The San Francisco call., 1905-01-21
WOULD ABOLISH
"CO-OP. " STORE
Famous Institution ON Uni
versity Campus Objected
To by Local Stationers
WANT LEGISLATIVE ACT
College Men Plan Resistance
TO Merchants Campaign
Against Their Industry
WANT LEGISLATIVE ACT
Berkeley Office San Francisco Call,
On

214S Center Street, Jan. 20.
One of the unique and distinctive fea-
Mres of the university campus-the
fa-1ous Coop" store is threatened
W. extinction by merchants Of Berke-
l.. ho object to Its competition with
thea trade. Information came to the
univ arsity authorities last night that
bill designed to drive the Coop. on
the campus had been prepared and
would be introduced in the legislature.
Action in opposition to this move OF
the Berkeley stationers was taken at
once by the university people. Man
ager r. Davis of the Cooperative store
began a correspondence with Assembly
man w. H. Waste, from this district.
setting forth the university's side of
the argument. Professor Carl Z.
PIehn of the college of commerce, VINO
was in Sacramento last night, was ap-
pealed to in the interests of the Co
operative store, and he is expected to
en1ighten the legislators regarding the
enterprise.
A business amounting to nearly
800, 900 a year is done by the Coop.
its patronage being confined exclusive
ly to students and professors of the
university. School supplies and station
cry, with some art objects, are
dealt in.
aside from it's commercial features,
the Coop" as all students familiar
~ term the institution, has its social
side. constituting one of the interest
ing features of campus life. The store
is located in the basement of old
North Hail." and is a daily rendezvous
for students.
The proposal to drive the Coop"
off the campus is understood to have
~. lot In
stitution should be allowed to do busi-
ness, rent free, on the States land in
competition with private citizens in the
same line of business. Commenting on
the situation, Joseph P. Loeb, editor of
the Daily Californian, says in the col
lege paper to-day:
THESE men must be completely ignorant Of
the nature and purpose OF the Students Co
operative Association. 1t is company con-
sisting entirely and exclusively of persons
connected with the University of California,
as distinctly stated in its constitutions; its
anof~representatives of the four undergraduate
classes; it's object is to furnish to students
and faculty books and other articles required
by the university. Since the association is
run by the students and for the students it has has
campus es pnesDasea as the Dining Association to
its building, the college publications to
their Offices the Associated Students To
annually reaping considerable profits but the
profits return to the students and no disin-
terested person has ever objected that they are
unfairlys competing with similar institutions
off the campus. The Students Cooperative
Association a paying business. but its
profits. too, are divided among members of the
university In the form of annual dividends.
The manager receives salary. The Students
Cooperative Association does not compete for
town trade. There Is no under-sellng, no
illegitimate competition. To professors and
students the Students Cooperative Association
is a necessity. 1t is where it belongs and
there 1t ought to stay. 1t Is signihcant fact
that the movement against the association is
being stirred up by comparatively new comers
to Berkeley unacquainted with facts and anx-
ious chiefly to gain trade for themselves. The
Oldest of the town stationers-the firm of N.
J. Abbott & Sons-''have complaint what
ever to make and ''can see no reason for the
present agitation against the Coop" The
university needs the student store on the
campus That alone is sufficient defense for
its undisturbed continuance.
None of the stationers of Berkeley
will admit having prepared the bill,
though F. w. Durgin, Needham Bros.
and F. E. Sadler declared that they
are opposed to the Coop" as COM
petitor.