The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1880-05-29

aitCi lnat every cents worth of ciys
tom is profit; so The more custom
the more profit. Then the more Gus.
tom one gives to cooperative bus;.
ness, the more profit he gets; which
Is right, because the more custom he
glves, the more of the expenses does
ne pay. So every Customer to co.
operation becomes at once an int
rested drummer for that business.
1t is his own business.
No one in reach Of cooperative
store can afford to buy from any
other store, for all he pays for an ar
ticle IN the latter above the cost and
expenses belongs to that store and is
retained by it, and the more he BUYS
the more does he pay above cost and
expenses, for he pays little on ev.
cry article, which aggregated makes
large sum. 1t may be but little on
each article, yet it is all gone and
none of it paid back. In co-opera.
ton, this profit is gone only to the end
of the quarter in which he bought.
Why, here is merchant right by
my side who tells me that when he
needs an article kept in his store, he
never thinks of going to another
merchant to buy that article, neither
does he ask that it be sold to him
OUT of his own stock cheaper than he
sells to other customers. He says he
knows he pays profit on it, but that
the profit all comes back to him;
that it is no difference whether he
pays 75c or r for an article at retail
that cost 5oc. at wholesale because
he gets the profit. And it is just the
same to customer of a cooperative
store. The profit on all he buys is
returned to him at the end of the
quarter, so there is no difference to
the customer of such store whether
he pays 25c. or 5oc. more than
thing costs: whatever the profit, it
is returned to him, and he is only
out of that profit to the end of the
quarter. During that time. if there
is not money in stock to supply the
wants of all the customers, it will be
as stock to supply their wants and
secures that much more custom, ev-
cry dollars worth of which will pay
its PRO rata part of the business, and
thereby increases your own and ev
erybody else's profits.
Neither can a cooperative store
offer to sell goods at anything less
than the usual per cent profit in the
same neighborhood, any more than
any other merchant can afford to
propose to sell cheaper than other
merchants. For as sure as a man
proposes to do that, just so sure will
all merchants in his reach combine
against him and sell cheaper than he
does till they run him out, and it
will not take them long to do it.
Then, having command Of the stu
alton, they sell at their usual prices.
Business men know that; therefore
they do not undertake to undersell
every body else in everything. They
do often make specially of some
one leading article, and offer it under
the usual price to catch unwary Gus
toners, but they aim to and do make
it up on some other article you buy.
1t has not been over six months
since a man did go to town of
large and active business, and make
this proposition to people who came
in to buy: "When you buy from me,
go out to the other stores, and if any
one will sell you the same quality
cheaper, come back and / will re-
turn you your money and you may
keep your goods, too" 1t was only
a short time before he had to bundle
up and leave. It was fun to run him.
No, sirs; do business like other
people; and when you make money,
do as you please with it, like other
people. That's what they do. IF you
make all your customers beneficial
ries, that is no body's business.
Fraternally, VIM MAXWELL.
Jackson, Miss, May 20.