Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1908-10-03
THE
COOPERATIVE
DRIFT.

uc eAtTciHeS are TOO Idr apart. Co
operation aims to bring about q larger
degree Of uniformity as we'll as unity
and sympathy. Some OF Its advocates
talk Of 1t as something not far from
communism, while as defined by 9th.
ers 1t Is a mildly reformed neighbor.
Illness. 1t may cover our Industrial
efforts. our productive energies, or
our methods OF holding and sharing
what has been produced.
The desirability OF more co-opera-
ton in production Is generally recos.
nized. and radical men are working
out Its problems IN a noiseless way.
In Austria cooperative banks are
reported to be Just the thing for
the people; In England cooperative
stores At the public pulse; but In
this country neither Of these methods
Of working together has been marked.
ly successful. Our farm life always
was cooperative. In the days when
our fathers built their houses and
reaped their crops by united effort:
and today there are large industries
collateral to the farm. such as cheese.
making, creameries and condensaries.
The farm wife finds her knitting and
her sewing carried over into factory
life. but she finds her social life
knitted together by rural telephones
and free.delivery. Sound political
economy insists on such q readjust.
ment Of our habits as the times re.
on1 a
much more intimately than when the
whole population Of the United
States was under fifty millions. We
are close to the hundred million
mark. and in sight Of an enormously
increased population. which must be
governed by . social life more fra.
ternal than our own. Our cities do
not foretoken the change. but SUD.
urbanlsm does. We are reaching out
toward Q moro equally distributed
people-a sort Of universal suburban
garden life. This IL the ideal toward
which we may fairly aim.
The efforts to establish co.opera.
tive colonies have not. 80 far. found
q happy welcome In this land. None
Of them have outlasted dozen years,
unless operated by foreigners on q
religious basis. Our training has un.
fitted US for suficient submission.
Our education compels each boy to
desire to be at the head. Why not
be . good foot or a good hearth
That Il not comprehensive by one
who has graduated from q school
based on competition, where honorS
30 only to leaders. The cooperative
colony Of Mr.. Booth Is less objection.
able to American tastes. He pro.
poses to take out whole families from
the herding Of city life. and give
them individual and integral privi.
leses In the country. One form Of
cooperation Il 30 closely integrated
with our civilization that It must a..
ways be accounted with-we mean
the family. Mr.. Booth recognizes
this integer as essential In oil large
and broad efforts OF . cooperative
sort,
Cooperative homemaking has had
many unfortunate illustrations. The
dreams have not been few, but they
have invariably failed Of any large
realization. II will be necessary to
make American character entirely
over before we shall yield the indi.
vidual family life. We have brought
along with US, In our instincts. Ger.
tain great historical summations. and
one OF these Is that the family con.
stitutes q unit by itself. The govern
ing principle with Americans must
continue to be cautious advance
along the whole line. In the broad.
est sense OF the word We are intense.
~ individualistic. both by heredity
and by conditions. These conditions
are always undergoing more or less
change. while heredity mobiles its
determining course. Our public school
system and common road system and
common post-ofiice system were all
degrees OF socialism tolerable to our
fathers. 40 they arc to US. Our
schools. however. are only Just now
becoming q national system. In the
same way our roads are only at this
moment becoming q matter Of united
interest and effort.
Religious cooperation 10 naturally
q part Of the general drift. II Is not
because OF spiritual decadence that
we care less and less for our own
organic form Of religious life. To
convert the world to our views Of this
life and OF the life unseen hardly en-.
tiers a rational mind. It Is one Of
the inconceivables that our fathers
should have put forth strenuous ct.
''r's to lead all nations to one view
point OF God and eternity. To US
this would seem as undesirable as
impossible. 1t would be far better
to create an inter.racial and inter.
religious brotherhood. Small cliques
and insignificant sects do not any
longer multiply. This Is an industrial
age, and such a movement would be
inconsistent with economy. Religion
Is held to be less valuable as an ex'
ercise Of emotion; but. as q force
productive OF stronger and wiser men,
It holds its ground.-From The Chris
tian Register.
INITIATING RUSSIAN SABLE.
Less Expensive Furs Are Pointed to