The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-05-07
COOPERATION.
Letter from Past Master VIM.
Maxwell, Of the Tennessee state

ST. LOUIS, May ?, 1881.
Edftcy Patron. The wise fore
thought of the National Grange has
not been better shown in any of its
recommendations, than when it
recommended at the Chicago ses-
sion, that cooperative commission
and wholesale houses be established
in all the great commercial centres
at as early day as possible.
At that session the necessity for
it was seen and understood, and ex-
perience since confirms its wisdom.
Cooperative commission in the
Southwestern COOPERATIVE Associ
alton in New Orleans, the plan of
which formed the basis of the re
port of the Committee on Co-opera-
ton at that session, it being estab-
lished before, has confirmed the wis
dom of the recommendation and es-
tablished the correctness of the prin-
ciple If cooperation in many minds.
AS the National Grange saw then,
SO it is now. That is, it recognized
that it was not enough to have CO.
operation in one city alone, to the
end of the greatest good, it must be
in all, SO experience has demon
strated. In conducting co-opera-
tive commission in New Orleans it
has developed into a great order
system, those orders reach out for
numerous articles for which New
Orleans with all of its true spirit of
genuine liberality and wonderful
commercial sagacity is not the
natural source of supply. 1t is the
natural and best source for many
articles, indeed for all Southern
products and for the sale of the
great Southern staple, cotton, no
question of that, neither is there
any question that it is fast coming
to be the bond of union in interest
between the great Northwest and
Southwest, as well as subscribing
the best interest of the East and
North. That is, it is a place where
they will meet in one common in
terest, in proportion as the ''father
of waters, the Mississippi river, is
lowered in its bed and Strengthened
in its camel by the jetty system,
and its waters made a common SER
want and highway for cheap trans
portation to all; by way of which
exports and imports go and come,
on terms made comparatively with
out cost, by barges carrying down
the products of the western fields,
thirty eight train loads at time.
The only other thing necessary is
barges for cotton, in place of steam
palaces, built and kept up at an
enormous and exhaustive cost to
producers.
AS these facilities increase and
wants continue, constantly recurring
as they do and will do as fast as sup
plies exhaust, obtained from the
one or the other extreme of the
continent; and as the order system
through CO operation grows, SO will
the necessity of establishing coop
Grafton on the wholesale co-opera-
tive system grow more and more
into necessity. And it has already
grown into a necessity, by actual
demonstration to have it in St.
Louis, in direct working with CO.
operation in New Orleans, as well
as to have cooperative commission
in connection with it in St. Louis.
Owing to the railroad develop
ment going into cotton growing
districts of Arkansas and Texas,
whose natural market will be St.
Louis, because of no other outlet
convenient for it, some will neces-
sarily, and others may of choice,
send cotton to St Louis, and for
such cooperative commission bust
ness is as much desired in St, Louis
as it is in New Orleans for those
who send there. And to both CO.
operative wholesale becomes the
moe important and the more bene-
fetal when it is all one business and
under one management and one ex-
pense, inasmuch as it increases the
business; and as the business is in
creased under one management so
are expenses proportionately dimin-
ished. And this is not like the
great railroads, telegraphs, banks
and other consultations; only so
far as the management and whole
current expenses are lightened, in
that they are alike, after that they
differ. No, there is one other
feature in which they are alike,
the gains are the greater by the
consolidation, but in cooperation
the gains are all returned to the
the consumers, in proportion tc
custom; in all the others mentioned,
while the gaines are greater, it is
only SO much the more given to the
company or corporation, costing the
company less because of the con-
solidation and cheapened manage
ment, but it does not or has not
cheapened the cost to the custom
ers. Co operation does not and
can not afford to charge any less
than others, its charges must be the
same, must conform to custom in
charges; yet it does cheaper the
work if it gets custom enough for
the income at the regular charge
for business to be more than the
actual expense of conducting the
business. Because it returns all
that is taken in over the expenses to