The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1917-01-11

means, is given through the effect
of the Operative store owned and
operated 10y the miners in the village
lor Gillespie, Illinois. Some three
years six months ago twenty-sevon
mon started that little society and
began their store. At that time MOI G
than so per cent. Of the people of
Gillespie were buying more than half
heir supplies from the mail-order
houses of Chicago and st. Louis, be
auac the mail order houses were sell
ling cheaper than the merchants.
In the first quarter reported, that
society paid 8 per cent. dividend to
heir members ON the basis of pur-
Ina os, besides per cent. interest ON
la and capital, and put little in
heiJ reserve fund for depreciation
and extending their business A few
more members came into the society
tuying those three months and in the
'erond quarter they paid 8 per cent.
larger addition to their reserve fund.
thc third quarter they paid II per
cent. dividend in purchases, their in
te est and made larger addition to
their reserve fund.
Tncn the merchants began to real
ize that unless they reduced the
prices they were charging, the divi-
dcnds paid by the cooperative store
would be 50 attractive that all Of
their customers would leave and go
to the cooperative store, and they
would re out of business; so they de-
,ided that they must reduce those
prices, but at the same time, they
agreed they must do it in such a way
that the cooperative society would
not get credit for it. SO they began
gradually lowering the price of first
one article and then another, until
today, no one in Gillespie is buying
goods from any of the mail-order
houses in any of the larger cities, be-
cause the merchants at Gillespie are
cling cheaper than the mail-order
houses; 50 that as a result of the
establishment of that cooperative So
ciaty in Gillespie there has been a re-
duction Of an average of Is per cent.
in the cost of living given to every
body by the private merchants, even
those outside of the cooperative
movement, although many of the peo-
pie who are enjoying this benefit not
only don't give the cooperative So
ciety credit for it, but they actually
antagonize it.
The cooperative society has, in
addition to forcing this reduction in
the general cost of living, paid to
their members quarterly dividends on
an average of 10 per cent. on the
amount of purchases they have made,
eng with the interest and additions
to the reserve fund, out of which they
Increase their stock; are paying for
their own building; meet all losses,
etc, so that in reality, the co-opera-
tive society in Gillespie has meant
d 25 per cent. reduction in the cost
Of living to its members, and a Is
PEI cent. reduction in the cost Of liv-
ing TO even the people who are not
tradiag in the cooperative store.
This has been done simply through
the advantages gained to the workers
by reason Of their having established
a consumers cooperative retail store,
and it does not take into account the
additional advantages that will come
from a successful cooperative organ
ization, once it is permanently estab-
lshod, which will mean the saving
Of at least an additional 10 per cent.
or Is per cent. through the establish
ment of their own wholesale depart
mcnt, and possible greater reduction
when they start manufacturing the
articles which the manufacturers
have not been willing to sell them at
he right prices, and also arranging
for dealing with the farmer direct,
thus eliminating all unnecessary mid
dlemen and preventing any extortion-
ate prices from being charged.
One attractive feature of the CO.
operative movement is, that once a
retail store is started, the accumulat-
1 ing dividends which formerly the
private merchant would have gotten
as profits in excess Of what he was
entitled to, comes back to the con-
sumers, and, as the fund is added to
continuously, they can extend the
business as they have in Europe to
~hoesaIing, manufacturing, estab-
fishing a direct relationship with the
| agricultural workers, and even buy
nd operate farms themselves, with
out it costing them one penny, other
than what they would have paid
formerly to the private merchant for
the necessities Of life.
II the workers of our country really
want to get relief from the unreason-
ably high prices that the merchants
are charging from the unnecessarily