The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1913-12-26
IN LABOR'S SHOPS
Status Of Cooperative Industrial.
ism In England.
HOW THE SCHEME WORKS.
Stores Are Prosperous, but Manufae-
turing Societies Are Of Slow Growth.
Spirit Of Solidarity Manifest In CO.
operative Workshops.

eo1AuS =. olIh WIVES as lOilONS
in the New York Times of cooperative
enterprises in Great Britain:
After over sixty years Of earnest
attempts III Great Britain to establish
cooperative productive societies there
are now %seventy-nine societies in ex-
istence whose combined capital is &c.
OF, 600. with an annual trade valued
at GOO. Assuredly this is not a
formidable showing. This is largely
due to the lack of capital to finance.
On the other hand. it is easy to start
IL cooperative store and Keep it going.
because the amount of capital required
is not large. the number of employees
is small. the amount of managerial
skill needed is limited. and the market
is always at hand among those who
back the enterprise. AS a consequence
the wholesale and retail societies have
grown enormously and with rapidly
increasing wealth.
Leicester. a tiourishing manufac-
turing town. may be called the center
of cooperative production. Here the
Cooperative Productive federation has
its headquarters. This federation Is
the practical organizing body Of the
co-operators. The secretary of the
federation. Robert Halstead. was a
weaver's apprentice. became a CO.
partnership workingman and now IS
a leading spirit in the movement. With
him rs my guide ! visited a number
Of the productive societies in Leicester.
One of the oldest is the Cooperative
Printing society. established in 1876 in
a little shop. 1t has iourished. 1
found all the external evidences of
thrift and enthusiasm. These were al
ways in evidence in every cooperative
shop I visited. l asked the various
foremen If they had any difficulty in
getting labor. One of them answered:
Eve have a long waiting list. almos:
all of them shareholders in this con
Germ. We get the pick of the men.
Mind you. we consider printing an art.
and a very intelligent class of men APP
ply"
I learned that there were very few
labor ructions. Once a foreman had
become unpopular and was retired.
But there have been no strikes. If any
employee becomes unreasonable or ul-
endurable he is fired. as in any other
shop. Only the committee gives him a
chance to be heard. The fact that he
is a stakeholder does not shield him.
l questioned a considerable number
of the workmen. 1 found that nearly
all had experience in competitive shops
and that they greatly preferred to
work for themselves. as they termed
their present employment.
One man said: The spirit in this
shop is very different from that of any
other I have ever been in. There is
more care for the product here. tho
men are not SO wasteful. and we have
a self interest in the output" .
81 In one of the shoe shops I was told
that a workman was overheard saying
to his neighhor. ':John. you have a big
pile Of waste today" The quarterly.
balance sheet shows the profits. of each
department.. and there is rivalry amol:
the departments to make a good show
ing. I'VE always read the balance
sheet" one of the women told ME.
And l suppose that this vigilance is
n Of the indications of the success of
the co%partnership idea.
What I found in the Leicester shops
/ found elsewhere in shoe factories.
textile mills and printing works. One
may say that the productive co-opera-
tive shops have always the pick Of
the most industrious and ambitious
workmen: that self interest stimulates
them to the greatest industry and
economy in their work. It would be
interesting to measure the waste in
q cooperative shoe shop and a COM
petittve shop.
y was impressed with the superior
quality and intelligence Of the man
ayers and the mp to date methods in
vogue.
It is not surprising to find a spirit
of solidarity among these workmen.
One Of the elder women in q boot fac.
tory put It this way: Eyes. ! have
EWOIhSN III OLuCt S0VGgSs UuI ! Il lxhCrll
here hest because we earn better
wages. And then we have sociables
and teas and all get acquainted. so
that we feel Hike n big family
Secretary Haistead said to me: 1T
takes brains and heart to be success
Ef1l In cooperation. Not every kind
of business a be conducted on this
plan. We can aucceed only in lines
Of business that enlist intelligent and.
expert workmen. Unskilled labor.
would not be n~H9Dractical Geld FOR as.
and contracting. for instance. Is not
q GOOD business for copartnershlp.
There Is too much risk ini Il.
Then" asked. ut takes money
tono1-
He turned quickly and smiled,
ssThhat Is where. after all. we, have our
sGfeatsat diliculty.. he replied. ssT d
rich have not the heart 4 come to ID.
CompaFedswith NIL the great tndustries
% Great Britain We are small and H.
significant financially. But our OBJ
L. AM d.tkafs III ~ .tINtrs 49,