New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-01-22

s,n,sn And venture to predict when the
n shall have recorded the VIII o. sne people
tie State have become thoroughly UNDERSTOOD, t9e
VIII viii sand as high as that OF any other State the
Union. Very respectfully yours ORR. q Mrxroan
Netc-Iork jan 10, 1855 LOUIS W. "UNfo"D'
ONE PHASE OF COOPERATION.
BEARING OF THE COOPERATIVE DRESS Assoc1A-
TIoN's FAILURE UPON THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE
OF COOPERATION.
To the Editor Of The Tribune.
SIR: Less than two years ago the Cooperative
Dress Association started its with, as is pro
moters and founders fully believed, every prospect OF
success. It's announced aim was TO save It's patrons
the ordinary sorekeepers upon their purchases TO
excise link Of the chain that connects and separates
producer aud consumer and I'm short to enable every
one of Its shareholders to be her own sorekeeper ana
make her purchases with comfortable assurance
that portion OF her expenditure would be returned 10
her after many days. in the shape OF dividend upon
her stock. To-day the association lies wreck lts
capital disspated and the principles which 1t pro-
fessed to be founded apparently dscredted by It's end
ing. The experiment has been tried and proved llr
urc and those who foremost TO prophesy bright
things when the association opened Its doors are no"
the first raise the cry that cooperation In this country
ct least, is not and never be success Ana just
because the Cooperave Dress Association pr01esscd 10
an experiment in the true sense OF the word-pecause
its founders claimed that ito success OF Isure "ouu
demonstrate the truth or fasehoOd of an important
social doctne-I think the conditions OF Its being ana
the causes of its downfall worth nquiring into FOR
if the association really represented the cooperative
princple-lf it was, indeed. properly organized al
tempt to bring producers and consumers together ana
it, its managers assert, the chief cause oil ts I"e
was thar consumers declined to avail themselves OF S
agency-then it is evident that American women are III
some psychological respect different from their foreign
sisters that the mental processes which determine he
actions are exceptional aud tat the motives OF economy
which lead EngllshwOmen by thousands TO the CVh
Army and Navy stores are poweress TO the
DETECTION of feminine footsteps on this side OF the
Atlantic And If this is so, II is surely worth while 10
know It,
The Dress Association, as have said avowedy pro
posed to exciseto every sense OF the word
the retail keeper The expression as 1t stands Is
vague one; but may render it more definite by recng
the with which the retail stOrekeeper taxes the
goods which he distributes the public Every dollars
worth that be sells is taxed by him for rent Tor wages
of salespersons and other employees for expenses oil
delivery for advertising, and finally FOR profit All
these various charges-and It must be confessed the
catalogue long oneare connoted as logiclans say
by the term storekeeper and in eliminating the store
keeper the Cooperative Dress Association proposed 10
save them to patrons. And II ia worth noting that
the association had and could have had. no possible
reason of being apart the saving OF these expenses
It's most enthusiastic friends never pretended that u
could buy cheaper than the merchants 1t was To sup
plant It's only and it's constant claim was that II coud
sell more economically. With this object in view The
association leased heavy rental building situated
ON prominent thoroughre which had been erected OK
nressy to be rented a storekeeper. II furnished the
interior of this building with fittings that would nave
left moi hing desired by the most ontepising store
keeper 1t engaged full corps of sorek epersempoyes
-saespersons floor walkers. buyers, superintendent,
etc II organized Il complete delivery depa' tment,
with wagons and all other things befttng. And finally
Il advertised largely inviting the patronage OF the gen
eral public In other words. II deliberately incurred
every expense the ordinary storekeeper Is subjected
TO- and compelled It's subscribers to contribute to every
item In the catalogue have recitei saving only the
single item Of profit for want of which last II dwndled
pesked and pned and finally vanished into the Limbo OF
| the Things that We're.
The truth Is that the Cooperative Dress Association
had nothing OF cooperation about It, except only tho
name II a stock company, organized to trade In
dress and fancy goods conducting its business In pre-
cisey the the great retail stores with
which II entered into competition, and depending Tor
success upon precisely ne same hr0 cPd
upon the principles OF cooperation as ts most trlun-
p9qn s gcTe esTSE Of March 81 ISL ee appeared
letter from Mr. LOUIS r. Enrich. of the hrIn Of EhicD
Rrothers in which the weakness Of the Drcss Association
was pointed and ts ultimate failure predicted with
an acueness OF reasoning that events nave amply JuSl,
| red In that letter Mr. Zurich demonstrated that al
that the association cOnd possibly cave to lis members
would be the expen,e OF management AS represented 1y
the ordinary merchants proht; saving wnlch would
necessarily be fatal 10 the enterprise since proper man
could be had Otierw6 IMAM IN e6CDange
lar proper remuneration. Every commercial enter
| prise" wrote Mr.. Enrich, "needs a controlling
head This head possess the power OF orsaniza-
ton energy, industry absolute honesty foresight de-
clson and the capacity OF Judging ard controlling men
Whoever has given any thought ami consideration To the
subject need not told that persons uniting these
qualities very, very rare, and That ther services
| must be very well paid. That body Of workmen or
intending cooperation should ma SUCH
q man, that, having found him. they should put Inn
az their and bow to his Judgment, - chance OF
one thousand. II they do not, 1t means ultimate
The failure OF the Cooperative Dress Association, as
have said casts discredt upon cooperation IL can
be used az an argument neither pro con- and aids no
whit in the solution OF the problem OF the more ec0nomi
col distribution Of production And yet the experiment,
# rightly viewed, is without It's uses. The closing
paragraph Ehrich's letter. above referred
cites he lesson may teach cherish tue hope that
the participation In such cooperative enterprise Will
ope the eyes the very large expense attend
lug selling OF goods at retail that 1t VIII make them
realize their wardrobe necessities
nave hitherto been supplied thai In word, II VIII lead
10 higher and genuine appreciation OF the fair
ness energy sud enterprise Of the retail drygoods mer
chants OF the city OF New-Yc.%" Very respectfully,
Nec York, jan To- 1883 g. NJ
| MR.. GORDON AND THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH