The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1868-03-21

antee iunu should De Uon4Eefre0, III to9
guarantees business Is a. good ~ Il should
20. this. fqad WilkaeYes % touched at all for
anything hey 0hd No tseihg ahArslof COM
mon expenses * tho ofllcs, which. themse;ves
eileEsths efst year, as veil a CO., assmya-
efauen. q commission prohahly 10 0R VI. Il
derwfiters, should come out Of the preSpiums
PqeiFqi The nes balance OF premiums
would either 70 70 increase the guarantee
llnd, or be paid into the general funds Of
the society, as may be decided inseach In
stance. Ia
Cd. As respects the bodice to be guaran-
teed. Here, think, il would be essential TO
establish something exactly equivalent to
LaoyG Register Of Bhipping--a Register Of
Credit. No cooperative body should obtain
guarantee until it was ascertained, LIST,
that is legal position was perfectly sound
one--i. E., that 1t had complied with all ths
requirements Of the law, whether formed IS
an Industrial and Provident, or ~ Limited
GomPaHy--that@ peomlses -eF. lis stock
were not subject to any legal liability which
could paPalyze its workiugs, &C.; 2nd, that
its members, or at all events its committee
or otheR, body Invested with the mADggs-
ment, We're persons Of good character andfit
Tor their respective tasks Sd, that il not 40
tually successful, It was presumably an .
position to succeed II 1t obtained the credit
| for whIch the guuruptee was needed. The
bodies which could show . clear legal post
ton, good character and abilities, and actual
success, would be classed at once A on the
regster; beginning Socities, and oil who
could not yet show lair dividend, must take
lower number until entitled TO q hlgher.
A little reflection will show, indeed, tLst
withAQ institution Of industrial guarantees
once established by the trade socieEles, it 10
neither necessary that its operations should
be confined tO-aO-operative bodies actually
stating, nor to cooperative workshops Of
wofkingmen alone. There are many occa-
sionS on which such an institution may pro-
6tahly and safely lend out lis credit TO tAe
latter bodies when IN ful. success-as, II Tor
instance, If they want % enlarge their pFsIn-
ises. to take new ones, 70 buy the lease on
the .0C those which they actually occupy
and although the Urdinary partnership Of
industry, rom the nature Of its constltuilop,
generally starts with both capital and credit,
It IS easy to conceive that there may betimes
when it would vi ihgB seek the aid Of such
an institution, within the scope Of its opera
lions it would fall a. naturally as the pare
cooperative society. Nay, see NO objecs
ton in principle. under certain leircum-
stances, 20 its guaranteeing Of individuals
WoTklngmen, Tor instance endeavoring
to carry out an invention even employers,
well reported Of BY their men.
| have briefly shown the first beginning
and the last development of the aethod
which l propose, On the one hand, tue
manager of cooperative workshop Slmpsy
/ m fha ant NTH tina att al
/ official Of his trade society, and saying"
want such and such goods, and so many
months credit if you wont trust me, here
is Mr.. So and 30. who is ready to guarantee
me-" On the other, the grea. trades socie-
ties Lloyds, withgItS separate counters Tor
the underwriters Of the various societies, its
register of all trustwo rthy societies within
the scope Of its operations, issuing policies
Of guarantee which are securities themselves,
aud known throughout the United Kingdom
10 represent many thousands Of pounds Of
\ capital. | have indicated trans aon be-
tween the two, through those undertakings
which involve combination of trades Bot
there are many other intermediate stages.
The existing Lloydss dad not grsw up in .
day, but has takens believe, svera century
to reach its present footing. Nor can any
mushroom growth be expected or wished for
the new social Lloyds. IL must make its
own credit before 1t can hire out. IL will
certainly be years before its policies could
obtain market value by means of the
-ansition stage which have pointed cat,
( however, much OF its work could be done in
he first instance in perfectly quiet way
without an office, without the Issuing Of .
policy. All that is needed is, that the ma
chinery which has served for the first guar
anteed undertaking should be retained on
foot Tor a second that the subject should
be kept quietly before the eyes OF the trade
societies genere'ly; that, one BY one, their
adhesion, first to he principle, then to the
system, by setting apart portion OF ther
funds for guarantee purposes should be oo-
tanned. Then, as the system becomes
established, it will require :nsturally its Of
nee, It's oih0als, It's special forms.
What binders all this Nothing 90 y uch,
verify believe, as the ign0fahee, preiu lice:
and selHshness Of vested Interests exi sting
among the trade societies. II may be thai
there STEW whose present lava would au-
thorize them to participate iE such rndertak-
! iugs though it is difficult to see. wherever
actual grants or loans OF money to other so
cieties are authorised, bow a me- lending
of credit should be agaist the rules- But il
laws are made to be obeyed whilst they
exist, they are also made TO be Improved
whenever they proved insufficient, OF contra
I ~ to the best interests Of those FOR whose
benefit they exist. The simple answer 10 those
trade societies who tell us som hss don't
allow rs to do what you propose" is
''Change your laws, if thsy hinder you from
dong good thing"
! Impatient o-operatofs,s who know--as
! indeed, do myself by long experienoe-the
officially of getting trade societies - more
IN any new direction, may perhaps cay
s'Why not apply to e, same system thu ough
some other means ?" | must distinctly say,
that in the interests both OF the trade socie-
ties and of any cooperation, l should de-
precate any Jsuch experiment m their In
terest-fOr am perfectly sick BY this time
of seeing them, from years end to years
end, from generation TO generation, when
ever undisturbed and prosper Gus, eeseowing
all the benefit Of the use of their accuma-
lated funds, except some ridiculously low
per censage Of Interest, upon other classes
than the one which they assume TO protect,
and absolutely wasting the whole Of their
credit talking very frequently about the
advantages Of CO. operative Abof, and unable
TO take one step toTards promoting 1t. In
the interest of co-opefasiou@ hccauss / he
lieve the knowledge Of individuals, trade
experience, diversified relations Of trade So
cieties, would afford grounds Of safety In
such guarantee undertakings which are en-
tirely out of the reach Of any other body Of
persons; because, whilst they have such
abundant funds for the purpose lying Idle,
x should grudge the taxing Of other peoples
sockets to do the same thing in . less satis-
factory manner last, not least, because /
satisfied BY experience, that until tssde
societies become bound in interest with CO.
operative undertakings, they viii hinder
rather than help then-not wilfuliy, indeed,
bat from inability to realise the Necessary
conditions Of their success.
10 cohclusiOu, L will only add that all
that have endeaEored to do in the present
paper is to lay down the principles aad