Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1914-01-09
CORPORATION - COOPERATION

CORPORATION - COOPERATION
To the ordinary MIND these two
words sound very much alike, and a
great many people seem to confound
one with the other; so much so that
many so-called cooperative societies
are merely corporations. The differ
ence between the two, however, is
| fundamental and vital
Corporations for profit, such. for
example, as that of the bank, rail
road or factory. are organized for
the purpose of using the combined
capital CT the incorporators under
one management, and always fer
profit. The object of co operation is
to enable persons to w0-k togataer
for mutual benefit, not necessarily
IN the shape of dollars and cents.
Corporation relates to capital; CO.
operation to persons. 1t therefore
follows that in the corporation, men
|
capital they have contributed. The
man who has one 1O0-dollar share
il bank or railroad has one vote;
the man who has 10 shares has 10
votes; the man who has 100 shares
has 100 votes. In cooperative en-
terprise organized on truly cooper
|
share has as much voice as the man
with 100 shares; for cooperation re-
lates to persons and not to capital
For example, there are two men in
a creamery. One man has so COWS
and one share; the other so shares
and one COW. If the joint stock feat
ure comes in, the one that has the SO
shares can milk the man that has one
share and so cows; and will prob
ably do so if he has the chance.
The profits of the corporation
come from the customers of that cor
poration. The profits of a bank
come from the depositors; the profits
of the railroad from the men who
furnish the freight. The profits of
cooperation come from the benefits
which persons receive from cooper
ating, that is, from working together
for the cheapening of production or
for selling to better advantage.
Some cooperative enterprises have
fol ctr oh l.
fixed rate of interest Casually
small one), allowed to each man,
according to the amount of money
he has contributed to start the enter
prise. If there are any profits over
that, they are distributed according
to the amount of business that the
individual has furnished the COOP
erative enterprise. After establish
ing a reserve against future losses,
the cooperative enterprise does not
aim to make any profit, but it does
aim to save money which, as above
stated, is distributed according to the
amount of business the individual
has furnished the enterprise.
The corporation works for itself, is
egotistic, individualistic. The COOP
erative enterprise works for the CO.
operators, is altruistic; in short, is
applied Christianity. The attitude of
mind in the man who belongs to
corporation is quite different from
that of the man who belongs to a CO.
operative society, in that the one is
working for himself or for his cor
poration, while the other is working
for the general good at least of his
fellow co-operators. Hence, the dis
tinction betWixt corporations for Pc
cuniary profit and the cooperative
enterprise is radical, fundamental
and vital.
There are corporations which are
not for pecuniary profit, to which the
above remarks do not apply. For
instance, every city is corporation
Every church is or should be a cor
poration. Every society has articles
which conform to the law, for the
public good. A cooperative society
may be a corporation, but not in the
sense of a corporation for profit.
We hope our readers will think
these things over. The time is COM
ing when the truly cooperative en-
terprises, which, while numbered by
thousands, are yet comparatively few
in number, will increase until large
amount of the business of the farm
will be done comparatively Coop
Grafton will begin first where farm
ers are forced to it by circumstances,
and usually not before. 1t will be-