The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-08

1880, only -FOUR survive, and none of them paid
any dividends during the past three years.
One docs not appear To have paid any interest
on the capital invested, either. This is in
part due to the general depression, in part TO
the introduction of machinery that has les
sened the demand for skilled coopers, for
which reason many have Withdrawn. The
shops do a business of over 500, 900 a year,
and could do all the work Tor the Minneapolis
mills, but the mills will not give II ali To- them
nation n once they secured all tho trade. 4
quotation from n report of the Minnesota Bu-
reau OF Labor Statistics suggests another ex.
planation, which, says the writer, applies
equally to many Illustrations OF cooperative
distribution. 1T may be worth while TO re.
mark that cooperation Ia not a religion with
for the benefit Of humanity. One OF them
might withdraw with his savings aud set him.
self up as proprietor OF n boss shop without tho
slightest twinEe Of conscience, or the remotest
change Of being charged with the sin of apos.
smaller shops did so, aud, failing, came back to
cooperation in Minneapolis without hindrancc.
Disaster has recently overtaken many o tho
Rockford, ILL.,. which are really Joint stock
companies, with small shares widely scattered
p%q" e 'h hSy S% Beeyn there M tho 'F tSndsn SSu Where sp,
every stakeholder has a vote, to keep up prices.
even ruinously, ut the expense of profits. The
the State mine inspectors to have brought
down wages in, Their, neiGhborhood by their
T wns dsIi' TO WINS andsF @nn sns fo mast OF c whsn tT@ao
In manufactures especially, are very little de-
velc pod In the United States In comparison
with Europe, on the other hand, our farmers
have made rs great strides rs those of Holland,
France, and In the mat.
ter of cooperatiye and fire and tor:
nado insurance companies. The success of
fratol nal lie insurance. and of our cooperative
banks, building and loan a, sociations, is well
q orange, the Patrons OF Industry. and the
Farmers Allianc,, which sometimes confine
t theIr msmn to- s ecu ngsl in ,r nnrcn discount mRn,o, d9r
and even establish cooperative stores. often eff.
fest n great saving for their members, direct
~ or by breaking trade combinations against
Distributlye cooperation proper had It's
American, birth In New England In the So
called union store In the years between 1S47
started; $50 Of them reportcd in 1857 an an
survives to-day. The early Grange stores OF
the Patrons of Husbandry, started in 1866:
followed their plan of limiting dividends md
selling n little above cost. and they followed
was started in Pbiladeiphia in Is64 on
pioneers failed for lack of interest in the
movement. Incompetent agents wrecked the
oldest cooperative store In The country the
this year. Only about a fourth of their in
estment was left to he stockholders. In the
asm swept over New England and other parts
OF the country, fostered by the Sovercigns OF
Industry during the brief history OF that or
ganization, from 1874 to 1850. Something
less than n dozen stores that were started
then remain yet In successful operation. Tho
movement at that time took root in Kansas.
The knights of Lab.r we're next in tho
field. Scores OF cooperative workshops. coal
mines, and factories that were started by
proper methods or past experience. The, few
successful ones were transformed into joint
operative stores opened by the Wheel and
Alliance in the Southern States from 1882
to ton rT "a. f 3esg sr pS Sss Sesiind u Of TG f%sn ]sSHDsEa,
associations started in New Jer.ey since 1879
only eight are now running, or thirty stores
versitv outside o. New England in 1855. TWEEN
ty-four have Disappeared. On the other hand
sixteen Sss"ci alto have stsrted since In ff,
society. tho johnson County Cooperative
Association or:olathe. Kan. and the Ham
grown and prospered Still. the total %co6pera-
tive trade outside Of New England was report
ed to be only 5000 900 in 1895. as against ST.
600, 900 In the societies. making returns in 1856.
In New England there are shown to. be to-day
twentv-six cooperative stores. nine Of them new,
with twice ms great a trade as ten years ago.
These work entirely on the Rochdale plan.
Goods are sold at the marked price, The shares
any. mcmber limited to 100. or esen forty:
Under the Massachusetts law no one can hold
over $1,000 worth q stock In a cooperative
prohibits share. under $50, and allows them
TO be $1,000. No one can hold more than one
who Is not n stakeholder. The various vaga-
ries of this remarkable statute prompts in
Pr. bemis tho observation that 1t Is evident
cooperation or intended to have none in III
nois. California enacted a Law of some value
iect has been slipshod and defective. Outside
OF Massachusetts,, Pennsylyan!a and New Jer-
sey are the only States that have any at all
A list OF twcnty.six New England socieries
shows a membership Of 2, 0e2 this yeNr. Tween
Joint business was sa,372,o 900. With some
known to exist. the total American member
ship today is at least $4,000. The trade OF
the New England societies averaged Slli.G3
per member In 1879; that of the others. S2l9,2l
per member. Including the Mormons' Zion CO.
operative Mercantile Institution OF Salt Lake
CITY,. which is not technically cooperative in
any full sense. Seventeen hu ldred and eleven
members. Averaged siso.7 Il per member en- =
has a larger proportion of members " ~coBpcra.
I'VE societies than any other American city.
bracing about 10000 persons. this being 80
per cent. of the city's population.
Our home advocates OF the plan might have
taken one lesson taught by NJ. Godin to heart
with advantage To themselves. i rust has
killed more cooperative stores In this country
than any other cause. The. thing is entirely
10 the principles. OF the movement.
but of IS American societies reporting, o
only gave no credit. The further west one
poorer tho chance OF ctGperat on. The reason
OF New England's success is largely her in
blHttlCt on cash. AZ "lIhI ll~h lnlS pIb-
grainme Is changed is shown by the experience
OF the second oldest cooperative society In the
country. the Sovcreig"s' Cooperative Associa-
zion ut Webster. Mass. For many years chief
among its bylaws was the rule, Never depart
from the principle OF buying and selling for
ready money" But Just before its failure last
year the manager, replying TO the question to
whnt extent the Association trusted. wrote.
limit. II IA man IL good for It"
Another cause OF failure Is Indicated by
an active worker, who points out how much
easier It Is for the American people TO Co
talk" than TO ''co- work" This simply means
that they are without the spirit OF cooperation,
u moral enthusiasm Joined 70 the results of q
careful study. by all the members. nf Tie under
lying principles OF the movement. Coopcra-
tion. snys DIR. Bemis. Is in spirit n sense of
brotherhood, and to n society devoid OF this
spirit financial success, through the accident
of Il good ma Niger, is likely TO prove %iestruc'
tive IN the end by giving birth TO n greedy de.
sire for gain rather than to those higher and
e.eyating ieolings' that ought Ia be the result
OF true and earnest CO0perGtion. Perhaps u
more frequent cause of failure yet has been the
lack Of n good manager and Of business canac-
fly among the members. ThiH, notOriOusly,
has afflicted trnles.un!On cooperation, which
has had no permanent success, though some
times proving n stop.gap during strikes. In
the United Garment WORKERS. Union, dis
putes over tho selection of officials and ut.
tenn ts To pay higher wages aud exact less
work than In rival shops, have wrecked many