The Russellville Democrat., 1884-05-01
The Great Ce-Operative Stores of Lon-
 don.

London has great number of coop erative stores. of all degrees of import ancc and with all classes of patrons. They are nearly all, believe, run on q modified cooperative plan. Among them are the two largest and most aris- tocratic stores of this kind iR Great Britain, tho Army and Navy Co-opera- tive Society and the Civil-Service Sup ply Association. Of the former. which Is. I suppose, the most exteDsive coop eratire store in the whole world. Twill 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 tradesmen who will furnish them to it's patrons at from ten to twenty per cent. discount for cash. So that prac- tically it keeps everything, Its price list which have before me. is bulky volume of 1.302 pages, handsomely printed and elegantly illustrated. and they print of this about 5c.0O0 copies twice year, and monthly circular giving any changes in price that may have occurred. To attend to their vast trade. they employ $500 men and 2O0 women. From the eleventh annual balance-sheet l gather the following facts with regard to the business of the Association for tho year ended January 3l, 1888:
 The share capital of the Association is S300. .000 only, in shares of five del lars each. though its actual invested capital is very much greater. arising from deferred interest payments and the irIyested deposits nf a savings bank, which is one of is features. and in which it pays four per cent. interest to depositors. Its receipts during the year were Slo,772, Jos, and its net profits S202. 606, or sixty-one per cent. of its share capital. Ne are not, therefore, surprised 10 hesr that the market value of its fiye-dollar shares is S2I.50. With that prudence for which great sorpora- tions are famous. modest dividend of five per eent only is declared. and the rest of the surplus is devoted 10 water ing the stock. under tke name ..defeired Dtnu> lDcit lsAt& t<tufi ttlA+I rNti waterings of fifty per cent. each. =o tha, the stock has been virtually trebled, The number of shareholders is l5.035. and the number of shares held by any one person s limited 10 5Ui. Only o.ii- eers of the army and navy are eligible to become shareholders, tut persons in troduced by lhem and approved of by the Board of Directors may become .'subscribsn '- that is, be allowed to purchase goods. Of these there are no less than 26.S59-not quite twice the number of shareholders. They have n.s sl are in the profits, and pay sL2j the first year and sixtv-two cents . year thereafter for the rivilege of trading.
 Ii should be mentioned that the Asso- citation has lately extended its enterprise to manufacturing for itself many of the articles which 1t sells, Last year ii made the following articles to ihe galns of S7 7iS.s10: Guns. traps. pc-1maItes1s, tin goods of all kinds. fAncy woolleH goods, printed goods. stamped goo Is. shirts. perfumerv. and watches. IL is managed by very wide-awake business men. and is .consts.ntly extending the sphere of it's usefulness. Its success is almost phenomenal vet its officers de- Slare that t IS simply the legitimate re- snlt sf large business done uitsom sedM coy. N + Posi.