To the Editor of the "Norti-Osina Dairy News."
Sin,—Coming down from the interior of China, I appointed myself as a special' commission of inquiry intosto-operative matters it, Shanghai, As regards the Shanghai Cooperative Society I was eager to discover whether anything can be done even now to save the Society but judged that nothing in that direction is practicable. The process of liquidation is going on, albeit in a leisurely manner. This business, however, need no longer be considered of any general interest. In recommending that an entirely new society, with a different name, be formed by a new group, T would emphasize a few points in which the new society should differ from the old.
1, It should be on a rigid cash basis; any deviation therefrom being at the risk of the person allowing credit. The auditors should clearly understand that they must refuse to accept any accounts in which loss to the society appears through credit having been given. I am told that refusing to allow credit will limit the membership. So be it: better have a small stable society than a large rickety one.
The purchases should be almost entirely from the Ca-operative Wholesale Societies of England and America, which are certain to give satisfaction.
3. No attempts should be made to secure a long list of members by offering inducements which may not become operative for some few years. Nearly all the Ca-operative Societies in England started in a
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.