Arizona republican., 1912-06-03
A St. Louis Mans Project for Putting the Slogan "An Equal Opportunity for All" Into Practical Effect
WOULD HAVE PEOPLE
 OWN ALL BUSINESS
Proposed Eota Company Through Which the Con sumer Will Get a Share of the Profit on His Pur chases
ASSOCIATED PRESS DIsPArcHl

{ ST. LOUIS, June 2.-The gigantic scheme of Leonard Matthews, a bank ] CT. broker and business man of St Louis. tD consolidate all the business of the country in central co-opera- tive holding company owned by the people and supervised by the govern { ment, is attracting national attention. Political leaders are being asked to express their opinions about the plan. l Matthews believes that the eventual thing is the cooperative company of the nature that he suggests. He says that cooperative companies have been 1 tried ou- in urope on d small scale but have failed because of their smallness. ! be company he proposes will be so gi- gantic that it can withstand compe-
 tition
 The proposed company would op- crate in perpetuity under a federal
 charter. Matthews would call it the Eota company in order to bring out the slogan of the concern, Equal Oppor- tunity 10 All" the name being an acrostic of that slogan
 The dividends of the company would
 be limited to six per cent and a large
 part of the profit in excess of that
 amount could be returned to the con
 sumer in low prices. Besides, with
 economical management wages can be
 increased. Thus the laborer will get
 the things he consumes at a lower cost
 and at the same time his return for his labo~ will be increased. Likewise
 the farmer will get better prices for his produce in proportion to the price
 the consumer pays for it and the buy ing power of his money win be en-
 hanced.
 The result will be to raise the stan
 dard of living and better the entire country and the people. Students of
 this plan have agreed that the poten
 tiality ef the Eota company to earn money ir excess of the six per cent dividend will be so great that it couli pay state and national taxes, improve roads, erect bridges, museums, school l houses build canals. deepen rivers, protect land from overflow and main tain parks and geological gardens. Farmers and laborers are eagerly discussing the plan and are calling on their political leaders to express opin- ions. Pamphlets with q direct appeal for support are being mailed to dele gates to the national conventions Of i the leading political parties. Mathews l is seeking recognition for the Eota company from the national parties and is asking the delegates at the con i ventions to go on record relative to the i question
 As suggested by Matthews the idea l is d new one and so novel that 1t requires q broad mind to grasp at l once the magnificent opportunity of | fered to better the economical situa- ! tion. Mature thought and discussion | has proved the possibility of the mer- 1 ger and converts will rapidly put the | demand for adoption into general ap- peaIs to the leading men of the country. 1 To prevent any set of men from gaining control of the company it is proposed to make subject to call at
 par stock owned by any stockholder in l excess os S150.000 Existing corpora
 tions are to he granted federal char
 ters limiting their term of existence to 1 9 years and requiring that 2H per
 cent of the capital stock of all cor
 poratiOnS be set aside in a sinking 1 fund from which to reimburse the 1 stockholders at par at the end Of the 25 years Or the corporations may i come into the Eota company at once by 1 exchanging their stock at a fair mar ket value for stock in the Eota com l pany at gar. This plan would stop the 1 non producers from absorbing an un | due proportion of the wealth of the ! country and would give the farmer and
 the laborer d fairer proportion of the | wealth they produce.