retire from the contest. Negotiations went on
for some years with the I.A.O.S., and although there were many
misunderstandings, a transfer of all the C.W.S. creameries to
co-operative societies is gradually being effected.* The selling
price is arrived at by agreement between the society and the
C.W.S. through the mediation of the I.A.O.S. The Scottish Co-
operative Wholesale Society has been less willing to retire, and
still owns a group of creameries in the North of Ireland which
are a thorn in the flesh to the local co-operative societies.
We have stated the reasons which led the I.A.O.S. to regard
the establishment of the creameries as an undesirable intrusion on
their territory. The supporters of the C.W.S. claim that they
went into the business with the object of helping the Irish farmer
to raise his standard of production, and to obtain better prices,
and many of them still believe that the Wholesale Society spent
£100,000 (the amount which is alleged to have been lost in this
venture) in a laudable attempt to bring the benefits of co-
operation to Ireland, and received scant gratitude in return. To
agricultural co-operators this view seems distorted, but there is
no reason to doubt that it is perfectly genuine. It is satisfactory
to note that the bitterness which existed so long has been rapidly
dying since the outward and visible sign was removed. It prob-
ably received its final death-blow when the Co-operative Congress
was held in Dublin in 1914 for the first time. This Congress was
attended by all the leaders of the agricultural movement in Ire-
land, and a good deal of its time was devoted to the question of
* There remains now only the Central Creamery at Tralee, with three auxiliaries.
These are retained by the C.W.S., as they can be conveniently worked in connec-
tion with the bacon-curing establishment which that body owns in Tralee.
INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION 229
interworking between urban and rural co-operators. This scheme
has been earnestly taken up on all hands within the last two or
three years, and the moment seems to be at hand when the two
branches of the movement may join forces in some matters to
their great mutual advantage.
The history of the development of industrial co-operation in
Ireland which has taken place independently of the I.A.O.S.
need not detain us very long. We have already described the
manner in which Mr. Gray of the Co-operative Union was sent
to Ireland in 1888 and there came into touch with Sir Horace
Plunkett and helped to give the first stimulus to all the subsequent
work. In his report to Congress, Mr. Gray described some
thirteen societies as comprising the whole field of co-operation
in Ireland. Of these hardly one was in a condition which inspired
confidence. Some, like Sir Horace's pioneer society at Dunsany,
were organized under the Companies Act and paid their dividends
on capital; others, like Belfast and Lisburn, were in earliest in-
fancy and somewhat doubtful of the future, and yet others,
notably the Dublin society, which owed its foundation to the
enthusiasm of Dr. Knox Denham, were constantly in trouble
caused by the ignorance or irresponsibility of their committees.
The combined turnover was almost negligible. Worse still, there
was no sort of cohesion; the societies were scattered units owing
their existence, as a rule, to the presence in the locality of some
migratory co-operator or some economic experimentalist, and
barely conscious of the existence of one another. Co-operative
principles were differently interpreted in different societies, and
as a whole there was little faith or enthusiasm and no nucleus for
propagandist effort.
On the recommendation of Mr. Gray, the North-Western
Section of the Co-operative Union, in whose district Ireland was
supposed to lie, undertook the task of bringing more life into the
movement, and the various existing societies were approached
with this end. Only one or two, among which was Sir Horace's,
230 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
seem to have responded. But the enthusiasm shown by Sir
Horace, Mr. Anderson and one or two others led to the formation
of a distinct Irish section. We have seen how this section speedily
decided to abandon the programme of founding stores and to
confine its activities to agricultural co-operation. It was gradually
merged into the I.A.O.S., and automatically dissolved when the
break with the C.W.S. and the divergence of policy made it
necessary for the Co-operative Union and the I.A.O.S. to separate
their forces.
Since that time the organization of co-operative stores of the
Rochdale type in the urban areas of Ireland has been in the hands
of the Co-operative Union, acting either through the North-
Western Section or through an Irish Sectional Board which has
been constituted under the name of the Irish Co-operative Con-
ference Association. The I.A.O.S., however, recognized after a
few years that in certain country districts it was desirable to
have this type of organization, and a good many small general
stores were added to the creameries and agricultural societies.
The need of such stores is increasingly felt throughout the rural
areas, but there is little chance for the officials of the Co-
operative Union to cover ground which is at once so extensive
and so unfamiliar to them, and now that the I.A.O.S. is debarred
by the restrictions which we have already discussed the want
seems likely to go unfulfilled. Fortunately, however, no Govern-
ment grant can prevent a society started by the I.A.O.S. from
branching out subsequently into the purchase of tea, sugar and
other groceries, and this development is taking place to a very
large extent. Furthermore, the I.A.W.S., not being affiliated to
the I.A.O.S., and thus subject to the restrictions, is in a position
to give help and encouragement to such bodies in addition to
supplying their necessary stock in trade.
To return to the more purely "industrial" societies, no one will
envy the officials of the Irish Co-operative Conference Association
the task of promoting this movement in Ireland during the last
INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION 231
thirty years. Mr. Gray, as we have noted, reported thirteen
societies in 1888. The statistics of the Co-operative Union for
1916 show thirty-eight societies with a combined turnover of over
£700,000. Of this turnover, however, the Belfast society alone
is responsible for £420,000. The next largest is Lisburn with
£52,000, and there are only four others whose annual trade runs
into five figures. Excluding Belfast and Lisburn the profits avail-
able for distribution were not more than £7500. Of the thirty-
eight societies it is safe to say that not more than half are really
prospering, and of these at least two arose out of the agricultural
movement. The record is hardly an encouraging one, but there
is no reason to blame either the Union or the principles of the
movement. Circumstances in Ireland are not in any way suitable
to a great development of co-operative stores unless they are
scattered throughout the rural districts as they are in Denmark.
Almost all of the thirteen hundred centres in England and Scot-
land where the distributive movement flourishes offered a better
field for organization than any place in Ireland, with the excep-
tion of ten or twelve towns in the north-eastern counties. Not
only is a large town required, but one in which there is some
manufacture or staple industry maintaining a population which
is more or less free to do as it likes outside working hours. Ireland
has practically no large towns, and all the towns there are, with
one or two exceptions, are centres of distribution for the surround-
ing farmers ; thus their population is all either employed by shop-
keepers and publicans, or belongs to the minor professional ranks,
and out of such a population it is patently impossible to form a
co-operative store. The only way it can be done is for the farmers,
who have the money and the independence, to take the first step,
and let the townsfolk follow.
A glance at the list of the existing societies and the figures
of their trade will bear out this contention. Belfast, where condi-
tions are far more similar to those of Great Britain than any
other place in Ireland, has nearly 15,000 members, and its turn-
232 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
over seems likely soon to reach £500,000, and to keep on increas-
ing. Lisburn, a much smaller place, but subject to the same
conditions, has done equally well, or perhaps better in proportion.
Co-operation seems well rooted on a small scale at Portadown,
Armagh, Dundalk, Enniskillen, and one or two other northern
towns. For the rest, Enniscorthy and Templecrone are primarily
agricultural societies, while Greenore, Rosslare and Inchicore
owe their stability to the railway workers, who compose almost
the whole of their membership. In Dublin the vicissitudes of co-
operation have been many, but it seems at last as if a strong
development might take place. Here, as in many other parts of
Ireland, extreme poverty, which Mr. Gray reported in 1888 as
being a prime obstacle to the growth of co-operation, is still a
deterrent.
War conditions have increased the appeal of the co-operative
store very greatly, and the movement is exciting interest in
quarters where it has been accustomed to meet with indifference
or contempt. This tendency has been particularly noticeable in
Ireland, and appeals for the starting of stores continually reach
both the I.A.O.S. and the I.C.C.A. from all parts of the country.
The circumstances in most of these places being such as we have
described, the opportunity cannot be turned to really profitable
account except by joint working between the two organizing
bodies.
The most casual consideration of the facts as recorded will
inevitably suggest that the harmonious growth of the co-operative
movement in Ireland has been very much retarded by the separa-
tion of agricultural and industrial interests. The clash between
the C.W.S. and the I.A.O.S. must be held responsible as the first
cause, and the acceptance by the latter of the Government grant,
with its restrictive conditions, as the second.
The first difficulty has died out almost entirely; the second
will be automatically removed as soon as the societies affiliated
INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION 233
to the I.A.O.S. grasp the advantages which they will gain by
fulfilling their obvious duty of making this body self-supporting.
There are two directions in which improvement is urgently
required — first, in the matter of organization; and, secondly, in
the matter of intertrading. The first is comparatively a minor
problem and can be easily disposed of. We have already described
the difficulties which beset the I.C.C.A., and shown that co-
operation can only be successfully introduced into small Irish
towns by starting with a farmers' society. An unsuccessful attempt
to start a store among the townspeople results in a reaction
against co-operation which affects the agricultural population
as well. Evidently there is great need here for consultation
between the I.A.O.S. and the I.C.C.A. before fresh ground is
broken in any such district. If the I.A.O.S. were free to organize
stores it would no doubt be considered the proper body to do so
in the* real country places where it has started them in the past;
but it would never aspire to take out of the hands of the Co-
operative Union the supervision of such purely industrial socie-
ties as Belfast and Lisburn. There would seem, therefore, to be
room for a common council in Ireland to deal with questions of
organization where there was a possibility of overlapping. With
greater freedom for the I.A.O.S., the I.C.C.A. might easily
become such a council. Already, Mr. Harold Barbour, who is
thoroughly sympathetic with both sides of the movement, has
done much to bring about this result, and it is satisfactory to
note as a sign of progress that one of the organizers of the I.A.O.S.
has been elected to membership of the I.C.C.A.
A far greater problem is presented by the need of creating a
satisfactory system of intertrading; in fact, it may be argued
that the future strength of the co-operative movement in the
United Kingdom will be largely affected by what is done in this
direction.
The disinterested observer will certainly arrive at the conclu-
sion that the weakest point in agricultural co-operative policy lies
234 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
in the failure to trace its products right through to their ultimate
destination. The claim is made that co-operation not only effects
economies of production and handling for the producer, but also,
by the elimination of the middleman, eases the burdens of the
consumer. If this claim is to be substantiated, it must be possible
to show that a pound of butter made in a co-operative creamery
is likely to reach the consumer at a more reasonable price than
one made in the ordinary butter-merchant's factory. No such
state of things exists at present, except perhaps in a limited
number of cases where agricultural societies sell direct to indus-
trial societies. Obviously it will not exist so long as creameries
dispose of their produce to the ordinary wholesale or retail trade.
In the first place there is every inducement to the producers to
take full advantage of the highest prevailing market price, and,
secondly, there is no reason why the provision merchant, if he
were so fortunate as to obtain butter from co-operative sources
at a low price, should give the advantage of this to his customers.
Even if from a motive of competition or forbearance he were to
do so, he would certainly not advertise the fact that he was en-
abled to make the reduction because of the development of the
co-operative movement.
Direct dealings between co-operators would seem to be the
only way to meet this difficulty. Theoretically those who practise
the same faith ought to be able to do business together in a spirit
of compromise which would be mutually beneficial, and to halve
the surplus which they are saving by dispensing with the middle-
man. But in practice the manager of a creamery is bound to do
all that he can to get the maximum price for his butter in order
to give satisfactory returns to the milk-suppliers who employ
him, while the committee of a distributive society are equally
bound to buy as well as they can in the interests of the consumers
who have elected them with the distinct understanding that they
will bring about an economy in the cost of food. The problem is
further complicated by the deep-rooted suspicion which so often
INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION 235
exists on either side: the farmer dreads the supposed trickery of
the townsman, the townsman complains of the extortionate
practices of the farmer. This human element is the hardest factor
to overcome; it is not removed, in fact it seems almost strength-
ened, by organization on either side, for people are apt to act
more forcibly under the protection of corporate existence than
they would as individuals. It is unfortunate and perhaps disap-
pointing, but nevertheless true, that the co-operative producer
and the co-operative consumer comparatively seldom do business
with one another on co-operative lines, as things are constituted
at present.
