Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1869-04-15
From the n. Y. Tribune
co OPERATIVE STORES


Among the mary and ever g. neral TAIL
ures attending cooperative groceries
stores, and trading establishments
comes The report that store in thi.
place was a success, and a visit is made
10 ascertain the facts South Ambos
is at the mouth of Raritan River, and i
is the land terminus OF the Camden
and Amboy Railroad, where the com
panys shops are located, and wher.
considerable ship building is going on
hence there is large number o! me
chanics The credit system in the sci
ling OF goods being general, as it is al
| so in most OF the towns In New Jersey
the prices asked for all descriptions o
goods were excessive, and the coop
erative store referred to was establish
ed to furnish goods at the lowest rate,
for cash only.
Some IS mechanics effected an or
ganization, obtaining a charter from.
the State Legislature. They com
mencel business with capital OF So
800. Their charter permits them t.
have capital OF s20,o0o, which is III
,lded INTO shares oi SlU each, and, Il
| understand it, the sum they RAISE,
was derived from per cent paid !"
the shares subscribed. Each share i
entitled to vote; no member can hold
more than 90 shares, nor can shares b.
transferred except by consent OF the
Trustees.
Business opened brisk; they had !.
general assortment OF groceries, boots
shoes and dry goods, and. during til,
first SIX months their a'es reacheG
| $40, 900 AT the end of the first thre,
months dividend was declared OF j
per cent. At the end of six month
when the usual account OF stock wa.
taken, and the amount of cash on hand
was compared with the sums paid for
goods, it was found that there was 4
deficiency of $4,000 This the Super.
intenaant was anable - explain. Thcr.
were the books, all in good order;
there We're the goods: there was the
cash, and that was all he knew about
it. This meant that, during tie three
months; they had nearly sunk their
original capital.
Only two courses could be pursued
One was to dlsband, the other to get
new Superintendent aud start again.
As they had good trade, and rs
everything seemed in their favor, pro-
viding by could have fair manage
mcnt, they concluded TO 60 ahead. \
new Superintendent, who had been a
ship carpenter, who had means, and
whom they could trust. was appoiut
ed, and new clerks were hired. during
the first month, under the new order.
they traded $1,000, and they are now
fading about 5000 day. The aver
age profit on sales is about Is per cent;
and after taking out expenses, they
probably clear about $40 day They
think that in from six to nine months
from this date, they will be entirely
above board, when dividends may
again be expected.
found that they are selling goods
at prices something less than they are
sold in the cheapest stores in New
York City, or in any other part OF the
c,untry. Still, OF course, there are
certain leading articles, such as sugar.
cotton cloth, and favorite cali, o,s
which cannot be sold below certain
figures, and they are seldom sold much
above.
In short, it is frst-ratc place for
family to trade, and the Superintend-
ent and his clerks act as though they
wanted people to trade, which condi
ton gives pleasure TO two parties.
Some things look little heller. SHELTER,
but where customers crowd, and where
all sorts Of goods are kept, disorder is
more or less unavoidable
Trenton, n. AT this place
cooperative store was started in 1865,
with capital OF about $4,000. The
members were, for the most part, Eng
lishmen. engaged as workmen in man
utacturing establishments The num-
Der OF shares is limited to ten for each
member, and no one is allowed more
than one vote. II is in the agreem .nt
t TAT the members shall not trade at
any other store. Interest is paid on
the capital to the stockholders. In
addition, they are to reeve dividends