The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-03-18
COOPERATION is NOT NEW
Champions of Movement Are Inclined
to Go Too Far, Says Delegate to
Kansas State Convention.

At the last annual meeting OF the
Kansas state board Of agriculture the
question of agricultural cooperation
was discussed at length. One dele
gate, Mr.. Edwin Snyder, called atten-
ton to the tendency Of those VINO
champion cooperative movements to
90 too far and thereby inJuTe their
own cause. Among other things MT
Snyder says:
"Co-operation is 10 new matter
More than IS years ago q dozen poor
weavers met in a poor inn in Koch
dale, England, to devise some means
to better their condition. After dis
cussing several matters, strikes and
the like, they concluded that If they
couldn't make arrangements to get
better wages they ought to try to do
something to make what they received
90 further, and they organized at
once into a society. OF course, good
many scoffed, but they went ahead
They were to pay into the common
fund 20 pence per week, and only a
few were able to do it at that time,
and it took year to- raise capital
stock Of $40 with which to begin
business. They rented room, bought
only such goods as were absolutely
needed by their families, sold for cash
only, and at first opened the store
only at night That society has been
going for over IS years. 1t has spread
all over England. They buy their
wheat by the cargo, to be ground IN
their own mills for their own mem
bers. They buy refrigerated meats,
mutton and beef from Australia and
the United States in cargoes, to be
sold at their butcher shop. It has
been extremely prosperous. have no
doubt that each one Of the members
Of this society is far better off person
ally because he learned to save some
thing and to do business. That IS
what we need in this country-co-
operation among the farmers. we
must have it, and it is not a difficult
matter. OF course, during the Farm
ers' Alliance agitation, 25 years ago,
we started gres4 2a2y cooperative
stores. Most OF them failed through
mismanagement and the credit sys-
ten. Cash payment is the essence Of
successful cooperation, and we can
not have it without. Of course, when
we started out in the alliance we were
going TO reform the whole universe.
We cannot do that I believe that II
the farmers will study cooperation 1t
will be found immensely to their ad-
: vantage"
Those who expect the principle Of
cooperation to work out in this coun-
try on the same scale that it is oper-
ated in Europe will be disappointed,
says the Iowa Homestead. In the
first place we have in every agricul-
tural community so many different
nationalities Of people to deal with
that a new difficulty is encountered
and, while these people are all good
Americans, they look on matters OF
this kind from radically different
viewpoint. Cooperation in the end
viii succeed best II in the beginning
it is applied to simple matters. a
good example OF this is found in GER
tain neighborhoods where number of
men engage in breeding the same
class Of stock. In this case they have
the advantage Of many economies
both in the buying and selling Of their
stock, in the use of males, in addition
to the c;atural advantage. that results
from frie-d;y rivalry. It is a desir-
able form Of cooperation when men
subscribe themselves to pay the e1-
penses Of a county expert IN order
that they may be sensibly advised
and wisely guided by one in whose
Judgment they have absolute conf
dence. These are the less complex
types Of cooperative movements and
the success that they are meeting with
indicates that our people can take ad-
vantage Of this important principle
when it is sensibly applied to theiA
own affairs.