The weekly Iberian., 1914-03-21
COOPERATION.
Paramount Factor in the
up-building Of a Commu-
nifty.


ed with such constancv and ener-
\ ey hat IL bas come. hy mauy. 70
ha regarded aa tho ha@te Hrlnci-
pies IA the growth OF any e0mmu
nifty This view, in lts last aflaly
ais, brings forth the result-nol
At All communal Every man for
himself. and the devil take the
bindmoet." In this very homely
addage of uncertain antiquity II
ia easy 10 distinguish at one and
the same time the spirit of cOmpe
ntion running riot and all the la.
tent forces Of panic and rniB.
/ Competition breeds sellishness.
and seliisbDess is the parent Of
monopoly and trust. Competi.
ton, nurtured and excited by the
fruits of success, leads 10 the ac
comp Ishment of undreamcd possi
bilitles, but these achievements
TOO frequently leave the roadside
4trewn with the wreckage of the
hopes and fortunes of the less fa-
vored in the race. And after all,
il il well that one should be em.
neDtiy successful at the expense
Of broadcast failure and shattered
hopesi The spirit Of socialism
would have continued to sleep for
countless ages had it not been
that the Goliah of Competition
was stalking unchecked through
the land.
Anarchy is another of the fruits
of unchecked successful competi-
lion. Ii in one manifestation of
The protests of the embittered un.
successful, not necessarily against
he successful one, as much as
against the means; but, blinded
by passion, anarchy too frequent
ly fails to distinguish between in.
iiyIduals and the laws which give
hem the opportunity.
Tie mail order honse is a part
Of the competitive system. And
there are many who advance
many potent Arguments against
these institutions. They feed
upon the small community much
~ do the vampire upon it's victim.
They draw The life blood out of
the community, bnt do hothing for
Its betterment. They do not even
conserve it's vital forces, thai they
may feed again next year. There
il an entire absence OF reciprocity.
Yet our whole commercial system
is 80 constructed that the mail or.
der house finds ample protection
under the foster ing wing Of exist
lug laws. To undertake to change
these laws the task would be
fronght with many complications,
oice distinctions aud boomerang
results Other means promise
better results than resorting to
the enactment Of new laws.
This community wants small
ana large factories, and industrial
institutions of all characters.
rheexpression is frequently drop.
ped from the lips of many
How much better it would have
been for the community had A. b.
Invested q part of his surplus
funds in factory OF some kind,
whereby many might have been
given employ ment" To build,
equip aud stock a factory with
raw material, Is al easy problem,
if sufficient funds are available IN
The first instance. This part OF
the transaction is .'spending
money" aud nobody can do that.
But there is another problem tha,
must Immediately follow and 1t il
aot 30 readily soIvable by anyone.
GLOW eau the products of snch D
factory be marketed 50 AZ to
orlng profit above overhead cos,
of productionY' Here is where the
Investor IL liable to lose sleep.
Suppose A. b, IN a small farm-
er; that he Is persuaded to invest
4 modest amount in canning
outfit; with this he plans to keeu
4 surplus OF tomatoes from going
10 waste; he cans them, bat tiuds
hat he has more than his farm
uUme consumption warrants: be
offers the surplus upon the mar
Ket OF his nearest town the town
where he pays his taxes and buys
those necessities and Injuries he
cannot raise Oh the farm. The re.
suit---the grocer shakes his head.
Il can't baudle your brand. II il
not known to my trade My Gus
toners insist on having the .lted
Rock brand, aud yours would
spoil upon my shelves / he
"Red lsock'' brand is iDvariably
tue product of some factory of Il
big city of distant state or coun
try. The grocer is in all probabi'
iity sincere aud believes his iuds-
ment sound Mr. A. b Farmer
finds that he must peddle and re
sort % prize cutting, or be must
give up the idea OF canning hls
surplus tuioatoes In either event
building factory IA st,tiled In il
infancy Who ID TO blames The
fs,mer who would gladly undef