The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-10-18
Gl-OPERLT!lN m NEN N0RE.
1Fs pRoBABLE FUTURE.
DIseeuraslns History In The Past-Ths
Preseat AWakenlBE-A Glance al the
English Societies and Statistics what
I. Doing In the Matter IN New York To.
NEw YoRk, october 10, 1s7o,

} nay
: NEw YORk, October 10, 1870.
. Considering the unanimity with which
; cooperation Is praised TO the Skles a The
remedy for all our difficulties, real or i'm
! agined, between labor and capital, II |,
surprising how few have been the steps
toward cooperation in this country. Last
winter Dr.. Rylance, one Of the most ener.
getc Of our Protestant Episcopal clergy.
men, took the trouble To advertise series
Of Sunday evening lectures on co-opera.
ton, inviting workiugmsn especially 10
be present. no entrance Zee was charged
and even the usual contribution was not
asked. How many workingmen-using
the word il common sense Of manual
laDorer-do you suppose were present at
these leCtures2 So far as could see,
not q dozen. Dr.. Rylance mentioned
this apathy In his opening address,
attrlbntlng the wholesale neglect with
which the cooperation Is treated in the
United States, to the general welfare and
prosperity which has until within the last
lew years attended Us as nation. We
have been too well.to-do 10 look after the
pennies. But how Is It with Us at pres.
entP Few mechanics attended Dr.. Ryl.
Rnee's lectures, but, judging from the
Awakening concerning theQuestion among
Workingmen's clubs, his words have had
elect with the liberal and philanthropic
men who are the originatots and main.
stays OF most Of these clubs. At present
three distinct schemes on foot having Tor
object the cooperative buyingol tho prime
neCesSArles Of llfe-ooal, meat, groceries,
and 30 on. With the rather discouraRing
failure Of the two or three cooper.
AtiYe stores which have been
established In New York dur.
ing the last fifteen yeau In
view Il Is rash to predict that these later
attempts will turn out any better, but Il IL
worth while and interesting to record
their present aims and their changes Of
success. Dr.. Rylance contends that igno-
rance oil cooperation Is one reason why
the laborer does not use this new agent;
therefore, i becomes Of Importance to
teach tho laborer, u possible, and 10 tell
him the story OF what has been done by
cooperation In Europe. To teach him,
the economist can get to him only through
the public press unless some phihnthro-
pist accepts DR.. RylanCe's invitation and
floods the country with pamphlets upon
the beauties Of cooperation and the best
way In which the mechanics can 10 10 |
work TO organize themselves into co.opera.
tive. societies. He considers Il NECESSARY
to force the Instruction upon them for
their own good, looking upon the laborer
as child 50 far as intelligent plans for
his own advancement are concerned; the
subject must be kept before him BY tho
Newspapers until tho pioneers lead the
way. Bryant used to say to his editorial
associates that tho power OF the preas
consisted largely In its power OF reitera-
ton; upon this principle the small baud
who believe that cooperation Is Just the
thing wanted by the city, will endeayor
70 keep the subj constantly In the pub.
lie press this winter. CaTlaIRly thu libOf.
ing mon Of New York are III bad straits
lust at present. for the last three years
many Of them have been living upon
the savings OF better times, or BY help
Of the pRwn.shops, which have never
done 80 large business as re-
Gently; Of course there Is an end
to that sort Of living, and that end has
been reached; only hard work and frugal
living will enable our mechanics to get |
on till better times. When an ablebodlel
man, willing TO work, eau make no more
than five dollars week, any aid, Inslyhat. |
ever shape It may come, must be ofSalne. |
] doubt whether the majority OF laborers
In New York hRYp mgde an average Of |
more than i've dOllaTs q week during the |
last year 4 dollar day Is now consider.
ed lat; aud hts tE'a !peky man who does |
not lose more than an average OF onts dGy /
a week from sickness, lack Of employment, /
or bad weather.
COOPERATION AS An IMPORTANT ECONOMIC
PRINCIPLE.
Acknowledging that there Is need Of
help, what has cooperation to offer us2
Judging by certain events In England |
should say, everything. No greater EVIL
dence could be cited in favor OF co-opera-
ton than the fact the retail shop.keepers
Of London appealed 10 Parliament not
three months ago to devise means 10 stop
the growth Of cooperative stores, as their
business was being ruined. Certainly the
retail merchants must have sorely felt the
competition thus 10 acknowledge the
straits they were in owing to this cheaper
means oil distributing the necessaries Of
life to the great public. It remains q fact
that In London, to-day, five families out OF
six belong to cooperative associations and
save thereby twenty per cent OF the cost
Of their food. What Is there to hinder the
success Of similar associations In this eoun-
try unless 1t Is the wilful improyilence OF
the consumers who prefer to sup
port an immense class OF useless
middle men rather than 90 10
the trouble Of taking more active part in
buying to the best advantage2 Nothing
could be more simple than the manner In
which practical cooperation was begun In
England: In beginning the lectures TO
which have referred DR.. Rylance said
when ten or dozen men buy chest OF
tea together and divide the contents
among them, they have solved q great
problem and brought into play great en-.
CINE oil economy and good. Apparently
The experience Of Europe supports the
Doctor In this enthusiastic view Of the
matter let rs hope that before another
winter passes we In New York may prove
its value here and lead the way, workmen
are like sheep and will follow; what is
wanted now is example 10 detail; the Ia.
borer must be shown Just how he can
save money, and how many cents he can
save on coffee, tea, sugar, etc, by EN-.
pl0ying the new methods which his hard. |
er pushed brethren across the water have
discovered.
THE GENESIS OF COOPERATION.
The beginnings Of cooperation read like
romance. In November, 1913, q dosen
poor weavers metone evening Ia the back
room Of a mean hoYel in IN obscure street
known as Toad lane, in the manufacturing
town oil Rockdale, England, to consult 70.
getheron the best way 10 better their con.
dltion. The result Of that evenings de.
alterations was the founding Of a society |
for cooperative trade which has since
grown into gigantic proportions, and has
become the parent OF 1900 other similar
organizations which now exist In Great
Britain, the annual profits Of which,
amounting TO millions Of pounds, are di.
vided among their members, mainly COM
posed OF workingmen. A paper was
drawn Up that evening, and signed
by these twelve mon, BY which they
agreed to pay twenty pence (iorty cents),
q week into the common stock. The object
Of the society-which vAs named the
Rochdale Society Of Equitable Pioneers
was the peeuhlary and social benefit Of its
members. can give my readers no bet.
ter notion Of how poor ihGis men wore
than hV saying thai twenty pence was
found to betoo much for them to set aside,
and that the weekly sum was put at four
cents week, and then afterwards raised