When we look for a solution we are brought once more face
to face with the old conflict of individualism and federalism,
which we have already referred to as being the underlying cause
of the trouble between the C.W.S. and the I.A.O.S. It is a burning
question at present in England whether the independent co-
operative factories, mills and workshops should continue to exist
and sell their products to co-operative societies or any other
customers, or whether all these functions should be taken over
by the C.W.S. There is a great pressure on the leaders of the
movement to extend the control of the sources of supply. It is
universally recognized that co-operation will not have realized
its full strength until it has this control, and the question has
been made more urgent by the conditions of war. Any attempt
to control sources of supply must include the acquisition of land,
and in consequence we find that the English and Scottish Whole-
sales, and a certain number of the larger individual societies, are
buying or renting farms and producing their own milk and butter
and other agricultural requirements. The total acreage thus
farmed in 1915 was 14,000 acres, and a rapid increase is taking
place. This development is, of course, directly in opposition to
the interests of agricultural co-operative societies. It represents
a triumph for the federalist school — a decided step in the direction
of carrying out all organization from the point of view of the
236 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
consumers ' interests. However much idealistic considerations may
make for adherence to the views of the individualist school, the
hard facts must be faced. Co-operation will not grow into an
ordered system, able to influence the whole economic life of the
country, until it has eliminated conflicting interests. If it is ad-
mitted that the interests of the producer and the consumer con-
flict, and that one or the other must give way, it is surely evident
that one must be the producer. Every man is a consumer, and,
therefore, a form of organization which leads to all consumers
being fairly treated would be an ideal one. The co-operative
commonwealth, when it comes, must be a State of this kind, in
which justice is done to every consumer, and production is under-
taken under the control of and in proportion to the needs of the
community. So much was foreseen by Robert Owen and his col-
leagues in the earliest days of labor organization. But complete
justice cannot be done in this way until the co-operative com-
munity includes every one. That state appears to be as far off
as the millennium, and meanwhile, although it is useless to try
and stop the acquisition of land by distributive societies, some
practical steps should be taken to promote better relations
between producers and consumers. Even if the federalist idea
prevails, the two different types of society will continue to exist
side by side for many years to come, and from considerations
of business as well as of goodwill every effort should be made
to bring them together.
There is a practical manner in which this can be done, and the
machinery for giving effect to it is being used in Ireland already.
If the local agricultural and industrial societies cannot sufficiently
adjust their points of view to do business with one another, the
balance can be adjusted by a wholesale society to which both
are federated. Education will no doubt result in the course of
time in convincing the co-operator that the interests of the con-
sumer and the producer are identical; for if the consumer of
butter is made to pay too much for it the reflex action will be
INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION 237
for the demand to fall off, and ultimately the farmer will find
himself unable to buy as much tea and sugar as he requires. But
before the masses are educated up to the point of perceiving this
perpetual process of exchange, their business guides ought to be
able to make use of it. A co-operative wholesale society, in fact,
should regulate the exchange of commodities between the two
parties.
The Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society, largely owing to the
insight of its present chairman, Mr. Barbour, who has had long
experience of both branches of the movement, has grasped this
opportunity. The societies of which it is the trade federation in-
clude industrial stores as well as creameries and agricultural
societies; thus it is in a unique position for keeping the balance
between them. An agreement has been arrived at by which the
English and Scottish wholesale societies undertake not to overlap
with the I.A.W.S., and to refer all newly formed societies in Ire-
land wishing to trade with them to that body. As the I.A.W.S. is
managed by directors appointed by the federated societies, these
directors are in a position to represent both the interests. Theo-
retically, therefore, the difficulty is solved, but in practice there
is a great deal more to be done. Three obstacles stand in the way.
In the first place, the balance in numbers and trade of the Irish
societies is overwhelmingly in favor of agricultural co-operation,
and the I.A.W.S. must, therefore, be largely dominated by these
societies. Secondly, the federation is not sufficiently capitalized
even for its agricultural business, still less to deal with the grocery
trade of large industrial societies. Thirdly, it is not at present in
a sufficiently strong position to be able either to offer the most
attractive market to the agricultural societies or to bind them to
sell through it.
These three difficulties are largely interconnected, and it would
seem as if the solution of them lies in a closer connection with
the English and Scottish movements. The turnover of the dis-
tributive societies in Ireland, urban and rural together, exclusive
238 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
of the trade in agricultural requirements, will soon total fully
£1,000,000, while the creameries alone are disposing of butter
and eggs valued at £3,500,000. The English and Scottish societies
ought to be able very easily to dispose of this amount of butter
and eggs, not to speak of the bacon, meat, potatoes, honey, poultry
and other agricultural produce which they might get from Ireland.
And the English and Scottish wholesale societies might use the
I.A.W.S. as source for these supplies. In return they ought to be
in a position to enable it to cater for the £1,000,000 of distributive
trade and any increase which may take place. As it is, however,
the trade of the I.A.W.S., although it has been increasing in the
most satisfactory way year by year, has barely reached half a
million, and of this the greater part is made up of the sale of
fertilizers, feeding-stuffs and machinery. The sales both of the
grocery department, on the one hand, and of the agricultural
produce department, on the other, are comparatively speaking
very small. It is thus evident that several million pounds' worth
of trade which should pass entirely through co-operative channels
is now passing outside the control of the movement. This situation
can hardly be remedied until the leaders of co-operation in Eng-
land give their attention to it, and recognize the proper value of
Irish agricultural co-operators and, above all, of their trade
federation.
As we have pointed out above, circumstances in Ireland are
not favorable to the development of industrial co-operation on
a large scale. The balance of power on the directorate of the
I.A.W.S. is not likely to be equalized in this way, although with
the lapse of time and greater freedom for the I.A.O.S. the growth
of rural stores may lead to a greater keenness among agriculturists
for the distributive side of co-operation. But without waiting for
this to happen, the position would be considerably improved if
the C.W.S. and the S.C.W.S. so extended their policy with regard
to overlapping as to cause all existing societies in Ireland to do
their business through the I.A.W.S. The trade of the Belfast
INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION 239
society is at present greater than that of the federation; its capi-
tal is considerably greater. The I.A.W.S. could not handle at
once all its trade, but it seems a pity that such a development
is not aimed at, so that the full forces of the Irish movement
could be combined. At the same time the question of capital, in
which the I.A.W.S., primarily an agricultural federation, is weak
for reasons we have discussed in another chapter, can only be
settled when such societies as Belfast are able to join in support-
ing it. A vicious circle seems to arise — these large societies cannot
support the federation until it is able to do their trade, and it
cannot do their trade until it has the capital which they alone
can supply. The question then arises whether the C.W.S. cannot
be helpful here also.
At first sight it may seem an extraordinary suggestion that the
great English federation should not only voluntarily surrender
part of its trade, but also proceed to finance the competitor to
whom it has made the surrender. But, aside from the fact that
to act for the greatest good to the greatest number is the essence
of co-operation, the C.W.S. should have a great deal to gain by
thus strengthening the hands of the I.A.W.S. For in this way it
will put the latter body into a position to act as its agent in the
collection of the large quantities of good, reasonably priced, home-
grown produce which Irish co-operators have to offer and which
the members of English co-operative societies must be anxious
to obtain. At present, as we have seen, creameries in Ireland are
too often competing with one another in the sale of their produce
to merchants in London or Glasgow. The managers are frequently
chosen for their skill in salesmanship, and are jealous of their
prowess in that direction. As a consequence both the agency and
the butter department of the I.A.W.S. suffer from receiving a
good deal of inferior butter, and from being regarded with an
unfriendly eye by those creamery managers who are accustomed
to force the price. Something of the same state of things, to a
rather less degree, obtains in regard to eggs. Meanwhile, with the
240 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
exception of two or three bacon factories, and the meat supplied
from Wexford, co-operative sale has never taken root in Ireland
for any form of produce except butter and eggs and a small
amount of poultry. All this might be altered if an honest, con-
tinuous and attractive market were provided. This market exists
already in the thousand-odd English and Scottish artisans'
societies, but it is almost entirely unexploited. The C.W.S. and
the S.C.W.S. as the federations of these societies ought to search
out the producer who combines readiness and capacity to supply
their market with the advantage of adherence to the same co-
operative faith. They have tried to do this, as we have seen, by
absorbing this producer into their own mechanism. The results
have been, and always will be, in the near future at any rate,
disastrous. The difficulties which that policy caused were a very
obvious reason for reluctance to attempt intertrading during a
period of several years. But now that the bitterness has died
down, and the two movements understand one another better,
the time is ripe to make a new attempt to gain the same ends by
a different policy. That policy must be based on a dual recog-
nition— the recognition of the independence of the organized
producer, and the recognition that Ireland, apart from all political
considerations, is economically a unit in herself. Both these are
summed up in generous recognition and support of the I.A.W.S.
The support must be generous and must not be regarded as a
preliminary to annexation, or further disaster will follow.
We have permitted ourselves to stray perhaps overfar into
visions of the future. A great deal of hard detailed work will be
required before anything of this kind can be accomplished, and
it seems the most important task which lies before co-operators
of the United Kingdom as a whole if their larger ideals are to
be accomplished. The stress of war has both revealed a need and
provided an opportunity for a great reconstruction; the various
branches of the movement show unmistakable signs of respond-
ing. It will be a pity if they all carry out their reconstruction
INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION 241
separately, for the most pressing need is that for a common
council which should act as a permanent consultative and arbi-
trating body, with representatives from the Co-operative Union
and the three Wholesale Societies, the three Organization Socie-
ties, the Labor Co-partnership Association, and the Co-operative
Productive Federation. Perhaps other bodies of organized labor
and industry, less directly co-operative, might in time seek repre-
sentation on it. Such a council would have plenty of large prob-
lems concerning the position of producer and consumer, of
employer and employee, within the movement, to tackle, but it
should not be beyond its power to find a solution for them.
As a first step we would hope that it would recommend the
establishment of a small and practical intertrading committee to
bring about the exchange of goods on a large scale between the
English and Irish societies through the medium of their federa-
tions, and that it would allow this committee the control of suffi-
cient capital to put this exchange upon a businesslike basis. We
feel sure that the interest on such capital would be well and
speedily earned, while the educational and social benefits would
be incalculable. No doubt there would have to be a good deal
of patience and tolerance shown for a few years; the most opti-
mistic person could not claim that the Irish producer is at present
as well versed as he might be in modern business method. But
that is largely because he has never been well enough treated
to allow him to see the advantages of the better way. He has
an ample measure of intelligence to respond if the right stimulus
were applied. If the co-operative movement cannot manifest the
patience and tolerance required in order to bring about a practical
extension of its own principles, it must be admitted to have fallen
from its high estate. The menace of materialism is always upon
a successful movement where business and ideals have to be
blended; there are some who claim that it has already triumphed
over the original aspirations of Owen's pioneers, or of the Chris-
tian Socialists. The skilful handling of this great problem will
242 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
provide an opportunity of proving them false prophets, and no
better time for grasping the opportunity is likely to present itself
than the period of labor and re-creation which must follow in the
train of the world's stupendous conflict.
CHAPTER XIV
THE ECONOMIC RESULT OF THE CO-OPERATIVE
MOVEMENT
SINCE the beginning of the co-operative movement in Ireland the
economic and social conditions of the country have measurably
improved. It has not been easy to change in this short period the
tendencies which previously prevailed. Ireland remains, even in
1917, a country comparatively poor and comparatively backward.
Indeed, when we remember the many evils which had existed,
the achievements of the past quarter-century may seem to lie
more in the checking of retrogression than in actual progress.
The application of brakes on the down grade was a necessary
preliminary to the climb toward the ever-retreating goal. Never-
theless, there are a number of evidences that the crisis of the
'eighties has been successfully averted, and that Ireland in the
new century is traveling forward with an accelerating pace to
that more happy and prosperous condition which the potentiali-
ties of the country and of its people have ever held in store.
Before inquiring into the particular economic and social benefits
which the co-operative movement has conferred upon the country,
it may be of advantage to indicate some of the more patent
evidences of this change.
The outstanding fact of Irish economic life during this period
has been the revolution in the system of land tenure, which we
have already considered. In place of a few comparatively large
landowners with many tenant farmers there are now thousands
upon thousands of peasant proprietors into whose hands nearly
three-quarters of the soil of the country has passed. While this
243
244 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
diffusion of wealth and property was of the greatest importance
from an economic as well as a social point of view, the returning
prosperity in agriculture which it betokened and encouraged was
even more significant. Setting aside for the moment the improve-
ments in the organization of production and distribution with
which the co-operative movement has been primarily concerned,
there has apparently been a significant increase in the aggregate
agricultural product of the country. This has occurred despite
the constant emigration from the rural districts and a continued
diminution in the agricultural population. The figures for exports
and imports, which are, of course, only a single indication of the
situation, show a large increase during the short period for which
they are available. In addition, the movement for the use of Irish
goods in Ireland has added to the home consumption, even of
agricultural produce.
