The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1880-05-29
CO-OpERATToN
~ee from Past Master VIM,
MAXWELL. OF the Tennessee ssae.
Crange. =. -s7--'-'~ &C Ss"se

Orange. - 's"s'
Editor Patron. Sit down hsr.
you and all your host of friends. I
is pleasant to talk about orr coz
| mon, mutual and individual interas+
.nis work in which we are all en-
gagged has more of common inter,
est INIT than any work we have eve,
oeen engaged in. What is ones in.
.erest is the interest of all; therefore
Il is most important that what one
knows all should know. You have
learned some things the rest haven't
and the rest have learned some things
that you do not know. People see
the same things in different lights,
not because there is any difference
IN the same thing, but because .peo.
PIE do not all get the same under.
standing of thing by the same line
of argument or the same facts and
figures.
Here is case in point. A Gus
toner or stakeholder will often oo
INTO a cooperative store and cavil
with the salesman about the price of
an article, and try to get it cheaper
than the marked price, thereby TAX
ing up the time of the salesman. for
getting that his time is their time.
because he is simply hirehand. and
the time the customer takes up NAV
cause the loss of the trade of another
customer, out of whose custom
profit would be made which would
pay part of the clerks salary; and
whatever part of the salary the other
pays, leaves that much more as profit
or dividend to come to you; (who
mean by you, is the first customer or
the one who is cavilling about the
price.) 1t is just this way: if you
hire man to work for you month
and agree to give him $40, and he
can do work for your neighbor at
the same time who is willing to pay
half of the wages, would you not be
acting unwisely to engage the hired
man in improbable cavilling that
would prevent his doing your neigh
boris work? And if the man can
wait on two others in the same time
and on the same terms, you would
all get your work done at an expense
of 81. so each, in place of each hiring
a separate man and paying $40
apiece, costing you $40 in the aggre-
gate in place of only $40. SO with
a clerk in CO operative store. He
is simply the hired man-hired by
the stockholders and paid by the Gus
toners according to the. custom of
each; then the more customers he
can wait on in given time, the less
will each one have to pay out of his
custom for that clerk, and you must
remember that he costs as much
when he is idle, or his time taken
up by cavilling customer, as if he
had been constantly employed wait
ing on customers who call for what
they want and pay the price without
a word, thus enabling him to sell $40
worth in the same time it would take
him to sell 81 worth to the cavilling
customer. Then it is this way: if
his wages wouldamount to 81 for
the time, that dollar would be equal
ly paid by the ten customers; where
as, if he sold but to one, that one
would have to pay all of the dollar
himself; so he would not only have
to pay all the goods cost, but he
would have to pay ST. more, SO that
the employees would have fund to
pay with, as the business must nee
essarily pay back not only the mon
ey invested, but also the expenses.
Then ask for what you want, get it,
pay for it, and leave the salesman to
sell to nine others, and let each Of
them buy a dollars worth, each
paying ten cents more than cost,
which will make each of your dol
lars worth cost you $I.Io, and is
enough to pay the wages; whereas,
if you take up the clerks time, his
wages have to be paid just the same,
and in order that there may be
something to pay it, you would have
to pay 81 for your goods, because of
the loss of the other nine customers,
or else there would have to be nine
more clerks hired to wait on the Gus
toners if all did as you do. In that
case. each one would have to pay So
on his goods that cost ST., thus max
ing the whole cost $40 in the aggre-
gate, whereas, if they buy and get
out of the way so one can wait on
all of them, the same goods would
cost but $II in the aggregate. In
this way, each renders mutual help
as well as helps himself.
Then, again: it is no manner OF
difference to the customer of CO.
operative store whether he pays Ioc
or ST. for what he buys more than il
cost and the expenses of bringing II
to him, the cost of distributing and
the interest on the capital invested
in the business, as all that is over
that is returned to the cutomers, each
getting the amount of profit on his
individual custom. And that money
invested and the expenses must O
necessity pay that, no matter who
does the business. Then here is thu
| way it works in cooperative bust
ness: IF these same ten customer
pay $40 in the aggregate for wha
they buy, and the cost and expense
of the goods amount to $II IN tn
aggregate, there is So profit. Tia
So is equally distributed and return
ed. an equal amount to each, becaus
each bought an equal amount, an
an equal amount from each was ia