The New York herald., 1869-01-19
THE COOPERATIVE SYSTEM.
The Great Labor Question Solved
by SeEHelp.
THE WCRIEGMlN HIS OWN CAPITALIST.
Hsstory Of The Cooperative Movement In England
and ON the Continent
What rs Being Done fin
This Country.

hOSsUhCu, MS WOrk ON tine stfI9IOry OF POIl-
ucal Economy" refers to the lamentable result
which. with al It's humanizing benefits, the pro-
crossing industrial developments has wrought 1t
is he says ION page 2ss) "a peculiarly OF all highly
civilized naIions-a lamentable sediment OF civiliza-
tion itself-already complained OF by Demosthenes
and the prophets which found expression IN the
exactons OF Roman proconsuls and in the outcry
OF the starving masses, as whose patrons the Grac
chi appeared, which is there represented in varro
and here In Chtilina and which Is found In rhe In
creasing wealth OF the few and the imnoverishment
OF the many. This impbverishment OF the masses is
the disease also OF our day. the deepest social wound
preyng the life OF the future and threatening the
peace OF the present-a wound TO neal which Eng
land now already spends fs,ooo,o0o sterling
In useless EFFORT and which eats deeper and
deeper into the life organism OF society,"
And further on page 39s the same author Oh
serves:-"From all that the present affords us we
observe two great evils attending industrial de-
velopment-the one is insecurity Of maintaining
life, the other decentralization. The dependence OF
wages on the win Of the employer, stoppage in the
course Of trade and manufacture crisis, an inter-
ruption Of the great intercourse OF the world ex.
pose the workingman to want and deprivation;
his home and family life is destroyed, and moral
degradation follows" ..Capital, division OF labor,
factories, machinery, deprive the trades more and
more OF their independence and force the trades
man into poverty. Seeing his trade mercessly lost
ne leaves his small workshop to earn q precarious
living In the great workshop OF the factory as
laborer. And thus we naturally come to another
great question or our times-the labor question:
DR.. Rossbach is undoubtedly right IN calling this
one OF the great questions of our times. The cond
ton OF the workngman, his relation to his employer
as well as to society. being gradually wrought
by the centralizing tendencies OF modern age, are
sore spot on the Industrial body polite. 1t is not,
however newly discovered disease. Only il ia
growing worse by the increasing development and
Is more and more felt. Hence the need OF check
to this disease has also increased from year to year.
And many were the projects proposed, and some
actually attempted in practice, to ameliorate the
condition OF the workngmen and In some instances
even 10 rebuild on new foundations the whole sys-
TEN OF human society. However well meant. how
ever benevolent the spirit prompting these plans,
mos, not all Of them, were lusory and therefore
tmpracficable. Most OF these had their origin in
France and II is only required to refer to Fourier
ISM" .cabetism,n "St. simonism,v to show the
visionary means adopted to cure the evil, the
cure Itself being than the disease. Even the
DUrton 0nrris,e proposed in 1914, intending by
the contribution OF two francs annually by each man
nal laborer in France, estimated at flve millions.
and hence with sum OF ten million francs or two
million dollars annually, to establish and maintain
refuge for worn out and in1rm workingmen under
the name OF "Le Pa,ais de Linton Our,1sre'D
failed for IL was considered wild scheme and de-
rided; and by none more than by the workingmen
themselves. While Louis Blanc was member OF the
provisional government OF France ne carried his pc
c1iar doctrines OF the .sroft az racau--the right
20 work-aud OF the organization OF labor into ex-
ecntion In the esiers n1tfondur national work.
shops. But II did not last long, for the maintenance
OF the workingman at the expense Of the whole peo-
PIE, turning the State into great manufacturing
agency. competing with and destroying private In
0ustry, soon became SO odlous that 1t died
OF its own morIHrosity. But it Is not the
purpose OF this article to detail the many plans aud
attempts made thro ghout the word towards cie-
waiting the condition OF the workingman and which
successively failed: These form part OF the social
history OF mankind. and any one curious to study
the gradual progress OF development IN this regard
and the great number o. grievons mistakes which
well intent oned people often make WIN find them
recorded IN the many works on political ECONOMY
and social science. At present it rs proposed to give
an extended notice OF the system OF
COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES,
rs these have come into vogue IN Europe and here.
showing It's undenable benefits ana the dangers 70
found more extended development IN England
and Germany. in France the rYgor OF the domestic
% admlnissraon OF the Second Empire has rather
anu ltay and even Russia have lately begun TO cui-
uyatc them.
TuE RocHDALE SOCIETY.
''Co operation" says writer on sCo-operatiyc
Socetesr Ia BloctsrOod's Magazine for March 1867
Tor the purpose Of offence or defence is Old az
society, whlie coopcrat on for the purposes O trade
Is almost as old as civilization. Gnder the name OF
partnership the idea OF corporation has long been
iamiiar." NOT Wishing 70 stop to critlcse this too
much mat'er-of-fact definition OF the principles ol
cooperative societies, II ia but Just TO quote tue opi
beginning made by some worl,ngmen in Rscnaaie
"was destined 10 have grea results not only on the
fortunes OF those who humoly and tmidly nauso.
rated the movement. hut on those OF the working
classes generally throughout the most populous Ia.
dusir al districts OF the Kingdom
Il IS now generally conceded that this beginning
in Rochdae was, IN ruth, the commencement *
an cminently practical system for Gevating
the mental, moral and physical condition
aid or charitable assistance BY the state or ndl.
vi iuals or wealthy societies, but by cultvatiDg Ia
himself the habit OF prudent seif-reance. which the
LDaiDn QudTtTiy for october, 1884. IN speaking
OF worknamcn's benefit societies. Justly regards as
Sne q lnG prnepa nssds q 80 our Tine ss every
b., j. the better for knowing and feeling that his
happiness necessarily depends In great measAe
And It - because these societies care calculated 10
cherish the habit OF genuine sef-reliance and SELL
rcspectn that they are sconsidered cninenIly
worthy of public encouragement.n The grand and,
N all truth, astonishing results following the re-
markably small beginning at iiochdae only twenty.
nve years ago. and the evident benens conferred by
them upon the working classes wherever this sys-
iem has been adopted fully Justify this high com
From the German work OF Eugene Richter upon
t3e history and development OF cooperative stores
fuli knowledge OF the difficulties and gradual rise
0i this hrst cooperative society be gathered. It
appears that Ia November, lS43. a number OF
weavers occasionally met at Rochdale 20 consult to-
feter a. 10 the best means TO better their condition
Bone were Tor the usual resort Of dissatisfied work
fnymen-that Il, strikes- But this discussed In
ever aspect and finally rejected by the more sens
ble men, who succeeded Ia prevailing upon a num-
Der q Others 10 join with them and Try whether they
could nut get higher wages, or make what they did
get go further. When this was agreed upon as the
underlying principle on which to proceed paper
was drawn up and twelve men signed their names
agreeing each 10 pay twenty pence per into the
common fund. They named themselves ''Ihe Roch.
dale Society OF Equitable ponecrsr soon after tho
programme OF this new society was issued, substa-
italy a. foiiows:--
The object OF this society Il TO devise erpe.nis an
shall brsnE pec,insry pron W IT'D members and same
Cme result 10 their advantage individuals and
% the society In pursuane Of this objsc the sooey
kecs contributions ts members vita which out
ehe following designs Frst. the OF
Visions and clothing matcras second the build
Ing Otherwise procuring OF number OF houses where
such may dwell 6nd II convenient n i've
together third The assiatAncs OF such members sy
out Of employment account Of lowering
%.