The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1879-07-08 00:00:00

A WIMBORNE TRADESMAN UN Co-oPERATIVE

bTORDI.

he Select Committee appointed by the Mame of
Commons to inquire into the constitution and operation
of certain trading associations known as co-operative
stores, resumed the hewing of evidence on Wednesday.
one of the witnesses ass Mr. E. T. Budden, tailor and
outfitter, of Bouraemiuth and Wimborne, who was
etomjoed by the Chairman- He said he did not
diamatrove of real co-operation, by which he meant the
association of individuals on equal terms for production
or distribution, every nernber taking his share of the
profits or of the losses, as the case might be, the profits
Wog apportionod &courting to • member's shares of the
capital and of the purchases In short, be did not object
to the Rochdale System. But the Civil Service Supply
and kindred Arociations had gone beyond the real
functions of ratan, and, by inviting business from
the outaide public, had become general traders, and
therefore they were no longer co-operative societies,
but combination societies, for distributing conunodittes at
a very low profit. 'Redid not object even to that if the
stores were called combination sad not co-operative otoreo
He objected to the lunges assumed by such areciations ea
the Civil Service Supply Store. He
i did not object to their
trading °redline at reduced profits, as n that they were
quite within their legal rights, but there remained the
question whether piratic salaried servants of the State
should engage in combination stores. That was not a
question so much of legal right and wrong as of policy.
lie should not object to public servant+ becoming traders if
their public duties were discharged faith' ully, and if their
becoming traders wire consistent with the conditions on
which they entered the public service: In neither of the
towns in which be lad a place of business was there any
store, but many gentlemen there got goods from the
London storm He was not injured personally by the
stores, but in gathering the opinions and feelings of a great
number of his neighbour. he found amongst them great
levitation against the store system. That irritation he
did not •hare. Their grievance was that the gentry and
professional mania the neighbourhood gut all their goods
from the stores_ to the diminution of the country trade
Crown names being used by the stores, they had an unfair
advantage over the ordinary traders. He was not
2'afraid of the storea —By Mr. A. Mills : Is rrylet:
ion that if the system of rash payments were adopted
tradeemen of the country would be able to hold their
own against the cooperative stores !—"Tbey could hold
their own at the mine prices if they could get all their
customer, to cosepl_y with the conditions exacted by the
stores—By Mt Blake : You think that If tradesmen
could be found to do the work of Crown servants
as well at lower sums they_ should be allowed
to do so : Undoubtedly. Mr. Blake : Looking
to the age at which Civil servants are admitted
the suggestion is impracticable—Hr. Callan : you;
mole objection to these stores coufined to the names I
object also to l',own servants trading Ulliele there ill BOOM
wippcm.timi 'if which tradesmen can recoup—Hr.
Callan What do you ask WI to dor—Witeen : (live more
facilities for business Jaen Icing employed in the public
service. If tradesmen are to be driven by Civil servants
out of trade, the Civil Service ought to be open to them.
Mr. Callan : Is it not a fact that you came here to
advertise yourself —The Chairman and other members
of the committee thought this qrn anon hardly fair. —Mr.
Callao rejoined that if they were to roceive evidence of
this class they might sit there till the dissolution of
rarliament It wam • waste of tiuse, Nothing practical
was suggested to them. —To Mr. .laoie., the witr.., said
he believed if the store system ass eudended many
amloatuaa would be ruined_
POOLE.

D.R.V.—Forty-three numbers of our rifle
aops left for Aldershot by the 2.21 train on Saturday,
the officers with the oonspsay_heing ovuin
Lunt. Budget Socalid•lANlL Haulm, mid Aching.
Surgeon filteTta.