Virginia gazette. [volume] (Williamsburg, Va.) 1893-192?, 1899-08-19

the british parnomfnt, ON thc ruOlect
says: Cooperation Ia the one and the
only relief for the iaboring populations.
This L. the path" he says. by which
they are 90 come Mp from the hand to
the mouth style of living TO reap the
rewards and the honors of our sd-
vanced civilization" Lord Derby aud
John Stuart Mill. who gave half their
lives 20 the study OF the labor question.
believed In cooperative institutions. 4
The cooperative institution formed In \
Troy. y. Y. stood long enough 10 A. |
lussrate the fact that great rood might /
CONS OF sucn an instIruuon II II were I
rightly carried on and nightly devel- |
oped.
"Bat." says some one. haven't these
institutions sometimes been . failure?T
Yes Every great movement has been Q
failure at some time. Application OF
the steam power n tnilure. elcctro-teleg-
raphy = failure. rniIroOding a failure.
but now the chief successes Of the
world.
"Dut." says some one. why talk of
surplus being put by laborers into CO
operative associations, when the vast
multitude of toilers In this country are
struggling for their daily bread and
have no surplus7" I reply; Put into
my hand the money spent by the la
boring glasses OF America for rum and
tobacco. and I ~ill establish cooperative
associations In all parts of the land.
some Of them mightier than any fnan-
sial institutions Of the country. We
spend In this country over SiOO.ooO.OoS
every year for tobacco. We spcnG over
81. SOC. 900. 900 directly or indirectly for
rum. The laboTing classes spend their
share OF this money. Now. suppose the
laloring man who has been sxpending
his money IN those directions should
just add up how much he has expended
during these past years and then sup
pose that that money was put In 20 a 90
operative association and then suppose
he should have all his friends IN tou.
who had made the same kind of expend-
iture, do the same thing, and that
( should be added up and put into a Co
operative association. And then take
all that money expended for Overdress
and overstyle and oVerliving on the part
of toiling people in order that they may
appear "a well a. persons who have
more insOms-gather that AL up. and
yOE could have cooperative associations
all over this land.
am not saying anything now about
trades unions. You want 60 know whai
think OF trades unions / think the,
are most beneficial In some directions
and they have a specific object and IN
this day. when there are vast monopO
hes-a thousand monopohes coneen
trating the wealth OF the people int
the possession Of few men. unles
the laboring men OF this country and al
countries band together they will ~
under. There is u lawful use OF trad
union. but then there la an unlawful
uas OF Q trade union. IL II means sym
pathy in time Of sickness. II IL mean
finding work for people when they ar
out OF work. IL IL means the improve
ment Of the financial. the mora, or tn
Dehgious condition OF the iaborin
classes. that il all right. Do not artiss
band together In an art unionf Do nc
singers band together In Handel an
Haydn societies? Do not newspapc
. nen hand together In press clubs? ID
1 not ministers Of religion band tOgethc
= IN conferences and associations2 Their
: 10 not in all the land y city where clerR,
I men do not come together. many {
= them once a week, 90 talk over AFFAIR
: For these reasons you should not blan
/. labor guilds. When they are doin
: their legitimate work. they are Fnoi
= admirable. but when they come sroun
Q with drum and fife and Gag and dri'
d people of from their toll. from the
9 soaffoldings. from their factories, the
e they are nihilistic. then they are cor
= munistie. then they are barbario. tn.
= they are . curse. IL q man wants
q stop work. let him stop work. but
l. cannot stop me from work.
But now suppose that all the lAborir
r CLASSES banded together for bensficie
q purposes In cooperative association a
q der whstever name thsy put shs
Z. means together. Suppose they take q
" money that they waste IN rum and I
w bsecc and use IL for the elevation
" their families, for the education OF the
~ children. for THAR moral. intsilecsu
r. and religious improvement, what d
D. ferent state OF things We would Ia
&c in this country and they would IA
ar tn Great Britaini
"a Do you not realize the fact that m
a work better without stimulant7 Y
A. say. "Win you deny the iaboriug IN
e this help which they get from stro
A. drink, borne down as they are wi
r. many anxieties and sxhausting work
= would DENY them nothing that Is 60
=. for them. ! would deny them stro