Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-10-17
COOPERATION.
The Great stores Of London.

Correspondence New York Evening Post
In marked contrast to the dismal history Of
cooperative bookkeeping In America has been
the success Of the same attempt in England.
Here. although for many years its advance was
slow. 1t now makes its influence felt In almost
every department of commercial activity. 1t is
thirty-nine years since the pioneer cooperative
society was formed at Rochdale by the combin-
alton Of handful Of poorly-paid artisans,
who proposed to save what they could by buy
ing in quantity and distributing at cost. n
there was any profit, which the most sanguine
hardly expected, it was to be divided among
them, in proportion to the amount which
each man bought, SO that 1t was really
nothing more than device for eliminating the
profits of the middlemen from the cost of
articles Of consumption. In 1874 the year of it's
foundation, it had membership of twenty-eight
and capital OF S140. Its first years business
VAS $3.50, on which there was prefit of s11O.
It's membership is now nearly 10. COO its busi-
ness over 81, 800. 900, and its profits $500. coo
yearly. From the first its success was assured
The scheme speedily found imitators and ex-
tenders, and at the close of 1881 there were in
Great Britain ,1S9 retail distributive societies
In successful operation. These societies had
573 900 members, share capital of s2S, 739. 535,
and a loan capital of S7.4So.715 Their sales in
that year amounted to S101 1913 010.
CO-OPERATIvR SAVINGS.
question of great Importance and interest
Is the amount of saving effected over ordinary
retail stores. But this Is a matter which it Is
exceedingly difficult to get at. have heard it
variOusly estimated at from IS per cent to IS
per cent. Their price lists are easily to be OBJ
tanned and will furnish the specialist an idea of
the reductions in his own particular line. But
it manifestly would not do to assume that the
reduction Is the same on ali lines of goods or
even approximately equal. I think. however,
it would be safe to say that 1t is not less than 10
per cent Assuming this to be correct, it will
be seen that the saving to the patrons Of CO.
| operative societies in the cost Of goods bought
in 1881 was over 100000. Yet with this
enormous saving the net profits of the business
amounted to 60 TAT $50, nearly 10 per cent on
| the sales and 1913 per cent on the capital en-
ployed. The above statement. it will be
| noticed, does not at all include the wholesale
and manufacturing cooperative institutions,
which are by no means few or insignificant but
| with regard to which have not been able to
| secure reliable statistics.
Since cooperation started in the humble
manner which have described, it has. as waste
be expected. undergone some notifications and
| numerous extensions
When it became evident that the plan was not
only theoretically correct, but practically feast
ble and that its promoters were both obtaining
cheap goods and making good profit on their
invested capital. the number of those who wished
to share in these benefits rapidly increased.
Among them were many who had no capital to
invest in shares. or who would be able to pa
tronize the store for only limited length Of
time. Now as the store, in spite of its reduced
prices, made profit on everything it sold, it was
for the advantage Of the shareholders to
permit these people to trade with them,
especially as they were. willing to pay
| q bonus for the privilege. Accordingly
this was done under some restrictions by the
greater number OF cooperative stores especially
in the large cities. and where done the number
of these ''subscribers." as they are generally
called, who own no shares and have no voice in
the control Of the affairs of the company, soon
came to be much greater than the number of the
shareholders. and they furnished the great bulk
OF the profits. But it would be entirely unjust
to divide these profits from outsiders according
amount proportioned to his purchases, for his
purchases had nothing to do with this profit,
| which arose entirely Independent of them. 1t
must be divided as In any joint stock company,
in proportion to the number Of shares held; and
| this principle was soon applied to the entire
profit.
Thus, by the natural course of events, the
original purpose of cooperation, which was
simply the extinction of the middle-man's profit
has been lost sight OF, and the cooperative store
has become simply limited joint stock COM
pany. which buys and sells for cash only, and
gives to any one under certain restrictions and
limitations who is willing to pay cash the re-
ductien in price which cash system permits.
London has great number of these co-opera-
tive stores, of all degrees of Importance and with
all classes of patrons. They nearly all, be-
| lieve. run on the modified cooperative plan
which have described. Among them are the
two largest and most aristOcratic stores of this
kind in Great Britain. the Army and Navy Co..
| operative society and the Civil Service Supply
| association. Of the former, which is, / SUPPOSE
the most extensive cooperative store in the
world, will give you short description.
THE ARMY AND NAVY SOCIETY.
1t 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 al
every article ever offered for sale. There are
however. some things which the store does not
keep. But it publishes list of tradesmen who
will furnish them to its patrons at from 10 to 20
per cent discount for cash. So that practically
it keeps everything Its price list which have
before me, ia bulky volume Of 1902 pages.
handsomely printed and elegantly illustrated,
and they print of this about Sc. 600 copies twice
year, and a monthly circular giving any
change in price that may have occurred. To
attend to their vast trade. they employ 8 500
men and 200 women From the eleventh annual
balance sheet gather the following facts with
regard to the business of the associations tor the
year ending January 81 1888.
The share capital Of the association Is $500 600
only, In shares OF $5 each, though its actual in
vested capital is very much greater arising from
deferred interest payments and the invested de-
posts of savings bank, which is one OF its
features, and in which it pays4 per cent interest
to depositOrs. It's receipts during the year were
1O,772, 106. and its net profits 500 $685. or 81
per cent of its share capital. We are not, there
fore, surprised to hear that the market value of
its IS shares Is $3.50. With that prudence for
which great corporations are famous, a modest
dividend of 5 per cent only is declared, and the
rest ofthe surplus is devoted to watering stock
under the name deferred bonus" There have
been four such waterngs of 80 per cent each, so
that the stock has been virtually trebled. The
number OF shareholders is Ii. 0S5, and the num-
Der of shares held by any one person is limited
| to 500. Only officers of the army and navy are
eligible to become shareholders, but persons in
| troduced by them, and approved of by the board
of directors. may become ''subscribers"-that
| ls, be allowed to purchase goods. OF these
there are no less than 26, S59-not quite twice
| the number OF shareholders. They have no
share In the profits, and pay S125 the first year
and e cents year thereafter tor the privilege of
| trading.