The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-26
ID TRY EXPERIMENT
 IN CO-OPERATION eutCh Scientist to Start North
 Carolina Colony
REFERENCES IN ICELAND
pr. Eeden Is Man Of High Literary and Scientific Attanments and Ex- Scientific Attainments and Experi-
 ment Will Be Watched With
BY WILLIAM J. JACOBSON.

iaiiu' Whose experiments in social prob lems have been much discussed in papers and magazines during the last few years has launched another venture in cooper ation. In two recent visits to this country pr. Van Eeden lectured and wrote about cooperation. and he now proposes a CO., operative agricultural colony in North Carolina, the first department of an or ganization to be known as the Co-Opera- tive Company of America
 Frederick Van Eeden was born at Haar- lem, Holland in 1860, the son of a bulb grower and botanist of considerable rep utation.
 He was graduated from the University of Amsterdam in 1883, studied medicine and became a practicing physician in Am sterdam. Later in the same city he estab- lished with Dr. Van RentergheAm reg ular clinic, where for B years hypnotic suggestion was successfully applied, not as a cure-all, but as powerful aid in the treatment of disease.
 Van Eedens literary activities have been remarkable. As poet dramatist. novelist and essayist, he has been lead CT in Dutch literature. His dramas have been produced in Berlin as well as his own country, and two of his books, "The Deeps of Deliverance" and '"The Guest" have heen published in English Other works are now being translated.
 It is, however, in the line of social ex- pertinent that Dr. Van Eeden has become most famous In 1889 he bought land near Amsterdam and founded a colony which he called Walden. Here he offered equality of opportunity and individual freedom, but freedom limited by common interest.
 The divergent views of the various ele- ments gathered together and their un- willingness to submit to sane manage ment and competent leadership proved to be the rock on which the wreck of the en- terprise was accomplished The bitter les son learned, the community reorganzed and began again, and a dozen other CO., operative centers were established on it's model, all bound together in union for the common ownership of the soil"
 In 1903 several thousand families were made destitute in Amsterdam by the fall ure of a railroad strike and Dr. Van Eeden was appointed the head of com mittee of relief for the unemployed Be- lieving that cooperation instead of char ity should be the medium he established cooperative stores and factories. and gave employment instead of distributing aims. The plan was successful. It aimed at purity of goods standard prices, gave liberal salaries to employees and rebates to purchasers, retaining a certain per- centage of the net profits to be used in the extension of the business.
 The growth of the scheme was so rapid At the inexperience of the employees and their unfamiliarity with the duties assigned them, was opposed to all business rules for safe development and growth. There were over 10000 members connected with the enterprise within year, and it was proved conclusvely that while phian- thropy might be run on business lines a business such as Dr. Van Eeden started could not be safely managed and run purely as a philanthropy.
 The result might have been foreseen by anyone with a business training and when the crash came after public confi- dence had been lost Dr. Van Eeden shouldered the responsibility, paid the debts, which amounted to over $100,000, and impoverished himself. This enter prise, which was called The Union, is now on its feet again and has branches in several cities.
 Dr. Van Eeden has interested an advis- ory board of New York business and lit- erary men in the new North Carolina project. The active mana cement will be in the hands of a competent managing director Numbers of plans have been proposed heretofore, some offering land, some offering land and advice, but Dr.. Van Eeden's is the first effort in cooper ation that strives to make combina ton of capital and labor the ultimate benefits of which shall revert to the workers on the land It Is an effort to make the farmer his own landlord and give him so satisfactory return for his labor through cooperation that the temptation to migrate to the city will be- removed. It will tend to relieve the congestion of the cities, although at first only settlers of known ability and those who prove after investigation to be fitted to make a success of truck farming will be ad- mitted.
 It is proposed to raise the necessary money (s1O0, ,OoO) by offering first mortgage bonds at 5 per cent and the land and the Improvements on the land as security The stock of the company will be divided into common and preferred. The former for tenants and the latter for prospective customers. Tenants may be eligible as stockholders only on recommendation of the general manager and acceptance by the board of trustees. They may then ac- auire stock representing ownership ir the company, by purchase, or have stock set aside for them, to be paid out of the earnings.
 The entire details are not yet decided on. but the idea is that if the company furnishes land. houses. seed and imple. ments, the settler shall put up certain amount of money toward his mainten. ance, farm supplies and as an evidence of good faith. He will cultivate his land, his crops will be marketed, and the proceeds, less certain percentage will be placed to his credit. This per. centage will he held by the company fol a sinking fund for future extensions ol for carrying along the colonists over 2 possible crop failure.
 The financial plan on which it is ex. Dected to hase the new corporation is as follows: There will be two kinds oi stock preferred and per cent (not cumu lative) for consumers and trustees, an6 for tenants and empoyes common stock will be issued. receiving the entire bene fits beyond interest on bonds and divi. cab, the taxi. the bicyclist, the switch engine. the gentleman who carried his umbrella under his arm with the ferrult pointing to a quarter past three and the lady who walked one direction and looked the other. That was all. But today, by Heavens you not only have to look out for all those with some of your eyesight