To these facts of an increasing production and a more equitable
distribution of property are to be added the evidence of greater
material comfort within the country. The deposits in Irish banks,
which have always been much larger than the condition of the
country seemed to warrant, have grown with astonishing rapidity
during the last few decades. This increase has been most marked
in the Post Office Savings Banks, which collect, not from the
wealthier classes, but from the poorest. Also, the co-operative
credit societies, as we have stated, have found some of their
capital in the districts which they serve. The existence of this
large amount of capital in Ireland which should be available first
and foremost for the development of Irish industries, is of great
importance. As the country becomes prosperous it will more and
more be invested at home. Meanwhile the housing conditions in
the country have markedly improved. Whereas in 1891 60 per
cent, of the dwellings were classified in the third and fourth
groups, in 1911 this figure had been reduced to 28 per cent. The
change has been largely due to a number of Acts from 1883 to
1911 providing for allotments of land and dwellings for agricul-
RESULT OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 245
tural laborers. The rural district councils were given powers to
borrow, with the consent of the Local Government Board, from
the Commissioners of Public Works, and later from the Land
Commission, for these purposes. Various subventions for the dis-
charge of these indebtednesses were provided. Under these
provisions over 40,000 cottages have been built. The contrast
is remarkable. In place of miserable hovels are to be seen rows
of pleasant cottages, each with its own plot of land. But while
legislation has accomplished much in this direction, it is clear
that such a complete change could not have occurred without the
co-operation of the people, and a greater prosperity alone could
enable them to make effective use of the facilities thus provided.
Finally, emigration from Ireland has now reached a point at
which it can no longer be considered a symptom of pathological
conditions. At the present time, or rather just before the out-
break of war, the rate of emigration from Ireland was hardly
more than that from Great Britain itself, and even this diminished
stream continued, not on account of conditions at home, but
rather through the encouragement of those who had already gone.
For the moment the country has reached in the matter of
population an unstable equilibrium, soon, no doubt, to be fol-
lowed by the healthy sign of increasing, numbers. The various
constructive measures of the last half-century have definitely
checked the downward tendency to which long years of unfortu-
nate government and an inefficient economic organization had
given such momentum.
Legislation has undoubtedly played a large part in these
results. The Land Acts, the Congested Districts Board, the Agri-
cultural Laborers Acts, the Department of Agriculture and Tech-
nical Instruction have been potent influences in this reconstruc-
tion. To them are to be attributed in large measure these more
apparent changes. But legislative measures can never form more
than a part of any comprehensive programme of social reform.
They may remove the more obvious hindrances to progress, but
246 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
from their very nature they cannot — and this applies particularly
in Ireland — effectively encourage individual self-development.
The Land Acts might create a system of peasant proprietors;
they could not ensure that this would mean greater prosperity
and happiness. The formation of the D.A.T.I. might introduce
a much-needed system of agricultural education; it could not
make that education effective or ensure that from the increased
product the farmer would obtain an increased return. These
matters depended rather on the co-operative movement, which
so organized the interests of the community on a voluntary basis
as to secure the greatest individual development and self-
expression, forming in this way the keystone in the rural recon-
struction of Ireland. Legislation has been rendered really effective
and has succeeded in improving social and economic conditions
through the co-existence of co-operative societies. Community
organization, primarily for trade and industry, but eventually for
widening and enriching individual life, has been a fundamental
necessity. Even as the co-operative movement was handicapped
by the absence of certain governmental activities, so those activi-
ties could not have been carried on successfully without the co-
operative movement. The element which was essential for a
permanent and complete development in Ireland, namely, the
encouragement of individual energy, independence and self-
reliance, was to be found chiefly in that movement.
The more detailed consideration of these social and ethical
results is, however, reserved to the following chapter; here it
is necessary to describe the material gains which have been
brought about by the existing co-operative societies. A summary
of the facts concerning them will indicate some of the solid
economic advantages upon which the success of the movement
so completely depends. The statistics for 1915 show a total of
991 societies, with a membership of 102,591. While in some cases
a person belongs to more than one society, this figure roughly
represents the extent of the co-operative movement in Ireland.
RESULT OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 247
No section of the country has ignored the value of the movement,
and although the achievements have been greater in certain
districts than in others, this has been due more largely to acci-
dental circumstances than to any failure of the co-operative
principle. Leinster, with its large grazing deserts and thin popu-
lation, has been the most difficult problem, but progress, though
delayed, is now rapid. The rich valleys of Munster have always
been fertile ground for co-operative creameries, but in Connaught
and Ulster success has been equally great. The most obvious
indication of the value of the movement in Ireland is to be found
in this general acceptance of its principle and method throughout
the country.
These thousand societies have altogether a paid-up capital of
nearly £225,000, and their business is to this extent the property
of the Irish farming community. While the investment has been
made by individuals, it is really social wealth; for the activities
of a co-operative society benefit the entire community. On the
other hand, the amount of loan capital is even larger, and as we
have pointed out, one of the ways in which the movement can
be strengthened is by the provision of a larger proportion of its
capital from within. Only when the co-operative societies are
entirely independent of this form of assistance can their highest
ideals be realized.
The total turnover of all the societies for 1915 was £4,657,000,
and for the entire period from 1889, £39,524,705. These figures
indicate that the co-operative movement plays no small part in
the economic life of the country, and, moreover, that its impor-
tance has steadily increased. In no year has there been a real
decrease either in the number of the societies or the amount of
business which they have done. The net profit for 1915 amounted
to £83,000, while losses, incurred by a small number of societies,
reached £800. The total net profits from the beginning of the
movement have continuously grown, although they never reached
a high figure, owing to the non-profit-making objects of the
248 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
societies. Out of them, £290,000 has been set aside as reserves,
indicating that there has been very little distribution, except for
the payments on share capital. Most societies, in fact, allocate
their entire profit to reserve, a practice which has involved the
movement in considerable difficulties, though at the same time
it has much to recommend it. Had the industry of Irish farmers
not been arranged upon a co-operative basis, these profits would
undoubtedly have been absorbed by the capitalist entrepreneur.
Yet these statistics, however accurate — and it must be admitted
that they are not as complete or exact as might be desired—
furnish only a partial indication of the material achievements of
co-operation in Ireland. For a better basis for judgment it is
necessary to consider the features of this method of organization
which promote economic gains. The co-operative society ensures
to its members, and indeed, through the effective competition
which it offers, to the community as a whole, the full product of
their labor. The chaotic nature of business organization in the
rural districts of Ireland has already been indicated. The exist-
ence of a parasitic middleman class was a constant drain upon
the producing elements in the population. Charles Booth pointed
out in an analysis of the occupational statistics of Ireland (1891)
that an unusually large proportion was engaged in trade or com-
mercial pursuits. It was said that Irishmen were tending more
and more to live "by taking in each other's washing." The co-
operative system reduces this class in two ways: it facilitates
more direct trading, and it eliminates the wastes of competition.
Thus the farmer has been assured of securing his necessities as
a producer, the raw materials of his industry, on the cheapest
possible terms. In his agricultural society he procures the ferti-
lizers, seeds and feeding-stuffs, formerly supplied by the country
shopkeepers at their own prices, at wholesale rates. It was not
so much, perhaps, that these middlemen were exacting exorbitant
prices which gave them an extremely large return for the service
rendered. The temptations of a monopoly position, and the igno-
RESULT OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 249
ranee of their clients, encouraged some in that direction. But in
the co-operative society the trade for these requirements was
organized, and so could be carried on more efficiently. In the
first years, many societies were able to report a diminution of
50 per cent, in the cost of their manures. Seeds and feeding-
stuffs, likewise, could be secured at much lower rates; and what
was perhaps even more important, quality was guaranteed.
Furthermore, as a producer of raw materials or food-stuffs, the
farmer is protected by his society from the excessive levies of
the middleman. The co-operative creamery pays him for his milk
on the basis of the payment secured for the butter and cream
produced; the proprietary concern only enough to encourage him
to maintain his supply; and this usually means a considerable
advantage in favor of the former. So in meat-dressing societies,
in egg societies, the farmer is more likely to receive the full
product of his labor; that is, others do not have an opportunity
to exact unearned profits on the way. He may not get all to which
he is entitled — there are many gaps in the co-operative struc-
ture— but he gets more than he would otherwise. If he wishes a
loan for a productive purpose, his co-operative credit society can
supply it at a reasonable rate, saving him from falling into the
clutches of the ordinary loan shark, and capitalizing his reputa-
tion for honesty in the community. Finally, when the society
conducts a general store, the member is protected as a consumer.
He will get full value for his money, and since this last step may
bridge the worst pitfall of all, he will not be safe until he has
taken it. With complete co-operative organization as the leaders
have pictured it, the individual farmer will be protected from all
outside levies. The accomplishment of the movement in this
direction is its most powerful claim for the support of the Irish
people.
These advantages have been shared by practically all classes.
Unlike industrial co-operation in England, the co-operative
250 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
movement in Ireland has not been confined to a special group.
Large farmers as well as small have profited from the operations
of the societies. Even in the credit societies which are formed
primarily for small-holders, the more wealthy have joined in an
effort to help their fellows. More than the English movement has
ever been, or ever seems likely to be, co-operation in Ireland has
been on community or neighborhood lines. It is not a class affair.
This is due in large measure, no doubt, to the industrial homo-
geneity of rural districts. The greater proportion of country
dwellers are farmers, or depend on the prosperity of farmers.
For this reason they have all given their support to the co-
operative movement. In cities, on the other hand, there are many
different occupational groups, and class divisions cover a wider
range of activities. Industrial co-operative societies have, there-
fore, been class associations. The well-to-do or upper middle
class, and those on the poverty line, have never joined. Even in
attempts which have been made under the pressure of war condi-
tions to form societies in the upper middle class, other groups
of the population have shown no disposition to join. The co-
operative movement in cities has never overcome class lines; in
the country it is a true democracy.
This democracy is encouraged by the diffusion of wealth which
is stimulated by co-operative organization. There is no more
unjust fact in the present organization of society than that "to
those who have shall be given, and from those who have not shall
be taken away even that which they have." "The curse of the
poor is their poverty," while the wealthy man derives additional
wealth from the very position which he occupies. By co-operation
the poor farmer shares equally with the large the advantages of
large-scale buying; he is not penalized for his poverty by having
to pay excessive prices; he is not prohibited from taking advan-
tage of the more efficient methods of production which are
possible with the use of expensive agricultural machinery. The
RESULT OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 251
co-operative democracy at least checks the tendency to penalize
poverty. That it does more we hope to prove later.
It must be admitted that one class of the agricultural popu-
lation in Ireland, and that the most poverty-stricken and de-
pressed class, has gained little from the co-operative movement.
The Irish agricultural laborer, like his prototype in all countries,
has been left in a back-eddy out of the current of social reform.
He has been inarticulate and unorganized, and for the most part
has gained little from the forces which have measurably improved
the conditions of his fellow-creatures. It is perhaps one of the
greatest weaknesses of the Irish co-operative movement that it
has done so little in this direction. Not that the amelioration of
any one class does not react to some extent on the rest of the
community. The increased prosperity of the farmers which has
been secured through the activities of co-operative societies has
to a slight extent been shared by the agricultural laborers. The
average wage of this class, which in 1910 had been us. per week,
rose by 1916 to 155. Yet this advance, which has hardly kept
pace with the increase in food prices, indicates how little has
been really accomplished.
Nevertheless, co-operation would seem to be among the most
helpful agencies for the improvement of this class. In the first
place, the tendency to create rural industries — a matter to which
we shall return — will offer an alternative employment to agri-
culture. In England, on account of this possibility of other work,
the position of the laborer is somewhat better. When, therefore,
through the more comprehensive application of the co-operative
principle, the Irish countryside contains pleasant industrial vil-
lages, as unlike the nightmares of Lancashire as the present
plague-spots in Ireland, he will not be in the same helpless situa-
tion. In order to keep him on the land at all, he will demand a
decent wage. Likewise, the introduction of labor-saving machinery
by co-operative societies will eventually improve the situation of
labor. There will inevitably be hardship for the displaced indi-
252 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
viduals, though owing to the fact that this development is like!
to be coincident with an increase in tillage, the dislocation will
not be serious. In the manipulation of agricultural machinery a
comparatively skilled workman is necessary, and in place of the
ignorant worker, who is worth no more than his present hire, will
be found the well-paid machinist. But an even more effective way
for the co-operative movement to attack this problem is by the
formation of co-operative stores for general necessities. In one
respect the agricultural laborer has a bond in common with the
other members of the farming community; he is a consumer.
Organization on this basis will help him, and will, moreover,
teach him the value of combination, which is his real need.
It is both a strength and a weakness of the co-operative move-
ment that its advantages are in many directions shared by the
whole community, members and non-members alike. The society
enforces honest trading and honest prices upon all. Its compe-
tition, or effective threat of competition, has destroyed the
monopoly of the Irish trading community. The fall in the price
of manures and feeding-stuffs, of which we have spoken, was
general. As legislation forced fair rents on a rack-rented people,
so co-operation has forced fair prices upon a community in the
hands of gombeen-men. This has put an end to the inefficient
trader who depended on excessive profits, an advantage which
all have shared.
