, 1874-02-02
rho Different Methods Of Co.opcration-'-
Growth Of Cooperative Slores.
How to Manage Them, and the Profits
Thereirom-.-Draft Of Con.
stituti0n.
Homes in tho City rs. Homes In the
Conntry-..Snggcstfons Of Relief
Measures.
Strikes in Philadelphia..-1n
Utterances Of Con1munistio Agi-
tatorB.

Corporations.
Saturday evpuinE d meeting OF tito AtnaEa-
matcd Carpentors and Joinors' Society wns held
at No, go West Twelfth atroot, at which tho fol-
lowing lecture was delivered by 4. 3. Mason, Of
The TB1BuSE:
COOPERATIVE sou1ETIEs.
There arc threo kin(s Of productive cc-opcrh-
two nocietieB, those In which tho worl;tno arc
III partnership with tl1eir employers; thoHe In
in which other cooperative soeietics are tho chi
rloyers. An example Of each kind will DO given.
First. when masters mud mcn arc In partnership.
In 1866, the Briggs Brothers. ownora Of thrco
carrying. on, constant fight with their
mon. Tho latter wcre often OIL o BtrkD
for weeks at a time. 4 boy, by tosBiug up Ills
:ap and shouting, "Iot'a lave holiday" would
They scrawled OH the walls, "All coal owners IL
devils, but Briggs il tho priuco Of dovils." Tho
profits Of tho miucB sero sometimes not more
than Or pcr cent d year, for the expenses
were enormous. Tie ulen wasted supplies,
TOOLS etc.. md tl,e cost Of keeping the pits clcer
Of wntor WAS $1,000 dny.. When there was q
atriko This was. Of course. dead loss. In 1866,
tho firm organized a joint-stock company. IT
sold about one-thrl the stock to it's employees III
slares Of $50 each, and allowed them to pay
to divide tllo net profits above 10 per cent
equally between itself antt tho men, Tho result
was that strikes ceasot dissatisfaction vanished,
and monoy was made by both sides. At the end
Of tho iirst year. MI tho stock Qncludins, Of
course, that held by tile men) received diyi-
dcnd Of 10 per cent aud there was n surplus to
be divided Of ,00U. At tho end Of the fourth
year, the diyisiblo surplus waa SN, 900. In
Paris there il great organization Of painters,
which WnB begun III something tho sa1no Tay III
1884 by q Monsieur Lccairo.
TIE woLyEnuAMrroN rLArE-LocK WORKS
BRO an example Of the second kind Of co-opea-
simple: There wero q number Of p1atc.lock
manufacturers ut Wolyorhanpton Ono Of the
masters cut down wages to below tue starvation
point and hts workmcn struck. Tho other mss
lnntoasl Of spending their time IN idlonees,
resolved to be theuceforth their own masters.
They clnbbed their acauty savings, which were
fortunately largo enough, whou united, to buy
work The masters Ind a large Rtock Of gooda
on hand. They put down their prices. below
cost. Ti1o mon were helped little by the
Trades-Unons. I'hoy just managed to live:
This fight went OH for months. 1t wont on till
the workmen had pawpea almost everything
they hnd. Some Of them lived on conts day!
At Inst it seeu1el ss if they must give up. They
made good locks, hut, low rs thoy put tleir
pricos, The 11antors put theirs 10, lover st.l So
iishcil an appeal for help. They told, in simple,
strong worda, how they had struggled, how they
had right on their aldo, how they lat suffered,
how they must yield. unless somebody would
tend them money to live upon until the
London subscribed tho necessary sum. It en-
abled tho men to live aud to work. At last their
triumph came. The masters had sold tleir
enormous stocks nt = great loss. And yet they
they gaye up the fight. Tho men began to sell
1nofe aud more largely. Thoy made money, they
paid back the loan TINT bud saved than. they are
now tho ownots;of the great Workingmon'e Plate.
mind these two things It would have boon 4
failure had it not been for the help from Trades-
Uuious in tho first place, and tho loau from tho
Lonloncrs in tho aucond. Without these, tho
hard light would have boon nil in vain.
THE THIRD KISp.
There are great number OF productive So
cioi!es Of tho third kline, those that have been
started by other cooperative societies. Among
tllom aro largo corn nnd cotton aud Iron mills
cnginc-worksb, etc., They aro. almost uniformly
::s5Oou0 Inst year. These facts teach many
LESSONS. First, tho best way for workingmen to
cooperate in work ID to form an industrial
partnership with ther employers. Then they
thoRo gains are large. They have tho benefit,
too, Of iirst-class management. Tho second
lesson is that tho most dangerous form Of pro-
dnctiye corporation III when tho men
sss sn ous4ses ss M %hs S ffis' il naof's 5t sa e a
discourage the Co-opcratiye Building Sucioty
which nono Of the Chicago carpenters have
formed It is worthy enterprise. and It's Sue
cess il to be hoped for. But ita NOM
tbs general hostility that is fot for worltlng-
mcl's movements, (2) tho special opposition Of
the contractors whom they try to supplant, (9)
their inexperlenco Ia management, mid (4) their
that money must be had to insure huccesB. Tho
greatest cooperative productive enterptises arc
those which tho cooperative stores have startod
with their profits. SO store il not Il riyal Of q
shop. 1t is Il help to it, for 1t accumulntes the
nunoy tnat makes the shops success acertainty.
While it III hard to Htatt q cooperative shop, 1t
iH easy to start q co-OporAtiye store.
COOPERATIVE STORES.
The history OF two such btorou In England
sill chow how easy it IL. It was Oil q wct iosgy
November dry that O few clerlsa in tho great
Lon,lon Post Olllco decIdcl to bny Home leu to-
gotner. Each ordered n certain amount, and
Eave the money for it to one Of tleif number:
nnd cnrriod 1t to the Office where all OF them
worked. 1t WAS put IN all ompty cupboard Md
divided among tho buyers atter office hours.
They saved IL or l6 costs OIL evory pound OF toa.
That WAS tho beginning oight yoara ago "Last
August 1 stood III All i.nmenae storo III Il fiue
part Of London and saw its tiue floors crowded
with buyers. It sells u ,000,0D worth Of goods
every year. Aud that, gentlemen, ~ tho CO.
operative store that began lesH than eight yeara
saved ts customers ouo-fth, ut least, Of all tcy
used to apeud for food, 1t has bought tue Bplen-
lid htore # occupies now, aud it haa reasrve
ago. Twenty-eght poor wchyors ii! Rorltlalo.
Eugand, saved all ttoy possibly conld for two
long yours. Then they Ind tubt s140. With tha
they hired aingy littlo room Il. linEy llttle
fow articles. Ono Saturday eyonlng Yoad Lano
vns flll1 Of q hOotiuE mob. which lju1 EAthorotf