Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1914-11-13
PRINCIPLES OF COOPERATION
Two Greyhounds Running Together
will Kill More Hares Than Four
Coss Running Separately.

probably tell you: Its all right" Ask
MIN the reason for his good opinion
and he may tell you about a cooper.
tive store which sells strictly good
merchandise at strictly market prices.
and returns a share Of its profits to
Jus customers. why, friend Of mine
got $17 or whereabouts as a rebate
on his purchase last year." Ask him
why the store refunded the ST and
you will find that he doesn't quite
Know. The sharing of the profit has
occupied his mind to the exclusion OF
the reason for sharing It,
Few people understand the princi-
pies of cooperation. The following
quotation will serve to elucidate the
basic principle:
The advantage Of cooperation Is
illustrated by the case of two grey.
hounds running together, which, 1t Is
said, will kill more hares than four
greyhounds running separately. In a
vast number Of operations 1t is obvious
that two men working together will
do more than four. or four times four
men. each Of whom should work alone.
In the lifting Of heavy weights. in the
telling Of big trees. in the gathering
OF crops. in the rowing of large boats.
In the erection of scaffolding for
building. and in q thousand more SIM
pie operations, 1t is absolutely neces-
sary that many persons should work
together. at the same time. in the
same place. and in the same way"
The men engaged in the operations
above mentioned were conscious of
working together. In many undertake
ings men cooperate unconsciously.
In the present state Of society the
breeding and feeding of sheep Is the
occupation Of one set Of people. dress
ing the wool to prepare 1t for the spin
ner is that Of another, spinping it into
thread. Of third: weaving the thread
into broadcloth. Of a fourth; dyeing
the cloth. of a fifth: making it into q
coat. Of sixth; without counting tho
multitude of carriers, merchants. fac
tors. and retailers. put in requsition at
the successive stages Of this progress.
All these persons, without knowledge
Of one another or previ-rIs understand
ing. cooperate in the production of the
ultimate result. q coat.
Almost all breeders Of fancy poultry
consider themselves independent of
the other breeders. whereas in reality
thye are unconscious co-operators. So
delicate and irregular Is the poultry
product that they buy and trade to-
gether q full half of each year. The
wonder Is the greater, therefore. that
they have never derived a benefit from
their cooperation through q co-opera-
tive organization.
The word benefit 10 the key note of
the second cooperative principle.
namely the sharing of profits. This
principle IL ancient enough to make
its application to affairs Of today more
common. Jacob tending Laban's flock.
as recorded in the Bible. was q serv-
ant directly interested in the profits
Of his master. Sailors seem always to
have shared the profits of joint labor
early Greek sailors in the Levant
and American sailors engaged in
whale fisheries. Miners in England
and Chinese traders in Manila have
worked similarly for generations. A
good illustration Of profit sharing IL
furnished by the arrangement between
laborer and land owner under the
Metayer system by which the laborer
pays the land owner not . fixed rent,
but q certain per cent Of the produce.
or rather of what remains of the prod
uce. after deducting what il con-
sidered necessary to keep up the
stock Cooperative stores and banks
are the best known organizations
which put the principle into practice.
The third principle Of cooperation
il the sale Of high quality merchan-
disc. Really good merchandise il in.
dispensable to the success Of all com.
mercial enterprises, but il more gen.
orally maintained BY cooperative or
CARNATIONS than by individual dealers,
because cooperative managers are re-
sponsible to others, whereas individ.
ual dealers are responsible to none
but themselves. and can relax their
efforts and trade on their regulations
any time they see fit.-United Breed