New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-02-10
$1,000 City Employees May
Take Up Consumers CO.
operative Scheme
FEDERAL AND OTHER
WORKERS FAVOR 1T
Foods and Mems Clothing
Now on Sale at Municipal
Building Office

\ consumers cooperative buying
movement on the plan Of the Howe
system. devised by Ben Howe, former
ly purchasing agent Of the city OF
Louisville. has suddenly taken root in
New York City II was first adopted
by 5000 city employees at the Munich
pal Building. The experiment is likely
to be followed by the $1,000 other en-
ployes Of Father Knickerbocker. BY
Uncle Sans army OF workers here
and by the employees Of many large
private corporations.
Already Knauth, '.acnod & Kuhne.
an international banNng house. with
$50 employees, and the American Tx
press Company, with 10000. have
made arrangements 20 adopt the plaa.
And the Eederal employees IN the Post
office Building and those IN the navy
yard in Brooklyn are considering IL
adoption.
Clothing sold, Toe
In the Municipal Building an Office
has been set aside on the seventeenth
floor, where for two days now the
men in charge of the plan have been
taking orders from city employees for
the delivery of foodstufs. They have
been taking orders, and measurements
also, for mems clothing, made 10 or
der, and soon they intend adding to
their price lists such articles of wom-
ans attire as can be ordered by size
cOrsets, silk stockings and lingerie.
The saving is expected 10 come
from the elimination of the whole
saler and the jobber. To the cost
price of every article is added per
cent to meet the administrative snc
distributing expenses OF the coopera-
tive concern.
Fancy creamery butter, for example,
which brought 40 cents IN the whole
sale market, was being delivered yes
terday 10 city employees at. 43 cents
pound. Suits costing considerably
more at the shop of the custom tailor
could be ordered at the Municipal
Building for S22.
One recommendation of the system,
is that it provides for delivery OF the
goods TO the purchasers home. For
the present deliveries will be made
with twenty light express wagons
radiating from the distributing centre
at the Degnon terminal in Williams
burg.
Soon 200 wagons, IL is expected, will
be making deliveries. The big eN-
press companies are to have charge o.
this end of the programme. A zone
system Of de livery viii be established
and broken up into blocks, with den
mite route for each wagon. And gradu-
ally almost everything purchasaoie
will be added TO the list.
The ANA gamated lntertrading Com
pany. Inc. of "a Maiden Lane. has the
scheme in charge. Ben Howe. who has
made a study of successful co0pers
tive systems in effect IN England.
Scotland, France, Germany, Austria
Russia. Italy, Denmark. Holland, Nor
wav. Sweden. Australia and New
Zealand, is the head Of the concern.
r. T. Tompkins, director. eN-
planned yesterday that the system
adopted mere combined the best feat
ures of all these foreign systems and
had been adapted 10 the higher trans
portation costs In this country due %
the longer railroad hauls.
The company was Incorporated IN
October under, the laws of Delaware,
with A capital stock Of Si,00000O
with each $500 worth of purchases a
customer . entitled to one share OF
.tock. par value $40. TO be paid for out
of the profit on the purchase. The. COM
pany's one asset is the Howe System
Of Cooperative Buying, Selling and
Profit Sharing.
The adoption of this plan by the
city employees was moved by r. K. a
Purcell chairman Of the clty's cen
tral purchasing committee, who Sc
leeted it from among five competing
propositions.