On the other hand, the efficient and honest trader has fre-
quently been helped rather than injured by the co-operative
movement. The increased return to the farming community has
meant an increased purchasing power. Only where societies have
set up a general store — and this has occurred more often where
the traders have abused their position — has the movement
seriously injured them. Doubtless, individuals have suffered
severely, but lamentable as this is in cases, it is an inevitable
concomitant of progress, to be weighed, like the displacement of
RESULT OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 253
labor by machinery, against the larger interests of the community
as a whole.*
Among the more fundamental changes in the economic struc-
ture of the country which may be attributed to the co-operative
movement has been the creation of certain industries in the Irish
country districts. In particular sections various home industries
already existed, and these, as we have seen, have been developed
through the application of the co-operative principle. But in
addition there are a number of industries, more directly con-
nected with agriculture, which may be conducted most efficiently
in close proximity to the source of raw materials. These either
did not exist in Ireland or were confined to the larger centres.
The direct financial loss to rural communities was large, and
constituted a constant hindrance to the development of a well-
rounded economic life. Wages which might have been earned in
the country were paid in the towns, and there was no alternative
occupation for agricultural laborers, an inevitable cause of low
wages.
The industries which have been created in rural Ireland by
the organization of co-operative societies are not yet large in
number, but the present accomplishment is indicative of many
possible developments in the future. The creameries have prac-
tically replaced the home industry of butter-making, and are
gradually putting an end to the so-called butter factories where
the home-made product was blended. Each creamery employs a
staff of five or more persons, whose wages are for the most part
spent locally. The poultry societies give a good deal of employ-
ment at certain seasons, while in the large meat society at Wex-
ford fifty-eight are employed, and at Roscrea thirty-six persons.
*The argument is often used by opponents of co-operation that the spread of
this movement will destroy the country towns and -ruin traders in general. The
facts are quite otherwise — during the last twenty-five years the greater number of
country towns have increased in population and prosperity, nor is there any sign
of decay in the ranks of the great army of distributive agents existing in Ireland.
254 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
Before these societies were established, this work was done in
one or two urban centres entirely, if not in England.
Another development in industrial decentralization or rural
industry is found in the saddlery department of the Enniscorthy
Co-operative Society. This flourishing body, which conducts not
only a large store for agricultural requirements, but also a general
store and a garage, has recently taken up the production of
saddles and harness as a commercial enterprise. About thirty
men have been regularly employed, the work turned out has been
of excellent quality, and the venture has proved profitable for
the society. This innovation, more strikingly illustrated perhaps
in the remarkably successful enterprise at Dungloe, elsewhere
described, carries the germ of an interesting and extremely im-
portant development. Complete community organization must
include the employment of the members not otherwise engaged.
Such enterprises, whose success should assure them many imita-
tors, are important not only from the point of view of co-
operation, but also from that of the urban reformer. Many of
the more serious problems of the modern city are to be solved
by the decentralization of industry, and this may be encouraged,
as well as protected from the obvious abuses which might accom-
pany the change, by the activities of co-operative societies.
An advantage which is frequently claimed for the capitalist
system is the facility with which it develops new industries and
opens up avenues of economic activity otherwise untraveled. It
is said that capitalism is essential for progress, that without the
spur of an increased profit no one will undertake experiments in
economic activity. Likewise the Socialist State has been depre-
cated because it is declared that without a strong personal incen-
tive there will be no tendency to improve the processes of
production. It is interesting, therefore, to find the Irish co-
operative societies in the forefront of progress, always on the
look-out for new and more advantageous methods. The success
of the movement in its early days was due largely to the intro-
RESULT OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 255
duction in the creameries of a new and more efficient productive
process, and to these co-operative creameries the present position
of the Irish butter industry is admittedly due. In the mills which
are now being started in connection with many co-operative
societies is found another instance of a new development arising
entirely out of the movement. For, as a matter of fact, the co-
operative system does preserve the powerful incentive of personal
profit, not, however, at the expense of others, but to the advan-
tage of all. The achievements of the Irish movement in this
direction indicate a stimulating rather than a deadening effect
upon industrial innovations.
The co-operative organization in Ireland has been of large
importance in the development of latent business capacity among
the people. Alfred Marshall declared at the Co-operative Con-
gress of 1889 that the waste product of our present industrial
order was the unrevealed capacity of men in the ranks who had
never enjoyed an opportunity to unfold their powers. The greatest
need of every country is men of efficiency and energy, and in
Ireland, whose population has been drained of some of its best
elements by emigration, this need is peculiarly acute. Orthodox
economists have claimed that the laissez-faire system was most
likely to draw out these capacities, and have opposed many
schemes of social reform on this account. The annals of the co-
operative movement in Ireland prove that they are wrong in this
contention. Successful societies have frequently been led by men
who had had no previous business experience. Priests and school-
masters, as well as ordinary farmers, have formed and largely
managed all types of societies. One of the most successful ex-
amples of co-operation in the country has been developed through
the efforts of a man who had worked in an English coal-mine.
In such a discovery is found a hidden spring of wealth which will
help much to restore prosperity to the country.
In this connection it is interesting to inquire into the place
of the employee in the Irish co-operative movement, for while
256 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
at present this problem does not loom very large on account of
the nature of the societies in existence, it will undoubtedly grow
in importance with later developments. At the present time the
total number of employees of societies affiliated to the I.A.O.S.
would not exceed five thousand. In the staff of the ordinary
creamery there are a manager, a mechanic, a carter, and perhaps
two dairy-maids. The agricultural society may get along with
the part-time services of the village schoolmaster, though if it
runs a store, a small full-time staff is necessary. The credit society
almost invariably depends entirely on voluntary service. The
poultry society has an expert manager, and at times employs a
number of local people. There is, therefore, much unpaid work,
prompted entirely by the high ideals of social service, and in
addition a large group of paid employees.
The wages differ, of course, with the nature of the work, but
on the whole the scale remains low. It has been difficult to con-
vince the farmer that his employee should live on as good, if not
a better scale than he himself does. He expects the manager of
a proprietary creamery to do so, but where a large salary means
smaller payments for milk, he hesitates. The organizers of the
I.A.O.S. are not always able to convince him that the more expen-
sive man is worthy of his hire. The fact that some men have
almost given their services out of their strong belief in the co-
operative ideal has increased this tendency toward sweating labor.
Yet it must be admitted that some societies have adopted a
far-seeing policy in this direction, and that they are learning
more and more to appreciate the value of well-paid services. In
a number of cases houses have been built for managers of cream-
eries and stores, a need which has already been made clear. The
difficulty in finding a competent staff which was most marked
in the early history of the movement continues, and the wages
are gradually rising as a result. But the situation indicates the
necessity of trade-union organization, even among the employees
of co-operative societies. In England such an association has been
RESULT OF CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT 257
extremely powerful, and has been the instrument for raising wages
to a high level. In Ireland there is as yet no such comprehensive
union. The Irish Creamery Managers' Association, which is a
body for the protection of the interests of a single class, and which
attempts to aid generally by the weekly issue of market reports,
has fixed a scale for payment, but it is not strong enough as yet
to enforce its demands.
There are some idealists, however, for whom the fair wage is
only a start. They demand that the workers shall have a share,
not only in the profits, but also in the administration of the busi-
ness. They declare that the only way to solve the problem of
the relations between the employer and the employee is to make
the latter a partner in the enterprise. From the beginning of the
co-operative movement, this question has been actively discussed.
According to the rules of the societies in Ireland, as in England,
the net profits after the payment of a fixed interest on capital
are to be divided among the members and the employees in pro-
portion, in the one case to the business done with the society, and
in the other to the total wage paid. Unfortunately, however,
owing to the fact that such a division of the profits has seldom
been made in Ireland, employees have received little or nothing
under this provision. As for a share in the administration of the
society, the situation of the co-operative employee is slightly
better than that of the ordinary worker. For by joining the society
by which he is employed — a procedure not infrequently encour-
aged— he may enjoy all the privileges of membership, and may
present any grievance which he may have for consideration by
the committee or the annual general meeting of the society.
The economic results of the co-operative movement in Ireland,
and the changes in economic organization which are occurring
in many directions through the agency of the societies, herald
a day of returning prosperity for the Irish farmer. Already the
achievements are great, and the potentialities, which through the
co-operative movement are being revealed, are even more im-
258 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
portant. The sound basis of material prosperity on which the
movement depends is necessary for the accomplishments of a
more ideal character which will follow. The hopelessness of abject
poverty no longer prevails throughout the Irish farming commu-
nity. Co-operation has helped to change that, and furthermore
it has cleared the way for the hope and the accomplishment of
a new rural civilization.
CHAPTER XV
THE SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESULTS OF THE
CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT
THE best test of any agency of social reconstruction is its educa-
tional value. Unless something more can be claimed for it than
the improvement of material conditions, unless it develops the
potentialities of human character, it is of little real significance
in the permanent reconstruction of society. Its value depends
upon its effects on the human material with which it deals. Im-
provements which develop the capacities of the individual for
self-expression are steps toward the realization of a better State;
improvements, no matter how great, which do not accomplish
this are comparatively sterile. Having seen in the previous chap-
ter, therefore, some of the ways in which the environment of the
Irish farmer has been improved by the activities centring in the
co-operative movement, it now remains to consider how far this
change has produced modifications in character and social out-
look, how far the individual has developed in intelligence and
efficiency through the activities of the movement in which he
shares.
We have already considered the value of co-operative organiza-
tion for educating Irish farmers in the technique of their industry.
The actual experience of the Department of Agriculture justified
the conclusion of the Recess Committee, that "the assistance of
the State can only be truly effective when there exists a system
of local representative organizations of the industrial classes to
co-operate in its administration." Wherever the two agencies
worked together the results were good, but since the machinations
259
26o RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
of the traders have put an end to this combination of forces,
progress has been measurably retarded. The campaign of the
Department to increase tillage in Ireland during the first two
years of the European War produced very meagre, if not negli-
gible, results. But in places in the West, where the I.A.O.S. was
able to furnish instruction in connection with a number of co-
operative implement societies, the land under cultivation was
more than doubled. This is not an isolated instance. In the co-
operative creameries has been found the only satisfactory agency
for encouraging the increase of winter milk production, though
in this matter, it must be admitted, the achievement is small in
comparison with the possibilities. While Danish creameries
produce the larger part of their output during the winter when
prices are high, in Ireland almost the entire product is during
the months from May to November. The same might be said
concerning the desirable improvement in the average milk yield
of Irish cows. The agricultural societies, by cheapening manures
and guaranteeing their analysis, have increased their intelligent
use. Without such organization, the individual farmer is often
not only helpless, but immovable. Instruction proceeds in a
dilatory fashion only for those who show an interest in it. The
Irish small-holder, on account of his inferior education, was often
content to remain where he was ; he had neither the initiative nor
the self-confidence to demand instruction on his own account.
Only in a society, in combination with his fellows, did he acquire
the confidence which is essential for any step toward a better
technical knowledge.
As a business organization the co-operative society has intro-
duced its members to a field in which they had little practical
knowledge. For the most part, the vision of the Irish farmer did
not extend beyond the community in which he lived. If he sold
his produce, it was to the gombeen-man or to the buyer at the
fair, who was his only connection with the outside economic
world. Nowhere did farmers carry on their farming on a business
SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESULTS 261
basis. For them it was an occupation which in good years brought
good living, and in lean years made it hard to get along. Cost
accounting systems, insurance, productive loans — these were
matters beyond their ken. The co-operative society, which made
necessary considerable business knowledge, developed capacities
which were of advantage in individual business relations. In the
beginning the organizers were compelled to do almost everything
up to running the business themselves. On their shoulders fell
the burden of teaching the secretary how to keep the books; they
found it necessary to explain the method by which an overdraft
could be secured from the bank; frequently even to indicate
where supplies might be obtained. But they have taught well.
To-day Irish farmers conduct their co-operative societies for
themselves. In their more individual relations they understand
the nature of a productive loan; if necessary they are able to
establish individual business connections with buyers in England
and Scotland. They have learned to demand a guarantee with
their artificial manures, and are gradually understanding that the
quality as well as quantity of their products counts. They are
undertaking, often on their own account, experiments in co-
operative enterprise, are buying tractors, and installing mills.
They are asking why the co-operative method cannot be extended
for the purchase of household necessities. In fact, the farmer has
come to realize that he is as much a business man as an agricul-
turist; that his return depends as thoroughly on this side of
farming as on the effective methods of production. This develop-
ment of business capacities has been important, not only from
the individual, but also from the social point of view. Inasmuch
as they have occurred largely through co-operative activities,
they have often been used to the advantage of the society and
of the members of the social community.
