The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-07-24
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. BY THOMAS HUGHES
ESQ.,, Mp.
IcoNrLunEn ]

enodlu De the lest man to encourage thl
accumulating societies ~ engage in anv
thing like speculative trading. [ know to,
well how precious their savings are-whai
= wealth OF noble thrift and self-sacrifce
they represent. ! would not even urge then
80 undertake production themselves, exeept
very cautiously But | would direct their
attention at once to the position Of tie asso-
Citations for production throughout the
country, which have been struggling into
lie painfully, and with many drawbacks
\ during the last few years. am happy "a
see representatives of these associations
here 70 day and hope We shall hear from
them macy interesting details Of their work.
! VIII only allude to one or two which have
been able to watch, and which, to my GER
tain knowledge, have earned and deserve all
the help We can give them The Frame
makers and Gilders' Association in Red IL
on Square, has been established for ten
years, ana Is model Of what working
mans association should be. It has had an
uphill hight against hard times, want Of ere
Dat, insufficient capital. 1t is stiH hampered,
and 20 q great extent dependent % its bank
ers, paying exrava5antly for anY accommo-
datlon 1t needs in 'he course Of business.
Ihe same may be saij If the Perseverance
overcome the great difficulties of starung in
business, aGd whose work has given entire
satisfaction 10 all chose who have employed
them Again: the Cabiuet-makers' Asso
citation, 0f East London, is paying 10 Der
cent 70 Its timber merchant for diseounting
IT, bills Sach GssOeiutious az these can
give security for any sums they may require
70 borrow; and unless eur b0asted princi-
Tlcl ara a .hap, h4rn aIs rtrnv wv, ,fT r,.
such help as will able them in the future
TO obtain the advantages which the cOm-
mand Of ready money gives ii trade. A
few hundreds more capital would enable
each of these associations to make better
bargains with customers, and to hold the
commercial bills paid TO bem flr work IN
til maturity. There is 40 longer any legal
difficulty 10 the way Of giyinr such hello.
Under the provisions OF the Industrial ana
Pfovident Societies Amendment Act OF
1861, which 1 hal the pleasure uf passing
through the House Of COmmons-and which
Lord de Grey lao old friend TO co-oDera-
tionl took charge Of ia the House ol Lords
every registered society has power to hold
AM amount ct interest in i,s own name in
any other registered society. Already some
Of the must prosperous Of the northern soci-
eties have taken advantage III the Act. orr
Halifax friends have been wise enough. and
lucky enough ,to secure sbare e. to the amount
Of 10000, / believe, IT, the Industrial
Partnership Of Henry Brisgs & Sons. Limit
ed. | hope that one Uf The hr5t resnIrs III
this congress will De, that many investing
AMI borrowing societies will be now al last
brought together TO their mutual advantage.
Bat 4 % is - be done satisfactorily. it
~ h.4 f.afr o.. D.. .. -4 Z nn-
must have proper orgau'Zttion for the
worh-mlst establish some machinery anal
agous to tue Wholesale Society sister
socieiy q which, or v, Il organized branch
q tne existing ONE, IL soreiy needei Ia Lon
don, to uslte together the cooperative stores
0t tne south to Do the work FIR production
which z has done for distEl button. Every
one must see at once that something i'm the
nature of a bank will b. required f1r TINS
purpose. Well the name OF bank-espe-
claliy ot labor bauk-is, | know well. al
alarming one for Us Co-operators III Engiand
IL has been tried more thsa oace-bv Mr..
owen, forty years ago and BY Mr.. Vansit-
tart Neale, 10 1850 aud the folowas ears.
Some Of Us have burnt our fingers ID 81 Cd
attempts. 1t is tender ground admit but
We shall have 70 20 over much tender ground
before we have done; AMI the last attempt.
we must all remember, has resulted, not in
failure, but IN a success equal, IL
IT'S way, q tnat of our store movement in
the north. ailade to VI. Schullze's Labonr
b'aks 10 N1rIhern Germany-the work Of a.
aingla scientific politician and thinker. By
means Of these banks which have branches
IN almost every large vilIage-every Prus-
sian handicraftsman of good character can
command sufficient credit, or capital to start
him in his own business. Precisely the
same machinery will not do for rs, because
our industry IS IN another phase. Fifty
years agu, the greater part of our proluc-
ton was the work Of small masters, or j1ur-
neymen who worked with their own hands
answering, | should think, To the ''hand-
workers" in Prussia at this day. Nov,
nine-tenths Of it j. the work Of large Grm-,
or joint--tOck companies, wao employ our
mechanics aad artisans IN large groups, at
fixed wages In short, almost the whole Of
our working class is 10 the position Of iacto-
ry operative, TO whom NJ Schultze's plan
ayowedly does not apply. But u1less | anl
much deceived we shall be able, hy slight
notifications, 10 adapt the Prussiln system
to our own MISUNDERSTANDING societies for
individuals. At any rate, we are all bound
to do our best to understand it,; and, for
tunately for the congress, the Engiishman is
at home who IL most competent to instrUc.
us on this subject, and has kindly promis ed
to read paper on Mr.. Schullze's banks.
Those Of Us VINO have read Mr.. MorIer's re-
port on these tanks to our government, viii
De able to appreciate this advantage.
l will assume, then, that the establAb-
ment aud support Of associations for produc-
ton, to be effected BY some system involving
the transaction Of a portion of the ordinary
business Of bankers, will be the next great
work to which co-operators in England must
turn their attention. II is a work which
will require the greatest caution and watch.
fulness. Hitherto our associations for pro
duction have, as rule, not been successful.
Those who have had the pleasure OF visiting
the workshops Of the Paris associations
(where the associates have overcome not
! only all the internal difficulties which meet
US here, but the dead weight Of a hostile
code, aud the tyrannical interference of a
jealous government), must have sorrowfully
contrssted the enthusiasm with which the
French aruZan seIZes on and hclds 10 "a
idea. his readiness to make almost any sa.
criiice for it, with much that we have seen
here in the working associations which have
failed. The regrets and humsliation which
many Of US have felt over these failures, have
however, been tempered 1 at least in my own
casel BY the reflection that the rapid and de-
cided success OF associations for production
IN England. might have made the establish
nent OF such partnerships Of industry as
Messrs. Briggs Methley collieries impossi.
Die. believe that no greater misfortune
could have happened to our country than
this. The war between capital ard labor ID
bitter enough already 10 our industrial
world. Unlimited competition, the belief
that letting things alone will be sure 10 bring
them right, and that the common good will
be best attained by each man following his
own selfish instincts, have produced anarchy
tdistrust, hatred. The early associates cam,
Edlrectly cut of this anarchy, and were full O