The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-02-03

United States:
All the leading Northern journals arc dis
cussns with deep interest the means OF eieVat-
i'm" and improving the working classes, anu
all point to '.industrial cooperation" as the
solution of the labor problem. What can be
done in the North, can, with the same knowl-
edge, be done in the South. This knowledge
swill 20 forth to the workingmen of the South
in the columns of this paper, and they have
tact enough, ability enough, and power enough
to use their knowledge discreetly for the good
of the whole South.
We take the following interesting article on
industrial cooperation from the New York
Times:
INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION.
Co-opcration has been fairly tested in the
United States In Great Britain, France. Ger
many and other European countries 1t mas Deen
thoroughly proved in almost every dcpattneIiI
cable and beneficial to those engaged in 1t. The
W0rkingmen of America. from some cause or
Gi.,ar seem less disposed to trust one another
with money tiali a.cc their European brethren:
Each man here desires to ''Go II alone, anu
aims at great er independence OF his 1elloW-men.
The Americans are undoubtedly losers oy TINS
spirit. For no man can live to hlmSel alone,
and thrce-fold cord Is more dllcnt 10 Grtaa Ian
than a single thread. Indeed, cooperation is tne
0nly means by which labor can ever successful
lv compcte with capital Webster defines CO.
operation to be s.joint labor" This lne work
ingmcn Of America understand, but now 10
combine their labor so as to remove tne as
abilities and reduce the burdens that now al
most crush them, they know not. IL mas peen
shown in q previous article that there are
$4,000 workingmen in this city and 3OoO IN
Brooklyn, and that, as near as we can aScer, @
tain, they have between sGO,0OO anu soV,Voo
deposited in savings banks ready for emefgen-
cics. Now, if the men engaged IN any Drancn
of trade, as, for instance. in the bulidlns
trades. the clothing, the printing and publish
ing, &c, should combine only portion OF this
idle capital and invest it in some cooperative
business, they might eventually control great
portion of the business OF their respective
trades.
.rared in the several departments of building
and house furnishing in this city. Should tney
each subscribe 81 year toward cooperative
enterprise, they might start brick or stone
ward at once. Should they double their suo-
scriptions they would have surplus 10 meet
unforeseen losses or undue competition IN pu-
sjness. b. keeping up the association and the
subscription from year to year, and by addinS
the accrued profits, less the interest upon the
CAPITAL invested and current expenses, from
one cooperative enterprise to anolher, tle
mechanics and workingmen OF New YORK
might in this way own, one year after another,
brick. stone, marble and lime yards, quarries
and furniture manufactures, and The like, to-
pether with the labor and the Skill TO make
them productive and profitable Inc same
suggestion will apply equally to the clothing,
publishing and other labor interests oi .,i. anls
great city. The workingmen have the ability
and the power, had they the energy and con-
fdence necessary to carry out such en- en-
terprises. The workingwOmen are equally
interested with the men in cooperation, anu
are equally powerful for good. They Wouia
REQUIRE less capital ordinarily in their oiisi-
ness. but the profits would not be much smaller
ON that account. For instance, women might
open cooperative stores and manufactures
for ladies' and gcntlemen's under-Sarments,
hose. neckties, cuffs and collars, anu olner
light articles of wearing apparel, at whlcn
they could all find empoyment. me ne expense MhanSa
would be comparatively little, and the WORK
inrwomen's Protective Union might, II re-
o,iested, accept the supervision of one Or more
of these cooperative stores or factories Inns
would give them dignity and an assurance OF
success from the start, and the real tollers
would thus become sharers in the pronls OF
their invested capital These profits are some
times immense. For instance. an infants
cloak which Mr.. A. T. Stewart sells for sl3O
costs for the material and labor $50. so that the
dealer makes 500 clear. Other articles yield
profits in corresponding ratio.
COOPERATION IN ENGLAND.
Cooperation Is, as we have said, not new
principle. 1t has been thoroughly tested in
Europe There are now in Great Brian ABOUT
five hundred cooperative assoclatlons, Win
an aggregate membership of 10000, and ZOO
900 e6-ccser6tiye siorcs, Win working capt.
fal of $4,000, 900, on which they do business
of $50, ,OOO, 900 annually. A majority OF those
associations were organized and their stores
opencd during the year 1850. but SO raploly
did they spread that in lS6l they had a WORK
ING capital of nearly 5000, 600, with which, IN
addition to stores, they had started IN opera
ton three large factories. In 1863, the sales
in these cooperative stores amounted TO S45,--
600 600, upon which the shareholders realized
n profit of 81 900 900. In 1865, the eight socle-
ties alone of Rochdalc, Bocup, Halifax, Oi0-
ham, Bury and Manchester numbered 4,4l4
members with PROPERTY sdS GSS 0l 0sef iOOOO0O
Every one on this side Of the Atlantic has,
probably, either heard OF read of the Rochdale
Pioneers-their early difficulties and their ulti-
mate success. On the 2lst of December, lS44,
they opened their co operative store alld com
mcnced business on capital OF Sl5-the bal-
aHce of sl35, with which they paid rent and
lifted nm their modest establishment. The
evening of the opening was very momcnt-
GUS one to them. The shopkcepcr OF the town,
together with the gan,tn, gathered IN front Oh
the store, hooting and yelling, and making DC
risive comments upon the stock and the Stock.
holders. But they needing not, continued
their course, and to-day their example mas leu
to the establishment Of similar enterprises all
over England. The little band of dozen pio-
neers had Increased in 1865 to 1926 members,
and the original SIS had grown to be s3!9,4dZ
upon which, during the first quarter OF 1866,
they made sales of s255, $50, Gil which tney nael
realized a profit of IL $40 per cent. In lSGz,
this society had eight branch establishments IN
the town of Rochdale, in which the aggregate
sales amounted to $50, 600. These stores include
three boot and shoe, ohc clothing ana hve
butcher shops, besides the original one, IN
which rich assortment of dry goods, carpets,
artificial flowers, &C., are kept always on fand
The five butcher shops bought 255j nead OF
cattle in 1862, from which they sold 9,SGl3
pounds of meat. The three shoe stores trans
acted business amounting to $4,000 during
the same period. The aggregate amount OF
sales for twcnty-onc years, dating from the
start in 1914 to 1864, was sG,474, $50, upon which
s69l 900 profit, about 10 per cent, had been
realized The cooperative stores are open
day and evening like other stores, and sales
are made ndlscrminatcly to all; but each
customer receives q TIN ticket, upon which the
amount of his purchase Is marked, and at
the end of every three months these tlckcls
are taken up and u proportionate. share Of the
profits is divided among the holders. Ii, for
a. ftfC