Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-06-01
COOPERATION.
ITS working Elsewhere : Will 10
!. work well Herc7

Cooperation is the only system through
which workingmen can achieve inde-
pendence. 1t has succeeded remarkably
we'll if all we read be true, in England
and Germany; but we are not certain
that it will succeed here, for the simple
reason that every man seems to care fol-
himself alone, and forgets all about his
relations to his neighbors or fellow-work-
men. Our system is not only calculated
to make the rich man richer ndthepoor
man poorer, but it gives every advantage
under the sun to the loafer. and the
dodger, and keeps the skilled producer
externally in the back ground, This OF
course is to be lamented, and it can never
be remedied as long as worlimen listen
to the talk of smart chaps who are looking
after nothing but their own aggrandise-
ment The only way to beat theidler is for
a number of men of the same calling to
club their little means together and start
in business for themselves--in fact,
become joint laborers in conducting q
trade or factory they know something
about. By this means our mechanics
can build workshops and while they
earn good livings, will at the same time
help the general community in its strides
toward progress and prosperity, IT.,
however, they heed the schemes of blab-
bers and run after the heels of charla-
tans, they will be forever in hot water,
and never come out of it until they are
completely scalded. Chaps who are con-
tinually blowing about the benefits they
are bestowing on mankind will, on close
scrutiny, be discovered to be grand ras-
Gals. Men-and especially workmen-
must help themselves, for none Others
will even attempt to help them without
the expectation of a rich reward. But
without further advice we will state the
workings of the cooperative system
IN ENGLAND,
where there are about five hundred CO.
operative associations, with an aggre-
gate membership of 10000, and 1000
cooperative stores, with working CAPT
tai Of 81 100000 on which they do a,
business of $50,00O,000, annually. A
majority of those associations were
organized and their stores opened during
the year 1860, but so rapidly did they
spread that in 1861 they had working
capital of nearly s5DOO,00O, with which,
in addition to stores, they had started
and in operation three large factories.
In 1863 the sales in these cooperative
stores amounted to S45, 100000, upon
which the shareholders realized profit
of 81, 100000. In 1865 the eight socie-
ties alone Of the Rochedale, Bocup,
Halifax, Oldham, Bury and Manchester,
numbered 24,4l4 members, with a
property of over slOOO,OO0, and a
business of s3,50O,OOO annually. The
little band of Rochedale pioneers had in
creased in 1865 to 1926 members, and
the original $75 had grown to be s379,-
472, upon which during the first quarter
of 1866 they made sales of S255, $50, on
which they had realized a, profit of
II $40 per cent In 1862 this Society |
had eight branch establishments in the
town of Rochedale, in which the aggre-
gate sales amounted to 100000. These
stores include three boot and shoe,
one clothing and five butcher shops
besides the original one, in which rich
assortment of dry goods, carpets, artif-
cial flowers, etc, are kept always on
hand. The FIVE butcher shops bought
1853 head of cattle in 1862, from which
they sold 539s6ll pounds of meat
The three shoe stores transacted bust
ness amounting to $4,000 during the
same period. The aggregate amount of
sales for twenty-one years, dating from
the start in 1874 to 1864, was $6,474, $50,
upon which 1851 500 profit, about 10 per
cert, had been realized.