Not only has the co-operative method aided Irish farmers in
the development of greater individual powers as wealth producers
and as business men, but also it has taught them their respon-
262 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
sibilities and place as members of a social community and an
organized State. Citizenship involves far more than membership
in a political party, and the community obligations of each indi-
vidual are not discharged by enthusiastic demonstrations for or
against a particular policy. The true citizen must try to make
his own contribution to the social order as great as possible; his
obligation to himself and to the State is not fulfilled until he has
found the full significance of community organization and has
contributed to its development.
The co-operative society is of importance for this purpose
because it develops in the individual those characteristics and
capacities which are necessary for social progress. The present
individualist system which takes care of the business interests
of the farmers is a dividing and disintegrating force. It tends to
destroy the natural associative character and to set each man
against his neighbor. The conflict of interest engendered by the
competitive regime has been wasteful not only economically, but
also from the more important point of view of individual char-
acter. The wastes of competitive industry are not confined to
advertising costs, lack of understanding between purchaser and
buyer, and the necessary protecting devices against monopoly.
That system creates fraud and dishonesty, indifference and sus-
picion. It conceals the fact that the interests of each individual
are best served in his associated capacity as a member of a social
community. But as a member of a society with interests in
common with others the individual, consciously and uncon-
sciously, develops the social virtues. Honesty becomes imperative
and is enforced by the whole group on the individual; loyalty
to the community is made an essential for the better development
of individual powers. To cheat the society is to injure a neighbor;
to sell milk outside is to endanger the success of a venture in
which friends and relatives are interested. These virtues have
not been developed immediately or rapidly. Changes in character
are even more difficult than changes in an economic system. The
SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESULTS 263
Irish creameries have been forced to adopt a binding rule to
ensure the loyalty of all the members. But the fact that this
provision has seldom to be used is an indication that the social
virtues make their own appeal. The farmers are learning that
individual action without consideration for the feelings or desires
of others does not pay. The society is in miniature a community,
and the community is but a part of the larger social group.
Through the co-operative movement has come a growing social
consciousness and a recognition of the common interests of people
living in the same neighborhood. Concerning itself with matters
in which all have a common interest, it has proved that the
factors of dissension so prevalent in Ireland need not prevent the
development of a real community life. Race, religion and politics
have so dominated the minds of Irishmen that the possibility of
uniting in any direction for any purpose has seemed to them very
remote. The granting of Home Rule, many said, would merely
raise other issues. The Irishman would never be happy unless
he was disagreeing with some one. And, indeed, the danger to the
co-operative movement from these causes was very serious. Meet-
ings were often held in an atmosphere of considerable tension.
A case is reported in which only a strict censorship of the musical
programme saved the situation. Nevertheless, the dangers were
averted in a remarkable fashion. Only one case is recorded where
a society was wrecked by sectarianism. To-day no lesson is more
firmly fixed in the minds of co-operators than that neither race,
nor religion, nor politics interferes with a man's co-operative
capacities. On the committee of the I.A.O.S. and of the individual
societies north and south alike, Catholics and Protestants sit in
friendly discussion. Sinn-Feiners and Constitutionalists, Unionists
and Home-Rulers forget for the moment their embittered differ-
ences. In the rising of Easter week, 1916, it was a noticeable fact
that the co-operative societies were in no way involved, but con-
tinued their work undisturbed. The principle wisely adopted in
the early Co-operative Congress of 1832, that extraneous matters
264 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
should not be brought up for discussion, has been rigidly adhered
to. In fact, it is reported that a secretary of an Ulster society,
when asked whether the intense religious antagonisms of the
community had grown less bitter replied: "We have no religious
feelings now: we are all co-operators." The co-operative move-
ment has shown that community life is not an impossibility in
Ireland. And where men unite to run a creamery or an agricul-
tural store without allowing their differences on other questions
to interfere, they cannot long continue to feel bitterly toward
each other in the streets outside. The dividing facts of life are
being relegated to their true position by the realization of
community of interest in the economic sphere.
This new spirit of community interest has been of great value
in developing the social life of the people. One of the most im-
portant causes of the general rural exodus has been the dullness
of life in the country districts. In the Irish towns there are few
facilities for wholesome enjoyments. The co-operative societies
have helped to remedy this situation. Their buildings have
sometimes been used for dances or as the headquarters of a
library. Through the evidence of community consciousness which
they gave the demands from the Pembroke Trustees for village
halls have been made effective. Libraries have been provided by
grants from the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, and though
the name has come to mean a recreation hall rather than a library
in many cases, this is not all loss. In this work of revivifying
country life, the activities of the Gaelic League have been of
great importance. This association, founded shortly after the
inauguration of the co-operative movement, aims directly at the
preservation of Irish as the national language, the study of
ancient Irish literature, and the cultivation of a modern literature
in the Irish language; but in practice the aim is much wider, and
is in reality the reconstitution of the national social system, on
the basis of the Gaelic civilization of many centuries ago. Among
its more practical efforts is the revival of some of the social
SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESULTS 265
enjoyments which brightened the lives of the Irish peasantry in
former times; an undertaking in which the community organiza-
tion afforded by co-operative societies has been very useful.
In the political sphere the organization of Irish farmers is as
yet ineffective, and the State has not been responsive to their
desires. This has been in part due to the nature of existing
government in Ireland, and partly to the fact that the trading
community is strongly entrenched in the dominant political
Party. Since that Party has been concerned with the single ques-
tion of Home Rule, there has been little opportunity for the
consideration of more fundamental economic issues. The Local
Government Act of 1898 represented a considerable advance in
a restricted field, marking the final collapse of the de facto social
order, dominated by the landlords. In place of the Grand Juries,
who had administered government locally, were created elective
County Councils and Urban and Rural District Councils. These
authorities were employed, as we have seen, in the machinery of
the Department of Agriculture, and altogether in spite of much
chatter over countless resolutions have done their work well.
They do not, however, truly represent the agricultural population
and, particularly in connection with the Department, have not
always worked in its interest. Some co-operative societies have
gone so far as to present a co-operative candidate, and have suc-
ceeded'in electing him. The need in this direction is great, and
with the settlement of the Home Rule issue, and the development
of a sound political life within the country, there is reason to
hope for developments.
The new Irish State, whatever its exact constitution, will face
many serious problems. Most important of these is the provision
of practical leaders, a position for which the present representa-
tives at Westminster are, it is no discredit to them to say, for
the most part unfitted. They have been concerned with a single
problem — Home Rule — and whenever its solution is assured,
266 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
their work is done. But the problem of the construction of this
new Irish State remains, and other leaders must appear to direct
its course.
In this field the co-operative movement has been, and will be,
of the greatest practical importance. Of late years in Ireland
there have been many dreamers of the new State which was to
be. Men have been filled with the idea which found its chief
expression in the co-operative movement, and like the Sinn Fein
(we ourselves) movement insisted that the regeneration of Ire-
land must come from within. The Gaelic League has striven for
the revival of the old Irish civilization — its language and its
artistic expressions. The Industrial Development Associations
have taken a real part in the growth of a sound urban life. But
along with the practical expressions of this policy there has been
a vast deal of wasted effort. In dreaming of the new Ireland,
dreams have too often become the master. Thus the new formulae
run the danger of becoming no more than the well-sounding
shibboleths of old. The Irish people would seem on the point of
being carried away again by new names.
The danger is very serious; but the forces ranged against it
are stronger than at any previous time. In the co-operative move-
ment, and its hundred thousand farmers scattered throughout
the land, is to be found the practical antidote for this new peril.
In the thousand co-operative societies they are working con-
structively; are building the secure material foundations of the
new Ireland. Not from words and phrases, but from these earnest
and energetic efforts is the new Irish State to rise. In these
splendid lines A. E. has well expressed their aim:
We would no Irish sign efface,
But yet our lips would gladlier hail
The first born of the Coming Race
Than the last splendor of the Gael.
SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESULTS 267
No blazoned banner we unfold —
One charge alone we give to youth,
Against the sceptred myth to hold
The golden heresy of truth.
There are, of course, many variations in the extent to which
the Irish societies have been truly co-operative and have ap-
proached the ideal which is their ultimate goal. In some cases
the individual has used the society not for general advancement,
which would in the end have proved to his advantage, but for
personal gains. It has furnished a convenient threat in order to
secure better terms from middlemen. Likewise there has been a
tendency to maintain the local point of view and to forget the
larger claims of the central bodies to which the movement owes
so much. In connection with both the I.A.O.S. and the I.A.W.S
we have pointed out this failing. Still more serious is the tendency
to capitalism which occasionally results in the membership of
a society being virtually closed, and its being carried on for the
benefit of a few only while making profits out of many. These
dangers beset all co-operative movements and are found in Ire-
land as elsewhere. But such societies are not typical. And in
some cases there has been a very complete application of the
co-operative principles. It is worth while closing this chapter
with the history and achievements of one society, perhaps also
not typical of the movement, but nevertheless indicative of what
the co-operative principle and ideals may mean for rural Ireland.
One of the lessons which the history of the movement impresses
is the way in which the very poorest people have profited most
from the co-operative system. Poverty breeds many vices; it also,
where the stock is strong, develops many virtues, which under
happier circumstances emerge to great advantage. It is not sur-
prising, therefore, to find co-operation most successful in Ireland
in those districts in the West and North which have suffered most
severely from the economic difficulties of the country. Leinster,
268 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
in which the agriculturists are on the whole better off than in
other sections, has been, and still remains, most barren of co-
operative enterprise. But in the congested districts, where all are
very poor, not only have the economic results been greatest, but
also the social and educational effect have been more real and
lasting.
If, therefore, one were to pick out the locality in Ireland in
which co-operation had proved of the greatest value, he would
choose the country of the Rosses in North- West Donegal. There,
among a people who have preserved, amidst many trials and
tribulations, the finest fundamental human qualities, is to be
found the real co-operative community which is the ideal of the
movement. Dungloe is in the midst of a wild and dreary country,
where nature has been most unkind, where rock and bog and
cloud-cast sky color life itself with sombre hue. On land which
is dark with bog are scattered the whitewashed cottages of a
comparatively large population, who eke out a miserable exist-
ence from the soil, adding to their small earnings the returns
from fishing, cottage industries, and the annual excursion to the
fields of Scotland and England. The generosity of the soil, which
with infinite pains and labor these people cultivate, is indicated
by the fact that the valuation of one holding of 600 acres was
£2 2S.; of another of 400 acres, 145. 6d. The struggle for life
under these conditions was very severe. It was aggravated by
the prevalence and the power of the gombeen-men. Many of the
people were bound hand and foot to them in a virtual slavery.
And yet in the character of the people, in the determination
which poverty could not quench, in the energy which their hard-
ships had developed, and in the hopelessness which was not help-
lessness, were factors which with co-operative organization were
to revolutionize their condition. At first this revolution was
altogether peaceable. In 1903 an agricultural bank was estab-
lished, a form of co-operation in which some of the shopkeepers
even found it advantageous to join. The increased spending power
SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESULTS 269
and production which resulted were of general advantage to the
trading community. But once the co-operative idea had been tried
these people recognized its advantages in other directions.
"Paddy" Gallagher, who had after some years in an English coal-
mine returned to his native community, was interested in the
problem of artificial manures. He wanted a guaranteed analysis.
But the shopkeeper had never heard of that new-fangled notion
and would have none of it. Mr. Gallagher was not satisfied. He
found that the I.A.W.S. in Dublin could alone meet his require-
ments. But that concern only dealt with co-operative societies,
and the agricultural bank, without trading powers and in the
hands of the traders, was useless for the purpose. Only a new
society would meet the situation. First, however, an order was
placed through the Donegal Co-operative Society for 20 tons of
manures. The saving on this transaction was £40, in addition to
the guarantee of quality, and closed every possibility of retreat
or failure. The I.A.O.S. was summoned to advise and help in the
formation of the new society.
With the accomplishment of this step the enemies became
active. The Traders' Association at once declared the activities
of the society "illegitimate trading." It threatened their position
as the general arbiters of the community. But against them was
a loyal group of enthusiasts, confident of their position, assured
of the wisdom of their stand, and ready to fight for their con-
victions to the last. The small cottage which served as their store
was on the bleak hillside, far from the people who traded with it,
and open only two nights a week, but it was their own enterprise
and they had confidence in it. For the first few months business
was confined to seeds and manures; then so successful was this
venture that a small order of meal, flour and bran was added.
The men who took charge of the shop were new to business. Book-
keeping was for them an unknown science, and egg-packing a
mysterious art. Still, their spirit was right; the members had
confidence in them; and they were quick to learn. The success
270 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
of the Dungloe society has in large measure depended on this
leadership which responded to the demand so willingly and
earnestly and intelligently.
As the society expanded — a change was made to a small store
about 12 ft. square — the opposition became more active. Whole-
sale houses, under the threats of the Traders' Association, refused
to supply the new competitor, and recourse was had to the Scot-
tish Co-operative Wholesale Society. For a time some of the
surrounding traders were subsidized and cut prices on every
commodity. The society countered this move by fitting up a goods
van and sending it about the countryside. But mainly through
the loyalty of its members the society survived these early attacks.
