[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 6, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S12114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              COOPERATIVES

 Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, October is ``Co-op Month,'' and 
today I would like to stress the importance of cooperatives to the 
nation and especially to my state of North Dakota. Cooperatives are 
pure examples of good business--companies formed, owned and 
democratically controlled by the people who use its services and who 
receive benefits from patronage. Cooperatives are institutions that 
demonstrate people making their lives better through hard work and 
their knowledge of the American economic system.
  In fact, the notion of cooperation is an ideal--people working 
together to accomplish a task and provide products and services for the 
public good. It is this basic philosophical idea, which so many find 
difficult to achieve, that the citizens of my state have been 
particularly adept at making a reality. North Dakota farmers have been 
leaders when it comes to improving their economic and social positions 
through cooperative community enterprise. From the great traditions of 
early political movements that created cooperative momentum--the 
American Society of Equity, the Nonpartisan League, and the Farmers 
Union--an educational base was formed that today still influences the 
drive for cooperative development. As a result, electricity and 
telephone service, pasta, sugar, bison and scores of other marketing 
and service cooperatives cover North Dakota today. Income is 
distributed, products and services are supplied, and employment and 
opportunity are spread throughout the state.
  Cooperatives are formed to protect the way of life for independent 
producers and provide essential services for rural communities. Member 
education, one-member, one-vote equity in business decisions, and 
relying on neighbors to form and maintain the institution are all 
cooperative principles that underpin the success of these ventures. The 
legendary hardships that have been overcome in my state's pioneering 
history required cooperation among neighbors for everything from food 
and shelter to aid in farm labor and human companionship. Cooperation 
and the formation of cooperative enterprise were logical means of 
ensuring rural survival. We have long known that through organization, 
we can accomplish any goal, and through cooperation we can work 
together to benefit all. Therefore, during October, the month 
designated to recognize the importance of cooperatives, I thank the 
members of cooperatives for taking the initiative to direct their 
economic futures and for contributing to the unique economic heritage 
of North Dakota and this nation.

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