St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1911-06-24
C%OOPERATION TO Re.
DUCE The COST OF
living.

LRElVUs
For years the problem OF cheap
living has been solved in England
by cooperation.
This cooperation is the work
ing together Of numbers Of per
sons, putting in their labor and
such small amounts of money as
they can raise, for the purpose
of purchasing the necessaries of
life and furnishing them to the
members at the lowest possible
cost. Humble and insignificant
as the results are at first, when
persisted in the arrangement be-
comes of enormous value and
efficacy.
Recently the president of a
great English cooperative con-
Germ addressed a meeting in New
York to explain the methods in
use. William Maxwell, of Lon
don, head of an enterprise which
sells annually more than $685.
OOO, 900 worth of goods to its
members, spoke under the aus
pieces of the Cooperative League
of New York City, which is
planning to launch a similar ven
ture in the United States. He
gave encouragement to the
American scheme by telling how
the great cooperative union of
workers of which he is the head,
started on $26, to which many of
the original members contributed
only an English penny.
He showed that last year the
international Cooperative ALI
ance, which he represents, had
divided profits of $11, 900, 900
among it's membership, after dis
tributing 1886, 778 in charity and
2 like amount on education, Last
year the alliance had 80, 1874 en-
pIoyes, each of whom was re-
warded with a bonus above his
or her salary. Some 2,765 indi-
vidual societies in various COM
munities are members of the
alliance, having an aggregate
membership of 2, 701, 900 families.
Most of the directors of this
great alliance, which has a CAPT
tai of $3.50, 800, 900, are unsal-
aried and work for a living at
some trade. All they receive for
their services to the organization
and for their responsibility for
the handling and auditing of ex-
penditures of great sums Of
money is their third-class rail
fare to meetings, to the fac
tories, farms and plantations Of
the company, and board at some
modest inn. Dishonesty is I'M
known, Mr.. Maxwell said, and
the directors serve for the honor
of it. That great executive abil-
ity need not necessarily be highly
he said, was apparent when
it was known that the co-opera-
tive alliance was run on a 2 per
cent basis, whereas most private
enterprises require from Z to p
per cent for management.
This great Workingmen's trust,
Mr.. Maxwell said, has five flour
mills in England, a fleet of ships
On the seas, four large estates in
.eylon to raise teas, coffee plan
tations in Brazil, wooden mills
and cotton mills, several boot and
shoe factories, groves in Greece,
and wheat elevators at Montreal.
It has its own jam and pickle
and tailor shops.
Edinburg, which is the Scotch
headquarters of the alliance,
numbers more than one-half of
is inhabitants as members of the
alliance. The English head
quarters are in Manchester, with
branches at London and New
The alliance maintains a
purchasing headquarters for
goods in New York.
the advantages Of the
'lan is that the members get
My pure and unaduIterated pro-
/,
Besides being able to purchase
'oods at a lower cost than most j
arge stores, and then sell them