The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-03-01

all the advantages of low manufacture
ing prices. A hundred thousand dol
lar corporation to operate a cooper
ative store in Minneapolis has been
formed, a $4,000 one in st. Paul has
been organized. and one with a cap
ital of $4,000 has been organized in
Madison, Wisconsin. A wholesale
grocery store and a wholesale dry
goods and shoe store to be run CO.
operatively for the benefit of retail
cooperative stores are being planned.
The development of the cooperative
store has led the state of Wisconsin
to pass a law providing for a proper
recognition of the cooperative plan the
first law of it's kind in America. The
law provides for the incorporation of
cooperative concerns, limits the
amount of stock any n person may
hold in such IN association, gives each
shareholder a single vote, regardless OF
the number of shares he may hold,
and distributes the profits on the
basis of the purchases made or the
products sold. The Wisconsin legis-
lature also created a State Board of
Public Affairs and one of the subjects
the board is directed to study is the
problem of cooperation.
The New York State Food Investi-
eating commission gives an interesting
insight into The cost of food, and
hoWs where great savings may be
effected. 1t places the annual food
bill OF New York City at $644, O00, 900,
and says that As per cent of this rep
resents the cost of distribution. 1t
believes that at least 20 per cent might
be saved If proper distribution methods
We're in vogue. OF the retail value of
the food sold it is estimated that at
least 80 per cent represents he ex-
penses and profits of the retailer
alone. 1t is interesting to contrast
with this the expense of selling goods
in American cooperative stores. Going
over a long list of cooperative store
reports as to the actua costs of re-
failing, one may select at random the
following examples: Alma Center CO.
operative Marketing company, 1875 per
cent; Badger Cooperative company,
l1.2 per cent; Clara City Cooperative
company, 10 per cent; Fosston Co.
operative company, 1914 per cent. A
margin of about 10 per cent seems to
be about the average that must be
added for selling expenses, and it very
seldom goes above IS per cent. Of
course 1t is not fair to the retailer in
a big city to assume that his selling
expenses are no higher tina those Of
the average cooperative store in a
small country town. But, even grant
ing that they are double, this still
would indicate a net profit of 10 per
cent on the goods sold.
There are man more failures among
cooperative stores in the United
States than there are among those in
Europe. Perhaps the greatest reason
for this is that the cooperative store
usually runs on Fl cash basis and
the buying public Wants credit. Here
Is an account of a failure of a cooper
ative store because it's members re-
fused to pay cash and went to a reg
ular grocer where they got the or
binary credit. There is an account of
another failure because the store
finally began to carry slips as an evil
dence of debt, and then was forced to
go upon a full credit basis, under
which 1t was not able to survive.
Another difficulty that is expert
enced in making the cooperative store
- avs III III Iatl tia lt1e
manage frequently is one of the CO.
operators, and has other irons in the
fire which demand the major portion
of his attention. OF course such man.
agement Is seriously handicapped when
II comes into competition with a
grocer who devotes all his attention
to his business and who assumes all
the risks 1t involves. M then the |
hired manager Is not always as satis-
factory and as successful as the man
whose well-being is at stake upon the
success or failure of its business.
An American cooperative store usu-
ally is organized as a share
each person interested taking one or
more shares. With a hundred men
taking a share at 500 each, there is
a working capital Of $780, 900. The mer-
chandise they handle Is price marked
by the usual methods, the prices being
marked high enough to make certain
that they will bring the store out on
the safe side of the profit and loss
column at the end Of the year. There
first is allowed, in the division of such
surplus as hereunder may accrue, a
dividend of, say, y per cent on capital,
ana the remaining profits are then
distributed among those who buy in
proportion to the purchases they have
made.
Many cooperative stores are glad to
have non-members deal with them,
and they are given a share of the re-
bates when the surplus is divided
Usually the share of the surplus dis
tributed to non-members is half that
distributed to members. For instance,
II a dividend of s per cent is declared
on members patronage, the dividend
to non-members viii be 4 per cent.
1t Is an interesting fact that the
bulk of the business of a majority of
the cooperative stores of the country
has to do with foodstuffs, and the
people generally come to look upon
their grocery bill as the principal cul-
prlt in the high cost of living. The
statistics of the average family budget
reVeal the fact thot the food quest,on
Is the paramount one with the average
c~ity-dWelliny f mily. The average, in