The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-01-11
THECOOPERATIVESTORE,
By FREDERIC ]. HASKlN

scale business intelligently conducted
means business with a low operating
cost per dollar sales, and this is where
the national chain-store "has the edge"
on the local cooperative. association
The same point applies in lesser degree
to the big privately owned store. By
doing business on a bigger scale tlan
the coop" it can do business cheaper.
Another point is the matter of a
manager. Running business efficient
ly calls for Unborn talent. and the man
with such talent in high degree is more
likely in this country to be running his
own business than somebody else's.
In word, private enterprise gener-
ally beats out cooperative enterprise in
the United States because when put to
it, private enterprise will hustle around,
take advantage of every expedient in
the way of big capitalization and COM
bination, and end by delivering the
goods at lower cost. Mr.. j. r. Hum
phrey, investigator in market business
practice for the Department of Agri-
culture. makes the same point in a
broader way when he says that the CO.
operative store idea is on the whole not
succeeding in the United States because
the pressure of necessity is not behind
, it. In other words, our retailers local
and national, are giving US pretty fair
value for our money. They can often
beat the cooperative organization on a
competitive basis even when the profits
of the latter have been distributed to
its members. In Europe private re-
tail enterprise cannot do this, and
hence the cooperative plan fourishes.
The cooperative store may be sue
cessful and beneficial in individual in
stances in this country. 1t is always
a valuable weapon in the hands of
the consumer, in case he believes that
he is beng over-charged The estab-
lishment of cooperative store is often a
salutarY lesson to merchants who try
to raise prices. Once established it is
a sort of balance-wheel tor local bust
ness, and may do much coed in an in
indirect way. In some instances, it
does direct good and earns real money
for its members.
An analysis Of successful cooperative
stores show that they thrive where in
some guise or other there is pressure
of necessity. In many mining towns,
and other places where many men are
engaged for practically all their time
at some one kind of labor, the CO.
operative store has proved a blessing.
In such case you have a population
made up largely OF one kind of people,
using the same kind of food and clothes
and other articles. Thus one store can
supply them without putting in too
elaborat a stock. Moreover such a
town is given over largely to the par
ticular industry, and prices may be
regulated for the men of that industry
without regard for the outside public.
, The men have little leisure; they have
to go o'the nearest store. The private
retailer is likely to take advantage of
this combination of conditions to raise
prices; the same conditions make it
possible to run a cooperative store, and
many such are being run success
sfuly.
On the other hand. in a big city there
are thousand elements in the popula-
ton to be considered; the retailer is de-
TERED from exploiting one element by
the fear of alternating the other element.
There is room for big investments.
Private competition is keen. AS a re-
suit you have private enterprise so
big and efficient that the cooperative
store has hard sleding.
Cooperative stores sometimes flourish
where other special elements are IA
vorable. A large community of people
OF single nationality will sometimes
be held together in trading at their own
cooperative store by the ties of race,
even though they gain nothing by doing
so. The Mormons of the West run CO.
operative stores successfully in scores
of towns, the patronage holding to-
gether through friendship and com
mon belief.
On the whole. however, the result of
the investigation just completed shows
that while the cooperative store may be
successful in special instances, and
useful as weapon in the hands
the of the consumer at all times,
time has not yet come when it is
practical and necessary feature in
the retail system of the United
States.