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CHAPTER XIII.
agriculturalist, namely, the supply of co-operative credit. The principles of
co-operative credit have made little progress among the mass of workers
in factories and mines. Quite apart from any unfitness of the indus-
trial worker as an individual, the movements among the industrial popu-
lation form an almost insuperable obstacle to the spread of co-opera-
tion. Only where there is a regular settled labour force has co-operation
a chance of succeeding, and even there modifications of the general
methods of the movement are desirable, if substantial benefit is to be
obtained. The railways contain much the most important section of
industrial workers in regular permanent employ, and in recent vears the
co-operative movement has made considerable progress amongst them.
We are, however, impressed by the fact that the greatest success is
attained where the railway administration helps and assumes a consider-
able measure of control. The collection of instalments of loans through
the paybills and the delegation of the executive work to a special officer of
the railway weaken the educative force of co-operation ; but such steps
make it a much more powerful force for the reduction of debt, and
having regard to the importance of this object, we have no hesitation
in recommending that all railway administrations should make persistent
efforts to help their workers in this way. We commend especially a
study of the methods adopted on the Bombay Baroda and Central
India Railway where the Jackson Co-operative Credit Society issued
loans in the five years 1924-29 amounting to one. and a third crores of
rupees with losses amounting to less than a thousandth part of the
collections. A recent development in connection with this society
deserves the attention not merely of railway administrations but of other
employers. When the society first started, loans were given only to
members producing two participants inthe provident fund as sureties.
This had the practical effect of excluding gangmen and other low paid
employees, many of whom were heavily indebted. Loans are now given
to such men provided they produce two sureties with 5 years’ service on
the railway and provided that the loan is applied to the liquidation of
debts due to professional money-lenders. The railway staff officer in-
vestigates such debts and is usually able to compound with the money-
lender for a smaller sum than that claimed, very large reductions being
secured in some cases. The debt is then repaid, and by the deduction
of instalments from pay the debt is annulled. The difficulties in applying
methods of this kind are to ensure that all loans are disclosed and to
prevent the debtor from using the improvement in his credit to secure
further loans from external sources. Something can be done to meet
these difficulties by the exercise of close personal attention, and the em-
ployment of a labour officer is almost essential for this purpose. Where
this condition can be satisfied, there are big possibilities in the way of
debt liquidation. The work of a labour officer should remove the main
obstacle tothe working of a co-operative credit society by assuring re-
gular employment to the workers, and his personal acquaintance with
them aud interest in them should accomplish the rest. In the initial
stages, a loan to a society from an employer (or the appropriation of
fines to its eapital account) may prove of great benefit