The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-11-26
COOPERATION.

OFFICE ST. LOUIS BRANCH OF THE S.
w. Co.oPERATIvE ASSOCIATION, -
ST. LOUIS, Nov. I6.
Editor Patron: The St. Louis
Branch of the Southw estern Co.
operative Association, as well as
the New Orleans Branch, arc lust
simply branches of business, or All
association with the two branches
to do business like any other firm,
with a Branch House in st. Louis
and another in New Orleans. They
do business like other firms. But
few firms, with two branches, carry
stock of goods, or at most only
one or two lines.
People sond them produce on con
signment, and order what they may
want from their homes, on their
plantations, or in their stores
What they have not in stock they
send out in the city and buy to fill
the order, and because they are in
the city and filling more orders than
any single merchant who comes to
the city, they buy cheaper than any
merchant could buy, and then
charge the one who ordered the
usual price a merchant could buy
it at, and most all charge a COM
mission in addition, and all that is
made belongs to the man to whom
the order is sent, and it is not
stra- ce that the man who gets con
sign.nents of produce to much ex-
tent and large and frequent orders
to fill soon accumulates largo profits
in city business. And though
the city man accommodates, still he
can furnish the people for whom he
does business at saving TO the
man sending itabove what be could
save were be to be at the expense
of going to tho city for what be
wants, and were he to go he could
not buy any cheaper, and some
times not as cheap, as the city man
sends it TO him. And ten chances
to one if he went the city man, or
some city man, did not get rebate
or discount on every bill the coun-
try man made, because a man all
the time in the city if he is in bust
ness becomes reliable as to giving
Information as to whore the best
goods and the best prices are. And
hardly any one unacquainted com
ing in the city for goods will not
call on some acquaintance for i'm
formation and productions to the
best men and whore the best bar
gains can be had, and courtesy, as
we'll as business interest, prompts
the house to which a customer is
introduced to give the one intro
ducing the customer com mission
on the bill.
Some extremely self-confident
men think they avoid ali that and
that no one gets any com mission on
their bill. Such are only deluded
by their own over estimate of their
shrewdaess; or, if they biunder into
house alone, they are caught by
some leading article, as bait, with
which they are familiar, and bit
with some other line with which
they are not acquainted; or if they
get their bill without any one get
ting a commission they get it no
cheaper than when a friend goes TO
introduce them and gets his COM
mission for the introduction. The
difference is the man from whom
they buy makes to himself that
much more. You will see no winks
and mods between the seller and
your friend, that is understood be-
fore hand.
Then co operation proposes moth
ing more nor less. it can not afford
| to do otherwise than to conform to
custom and make money in the
usual way, and as much of it as
other people; but after paying the
| expenses of the business co-opera-
ton returns the profits to the GUS
toners in place of the man keeping
it who does the business for you.
Then If the consuming and pro-
| ducing world aoiU 1t, they can do or
have all their business done on the
co operative plan, and by that save
all except the necessary and actual
cost there is in conducting the busi-
ness, that is all that there is an
actual necessity for them to be out.
There is expense in busl ness, una-
voidabIy so; but in all instances the
greater the business the less the ac-
tual expense in proportion. There's
| fore 1t is a matter of business in
tercst io~ every one who sends bt1si-
ness t. Co operative Associate n
TO get every one else possible to
send business there too, for it is bis
own business, and the next man in
turn becomes equally Interested in
getting others to send, thereby be
getting a voluntary system of drum
ming, and soon the enormous ex-
pense paid to the tremendous army
of drummers in the world will be
dispensed with, and all that sum
saved to the consuming world who
now pay every cent of it, and com
plain all the time at the cost Of that
system. The remedy is with the.
consumers, and Cooperation is the
medium, If the people, the con
sumers, will use one half the indus
try that the drummers use and will