It was found necessary to take up the egg business, for in the
country of the Rosses that commodity formed the usual medium
for exchange. Whereas most of the trade up to this time had been
on a cash basis, eggs must be accepted if the business was to
expand. So "Paddy the Cope," at the direction of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, spent a term at the school of the Dunboe
Co-operative Poultry and Egg Society and learned how to pack
and grade. He learned other things about business and book-
keeping. Thereafter the eggs were marketed through the Irish
Producers' Society, and later through the I.A.W.S. Immediately
the price paid throughout the district was much increased. In
the single year 1906 a gain of something like £3000 for the
farmers of the district in this single direction is recorded. But
more than this, it had indicated the value of improved strains
of poultry, and cleaner and fresher eggs. Later the system of
paying for eggs on the basis of weight was adopted. A poultry
station for improved breeding was set up in the community under
the direction of the co-operative leaders. No longer was the hen
looked upon with disdain by the menfolk of the community.
"When we meet a good laying hen," one wag declared, "we put
our hand to our hat!"
Progress was rapid. By another change the proportions of the
SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESULTS 271
shop were increased by one foot each way, and a room overhead.
The miscellaneous stock of boots, groceries and hams so com-
pletely filled the available space that the tall member found him-
self in a wilderness of hams, and for two of the more sturdily
built members, passage in the aisle became a matter of nice
adjustment! But nevertheless the society grew with rapidity.
The turnover doubled, membership increased, and non-members
found it advantageous to trade. The pig business was taken up
on a small scale for the benefit of the members. This was of
advantage both from the point of view of the member who was
a producer and had given up the business as unprofitable, and
the member who was a consumer. Likewise the society purchased
spraying materials and spraying machines, which they rented to
members. Weeks later the Department and the Donegal Agricul-
tural Committee sent out the same materials, but these came too
late to deal effectively with the potato blight which had already
appeared. The value of the local organization over the outside
agency was indicated in this practical way. Also a small threshing-
machine was purchased by the society and rented to members.
The society was not satisfied with going on its own way with-
out making use of the State agencies existing. Much might be
accomplished if the District and County Councils were favorable
to co-operative principles. Hitherto the farmers had not been
fairly represented. So Mr. Gallagher and other co-operative
leaders stood for the various County and District Councils. Their
campaign was fought on the issue of gombeenism versus co-
operation, and it is hardly necessary to state the result. The com-
parison introduced by Mr. Gallagher in his election address was
sufficiently odious. In April 1906, eggs were 5d. per dozen; in
April 1911, they were 9d.; flour dropped from 143. to ios.,
despite a rise in the wholesale price; 20 per cent, superphosphate
cost i2S. per bag at the shopkeepers'; 30 per cent, superphosphate
cost ys. 6d. at the co-operative store. The co-operators were
272 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
elected. In this instance at least economic freedom was not to be
nullified by political subjection.
In 1909 another step was taken by the grant of a village hall
from the Pembroke Irish Charities Fund, six of which had been
offered to the most deserving societies in Ireland. This has offered
an opportunity for young and old to meet for recreation, and new
color and gaiety has thus been introduced into the life of the
countryside.
The latest annual report of the society (1915) indicates the
importance of the achievement. The total turnover amounted
to over £21,500* compared with about £15,500 in the previous
year. The net profit disposable was £572, from which a dividend
of is. 6d. on the pound, or 7^ per cent, on members' purchases,
was paid. The remainder was allocated to reserve. The latest
development of the society, the knitting industry described else-
where, brought into the community nearly £100 a week in wages
alone. In the meantime, other societies have been started through-
out the district, inspired by this success in Dungloe. Of these,
the Porteous Agricultural Bank is an interesting development.
This society was formed in 1914, and unlike the original Dungloe
Bank, which still continues its valuable work, it is not on the
Raiffeisen plan. Its members are men already in debt, and the
purpose of the society is to improve their position, not by in-
creasing their borrowing, but by bettering the conditions of their
present loans. Full repayment is to be made in fifteen years. The
capital for this experiment has been obtained from private
sources, and the society thus assumes to some extent the aspect
of a philanthropic agency. But it is protected from the dangers
which might follow such an enterprise by the admirable spirit
of these people whose success at Dungloe has been so significant.
Their achievement is far in the direction of the co-operative
community which has been in the minds of dreamers and enthu-
siasts of the Plunkett House. The domination of the gombeen-
* Increased in 1916 to £35,000.
SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL RESULTS 273
men is over. The society now conducts the business of its members
in almost every direction. From it they buy their manures and
seeds; in its workshop they find employment for their daughters;
through its assistance they sell their eggs and poultry; and in
its store they purchase their necessities both as producers and
consumers. If credit facilities are necessary, they are able to
secure a loan from their co-operative credit society. These
arrangements have made a vast difference in the material back-
ground of the lives of these people. The local slaughtering of
sheep and cattle has placed the hitherto unknown luxuries of beef
and mutton within the reach of the poorest. But more, this com-
munity effort has brightened the lives of the people and put an
end to the emigration which was yearly sapping their vitality.
In the village hall has been found the necessary centre for the
community gatherings in which the wholesome spirit of recreation
finds an outlet. These plain people of Dungloe by their loyalty
to one another, their steadfast allegiance to co-operative prin-
ciples, and by the leadership which they have found latent among
themselves, have given an example of the potentialities of the
co-operative movement, not only for Ireland, but for rural
districts everywhere.
CHAPTER XVI
THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
MOVEMENT
IN the earlier chapters of this book we have confined ourselves
almost entirely to matters of history, but in discussing the rela-
tionship between industrial and agricultural co-operative societies
we have been brought face to face with the fact that great
developments both of policy and of practice lie ahead of the
movement, if it is to attain its highest ideals. The nature of co-
operation— its combination of business practice with idealism-
is such that its exponents can never afford to rest; if the constant
pursuit of the ideal side is abandoned even for a short time, the
success of the business side will probably lead to a relapse into
materialism. We must then attempt the task of suggesting or
forecasting some possible lines of future development.
The leaders of the I.A.O.S. waged for twenty years or more
a practically unceasing war, not only against every form of
vested interest, but against a far more dangerous enemy — the
combined inertia and mistrust of the Irish agriculturist. It was
absolutely necessary that they should prove themselves capable
not only of establishing — on a sound basis — societies which
would add to the material prosperity of the country, but of
carrying through their programme of social reform without
thought of political capital or personal advantage. If it has not
been made clear that in these things they have succeeded, this
book will have largely missed its purpose.
But, while the accomplishment of these things in the face of
constant financial difficulties has been a great task in itself, there
274
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MOVEMENT 275
is admittedly much more to be done before Ireland can realize
the whole ideal as it existed in the minds of the pioneers. Inquirers
into various forms of social and agricultural development come
to the Plunkett House from the farthest countries of the world —
many from India, some from Japan, and a great number from
the United States. Most of them find in Ireland what they seek,
and some of them put into practice in their own countries what
they have learned in this way. Just as the Rochdale pioneers are
pioneers of industrial co-operation in many countries as well as
in England, so the I.A.O.S., in spite of its comparative youth as
against the movement in Germany or Denmark, has found
acknowledged imitators, not only in England and Scotland, but
in Finland, Serbia, India and the United States, while the pages
of co-operative papers and the speeches of co-operative leaders
in many other countries show the respect with which it is
regarded.
The record of progress is, indeed, a great one in comparison
with the records of most other agencies which have tried to do
something for the betterment of Ireland; yet it is not particularly
impressive from the point of view of the student of agricultural
co-operation in general. Nor can the inquirers find, in visiting the
country districts, more than a comparatively small number of
societies which are in any way qualified to serve as patterns
either of business methods or of co-operative faith.
Irishmen may feel a proper pride in this movement as a rare
piece of Irish constructive work; but they must admit that more
striking material success has been achieved in other countries.
Why, then, has Ireland become the centre of pilgrimage for
agricultural co-operators? The men at the head of this movement
are able to inspire others because they themselves have a clear
vision of what co-operation should be. The Co-operative Common-
wealth of which A. E. writes is for these people a real objective.
The fact that the outward and visible signs of the movement are
not proportioned to this spirit causes but little disappointment
276 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
to those who have any conception — and no man can be long in
Ireland without forming such a conception — of the peculiar diffi-
culties which have had to be faced and overcome. They realize
that these men have been sensible enough to see that business
success must be established before higher results can be looked
for, and that their patient work in this direction is gradually
meeting with its reward.
But the time has come when further developments must be
undertaken and strenuous efforts made to bring the practice of
the movement into harmony with the theory of its leaders. The
I.A.O.S. attained its majority in 1915, in the midst of war. It
had by that time established throughout the country a sufficient
number of societies to meet the needs of practically the whole
agricultural population, if each society were doing its work in
the most effective manner. It was able to show figures of turnover
by the local societies and their trade federations which entitled it
to laugh at those who persist in describing it as a theoretical
experiment or a plaything of faddists. These facts justify our
assumption that the groundwork may be considered complete,
and that the time is ripe for new experiments. The circum-
stances of the day lend fresh weight to this claim. This war must
be succeeded by a period of social reconstruction, and by sweeping
changes in industrial values and in business methods. Agriculture
can never again be the neglected poor relation of industry which
it has been in the United Kingdom for many years, nor can the
co-operative form of organization continue to be regarded with
contempt or indifference in the face of what it has accomplished
in other belligerent countries. Further, it seems to be true that
the energies of a people are quickened by war, and history shows
that times of hardship have always afforded a great stimulus to
the co-operative movement. Irish co-operators are, therefore,
justified in looking forward to the next few years as a time of
development.
We have already indicated — in the chapters dealing with the
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MOVEMENT 277
various types of societies — some of the improvements which may
be expected in the future. Thus the creameries have before them
the task of so arranging their marketing, and of establishing such
a standard for Irish butter, that the brand of the control will be
as good a guarantee of quality as it is in the case of Holland or
Denmark. The agricultural societies must bring about such an
expansion in their business as will ensure their continuous activity
throughout the year; while the credit societies cannot command
success in the future if they do not imitate the example of their
continental predecessors, and become collecting centres for the
savings of the people, and possibly trading centres as well.
We have dealt also with the importance of rural stores, and the
difficulties under which the I.A.O.S. labors. It is finally apparent
that there is room for a very considerable increase in the number
and variety of societies for purposes other than the making of
butter or the purchase of requirements. The reader who is
familiar with the conditions of the movement in other countries
will have noticed particularly that Ireland has done little or
nothing in the direction of the collective sale of crops and live
stock. In this respect, indeed, the co-operators of all European
countries have much to learn from America, where the circum-
stances and business intelligence of the farmers have led them
to develop from the beginning this most difficult form of co-
operation.
But all these suggestions for the future are, when analyzed,
matters of improvement in detail — an improvement which will
inevitably be brought about by a gradual process of closer
organization. Underlying them are far more vital questions
affecting the whole economic progress of the country. All of
these questions depend upon the future of the I.A.O.S. The posi-
tion of this body is in several respects peculiar. It has long been
in theory a federation for advisory purposes of a number of co-
operative societies whose turnover is amply sufficient to enable
them to support such a federation in a state of efficiency without
278 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
any outside help. In practice, it has remained almost what it was
twenty years ago, so far as the relations with the societies are
concerned. It was, then, frankly a more or less philanthropic
society, seeking the betterment of Irish economic conditions
through the education of farmers, supported by all who were
sufficiently interested in this object to open their purses to it,
and administered by a small body of enthusiasts, of whom many
were unpaid, and some merely badly paid. The intention was
to let it develop to a point where it could be handed over to the
societies and become their own federation — supported, controlled
and administered by them. So far as the leaders of the movement
are concerned, every effort has been made to carry out this inten-
tion. Constitutionally, the societies which pay the very modest
affiliation fees required of them have absolute control of the
policy and conduct of the I.A.O.S.; the election of the committee
is on the most democratic basis, and the committee administers
the whole affairs of the I.A.O.S., subject to the orders of the
annual general meeting, at which the representatives of the
affiliated societies have the right both to speak and to vote. In
spite of all, the I.A.O.S. still wears, to the eye of the unprejudiced
observer, the appearance of a philanthropic body directing from
the centre the affairs of its offspring. A large part of its funds
still comes from other sources than the societies which benefit by
its work. The affairs of the society are still, in a large measure,
directed by a small band of enthusiasts, and not by the affiliated
societies. It may seem strange that the repeated attempts of the
leaders of the movement to abdicate their position have not been
taken advantage of by the societies. It is not so strange to those
who understand the mentality of the Irish farmer. Stated bluntly,
the fact is that farmers, while enjoying the benefits they derive
from co-operation, and being, no doubt, in some measure grateful
for them, have neither accepted the responsibilities nor claimed
the privileges which membership in the I.A.O.S. should imply;
they have just gone on farming, and hoped the co-operative
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MOVEMENT 279
society would go on being useful. This is an attitude for which
it is no use blaming them. It would be more reasonable to blame
the Providence which put the farmer under so many disabilities,
or the authorities who created the Irish educational system. But,
wherever the blame lies, the majority of the societies affiliated
with the I.A.O.S. do not see the necessity for making a real effort
to render the federation self-supporting, while, on the other hand,
they willingly renounce their claims to exercise more than a
nominal control over it, and are usually satisfied to re-elect
committeemen, whether they know anything about them or not.
