THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA JACOB JOHN SIEMENS AND THE CO-OPEMTIVE MOVEMENT IN SOUTHERN MANITOBA T929-1955 by HENRY DYCK A rhesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial fulf ilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Department of History Faculty of Arts t^linnipeg, Manitoba 0ctober 1982 JACOB JOHN SIEMENS AND THE CÍ]-OPERATIVE MOVEHENT IN $UTHERN MANITOBA T929-1955 JACOB JOHN SIEMENS AND THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT IN SOUTHERN T"ÍANIT0BA 1929-7955 by HENRY DYCK A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the u¡riversity of Ma'itoba in partiar furfirrnent of trìe requirenlerìrs of the degree of MASTER OF ARTS o 1982 Permission has been granted to the LIBRARy oF THE UNIVER- SITY OF MANITOBA to lend or sell copies of this thesis, to the NATIONAL LIBRARy OF CANADA ro nricrofitnr rhis thesjs and to lend o¡ sell copies of rhe film, and uNIVERslry MICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this thesis. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or other_ wise reproduced without the author,s written pernrission. rrLet us build a school, to teach our chitdren what we as co-operators bel- ieve in " . J.J. Siemens t94B III FOREWORD This study is a brief survey of a regional co-operative nnvement between 1929 and 1955. The period was selected because it paralleJ.s t'he career of Jake Siemens, the principaJ- person in Southern Manitoba's co-operative movement, and because the movement reached its apex during theseyears. The area to be considered encompasses the rural municipalities of Morris, Rhineland and Stanley in Southern Manitoba. The subject oF the study is the origin, evolution and consolidation oF co-operatives among the Mennonites in Southern Manitoba. Considerable emphasis is placed on Mennonite attiludes and their relationshio ro co-operative ideology and co-operative institutions. The thesis examines a number of questions. Some analysis is given to the issue of Mennonite participation in co-operaLives and the reasons underlying the development of a strong reqional co-operative movement in bhe province. Much of the analysis f,ocuses on the Ieadership of Jake siemens because, it is contended, he shaped the character of the movement and gave it a uniqueness. what made this regional co-operative movement unique was its f,ar-reaching co-operative educaLion program. It was not unique in the sense that it was the only program in existence, rather in the way it was organized and impl-emented. Because the formation or co-operatives among the Mennonites, as elsewhere in canada, was primarily a response to economic need, the study assesses the overall impact of co-operatives on Southern Manitoba's economy. 0rganizationarly, the thesis is divided into five chapters and an epilogue. The First chapter is an introduction w{-rich provides historical background on the evol-ution of co-operative institutions: LV it also describes the local setting where bhe events occurfed and Ìooks at the Prairie agricultural- economy in relation to the regional economy of Southern Manitoba and briefly examines Mennonite society. Because Jake siemens provided the dynamics of the regional co-operative movemenL and became a well-known co-operative leader in canada, the second chapter is devoted to the person and his accomplishments. The third chapter, covering the period r9z9 Lo rgjï, dwelrs on the beginnings oF the movement and its organizational- problems. The era of expansion for co-operatives coincided with World war II and is the subject or chapter four. co-operative educationr â Vital part of the co-operative nxrvement from l9l0 to 1955, has been examined in the f,iFth chapter. FinaJ-1y, the epilogue reviews the changes in southern ManiLoba's co-operat.ives f,rom 1955 Lo 1975 and attempts to shed some iiqht on the state of the movement. ACKNOl{LEDGEMENTS This study originabed out of discussions with Ian MacPherson. The author acknowl-edqes his guidance and encouragement during the initial stages. However, most oF the credit belongs to my advisor, Gerald Friesen. His assistance and wise counsel will alwavs be remembered and appreciated. The Department of History at the University of Manitoba deserves special mention. Their understanding and forebearance in seeing the study through to its compJ-etion af,ter all these years was more than the author had the right bo expect. The Co-operative College of, Canada provided financial support For this project. To them, the author is most grateîuJ-. The author also is indebted to numerous persons who shared their time and information so willingly. Several peopJ-e merit special mention: Raymond W. Siemens, Diedrich G. Reimer and Menno Klassen. The writer acknowì-edges the assistance of the stafF at the Legislative Library of Manitoba, Elì.zabeth Dafoe Library and the UglflgÞg lg:gpg¡et"r. FinalIy, the author owes much to Dawn Martinook who