River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1877-02-01
COOPERATION.
CONTINUED.

A glance at the situation, past
and present. conyinces me that the
time is suspicious for cooperation /;
that it is only very forward step in
the advance of the present age. a sta
ton and estate, directly in the path of
the higher condition of the intellectu-
al man; neither is it any mystery
that capital, learning and skill. and
the higher grades of intellectual avo-
cations. should have led in the art of
cooperation: and labor be left behind,
the last to embrace the advantages of
this most efficient agency. And. too.
1t is a plain fact, that among the
various fields of labor it has been the
humiliating lot of the husbandman to
occupy the rear. to be the laggard
even here.
But at last the farmers of our cOun-
try were so oppressed and weighed
down by combination of capital, trades,
and rings, in the shape of monOpolies,
taking from them little by little of
their earnings-the necessity had be-
come so urgent for seIf-preservation
that labor, and even the farmer, was
forced to beat about. and meet cOmbi-
nation with combination, skill with
skill, method with method, and Ell.
crOachment with protection.
And thus the Patrons of Husband
~, first organized for more social and
intellectual culture and enjoyment
were, by the onward current of human
events, forced into this business fea
ture, which, for thirty years and up
wards, occupied the attention of many
Of England's best and soundest oil
minds; and, to-day, like a rainbow Of
promise from shore to shore, the
wisest and best of Americas farmers
seized upon this hopeful opportunity
of the age of progress, convinced that
| the old adage of ''every man for him
SELF ETC., is in conflict with the tru,
sphere and dignity of manhood, and
that the old plan of rivalry and com
petition, TOO common among farmer
on account of isolation, is TO be sup
planted by the wiser view which rec
OgnizeS a reciprocity of interests be
tween men and their neighbors, and
the community in general; and, what il
best for the whole is best too for the
individual, and that farmers mus
| hencefOTth join in an effort to worl
| together.
The agents of the National Grange
have a system well-matured will
British cooperative societies for al
Anglo American cooperative asSocia
tion for the purpose of exchange anC
international commerce; and whel
completed, we shall have the goods di
rect from the manufactures of Leeds
Birmingham. Sheffield, and Manchest.
Ell unloaded at the principal cities and
trade centers of this country, anC
thence, distributed throughout TIT
country. first. TO the metropolis o.
each state or designated district, ane
thence to smaller districts or counties
wherever members of the order de
mand supply.
Aside from business matters, thu
true principle Of cooperation is cor
rect teacher in morals or religion, 70
it ennobles every one; it teaches low
for our neignbOr, and that the veal
as well as the strong have claims upol
our sympathy and help, and that self
ishneSs, cruelty, slandering and fault
finding are not ennObling attributes
In this field of true cooperation W.
find a substantial and limitleSS scOp'
for future work. .. ;.