Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-09-06
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT Is DOING

who dubbed together IN 1911 for the pur.
pose Of buying butter smoked ham ana
bacon Of superior quality at prices which
gave them a substantial saving The
business began small. mas stsadi'y IN
lost one dollar In bad debsA The earn
ings have been As large ~ - per cent
on the paid-in capital, but profits are not
distributed on the basis Of stockhoidings
Instead. they are held Tor distribution
among the members who patronixe the
corporation in ratio to tho amount Of
goods which they have purchased
The business has gone on quietly and
members Of the association. which In
clude the families OF many Of the bureau
chiefs, a. well as the wives OF the lowest
paid messengers. all have a good word
for the system Of saving which has been
fnaugurated
Growing out Of the small group Of sov-
eminent employees who three years ago
startsd cooperation to buy cheaper but
first organized a. the Civil Service Coun-
Gil. and later Incorporated a. the Civil
Service Co-operators Persons in cities
where the war has resulted In ballooning
prices and where there 10 q desire to
cooperate to bring about . saving In
purchases Of foodstuffs win learn much
from the plan In operation BY Uncle Sans
a
been admitted to the corporation.
In the first place the business 10 con-
Quoted on . conservative plan. and men,
beFs are not led TO believe that they are
going to get something for nothing. The
business 10 not a competitor Of grocery
stores. because II does not attempt to
give It's customers the same kind Of
costly service which many people want at
any price, The actual saving to purchase
ers is 10 per cent or more on most arti.
cies and in addition to this advantage,
members Of the association point out
that their principal benefit Is the assur-
ance which they have Of obtaining goods
Of the highest quality. unauthorized.
pure. and meeting the highest standards
The corporation has a capital stock OF
500 shares each Of preferred and common
stock. with a par value Of IS and 81 q
share. respectively. but has not found II
necessary to supply the full amount of
authorized capital With an Investment
Of only Sc ono. the company does busi-,
ness Of more than $4,000 a year. and
dividends on preferred stock are paid at
the rate Of per cent on the par value.
Costs have been reduced In every way
possible The goods are distributed from
downtown store. located where the
rent IL cheap. and savings have been
made in clerk hire and in the employing
OF manager Of the business. There are
now more than $50 members Of the gov
eminent employees and their friends con-
Quoting this cooperative enterprise, and
more than 26o articles are listed.
Unlike many cooperative enterprises,
the Civil Service co-operators have not
tried to do away with delivery sys-
a cash remittance. These orders are then
made up and delivered by the wagons of
the corporation Wednesday. Thursday
and Friday. At first members objected to
being compelled to order all the goods
needed for the week on one day. They
first seemed disadvantage later became
a popular feature Of the scheme. because
housewives were abie to systematic their
duties to better advantage. and to have
all the work Of delivery over on the same
day every week. Persons who desire
goods between times can get them by
calling at the co-operators' store.
Members OF the association point TO
four principal economies which the CO.
operators have established The first is
that they have succeeded in doing a large
business on a small capital selling each
year from $4,000 to $25 900 worth Of
goods on a capital Of 5000 The second
economy Is the cutting down of all ST.
perfiuous service. reducing the work Of
feature which has helped to bring about
10 per cent saving in the cost Of goods.
and at the same time made it possible to
furnish to members a better quality of
goods than many Of the ordinary stores.
The third advantage Of the association Is
protecting the interests Of the buyer by
an agency which is working for the inter-
ests OF the buyer instead Of aiming to
pay profits. The fourth economy Ia that
all profits Of the association accrue to
the members and are used either for the
payment Of dividends or for Increasing
the capital on which the association does
Its business.
omcial. of the United States Depart
ment Of Agriculture are very much In
terested in the plan of
Smau.Farm Henry Ford. the multi
millionaire automobile
4AoJeets' manufacturer Of Detroit,
to establish families on small ffteen-acre
FARMS into which he will divide large
tract Of land which he owns in Michigan.
Mr.. Ford calls his new work a project In
practical philanthropy, and government
agricultural experts say that II he can
make a success In working out his plan
he will have taken long step forward
in demonstrating that small farms may
be depended upon for large part Of the
food supply Of the country. particularly
in thickly populated centers.
What is particularly interesting to the
farm management experts In the Depart
ment Of Agriculture is the feature OF Mr..
Fords plan which will give to the head
of each family established on his
small farms a salary Of $1,000 in cash,
outside Of the food which the family will
raise for their own consumption on a
part of the ground. On the remainder of
the tract Of fifteen acres each farmer will
be shown by competent experts how to
manage his crops SO as to make them
the whole project pay for itself.
Officials Of the Department Of Agricul-
ture say that In order to make the small
farms project profitable II will be neces-
sary. Of course. to plant the land entirely
in fruit and truck crops. At the present
time slightly more than 4 per cent of
cultivated land in the United States is
planted in fruit and truck. It is esti-
mated that approximately TX per cent 10
included in fruit land and about 2h per
cent in truck gardens. Approximately
one-haf of the land planted in truck
crops includes the ground on which is
grown the Irish potato supply Of the
country. Besides getting the greatest per
acre yield 1t will be necessary for the
agricultural experts who direct Mr.. Ford 8
project to develop nearby markets 30
that all OF the produce raised Is easily
handled and sold at the best prices.
The Detroit manufacturer will estab-
fish the small ifteen-acre farms on 900
acres of cultivated land near Detroit
Mr.. Ford has long been interested in