The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-03-27

inventive, but co operative stores have
not had great prominence with as as
yet; perhaps there viii be some use for
these documents even In Massachusetts,. -
The visit OF the poor workingman and OF
the American traveller to the RochdaIe
cooperative store, has thus resulted in
our both going away with pile OF docus
ments under cur arms and new star in
our hearts, star Of hope or the poor,
so far as cooperative distribution is con-
cerned.
Cooperative pTodu etion has not stood
very well in England, but, as an Amer
lean traveller, 1 look across the channel
and find it has succeeded in France,
There Is another K nd OF cooperation
that concerns banking. It has succeeded
well neither in England nor IN France,
but II has IN Germany, and so by enl re-
ing my view 1 come to these three pTopo-
sitions
1. To England there has been for
thirty yesTs great success in societies of
CO operative consumption.
2. In France there has been for TWEEN
ty five years great success in societies OF
cooperative production.
3. In Germany there has been for
twenty years great success in societies Tor
co operative credit.
20 vast theme can be glanced at here
and now only IN outlines, and I shall
con6ne myself to-day to cooperative
consumption.
These are the rules of the Rochdale CO.
operative store:
l. No credit; payment in cash.
2. Goods bought at wholesale and sold
at ordinary retail prices.
| - oool,
| customer, to record the amount of his
purchases
4. After a dividend of five per cent.
| has been allotted to capital, the surplus
! profits are divided among customers in
| proportion to the amount OF their pur-
chases.
8. Two and one half per cent. of the
profits is devoted to education. A very
valuable library belongs to the ROchdale
establishment.
What are the advantages of a COZ
operative store7
1t iii becomes me to follow the king
We are this morning honored by the
presence of the patriot and statesman,
Mr.. Quincy, who is founding a cooper
alive store in Boston. Loud applause.
/ remember what his ancestors did for
New England and for the United States
! Applause. But we are all agreed In
thinking that in founding institutions
here for cooperative purchase and sale,
and for cooperative loans and banking,
he is acting quite as significantly as ever
his ancestors did, or as he ever did when
standing in the breach and teaching the
nation its duty concerning slavery. APP
plause. In cooperation is the opening,
l believe, or certainly wicket gate into
| the path, toward the promised land fol
honest labor. / am no Socialist, but
am labor reformer. / am in favor OF
cooperation; and when grave men with
! the weight OF mighty careers upon them
come forward, and in this city, not given
to running after floating bubbles, advo
cate these schemes that have had 81
much success in England and France
and Germany, hope l shall be able tC
defend them without being subject to the
charge of opening a way to socialistiC
errors.
A cooperative store, arranged on the
Rochdale plan, has these advantages:
1. It has no bad debts.
2. AS all the goods are paid for across
the counter, q maximum OF business car
be carried on with minimum of capital
3. No credit is given, and none need
be received. Under a system of credit
the poorest are usually taxed fifteen OF
twenty per cent. to compensate the
tradesman for losses incurred through
the dishonest. Credit leads to improvi
dence. The expense of solicitation 0
payment is saved by the abolition Of tn,
credit system.
4. The stock bought is sure to be takel
} by purchasers, and so waste and loss ar
reduced.
5. Frauds in weight, measure ant
adulJer8tion are provided against, and
} is from these that the poorest consumer
| in ordinary trade suffer more than tn
, rich.
6. Efficiency and economy of time il
securing customers are secured.
z. Fair prices are the only ones posi-
, BILE.
: 8. All the larger expenses of advertis
ing. bill posting, and Of costly show
; windows, elaborate lighting apparatu
: and high rents, are greatly diminished
9. A spirit of self-help is promotes
among working men.
10. There is divided among the CO
| operators the ordinary net profits of tn
retail trade.
The protective union stores, whicl
; were in vogue If parts of this country
lew years ago, are an altogether d1Heren
affair from the ROchdale association. Til
method of conducting the former yer,
often led to disaster. But believe tina
there will be. within few months, a &C
operative store in Boston, avoiding a.
the errors OF the earlier establishment
called union stores, and gathering up a.
? the wisdom of the thirty years. experienc
! OF Great Britain in these establishment,
I and putting on foot here in New Englan
soil this young giant, who may have
career before him all the way from tn
Atlantic to the Pacific.