typed all the material-. ContenLs Fo rewo rd iii Acknow I edgemenLs ì I nt rodu ct ion I 7. Jacob John Siemens - Co-operator JB The Formative Years 1929-1938 66 4. The War Years L9J9-I945 BB 5. Co-operaLive Education 1946-1955 129 6. Epi logue r67 1. NoLes IBO Appendices l. Financal Statistics of Altona Co-operatives 209 2. Financial Statistics of, Sun VaLley Co-operative ?14 3. Financial Statistics oF Lowe Farm Co-operatives 2r5 4. Financial St-at-islics of l'linkler Co-operatives 2IB 5. Financial Statistics of Plum Coulee Co-operatives 222 6. Financial St.atist ics oI Gretna Co-operatives 224 7. Financial Statistics of Halbstadt Credit Union z2_5 Socj. ety Financial Sl.al- isLics oF Co-operatives in Smaller 227 Communit ies 9. Financial Statistics of Valley Credit Union Society 229 B ib 1 i ogr aphy 210 I. INTRODUCTION To understand the place oi co-operatives and of, J.J. Siemens in the hisbory of southern ManiLoba, i.t is necessary to recalL the context within which they existed. This chapter provides a brief overview of co-operative institutions and their characteristics in the North Atl-antic World, showing the influence of the European co-operative experienee in the evol-ution of, the Canadian co-operative movement. It then discusses the agricuLtural economy of, the Prairie Provinces between l92l and I955 and the ecorromic circumstances in which many Canadian co-operatives began. The third part oF the chapter focuses on the Local sebL.rng and compares it with the rest oF the prairies. The fourth segment looks at Mennonite society, its institutions and its relationship to co-operatives. Finally, a brief survey of the historiography on the Mennonites and the co-operative movement will provide some insight into the place of this thesis in the historical literature relatinq to Western Canada. I co-operatives in canada were a part of the numerous reform movements that flourished earJ"y in the twentieth century. Co-operative enterprise was one response to the needs oF the times. The era oF growth had brought with it a number of economic and socia] probJ-ems: inadequate housing, destitution, Iack of suf,ficient social- services and exploitation of labour. In the agrarian areas, many Farmers eneountered marketing probrems, rising costs and labour shortages.l Given the adverse circumstances, the environment was suiLable for the appearance of a new form ol enterprise with disbinct characteristics. Co-operative organizations were quite dif,ferent f,rom traditional- capitalist businesses. One important characteristic was 'rone person, one vote", which defied the capitalist doctrine of the dominance of invested capital". In their quest lor economic democracy, co-operators adopted two other characteristic rules: neutrality in political, religious and racial questions; and the acceptance of the idea that j-nvested capital should bear a low, fixed raLe of interest. Co-operatives also established the practice that surplus earnings were distributed to the nembership in proportion to their patronage. Participation rather than investment determined the amount. of the refund. Another imoortant but. less universal characteristic of the movement was the emphasis upon co-operative education. Co-operaLives differed considerably in their int.erpretation oF the meaning of education: for some it meant the promotion of paLronage; f,or others it encompassed alI forms of, co-operative action; for others it meant a general- adult education program; and for a few it included all of these. A final- characteristic involved trade on a cash-only basis. This f,eature aroused considerable controversy among the co-operatives serving the ever cash deficient farmers and miners, and rarely worked effectively.2 These characteristics qave the co-operatives an identity both in Canada and abroad. The co-operative movemenL first gained widespread acceptance in Great Britain. Influenced by the utopian experiments of Robert 0wen early in the nineteenth century, people experimented with co-operatives f,or the rest of the century" The nnst successful co-operatives anerged out of the work of Dr. Will-iam King and the Rochdale pioneers during the lB40rs. The RochdaÌe experience marked the beginning of rapid expansion oF the BriLish co-operabive movement. By 1900, Great Britain led the world in co-operative acbivities and thoughl. One oF the dlstinctive characteristics of, bhe Bribish rovement was its narrow base; it f,ocused on the organization of consumer co-operation. Believing in the primacy of, the consumer, British co-operators developed an extensive network oF co-operative slores incLuding wholesales.l Initialty only suppJ-y agencies, the wholesales gradually diversified their activities; they entered into the production of industrial and agriculLural goods and then into bankinq and insurance services for their stores. 0ther co-operative institutions in Great Britain were truncated in t.heir development.