El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-05


. are other countries in Europe where
1t is extensive in its ramifications and
! successful in its application. In all
/ Europe there are upward of 5000. 600
J members Of cooperative retail societies
( approximately half of whom are found
/ IN Great Britain The goCSs they sell
/ annually are valued at retail some
I 100000, 600.
/ Germany is second only to Great
/ Britain in the extent Of its cOopera-
/ tive societies and in the amount OF BUS
! mess they do. In addition to the reg
! ular cooperative societies for the man
ufacture and purVeyance of commOdi-
/ ties used by their members, there is an
other larger class of cooperative organ-
/ izatiOn known as credit unions. If they
! were counted in, Germany would lead
I In cooperative activities. These credit
unions are largely mutual loan organ
/ iZatiOns.
Consumers Union in Germany
Cooperation in Germany today large
" has become an activity of the Social
I Democrats, who support it with much
ardOr. The general distributiVe So
cieties are organized into a central
League Of Consumers Unions. The
total membership OF these unions is
upward of 1000 600 and their annual
sales amount to more than So, 900, 600.
A majority of them hold stock in the
wholesale Purchasing Association Of
Hamburg, which owns its own factories
for making flour, sugar, soap, matches
and tobacco. and which does a business
Of S12, 100000 a year.
The cOnsumvereine and affiliated re-
tail societies largely are made up OF
members who are Social Democrats,
although In many cases the member
snip Of given society is made up al
most exclusively Of labor union or
factory men. The employees of q single
factory frequently form themselves in
to a local society, sometimes buying
with the help of their employers and
sometimes without such help. Some
plants maintain cOmmissaries for their
employees which are run at cost, any
surplus at the end OF the year being
turned back to the patrons each get
ting a dividend in proportion to his
total purchases. The big Krupp Steel
Works follows this policy, and an
nually returns from eight to ten cents
on the dollar. Some factories conduct
these stores on credit basis with their
employees and sell at cost
Cash Trading is Enforced
In Germany the person who does not
have the ready money to buy a share in
n cooperative society may get it simply
by patrOniZing one of its stores. At
dividends to which his purchases en-
title him viii usually more than Suf-
flee to buy the share he desires. In
some states the law prohibits the SELL
ing Of cooperative goods to nOn-mem-
bers. and in others the prohibition is
made by the societies themselves. Cash
trading is enforced in Germany, and
many of the local societies have num-
erOus activities besides those Of pUr-
veying merchandise upon a cOOpera-
tive basis. Some of them insure the lives
and property of their memoirs out Of
the net earnings Of the society. some
of them conduct savings departments
while others operate building aSsOcia-
lions. In Hamburg the cooperative
societies own 612 dwelling apartments
and ~ business houses. and members,
-f--e 10 inf
preferential right to the apartments
owned by the association"
Profits Aid Political Party
In some of the societies all profits
over and above a certain amount are
placed in the political funds of the
party with which the society happens
to be affiliated. It generally is agreed
in Germany that one Of the results Of
the cooperative retail society has been
to bring about a higher standard OF
merchandise. While some claim that
the prices of food and clothing have
not been lowered materially by the
cOnsumV there is practically a
unanimous acknowledgement that mer-
chandise standards have been raised.
In some cities such as Hamburg.
Erfurt and Frankfort, it is admitted
that the cooperative prices are lower
than homeopathic quotations
Cooperative Banking
Germany is the parent country Of
cooperative banking, and more than
One-haIf of the cooperative business
of the Empire has 10 do with one
form or another Of banking. One
form of bank lends only to its mem
bers. Each member must own share
of stock and assume unlimited liability
in connection with its operations. A
member may buy a share on the IN
stalment plan, and all profits are his
pending the completion Of payments.
The bank lends money to its members
on good security, and charges a rea-
sOnable interest
Many Societies I'm France.
France has nearly 5000 cooperative !
societies, the major portion Of them
being retail societies. There are more
cooperative stores in France than in
any other country in Europe, although
there are fewer members Of these So
cieties per capita and fewer per store
Cooperative endeavOr has not the
national aspect in France that it has
in Germany and England Each store
is largely a thing unto itself, and is
concerned only about its own welfare.
Consequently the large cooperative
tive establishments are out Of the qUes-
ton.
There are several central Organiza-
tions that have been trying to guide
French cooperation along the lines
that have proved so successful in !
England but their efforts have not {
been rewarded with any high degree (
of success. One Of these organizations
FOR neutrality in politics and for a fed
Grated store movement after the ex-
ample of Great Britain. The other is I
frankly a social organization.
Local Cooperation in Denmark.
Denmark has a cooperative system,
but it. like the French, is largely local. (
If the Dane has anything to sell he |
simply organizes to sell it There is Z
one big supply organization which con-
ducts a large wholesale business and 4
retail stores in all the country towns !
The farmers are organized to buy their I!
seeds. fertilizers, feeding stuffs, and I
the like, and they sell their products /
a single depot in Copenhagen.
There are cooperative diaries, bacon /
curing societies, and egg societies /
which prepare the products of the 4
dairy, the farm, and the hennery for
the market.
The cooperation that exists in these /
countries is typical Of that to be found 1
in the other countries of Europe. |
Wherever one goes he finds agricUl- 1
tural organizations which protect the \
farmer both as seller and as a buyer. /
The labOring man all over Europe has 4
been the leader in the cooperative 4
movement and its success IS largely a I
monument to his determination to bet !
ter his condition and that of those en- J
trusted to his care.