Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1877-04-28
GRANGER'S DEPARTMENT.
.na- The Directors of the Grange
Store will meet at Duffield's, saturday
MAY 5, at o o'clock, A. NJ.
,.xcE MEETINGS AS ABUSI-
NESS EXPEDlENT.

MEETINGS As ADJUST.
HES. EXPEDIENT.
rh. ,mnortance of grange meetings,
oons;Sared solely az part OF the bust
',OSS ;nstrumentulities of the Order, is
not always fully appreciated. Some
members, holding the Order valuable
only as money making institution, are
inclined TO neglect their oranges and
grange meetings because the oranges
and grange meetings seem not to contri-
butte any thing towards increasing the far
mers income and lessening his expendi-
ture. These same members are ardent
and faithful enough, perhaps, In their
support of business agencies and CO.
operative stores; and would be equally
ardent and faithful in supporting their
oranges, could they see any money ~
oranges. But they think grange !,
OF any benefit, Of only educationai anu
social beneft-sorts OF benenoiainesS
for which they do not care enough 10
give themselves any trouble 10 oo'a'"
them. ,el;
Without encouraging or defending
these Patrons in their 6ellet that INC
grange meetings are not OF su'li S
Value, simply on account OF their edlca.
t;onaI and social advantages, 10 warrant
ony expenditure of time or trouble III
attending them, we desire " SHOW
them that the subordinate oranges and
GRANGE meetings are an essential part vi
The business machinery ct the Order,
and cannot be neglected without great
" iniuring, if not destroying, all our
business enterprises. :,
Under some circumstances, good
system of business co operation Is pos
sible without the aid of oranges or
similar organizations. The English
system of cooperation is of this charac-
ter. Under that system each co'opera-
tive association is independent, except
so far as all the associations are united
under Central Board. The coop
orators are the MEMBERSHIP stockhol-
ders-ot the associations; all other peo-
ple are outsiders. With us, on the con
trary. the co operators ID any grange or
Patron business enterprise are al
Patrons who are interested in 1t, wheth-
CT as stockholders or simply as custo-
mers. An English cooperative store is
run for the benefit of all persons who
nav into the treasury Of the store GER
lain sum per week; Patrons co-opera,
live store is run for the benefit OF all
members of the Order, and, leaving out
nf view the remuneration to stock-hoI-
1lers, As much for the benefit OF one as
another. In England the store asSocla-
sion is the main association; with US
II is = subordinate association. In
ENGLAND certain persons have formed
themselves INFO an organization for
cheaply supplying their own wants;
here a certain organization has formed
certain companies within itself for the
purpose of cheaply supplying the wants
Of 5li It's members. Hence, while
meeting of the mcmbers Of an English
.co-oprrative store association includes
all the persons directly interested in the
store. a meeting of the members OF a
Patrons supply-house association does
not include all the persons directly IN
terestcd in the supply house.
If tie meetings of the stockholders OF
Patrons supply-house includes only
small portion OF those who are directly
interested in it. then there must needs
he some other meetings and some other
association into which the other Or all
interested parties may come. Such an
association We have in the subordinate
grange, and such meetings in its meet
ings. Into the subordinate oranges all
the co-operators may come and confer
together; the meetings of the stockhol
ders being simply in the nature at meet-
ings of the managers. Ii the Patrons
customers stay away from their grange
meetings, they leave everything TO the
stockholders-,he persons whose in
teresis are in measure antagoniStic TO
their own; and the result is worse than
If the members of the Rochdale associa-
lion should never advise with or az
scmnt to control their directors.
Where subordinate grange is a
stakeholder in some business company
,he necessity for frequent aud well at
tended meetings is still greater. The
members have then 10 confer with one
another, both in the capacity of custo-
mcrs and in that Of stockholders. They
have then rights as buyers aud rights as
sellers Is lcok after A delegate must
be appointed 10 each meeting of the
stockholders; aud the delegates must re-
celve instructions from their grange.
In addition TO the above there is an
other reason why our business success
depends largely on faithful attendance
at the grange meetings. While lii
England the co operative associations
are mostly associations Of persons living
i'll the same town, with us they are as
Sociations of persons living 10 The coun-
Try and apart from one another There,
most of the co-operators are within
few minutes walk of their cooperative
store; here, they are usually several,
sometimes many, miles away. Hence
in Englaad, each co-operator, as rule,
receives the full advantage of co-opera-
ton simply by patronizing his co-opera-
tive store; while here the greatest pos
s;ble benefit from cooperation is often
times to be- had only by the customers
of a cooperative store uniting and max
ing their purchases from it together.
In other words, the English co-opera-
tor usually cannot save anything by
combining his individual orders at the