Perhaps the most concrete evidence of this abnegation of respon-
sibility is to be seen in the scant attendance at the district con-
ferences, which were created by the I.A.O.S. for the distinct
purpose of providing an organ for the easy expression of local
opinion.
This state of things has two particularly bad consequences —
it hampers the I.A.O.S. in its policy of expansion, and, on the
other hand, it prevents it from becoming a really effective organ
for the expression of agricultural opinion on the public affairs
of Ireland. The first of these disadvantages has been touched
upon more than once in this book, when we have had occasion
to deal with the question of co-operative stores for general pur-
poses. The failure of the affiliated societies to make the I.A.O.S.
self-supporting has rendered it necessary to fall back upon
Government aid. We have described the difficulties with which
this Government aid was obtained, and the restrictions with
which it is attended, and it is not necessary to go over this thorny
ground again. Present conditions have accentuated more than
ever the fact that in Ireland what is usually called "industrial
co-operation" must be combined with agricultural co-operation,
if either is to reach its full power, and the central body must be
able to deal with both aspects of the matter. Two illustrations —
one of which has held good for many years, while the other arises
specifically out of war conditions — will suffice to put the matter
28o RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
beyond doubt. The first is the fact that the movement as it exists
at present is able to do little or nothing for agricultural laborers,
who are yet more deserving of help than almost any class in
Ireland. These men have no interest in creameries, agricultural
societies, and the like, since they have no land. Their earning
power is deplorably low, and while they may obtain a certain
measure of relief by being members of credit societies, this will
not by any means solve the problem of their perpetual struggle
with poverty. At best it will only present them with another
problem — that of repayments of loans which they are not, as a
rule, able to put to a productive purpose. Nor is it easy for an
agricultural laborer to find sureties. Irish conditions do not seem
adapted to the formation of co-operative societies for the under-
taking of labor by contract, such as exist in Italy. Isolated experi-
ments in this direction may succeed occasionally, but the adop-
tion of such a policy by the I.A.O.S. would be more likely to
lead to friction than to an improvement in conditions. The only
remaining expedient is to provide the laborer — either through a
credit society or independently — with a co-operative store, where
his small wages can be exchanged for the necessaries of life on
the best possible terms, thus increasing his purchasing power.
This policy the I.A.O.S. is debarred from following; and to those
who criticize it for neglecting laborers' interests it can only reply
that by bringing prosperity to the farmer it is enabling him to
pay higher wages — an argument which, while undoubtedly true,
is somewhat remote in its application to the needs of the moment.
Our second illustration is a matter of detail, arising out of
peculiar conditions. There has been since the beginning of the
war a great demand for the introduction of the principle of co-
operative purchase in districts where it had not previously
excited attention. Many of these newly formed societies have
found that in present conditions the margin of profit available
on agricultural requirements is so small, and the difficulty of
obtaining them so great that, in order to prosper, they must add
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MOVEMENT 281
other lines of business. This fact — coupled with the high price
of all necessaries — has led them to go into the general grocery
trade. They have immediately come into contact with the irk-
some restrictions of the Sugar Commissioners, and have been
threatened with catastrophe. Such societies, on appealing to the
I.A.O.S., which originally brought them into existence, find that
in matters of this kind that body can do nothing for them. Thus
the I.A.O.S. may have to watch helplessly the collapse of a
successful business in agricultural requirements, because a tech-
nical restriction forbids it from dealing with a shortage of sugar
supplies. We may hope that this particular instance is a passing
one; but it serves to illustrate the dangerous futility of red tape.
Nor is it only in respect to the formation of stores that the
acceptance of Government aid hampers the independence of the
movement. In order to qualify for the grant the I.A.O.S. must
submit detailed estimates to the Treasury at the beginning of
each financial year, which means that no change of policy in-
volving expenditure can be inaugurated without delay — no
matter how much it may be called for by changing conditions.
Any one who has had experience of administrative work carried
on through a committee will easily be able to imagine the hundred
little ways in which the Development Commissioners with their
representation on the I.A.O.S. committee might either deliberately
or unintentionally impede its efficiency. Up to the present the
Development Commission and its representatives on the I.A.O.S.
committee have always behaved in an extraordinarily sympathetic
and helpful manner; unfortunately, however, the final power is
not in their hands, but in those of the Treasury; and, further-
more, their helpfulness has been due to their personalities, and
we have no guarantee against change. In any case, it is against
the principle of Government aid with its corollary of Government
interference that we are arguing; and with this argument we
believe that the Development Commissioners as at present con-
stituted would be among the first to agree. It may be remarked
282 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
that even the obtaining of money from private sources is no
altogether free from similar objections. A man engaged in some
form of business may be persuaded to give money to help the
education of farmers, but he may feel himself entitled to express
righteous indignation if this education results in farmers entering
into competition with him in his own province.
Such are the weaknesses to which Irish farmers have exposed
their central body by their failure to realize their responsibility
of making it financially independent. Closely allied to these are
the more negative defects which have been caused by their reluc-
tance to claim their privilege by making their voices clearly heard
in its councils.
Under modern conditions of industrial organization practically
every trade and profession has found it desirable to create an
association which will represent and further its interests. This
applies almost equally at the present time to the employer and
the employee, to the capitalist and the artisan. We know to our
cost the influence which organizations of the captains of industry
are able to exercise upon Government, and we have seen more
recently the tremendous strength which the trade unions are able
to put forth. The co-operative movement has long been behind-
hand in this respect, and has suffered in consequence; in its very
proper desire to hold aloof from the disastrous complications of
party politics it has tended to cut itself off from political repre-
sentation in the wider sense. In the last few years, however, as
the movement has achieved national importance, and the forces
arrayed against it have become more and more vigorous, the
industrial co-operators of Great Britain have realized that they
must be prepared to defend themselves by the same methods.
The Parliamentary Committee of the Co-operative Union is now
a permanent body of considerable importance, charged with the
duty of watching co-operative interests at Westminster. The
increase in the number and importance of Labor representa-
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MOVEMENT 283
tives — most of whom are favorable to co-operation — enables it
to find a medium of expression for its opinions.
No class stands so much in need of this form of organization
as does that which derives its living from farming. The nature of
the farmer's business, while it precludes him from devoting any
time to talking or writing, or even to acquiring the kind of edu-
cation which would make him effective in these directions, at the
same time often lays him open to attacks and injustice against
which he sorely needs to defend himself. Since the farmer owns,
or at least occupies, the land which is the source of everything we
need, he has to bear a large share of the blame for every scarcity
or rise in price which takes place. Furthermore, most people seem
to have a vague idea that they could farm successfully if they
got the opportunity; one seldom hears a layman undertaking to
show a manufacturer of boots or soaps how to use his plant to
better advantage, but the number of people who are prepared
to teach a farmer how to farm seems to be inexhaustible, and
unfortunately quite a large number of them find their way into
positions of importance, including Government Departments
entrusted with the administration of agriculture. The farmer is
strongly of opinion that he is beset by foolish, ill-natured and
greedy persons; too often he seeks to counteract his misfortune
by practising himself the vices he imputes to his antagonists, and
thus the old proverb which says, "Give a dog a bad name and
hang him," receives a practical illustration. A far better plan for
the farmer is to seek organization for the protection of his pro-
fessional interests on the same lines as have been followed by
the townsman. Until comparatively recent years this would have
been an empty dream. The isolation of the farmer, his backward
education, and often his insecurity of tenure and dependence
upon other persons, rendered it impossible for him to combine
with his fellows ; and in this fact probably we have the root-cause
of that constant movement to the towns which sociologists so
frequently and so vainly deplore. The improvement in communi-
284 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
cations, the development of the newspaper and of a slightly
higher standard of popular education, and the sweeping reforms
in the laws relating to the occupation of land opened the way
to an improvement in this direction, and the co-operative move-
ment sprang up as the first step towards combination among
farmers for their mutual advantage. The logical development
of this movement is to give the farmer not only a possibility of
doing business on a large scale by combination, but also a means
of making his needs known in high quarters and protecting him-
self against abuse and injustice. What can be done in this direc-
tion is shown by the strength of the farmers' party in Germany,
although it must be admitted that the leaders of this party are
hardly representative of the small-holder who produces most of
the food of the nation. In Denmark farmers practically control
the Government, and in many European countries they are able
to make their voices heard — usually through co-operative chan-
nels— with great effect. Perhaps the most striking of all has been
their progress in this direction in the United States. In that
country the farmer's vote, represented by the Granges and other
large organizations, has become a real power to which America
owes the parcel post and many other innovations.*
One would not expect that the English farmer could attain to
this position, but in Ireland, where a majority of the population
make their living by agricultural pursuits, it would seem reason-
able to assume that they would exercise some authority in public
affairs. Furthermore, when the I.A.O.S. has succeeded in organ-
izing 100,000 of them for business purposes, we would suppose
that it would be the proper vehicle for this exercise of authority,
that it would be, in fact, a true farmers' trade-union, and would
be in a strong enough position to protect its .own interests and
*A further demonstration was given in 1915 by the Farmers' Non-Partisan
Political League, which was founded as a protest against the corrupt administration
of the State of North Dakota, and gave practical effect to this protest on polling
day by returning candidates of its own to practically all the important offices in
the State.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MOVEMENT 285
those of its members against all comers. We find, on the contrary,
that after twenty years Ireland is still administered in the interest
of any class rather than the farmers. For twenty years the
I.A.O.S. has been subject to attack and misrepresentation in the
Press, in Parliament, and throughout the country; gross false-
hoods, such as that it is a trading body, a political conspiracy,
or a malignant trust, can still be uttered even at Westminster by
men who know them to be untrue — and hardly a dissenting voice
is raised. Irish farmers allow laws and regulations to be made
which inflict upon them hardships and hindrance; they allow
their economic welfare to be treated with contempt, and the
Department which is supposed to represent them to be dominated
by the representatives of middlemen and publicans; and they
raise at best a feeble protest. For years bad seeds have been sold
in contravention of the Weeds and Seeds Act, which has been
used against the farmers when the weeds came up. For years
they have had no representative in Parliament to protest against
such things; they have gone on voting on the old party lines,
without reference to their own professional interests. So long as
these conditions endure, Ireland, whose strength lies in the land,
will continue to be the unhappiest member of the family of
nations.
By asserting their privileges as members of a co-operative
society the farmers have it in their power to bring about a change.
It is true that the leaders of the I.A.O.S. have been careful —
strictly and rightly careful — to avoid an entanglement in party
politics which would have brought certain disaster. How success-
ful they have been, in spite of calumny and provocation, we have
already shown in stating the manner in which representatives of
all parties are able to meet amicably upon co-operative com-
mittees. But this does not mean that they must for ever refrain
from giving effect to the views of the farmers in the sphere of
Government.
They have nothing to gain and everything to lose by identify-
286 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
ing themselves with Unionists or Nationalists; but it is their
manifest duty to create a true farmers' party. This they would
do if the farmers gave practical proof of their willingness to
support it.
But all these aspirations depend, like the majority of demo-
cratic ambitions, upon one condition precedent, which is yet far
from being realized. The farmers of Ireland cannot be expected
to respond to the call even of their own movement until they
have been thoroughly educated. And the education of an Irish
farmer, so far from being, as it is now apparently thought by
many to be, a rather unimportant side-issue, is, on the contrary,
a problem of the greatest possible gravity. Whatever system of
government may be devised for Ireland the farmer must for
many years play a large part in its direction. Without education
in citizenship, without that technical education which will give
him stability, without that cultural education which will give him
the power to appreciate ideals, he will not be able to carry out
properly the duties so entrusted to him.
It would surely seem that the farmers have had a considerable
amount of time, money and thought lavished upon them; yet
they have always been treated as a means to an end and scarcely
ever as human beings. It has been thought well to give them an
opportunity of producing more wealth for the nation, but the
idea of giving them cultural education per se has been considered
ridiculous. There are many people who go so far as to suppose
that it is impossible for farmers to take successfully a predomi-
nating place in government. As a direct disproof of this theory
we have the example of Denmark, which is practically governed
by farmers for farmers. Yet we hear no complaints of oppression
from the people of Copenhagen, a large and flourishing indus-
trial city. And it is precisely in Denmark that this idea of the
higher education of farmers has actually been put into effect —
most strikingly through the agency of the famous folk schools.
