Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-01
COOPERATIVE PLAN
follower COST OF
LIVING TRIED HERE
Grocery Store at sos Reed
Street Planned by Share
holders as Result of Study
in Many Lands.

The people Of one section OF the city
have developed little plan Of their own
to reduce the cost Of food Some Of them
decided to open cooperative grocery
store, to be the first Of long chain OF
such stores.
The cooperative grocery will be opened
tonight at sos Reed street. There, in a
small carefully whltewashed room 1t will
be conducted The store is financed by q
system Of cooperative share buying. The
members will receive goods at cost or
little above cost, to cover expenses, and
any profits that may still arise will be
either distributed among the members or
put back into the business, according to
the wish and desire Of the members.
The store Is the result of careful study
and investigation of the cooperative
movement the world over.
On one OF the shelves I'm the new
store is to be found number OF books,
not foR sale, but for reference in explain
ing the plan TO customers. These books,
written in various languages. have been
brought from many countries and they
describe the principles and methods of
the cooperative movement in these coun-
tries.
Speaking OF the possibilities and prom
lSeS OIL tne CO-OpeTbNlNe store, a. J. MAR
COLIN, one of the shareholders, who has
a place of business at 9TH and Walnut
streets, said that the only way for the
people to fight the food trust" or any
trust engaged In the production of the
necessities of life was for the people to
organize.
THE people do not realize" said Mr..
Margolin, "the tremendous value of the
purchasing power which they possess. If
thay
ing power they could do a, great deal in
relieving distress and reducing the high
cost of living. The cooperative move
ment In this country Is in it's infancy IL
II can be said to exist here at all. but
when one takes the trouble to study the
work of the cooperative movement
abroad he will find some material for
thought
"rhe International Cooperative ALI.
ance which met recently in Glasgow,
represents one of the greatest world fed
erations. 1t Is composed of "a national
units and includes about 10000 separate
cooperative societies, having about 20
OO,OOO family members. representing three
OF four times that number of persons.
THE most important feature of this
worldwide cooperative movement is the
control of Industry, the elimination of the
middleman and the organization of pro-
duction and distribution of wealth by
collcctivities of citizens. This organlza-
tion and administrator OF economic life
by citizen consumers has been growing
by leaps and bounds in many countries
The cooperative movement the world
over has done n business of s.. 1000. 600 600
during the last year tnot only in the
field OF consumption, but in the field of
production.
ut may seem strange but there is
every reason to suppose that from the
humble beginning which we have here
there may come great movement OF or
ganllng the purchasing power of the con-
sumers throughout this country. The CO.
operative movements of the European
countries and Of Australia have, for the
most part had no more pretentious be-
ginning. Today they are doing business
to the extent Of hundreds of millions of
dollars"
Tonight meeting of the shareholders
of the cooperative store will be held at
sos Reed street. Ways and means will
be discussed to insure the success of the
enterDrise