The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1913-05-30
GOOD PLAN OF COOPERATION
There Are Seventeen Cooperative
Stores Working Successfully In
State Of Wisconsin.

Cooperative stores rave been con
Quoted successfully In Wisconsin for
the last 90 years. but only within TWO
years have they become At all numer.
ous. under the excellent new law. At
present there are - successful coop
arat!ve stores with a total membership
now abou, 900, an authorized cap.
ltsl stock OF some $500, 900. ana cash
100000. The stores employ $50 clerks
and their volume of business for 1913
will exceed 1900. 900.
All goods are sold at the same
prices charged by other retailers.
SAYS the Farm and Home After set.
ding aside interest a. five per cent on
capital, and suitable reserves. the
profits are r-ba ID as dividends upon
purchasers. shareholders get full diyi
Iend. which equals Ave 70 ten per
cent saving, while o members get
only halt dividend or none.
The early cooperative stores In
Wisconsin found hard shedding be
cause OF the lack Of cooperation spirit
limited capital. the collapse OF the
early organized farm and labor move
ment, lack OF business knowledge and
practice among the c"o-operators, lack
" Wholesale house from which the
retail cooperative stores could OBJ
tain their supplies, and by the com
petition OF five and ten cent stores,
department stores, trading stamp
schemes and mail order houses.
During the last few years Wiscon.
sin people have become educated TO
the benefits OF cooperation, through
organizations Of one kind and an
other. In most of the societies. mem
bers are not allowed 70 hold more than
ten shares par value So or TO have
more than one vote. Independent mer.
chants often are induced TO sell their
equipment aud sometimes two or three
competing stores are merged into one
first. class establishment for the coop
eratiye society. Efficient business
management Is absolutely necessary.
John r.. Sinciair's report 20 the state
declares
In "a majority OF tho Wisconsin,
stores the central supervising agency
mas Dttl u Nllhl lblN's ~ lbeAtEH a
spirit Of mutual understanding, and
educates and advises armeTs as 10 the
best methods 10 pursue. 1t accounts
Tor the fact that these stores are bet.
ter supervised than any other form OF
enterprise Wisconsin farmers have
gone into together, A simple and uni.
form system OF accounting Is used
Monthly and yearly audits are made
Of certain stores, supplemented by spe
cial advice as occasion demands,
All cooperative stores in America.
as In England, thrive best when they
adhere 10 the RoChdale principles, so
fully described long ago IN Myrick's
book, How to Cooperate.
l.. Sell goods at current market
prices, This prevents friction with
other merchants. 1t avoids the go
broke error OF selling at cost plus
expense.
2, Begin small, grow slowly but
surely as experience points the way
and AS the managers and members
learn TO work together.
3, Cooperation Is not a new way
OF t~ransaCting business, but rather
a different method OF dividing the
fruits Of industry. The same princi
Plies that govern success when acquir
ing profit Ia capitalistic enterprises
apply with even great force 10 the
of CO-ODeratiVe effort