The evening times., 1896-11-20
BREAK|NG BIC sYND|CATEs
Of Labor Describes Forms
Of Cooperation.
FARMERS OPPOSE TRUSTS
Agents Purchase and Distribute SUP
plies In Large Quantities in Order
to Protect the Working People
From Unlawful Efforts TO Force
the Prices Upward.

"Co-Operatiye Distribution" by Edward
| w. Bemis, PHI. ID. II is, in large part, as
| follows:
| MANY forms OF cooperation are very
| little developed in the United States. We
| have none OF the credit associations so COIN
| mon in Germany, nor the raw material so
| cieties for the cooperative purchase OF raw
| materials used in small manufacture, aisC
| common in Germany. We do not have The
| cooperative labor gangs or societies Tor the
| collective unde rita king OF contracts Tor
| public and private work, which are COM
| mon in Russia and Italy, while our co-opera-
| tive manufact uring is insignificant, com
| pared with the beginnings in Great Britain
| and France.
| The cooperative cooper shops in Mime
| apolis are unly moderately successful. or
| the eight shops existing in sS6 only the
| following four survive. Sharing in the
general depression, none of these have been
| able 20 pay any dividends during the
] past three years other than . per cent IN.
| terasl on tile capital in the case oi the TWO
older companies. ard per cent IN thc
case of the TWO others.
The Cooperative Barrel Manufacturing
Company, started in 1874, with small
paid-up capital, and "A membership of less
than a score, had a membership OF l 20 in
1885, and a capital of $50 ,0oO in 1883. II
now does business of about 81 90 600 a
year.
ne Ntf1D star fDdTTtI 'tiilD Hihil'h
In 1877, is now doing a business of about
S195, 900 a year on capital OF $i3, $50.
The membership was ~ i'll 1885, is 81
now and will soon be reduced to 10.
The capital, however, in 1855 was only
$40, 800.
THE Northwestern Barrel Company,
started In 1881, does a business of about
S100, 900 on n capital Of SlS,6CO. The
capital has increased somewhat since 1885,
but the membership has declined from 45
to 81.
The Hcnncpin Barrel Company, started
in 1880, new does n business Of about
S275, 900 a year on a capital of SAT- geo,
and has a membership uf 90. The capl-
tai was S3S, 900 in 1856, aud the mem
bership %
IT PREVENTS STRIKES.
s.The Introduction of machinery has led
to less need of skilled cuopers, and, there
fore, many have withdrawn. All the
members work in their own shops and
each OF the latter employs from twenty
10 thirty III machinc tenders dnd boys. The
cooperative shops could do all the work
for the Minneapolis mills, but the latter
refuse 10 give IL all to them even at
lower prices.
There may be fear OF combination If
the cooperative shops once secured all the
trade. IL the interesting account Of the
movement in the first report OF the Min
IS, IL is stated that the cooperative
workers, being capitalists. do not care To
strike. and, therefore, the journeymen in
the private shops cannot do so. When
wages fan. the cooperative workers can
stand IL better than the others. Attempts
To establish pooling arrangements between
all the shops have also failed. sometimes
through the refusal OF a cooperative shop
TO unite. ana sometimes through the break
ing of the agreement by some private shop
The following very significant statement,
taken from that report. deserves insertion,
as il applies equally to many Illustrations
OF cooperative distribution:
1t may be worth while to remark
that CO. operation Is not a religion with these
coopers. They are not experimenting for
the bencfitof humanity. OnCofthem might
withdraw with his savings and set himself
up as the proprietor of boss shop without
the slightest twinge of conscience, or the
remo.cst chance of being charged with
the sin OF apCstacy. The president of one
of The smaller shops had formerly been a
member OF one or two OF the Older and
larger establishments. and Withdrew to
found Il shop Of his own in another town.
He failed in the business for some reason,
and came back TO cooperation in Min
neapoiis.
THE WAGES.
.'Mr william Angus, graduate student
supplied many of the facts inth statement.
writes:
The Co-opcratives do not pay them
selves quite as high wages during the busy
season as the private cumpa nies pay their
men; but the wages amount To more By the
year. as the private companies generally
rush business for Il time and then Cl"sS up
entirely The wages of non-stock owning
employees are in every case exactly the
snrne as thosc Of stock owning emplo yes for
doing the same work: but in very few cases
are the Notwithstanding employed at the
same work. They are generally busted with
running the machinery, engines. etc, rough
out-of-doOr work, and. of course, here do
not receive as much pay
Outside of these associations. Scarcely Y
ANYTHING of the kind exists in America
The few small cooperative coal mines in
Illinois are said blythe State mine inspectors
to have Il bad effect on wages in their
neighborhoud. by their readiness to sell coal
mt any price when trade is dull. The So
called cooperative furniture factories Of
Rockford, ILL.,, are reali joint stock compa-
nies. with small shares. widely scattered
amongem ployes. Disaster hasrcccntlyo over
taken many of those AT Rockford Where
every stockholder has an equal vote. there
is some tendency to keep up wages, even
runously, at the expense of profits.
''On the other hand. our farmers have
made as great strides as those of HOlla nd,
Denmark, France or Germany in the mat
ter OF cooperative creameries and fire and
tornado insurance companies. Our many
very large fraternal life insurance com
panies are also cooperative. Our CO.
operative banks, or building and loan asso-
Citations, have already been investigated
by the department.
1.-The present study, however dc ais with
another great branch of the cooperative
movement which, beginningin England over
f
velopment there. but is now able to boast
of a large growth in all the countries of
Western Europe and in Italy.
"CO-operativa distribution the term
commonly applied tothe work of consumers
societies. is almost wholly confined, in
many States, to the simple form of secur-
ing trade discounts for the members OF
farmers organizations, who concentrate
their purchases OF farm machinery and sup
pies and household goods in selected stores
and factories. Such methods, which are
most largely developed in France, are COM
mon with the Patrons of Husbandry. some
times called the Grange. This organization,
starting in S66, now numbers about $50 :
600 members, pretty generally scattered
through the Northern and Western States
The secretaries Of the State Oranges ofsuch
widely separated States as oregon, Ne
braska, Ohio, Connecticut and Rhode Island
report extensive buying of this kind
I'm Chic. from 20 to 33per cent is saved
by buying for ash and concentrating trade
with forty-five business houses of manu-
facturers and iobbers. The Rhode Island
Grange publishes list of IA Providence
and 10 Newport houses that give discounts
ranging from per cent on gloves. hosiery,
millinery, and harnesses, TO B per cent
on watches and jewelry, and 20 per cent
at rest aIrant Through purchasing agents
also. implements, seeds and fertilizers have
been obtained in large and small qua nj iti,,s