Norwich bulletin., 1913-04-26

When the English co operative
 movement started, it began at the first letter of the alpha bet It was assumed tthat it's members could buy of whole saleFs. in wholesale quantities, at { wholesale prices, and thus save them i selves the retailers profits. This work ed all right till the movement had at ! tained sufficient following to be worth l noticing. Then the wholesalers calm ! ly combined to charge such buyers full retil rates Thereupon the cooper ator bethought them of encouraging small self governing workshops oper i ated by cooperative workmen whence they might procure their sup plies, direct. In a very short time ! these workshops were boosting prices, much as the openly antagonistic wholesalers had previously done. The l co-operators had simply whipped their ! devil to the other side of the stump, but hadn't killed him.
 ] At last, however. they have finally | succeeded, not only in killing him but ! in burying him under the tap-root of ] the stump itself.
 Thirty years ago they started on the right road by organizing their own "Co-opeTative Wholesale Society" ing society Workshops and farms are managed by it the same as it's stores, These productive agencies produce only what the selling agencies
 
 market at all Such things as the CO., 1 operative stores can sell they provide. and no more. The question of profit in production is not considered. be- cause the big broad scheme is worked as whole, for the mutual benefit of all
 Thirty years ago there were 7f7 GOO ] heads of families united in this form of ce-operation in England alone. Now z that. D -.AA remember, but heads of families rep Fessnting fully 13.09e.0ee people, or a qGaT'ter oT the. total population. They oustries in Great Britain They have in factories alone In the last six months of last year they returned to 1 their constituents S1,100,000 and re- tained $500,eo0 more to extend their enterprises In the meantime the To- cal stores return about $60,000, 900 a year to their patrons in rebates, after Eaying all expenses and setting aside adequate sums for depreciation and lC Csses.
 How is it done? Well, the first and chief reason is that ehese cooper ators have developed among them selves a fine spirit of unselfish serv- ice Instead of Every man for him. self and the devil take the hindmost," their motto seems to be: Each for all and all for each Out from their various store and shop committees they have evolved a new order of captains of democratic industry men who work, not for private greed but for public service Just as an il- lustration; the president who for thirty years successfully managed one Wholesale Society doing a $50000 900 year business. asked and accepted as salary just $3S a WEeek,-less than S2,000 year. The same grade of bus mess ability, of energy and of honesty in capitalistic enterprise of the or dinary sort would have called for a salary of at least a hundred thousand dollars. Yet this marvellous Scotch man, William Maxwell by name, never asked for more than his $3S a week. Nor could vastly bigger salaries, of fered him as lure tempt him away.
 Fhe idea has blossonsd from Ene- land all ever Europe. It is now wide spread in France, Germany Russia Hungary, Belgium, Bohemia In these countries Wholesale Societies pattern ed after the English did about s250.- 100000 business in 1911. They con duct bakeries, four mills. boot and shoe factories, farms, market gardens, dairies, slaughterhouses, etc.
 It is very curious. not to say dis creditable, that the United States should be the most backward of all the socalled civilized nations in this economic transformation.
 It really looks as if, instead of being the latest asylum for those elsewhere oppressed we were really the last ditch of the Buccaneers.
 THE FARMER expected to leave for California. the Fist was too ill to start at that time