The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1914-07-10

ship; and the ill-starred barque drift
ed aimlessly until swallowed up In
Disloyalty Rift.
General Distrust Arises
And so there had arisen general
distrust of cooperation as a method
of doing business. This distrust
was manifest in the little group which
met Sunday afternoon in the Chart
list reading room at Rochdale for the
discussion of social and economic
problems.
1t was on Sunday afternoon latt
in the fall of 1S43 lone of those
damp, dark, dense, dismal, disagree
able days." writes Mr.. Holyoake
(which no Frenchman can be go
to ADMIRE" that the old subject o.
store owned by the people came VI
anew. They were on the ever yer
dant theme, How best to improv,
the condition of the people," wher
one of their number, Charles Ho
warth, arose and declared the "un
ion shop" to be the best solution o
the problem after all.
A discussion followed which ana
lyzed the causes of failure of the CO
operative stores previously formed
1t was indeed an earnest debate
Most of the participants were out O
work, and many of them almost GU
of food. The problem was one which
touched their very existence.
They recounted the failures of tn,
union Shops and discussed thu
causes. Then Howarth arose again
81 have a plan, mates" he said
(which will do away with the diff
culties which led to the failure O
the union shops Well have NJ
strap at our shop. Every custom
err must put down his brass wher
he takes his goods away, and ther
there will be no bad debts"
Credit Competition Met
''That will be alright" they re
piled, but how are you going tt
prevent members from going to shops
where they can get credit" 81 think
we can manage that, too" said Ho
warth, "We1l fix on moderate rate
of interest, and then, after laying 6
bit aside for a dull season, and pay
ing all expenses, we'll divide the rest
of the profits among the members &C.
cording to the money they have spent
in the shop. That's the idea, mates
Just you think about it,"
They did think it over, some shak
ing their heads, others nOdding, while
few scratched their heads as the
novelty of the idea dawned upon
them. Suddenly one of the grouI
slapped his thigh, exclaiming: well
mates, that beats all. Why the more
We spend the more we'll get. Oul
Molly will like that"
1t certainly was brilliant idea
and has delighted the hearts of hund
reds of thousands of Mollies since its
inception on that memorable Sunday
afternoon of November, 1843. The
dividends on purchases plan makes
a legitimate appeal to the gambling
instinct which is more or less latent
in every housewife. Its success de.
ponds upon the same ineXplicable
psychological riddle that support!
Wi II DIohlp hu1odASO III AhlOL
lea.
We will chase after the trading
stamp, although we know that It adds
an enormous sum to our annual
cost of living. According to the re,
port of the New York State Food In,
vestigating commission, the luxury
of the trading stamp adds $1O,50O,,
900 to the annual cost of the food
consumped in New York city alone.
Well, the Rochdale store gives
stamps and every stamp records g
certain amount purchased. On the
basis of these stamps, the net profits
Of the store are distributed.
First Years Rent $50
Whatever the underlying causes
this much is certain: the success OF
the cooperative movement dates
from the opening of that little shop
in Rochdale. No one happening along
on that dismal evening of December
81, 1874, when the store was open
ed, would have suspected the far
reaching Importance of the event.
The pioneers had secured the
ground floor of an old warehouse in
a narrow side street called Toad
Lane, by paying $50 in advance for
the first years rent. By the time
they had the place fitted up as a
store there remained only $40 of
their tiny capital with which to buy
their first stock of goods.
They invested judiciously in a sup
ply of flour, butter, sugar and oat-
meal, and amid the jeers of a con-
course of neighborhood wags, threw
open the shutters and began business.
1t was a small beginning, but it
launched a movement which has now
gained a foothold in every country
of the civilized world. In Great
Britain and Ireland these co-opera-
tive societies comprise membership
of 100000 and doing a business of
about $600,0O0,000 annually.
Spreading to other countries, the
cooperative movement entered by
ways which it has largely summed
in the country of it's nativity. When
the Danish pastor, the Rev, Mr.. Son
ne, accepted the challenge which
babe him turn his energy loose upon
the practical problems of this world
rather than spend it in theorizing
about the next. he turned to England
and the Rochdale movement for guild
ance. He introduced the British city
workman's store among the farmers
of Denmark and the country store
became the center from which was