The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1882-02-11
Cooperation.

we near OF Some complaints in
the practical workings of the coop
erative business system, but from
the tenor of these complaints we are
satisfied that they are the result of
misconception of the principles and
purposes of the system.
The Rochdale co operative system
wa designed not so much as a
means for making as for saving
money, and especially for the protec-
ton and pro motion of the rights and
interests of the poor. These ends
were to be attained by returning the
profits on each customers trade to
the customer himself, after paying
the necessary expenses attending
the management of the business, in
stead of giving them to the mer-
chant and other middlemen, and by
dealing only in pure, unadulterated
goods. Under this system the dol
lar of the poor man has the same
value as the dollar of the rich man;
in word, justice and fair dealing
to all, the rich and the poor, the
strong and the weak, are cardinal
principles of this grand system. The
Rochdale cooperative plan is sim
ply perfect for all the requirements
of business or productive industry,
and there need be no failure and
no complaint if its principles and
purposes are rightly understood and
carried out in the true spirit
We will re-publish in full the
principles and rules of the Roch-
dale system as recommended by
the National Grange. We will
here remark that the respective du-
tives of the Boards of Directors and
Managers of business or industrial
enterprises operated on the Roch-
dale system are SO plain that there
ought never to be any clashing be-
tween them. The general manage
ment of such business comes neces
sarily under the direction and con
troll of the Board of Directors, and
the Manager especially is under this
control. A Manager who displays
capacity and integrity will always
command the respect and confidence
Of the Board of Directors and the
members of the Association, and his
opinions have due weight, but he is
| the servant or executive officer of
the Board, and in all matters in
volving the interests of the Associa
ton his duty is simply to carry out
their rulings and directions.
In the old competitive system, the
retail merchant will sell cheaper to
the large buyer than to the small
one, but in the CO operative system
this is not admissible. 1t would be
most unjust and opposed to the true
spirit of cooperation to sell to the
rich man at lower price and allow
him the same dividends on the gen
eral business that the poor man re-
ceives who pays higher price for
his goods. When Manager adopts
that plan and in his eagerness to
build up a large business enters into
competition with the merchants by
cutting prices and drumming for
customers, he departs from the true
cooperative plan and is on the road
to failure.
The only safe plan for any Coop
erative Association is to adopt and
rieidly adhere to the rules recon-
mended by the National Grange. If
those principles and rules have been
departed from in the organization
of Cooperative Association or the
management of cooperative store,
then the error must be corrected as
speedily as possible, or failure, with
IFS train of evils that are always SO
disastrous to the Grange, will be
inevitable.