The I.A.O.S. has fulfilled to a great extent, so far as any limited
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MOVEMENT 287
agency can fulfil, the material part of the aims and objects with
which its founders set out. The formula, "Better farming, better
business, better living," has ceased to be a formula only and has
become so far as its first two branches are concerned an accom-
plished fact. The Department of Agriculture is the child of the
co-operative movement, and it is at least as well equipped and
circumstanced as an official body could be for the teaching of
"Better Farming." Undoubtedly whatever may be the defects of
its present methods, or the mistakes made in the past, its exist-
ence has enormously raised the standard of farming in Ireland,
and in the near future it may be expected to do far more in this
direction. As regards "Better Business," the organizers of the
I.A.O.S. have never let the grass grow under their feet. There
are sufficient co-operative societies in Ireland at present to meet
the needs of the whole farming population if all were working in
full efficiency. The success which has attended the efforts of the
majority of them has proved to the most sceptical that the co-
operative method does really represent "Better Business." There
is no excuse now for any Irish farmer to be ignorant of the fact
that he can improve his position by co-operation, nor is there
any reason why, if he can find a few like-minded neighbors, his
desire to do this should remain many weeks unsatisfied.
Here is a substantial achievement and one of which our leaders
may be proud. But there are always fresh worlds to conquer, and
when we come to the question of "Better Living," it is not quite
so easy to claim a triumph. It is true that the standard of Irish
life has enormously improved of recent years and is still improv-
ing, and some part of this improvement is no doubt due directly
or indirectly to the increased prosperity and the higher standard
of education brought about by co-operative societies. But the
improvement is largely of a material nature. We look almost in
vain for any educational advance throughout the country dis-
tricts, or for any greatly increased appreciation of the respon-
288 RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
sibilities of citizenship. And these are the foundation of a real
better living.
The question then for the I.A.O.S. is whether it will continue
its material advance and do as much educational work in addition
as time and funds allow — which means an absolute minimum—
or whether it will boldly claim that the time has come merely
to supervise and represent the existing societies and to devote
the bulk of new energies and new funds to a real educational
campaign. We believe that the latter point of view is rapidly
gaining ground, and that the next effort of the I.A.O.S. must not
be to organize new co-operative societies, but to teach true co-
operation to the existing ones. This is a task in which the Govern-
ment, if it has learned any lesson during the war, ought surely
to be willing to assist to the full — by so doing it will lighten for
itself one of the greatest burdens it has to take up, the burden
of the real popular education.
The method by which the I.A.O.S. will carry out such work
presents a considerable difficulty. The existing staff are fully
employed if not overemployed in meeting the technical demands
of the existing societies, and as the business of these societies
expands the work of the organizers must continually increase.
In these circumstances it is impossible to expect them to devote
time to a form of work which must necessarily be slow and
laborious, and which will at first at least probably be met with
indifference if not with scepticism. At the same time their exist-
ing work would be greatly lightened if such a campaign met with
any marked success. The principles brilliantly advocated by the
leaders of the movement, efficiently and energetically put into
practice by the organizers, have still not penetrated into the
minds of more than a small percentage of the members of co-
operative societies; still less have been appreciated by the public
at large, whether friendly or hostile. In many countries such a
difficulty might be overcome by paper and ink, but not in Ireland.
Reading is at a decided discount amongst most of the people
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MOVEMENT 289
whom the I.A.O.S. hopes to reach, and even where they do read
this form of propaganda has comparatively little effect. It is true
that the Irish Homestead has inspired, and continues to inspire,
the best co-operators in Ireland, but these are the men who were
open to inspiration from the beginning; "the deaf adder stoppeth
her ears," and in too many places the Homestead goes unopened
to oblivion.
Ireland is, in fact, pre-eminently a country where leadership,
personal affection and personal example count for almost every-
thing. In the early days of the movement this personal example
was ever before the eyes of the pioneer co-operators. But in these
times control is more remote, everything is on a larger scale, and
the personal element must largely decline. Nothing is more re-
markable than the stimulus which is given to true co-operation
in any district when a leader of the movement, recognized and
trusted, is able to visit and get into close touch with the local
co-operators. But such visits must necessarily be few and far
between. The solution then would seem to be that the I.A.O.S.
must add to its staff educational agents who will be able to devote
their whole time to this personal work. Two things are lacking —
the money and the men. The first one feels can be but a temporary
difficulty. Work as valuable as this is never permanently starved
for lack of funds. But the question of men to fill these positions
is one of the most difficult. We have already described the tasks
which fall to the lot of an organizer, and the qualifications which
he must possess. They are hard to find, and the handful of picked
men whom Mr. Anderson's genius as a staff leader has kept
together will not be easily replaced. The educational agent will
need to possess perhaps more qualifications — not than the men
who did the pioneer work, but than those who now take up organ-
izing when the business practice has been more or less standard-
ized. They will have to blaze their own trail, and they will have
to have the patience and the optimism to wait perhaps for years
2QO RURAL RECONSTRUCTION IN IRELAND
until their personal position is sufficiently established to give
their words effect and to make their teaching acceptable.
The question is whether men will be found both able and willing
to undertake this work. That, in its turn, is part of a larger ques-
tion on the answer to which the future of Ireland greatly de-
pends— the question whether the young men of the country are
prepared to work in it, to love it, and to live for it. Old feuds
and old defeats, a present restriction of opportunity and of pay-
ment, have laid Ireland barren in this respect. With the rise of
new parties, new ideas on economics, new forms perhaps of
government, the country stands at the cross-roads, waiting for
leadership. Now is the time for her young men to determine
whether or no they will play their part in this leadership, or
whether they will still go out over the world as adventurers. There
are signs, for which every patriotic Irishman must be profoundly
thankful, that they will choose the former course. If they do so
the co-operative movement must of necessity benefit.
We have not dwelt on the side of the movement which appeals
to the patriotic nature of Irishmen, because we believe that a
plain narrative of the facts is the most convincing plea. Yet we
are assured that in some such constructive movement as this lies
the ultimate hope of sanity, unity and peace, and that when Irish-
men appreciate this fact, as they are now beginning to do, they
will rally to the call and will bring us with wondrous speed well
upon the road to the Co-operative Commonwealth. It behooves us,
therefore, to be prepared, that all may be ready for the great
advance, and that we may not at the end be found wanting
through ignorance or haste.
STATISTICAL APPENDICES
PAGE
I. CREAMERIES 292
II. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES ... 295
III. CREDIT SOCIETIES 296
IV. IA.W.S 298
V. POSITION IN 1915 299
VI. DEVELOPMENT 300
VII. EXPORTS 301
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APPENDIX I
293
TABLE II. SUMMARY OF PROGRESS FROM 1894 TO 1915
Year
Number
Members
Paid-up
share capital
Loan capital
Turnover
£
£
£
1894
30
1641
15468
6061
151852
1899
171
26577
74223
46262
728000
1904
217
42432
112296
112070
1089620
1909
301
44213
138254
111365
1841400
1914
350
47086
149755
133210
2731628
1915
344
45385
154574
121676
3499264
TABLE III. POSITION IN 1915
Province
No. of
socie-
ties
No. of
share-
holders on
Dec. 31,
1915
Amount
of share
capital
paid up
Loan
capital
(including
bank
overdraft)
Turnover
Butter
Other
sales
Cream
and
milk
Ulster
143
144
31
26
21161
9671
3958
10595
£
61858
55506
16835
20375
£
15715
86576
16360
3025
£
1064964
1597222
307173
198327
£
52971
114960
76178
40717
^ 1
14011
31729
989
23
For continuation of
table see below
Mtmster
Leinster
Connaught .
344
45385
154574
121676
3167686
284826
46752
Net
profit
Loss
Reserve
fund
Gallons of
milk
received
Lb. of
butter
made
Affiliation
fees
Subscriptions
£
25505
25347
6676
6256
£
92
97
35
£
88299
97537
30200
29371
25052589
50837344
9651087
7199478
9808977
20769966
4041514
2986482
£ s. d.
268 6 6
453 17 0
135 5 0
55 0 0
£ s. d.
540 5 11
452 10 8
160 10 5
48 12 6
63784
224
245407
92740498
37606939
912 8 6
1201 19 6
294 APPENDIX I
TABLE IV. DEVELOPMENT OF THE IRISH CO-OPERATIVE
AGENCY SOCIETY, LTD.
Year Turnover
1893 £ 45,574
1898 ^133,010
1903 .£186,103
1908 ^160,573
1913 ^"163,813
1916 ,£219,179
1917 ^322,532 (to Augus
APPENDIX II
THE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES
TABLE I. SUMMARY OF PROGRESS
Paid-up
Number
Members
share
capital
L/Oail
capital
Turnover
£
£
£
1896
38
3000
1639
1124
39741
1901
112
11695
3053
11285
71704
1906
159
13063
5553
29812
72175
1911
171
18271
6836
40672
129199
1915
219
23450
31734
52187
310341
TABLE II. POSITION IN 1915
Province
No. of
societies
Number of
shareholders
on Dec. 31,
1915
Amount of
share capital
paid up
Loan capital
(including
bank overdraft)
Ulster
51
41
53
74
6571
3531
4632
8716
£
22734
1473
5611
1916
* 1
14527
6552
18698
12410
For continuation of
table see below
Minister
Leinster
Connaught
219
23450
31734
52187
Total
sales
Net
profit
Loss
Reserve
fund
Affiliation
fees
Subscriptions
£
£
£
£
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
158038
5420
162
3588
62 5 0
24 12 0
33595
1149
89
4161
15 15 6
16 5 4
83004
2263
72
8200
44 2 0
33 12 0
35704
1014
74
5634
35 12 6
49 3 0
310341
9846
397
21583
157 15 0
123 12 4
295
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296
APPENDIX III
297
I
CO
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No. of loans
granted
M.opq aas aiqe}
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299
APPENDIX VI
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOVEMENT
Year
Number of societies
Butter
sales
Banks.
Total
loans
granted
General
Turnover
Total
Turnover
1889
1
£
4363
1
£
£
4363
1890
1
8500
8500
1891
17
50382
50382
1892
25
98969
98969
1893
30
140780
140780
1894
33
151852
151852
1895
76
184947
.
184947
1896
104 (Includes Agency
Society)
377695
388
57822
435905
1897
1898
148 (No figures for
Agency Society)
243
322344
401771
475
3306
76134
270346
398953
675423
1899
424
572963
5550
331874
910387
1900
477
703826
7270
327781
1038877
1901
564
809144
10357
363079
1182580
1902
706
885892
16480
340175
1242547
1903
840
964066
20435
406546
1391047
1904
778
1089620
31742
410958
1532320
1905
1906
1907
1908
835 (No figures for
Agency Society)
873 (No figures for
Agency Society)
913 (No figures for
Agency Society)
881
1195486
1457040
1574083
1666596
43641
50264
53112
56004
238411
307145
390428
529780
1477538
1814449
2017623
2252380
1909
835
1757969
57640
578860
2394469
1910
880
1903334
55855
630370
2589559
1911
934
1908314
56055
702114
2666483
1912
947
2268902
58244
878043
3205189
1913
985
2323441
55492
954256
3333189
1914
1023
2502545
52926
1113487
3668958
1915
991
3167686
48196
1441154
4657039
28492510
683432
10348763
39514708
300
APPENDIX VII
TABLE SHOWING THE COMPARATIVE VALUE OF AGRI-
CULTURAL EXPORTS FROM IRELAND, AS AGAINST
THE LEADING INDUSTRIES
Eggs
Stout
Year
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Value
Gt. hdrds.
£
Hhds.
£
1904
5470260
2188104
514557
1646582
1906
6417435
2727410
571395
1828464
1909
6362714
2863221
625784
1653113
1911
6488776
2940227
729298
1926562
1914
6824612
3383870
889696
2446664
Cattle
Linen
Year
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Value
No.
£
Cwts.
£
1904
710229
8985302
1151709
5597983
1906
720744
8869230
1281592
10456713
1909
785784
10425361
1409623
13230129
1911
669049
9433993 *
1328222
14214743
1914
910978
14173001
1382693
15833456
Butter
Ships
Year
Quantity
Value
Quantity
Value
Cwts.
£
Tons
£
1904
687100
3195015
76114
1500000
1906
715344
3576720
148716
2900000
1909
719625
3625111
120468
2175000
1911
688362
3671264
183390
4450000
1914
855608
4641673
244367
6703250 f
* Loss caused by foot-and-mouth disease,
t Inflation due to outbreak of war.
301
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