Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-11-10
A COOPERATIVE STORE.
The Great Business OF the Army
and Navy Store in
London.
[London Letter in New York Post.

London has great number of these coop
erative stores, of all degrees of Importance
and with all classes of patrons. They are
nearly ALL I believe, run on the modified CO.
operative plan which have described.
Among them are the two largest and most
aristocratic stores of this kind in Great
Britain. the Army and Navy Cooperative
society and the Civil-Service Supply asso-
citation. OF the former, which is, suppose,
the most extensive cooperative store in the
world, will give you a short description
It occupies an immense four-story block of
buildings in Victoria street, in one of the
most fashionable quarters of the town, where,
in an interminable maze of apartments, are
kept almost every article ever offered for
sale. There are, however, some things which
the store does not keep. But it publishes
list of tradesnen who will furnish them to
its patrons at from 10 to 20 per cent. discount
for cash. So that practically it keeps every
thing. It's price list, which 1 have before me,
is a bulky volume of l, 3o2 pages, handsomely
printed and elegantly illustrated, and they
print of this about $1,000 copies twice a year,
and monthly circular wing any changes
in price that may have Occurred To attend
to their vast trade, they employ $500 men
and 200 women. From the eleventh annual
balance-sheet 1 gather the following facts
with regard to the business of the association
for the year ending January 81, 1888:
The share capital OF the association is $780,
O00 only, in shares of So each, though its ac-
tual invested capital is very much greater,
arising from deferred interest payments and
the invested deposits Of a savings bank, which
is one of its features, and in which it pays 4
per cent. interest to depositors Its receipts
during the year were $40, IT,, los, and its net
profits S202, COG, OF 81 per cent of its share
capital. We are not, therefore, surprised to
hear that the market value of its So shares is
S27. so. With that prudence for which great
corporations are famous a modest dividend
of 5 per cent. only is declared, and the rest of
the surplus is devoted to watering the stock,
under the name deferred bonusn There
have been four such waterings of SO per cent
each, so that the stock has been virtually
trebled. The number of shareholders is
Is. 035, and the number of shares held
by any one person is limited to 500.
Only officers of the army and navy
are eligible to become shareholders. but per-
SONS introduced by them and approved of by
the board of directors may become Sub
scriberS is, be allowed to purchase
goods. OF these there are no less than 49,
o59-not cutie twice the number Of share
holders. They have no share in the profits,
! and pay s125 the first year and 62 cents a
year thereafter for the privilege of trading.
1t should be mentioned that the association
has lately extended its enterprise to manufac-
turing for itself many of the articles which it
sells. Last year it made the following articles
to the value of S744, $40: Guns, traps, port
manteaus, tin goods of all kinds, fancy
wooden goods, printed goods, stamped goods,
shirts, perfumery and watches. 1t is man
aged by very wide-agake business men, and
is constantly extending the sphere of its use
fulness. It's success is almost phenomenal,
yet its officers declare that it is simply the
! legitimate result of large business done
| without credit