The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-03-29

HIS Paper-The question OF Taxing
Auditing Property Owners Announced
for the Next Meeting.
The audience room of the Commercial
Association was comfortably filled last
night by prominent business men, anx-
ious to hear Waller P. Huff's paper on
cooperative manufacturing companies.
After an introduction by the president
he read the following:
Gentlemen of the Commercial Asso.
ciation:
81 am sorry that my time has been 80
isfactory paper on the important SUBJ
ject OF cooperative manufacturing as l
wish to. The duty was imposed on me
when l least expected it, and at the
time of acceptance l felt my inability
to do the matter proper Justice, but it
has been we'll said: No one knows what
he can do until he tries Where there
is little there IS but little expected.
Cooperation is big word. What
could any individual do without the CO.
operation Of others? Suppose Roanoke
and Ballahack had population Of one
each, what would be their prosperity
world? They would be like the wild
man of the woods, all hair and hide.
cooperating manufacturing enter
prises are, of late years, becoming to
be successful. They would and should
have been successful from their con-
ception had experience and business
brain organized them on the principles
of to-day.
''We all know the rise and fall of the
cooperative enterprises of the Changers,
Turner'S Alliance, knights of Labor
and hundred other mismanaged and
badly organized institutions. The main
bad feature in the management of the
institutions mentioned was that thew
wero too selfish with their own good
thing and they wanted to control every
thing, even politics; at the Same time
not associate with the progressive world
who did not think like they did. Of
course this limited their progress and
patronage and brought about failure.
Incorporation means anything butsel-
hshness. Buck together with an all
hand pull pronunciation is the plain md
straight meaning OF cooperation.
long to see the time when the farmers
and working people of this common
wealth can form associations that will
be beneficial, but they can never do it
and accept the CO operation of sympa-
thetic capital and influence outside of
their own avCcations.
why should cooperative manufactur-
ing com panies be more successful than
individual companies? Because in CO.
operation there is strength. For ex-
ample should we form q company of
1000 people paying in 81 per month
each for three months, making O capital
stock of $4,000, and put this in broom
factory, we would have 4,0t0 customers
to start with, besides their influnce,
amounting to thousands more. Should
this institution be run by an individual
he could only depend on his individual
influence and patronage.
at seems TO me that company con.
tanning the most stock holders and
charging the smallest assessment
would be the most successful. Should
every citizen in Roanoke pay one dollar
per month for the encouragement of
small manufacturing enterprises, he
would make better citizen and feel
more interested in the growth and up.
building OF the city, besides he would
not miss his expenditure. There are
very few people who have become
80 financially depressed that they can't
spare ono dollar per month for such
noble work as building up their own
home and own town. would suggest,
should cooperative movement of this
kind be lnaugurated, that sha res of stock
should not represent over 81 each, and
that receipt for that dollar be printed
in form as a stock certificate and that
small industries employing women and
children would be more preferable than
those employing men.
Roanoke is badly in need of enter
prises for the employment OF women
and children. There are plenty of our
mechanics working in our larger enter
prises on go d salaries who cannot save
dollar or own their own homes, as
their unemployed families of women
and children are so largo that they con-
sumo all their earnings. l would also
suggest that Ill en- ploying labor in
these institutions that they BIO required
to take one dollar, or as much more
stock per month as they might wish,
thereby becoming part owners, and
they would take more interest in the
welfare oil the enterprise.
IA limited time keeps me from making
any real detailed suggestions as to plans
for the organization of company of
this kind. Besides think there are so
many different plans it should be got.
ten up by committee Of our best bust
ness men, who know how to calculate
success. Some are organized like saw.
ings banks, some after the various
plans Of building associations and other
like concerns"
Mr.. Huff then read a lengthy published
| letter from ID. A. Tompkins OF Char