Bigger Business

More than 1,000 representatives of the 2,500,000 U.S. citizens who fervently be lieve consumers should own and operate their own retail stores and production facilities met last week in Chicago. They were the "cooperatives," celebrating their 100th year with their largest congress, and planning vigorous expansion, in both domestic and export markets, of their $3.2 billion business volume.

Last year 10,450 producer cooperatives (mostly growers and dairymen) marketed $2.5 billion worth of products for their farmer members. Their city cousins retailed only $750 million of goods. To help the urban groups, as well as to provide farm co-ops with easier access to funds, the convention put finishing touches on their national finance association, which will raise capital by selling cooperative securities to financially strong regional cooperative groups.

Then the delegates tackled the big job of the convention--the organization of an International Cooperative Trading and Manufacturing Association for world trade. Leaders plan to have this venture financed and owned by foreign as well as domestic coops. The co-ops will first use the International to export farm products, machinery, oil and gasoline.

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