Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-01-18
Co.Operntion in Scotland.

residents in Glasgow, Scotland, under
took q cooperative scheme. Its great
success has proved its perfect practical
bility. l shall sketch its salient points,
in the hope that some Chicagoan may
be led thereby to introduce something
OF the sort in the Garden City. A cap
ital of e10, 900, divided into e10 shares,
was subscribed. The company was
then organized, and incorporated under
the laws of Great Britain as the I" Cen
eral Supply Association Qimited)."
By the articles of incorporation, its
management is vested in committee
of five. The committee is elected by
the shareholders. 1t consists at pres
ent of coal master, n merchant, man.
ufacturer, builder, and drysalter.
The details of the business are con-
Quoted by n manager, who is APP
pointed by the five directors. The
company opened a large grocery store.
1t has since opened another. At these
houses goods are sold only to three
classes of persons---the stockholders,
the people who have made themselves
"life members by the payment of 921,
and those who have made themselves
"yearly members" by paying Is. Cd.
! To the two latter classes non-transfer-
able tickets are issued. These may be
required to be shown whenever pur-
chase is made. Cash on delivery is the
invariable rule To obviate the incon-
venience of always sending money with
an order, the association receives de-
posits of not less than G5 at time,
against which it allows its customers to
draw. These deposit accounts must
never be overdrawn farthing. They
may be withdrawn at any moment.
The advantages of this system are OBJ
vious. The association, by buying for
cash and in large quantities, gets its
goods cheaply. Its members, therefore,
save in all their purchases, and make
sure of unauthorized articles besides.
All this. however, is but small part of
this admirable scheme. Arrangements
have been made with twenty-five of the
first firms in Glasgow. by means of
which the members of the supply COM
pany can buy from, the firms in question
at a reduction of from five to twenty
per cent. from regular prices.
The list of the leading articles sold
at these twenty-five places covers four
closely printed pages of pamphlet.
It is almost needless to say that this list
comprises nearly everything that man
can wish to have in, on, or around him.
To get the reduction for its members
the association pays nothing. 1t does
not even bind its members to trade at
these houses. It does, however, ask
them to do so, and self-interest makes
them heed the request. The merchants
are Unidentified in two ways---they Sc
cure constant increase of custom, and
their business becomes largely cash
one. AS L have said, the saving to
holders of Supply Company tickets
ranges from 5 to 20 per cent. Meat,
which sells here from I'D. to 16d.
pound, they get for a penny pound
less. The reduction on iron is II IL
per cent. on fancy goods Is per cent;
and on jewelry and groceries, 20 per
cent. After securing all these advan-
tages to its members, the General
Supply Company" finds itself at the
end of each half year with a surplus of
profits. Half of this surplus is used as
dividend to the shareholders. In the
eighteen months since they put in their
money they have received three divi-
dends of per cent. each. Of the other
half, part goes in salaries, expenses of
management, &C., and the remainder is
divided among the "life members, "
!. G., those who have paid in e21. The
division is made according to the amount
of purchases made by each during the
half year. 1t has, so far, been nearly
10 per cent. year.
Thus life member not only saves
twenty per cent. on whatever he gets
from the association two grocery stores,
and from five to twenty per cent. on all
his purchases from twenty-five other
stores, but he gets q dividend besides.
Suppose that he buys during the yeal
G200 worth Of goods, half from the com
! pany and half from the other firm. On
the former he saves EGO, OF the latter al
: least Gl0. His two dividends viii
amount to G10. The result is that his
investment of 81 has saved him EGO
and Melted him Flo pounds besides
Such statement would be incredible
were it not a matter of proof
| The association now has about 2,00(
: members, who represent nearly tina
number of families. AS the expenses o
g management by no means increase il
: proportion with the enlargement of bust
l ness, the prices of groceries, etc, ar
: being constantly reduced as the mem
= bership extends. This extension ha
o bsen the more rapid because it is TO
t the interest of every member to get hi
q friends to join. All in all, the "Gen
eral Supply Company" of Glasgow is
e most robust proof of the fact that coop
Grafton is both practicable and profit
g Chicago Tribune.