Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-12-06
The Cooperative Firms
py ifrederi J. fImtin

| attention is directed toward certain
| group of thrifty citizens who arc residing
calmly, comfortably and cheapIy in their
own apartment houses.
Their leisure hours nre never invaded
by landlords and real estate agents, their
sleep is undisturbed by nightmares OF
sudden evictions, and their eycsght
unhurt by constant contact. with the
daily ITO let columns. They live in
attractive, sunny homes, containing the
latest inspirations in plumbing the
newest STYLES in windows, and the hottest
kind of heat. For all Of these Injuries
they pay about thirty dollars per family
per month, with the pleasant knowledge
] that the rent can never be raised unless
| they permit IT..
They are not wealthy. They are
hard-working people-carpcnters, paint
ers, paper-hangers, tallors, typesettcrs
and shop keepers and their faTniiiea-
who are not often found dwelling IN lux
| ury when the rest Of the world rs putting
up with all sorts of incOnvenlences.
How do they do il? Well, in the first
place. they live in Brooklyn, but that does
not explain it. Brooklyn is not immune
| from the high cost of living any more
| than any other town But they are
Firms, and that does explain a great deal !:
/ The Iinna, as you may have observed
are an extremely thrifty lot. They come
| from n country where life IS constant
| battle with harsh climate and where
survival il largely a matter of economy
! and co-operation As n result, the aggres-
sive instinct is highly developed IN the
Finn he never stops fighting life
So it happens that while most Of US
] have been sitting around deploring the
high cost Of living but meekly paying
! exhorbltant prices for food and rents,
! the Flnns Of brooklyn have been forming
cooperative societies and forcing down
their living costs 10 the lowest possible
minimum Bosides two cooperative
/ apartment houses, they own a community
clubhouse, a cooperative restaurant and
i plots of ground upon which cooperative
! bakeries aud dairics are soon 10 be
erected.
SOCIAL CENTER.
| First came the clubhouse, which s
/ always the FIRST socinl move-of the Firms
wherever they 90. IT Is an attractive
/ building, with coffee and game rooms,
/ smoking pai iors, wornen's club rooms, and
an auditorium where public meeting
dances and theatricals are held. 10
the Finn drama IL almost rs essential as
food, so that the people do not consider
1T an extravsgance 70 employ q dramatic
coach for their young people. Across
from the clubhouse ~ the cooperative
restaurant, and nearby il lot which
some day when building condition. be-
come II trifle more stable, is To support o
cooperative moving picture house.
The chief activity Of the clubhouse
soon became the voicing Of dScontent
with living conditions The Firms, having
come tn America, the land Of opportunity,
seeking relief from stern and exactlng
environment, were frankly disappointed.
They found themselves crowded into
grirny tenements, with insufficient heat
and water and light and air, and unable
70 earn enough tn obtain anything better.
The wages which had appeared so high
to them from the other side Of the ocean
seemed to shiink visiblY as they were
doled out for food and rent and clothes.
After all, : declared one Of the Finnish
apartrnent-house dwellers the other d8y,
1t WAS Just rs bad IS in Finland, only IN
some ways it was q little worse because
il WAS all strange the country, the
language and the ways of the people
In some of the tenement fats the Kitchen
vas the only room that was heated. and
il was not large enoug 4 u hold all Of the
family at once. The children caught
colds gong from heated rooms TO IN
HE6kEA 0kFEs anu uaA&8 tIlf tk41C III S8ADS1
cid houses the water failed % run from
the spLgot. 80 that it was had for Is to
keep clesn Il Is still 50. " hen you tell
the landlords. they say they cannot afford
10 make repairs.
But tile Firms were not satisfied merely
to discuss conditions They decided 70
change them. The carpeuters and the
painters and the plaSterers and paper
hangers among them knew q good deal
about building, ard 1t was they " no
finally suggested the idea OF q co-opera-
lively owned apartment house. They
realized that IL would be 3 huge under
taking for families with so little capital,
but experience in Finland had taught
them the value Of cooperation. In the
beginning, twenty families were inter-
ested n the project, but when II actualiy
came 10 the stage of signing cont: acts
and buying ground and building materials,
al but SIX became discouraged and
dropped cut
Six fan lies. however, refused 70 re
llnqulsh the project, and saw II through
to the b tier end. They proposed 70
build a sixteen-family apartment house,
and found themselves facing the problem
o. raising Sis. 600 \ treasurer was
appointed and each family PAID weekly
ilStallmezts to the communal treasury
u.til they had S, ,000 n a box With this
they bought = building plot The rest
Of the money they obtained from a CO
operative soclety's bank in the form Of
first and second mortgages.
Pr DE IN WORK.
Much of the building was done by the
men Of the SIX families, al OF whom took
q special pride IN their work and strove
frantically 10 outrlval one another in
painting and plastering various rooms.
Their task completed, the eo-operators
moved in, heavily III debt as it might
seem to the uncO-operative Actually,
however, they were paying interest on
their own debts. and not on the debt,
of some landlord That interest, together
with substantial monthly payments on
principal, taxes, general upkeep, and
other expenses, amounted TO consider
ably less than they would have paid In
rent for apartments OF the same size.
Each family had light, tiye-room apart
ment, with all modern improvements
including telephone, hot and cold water,
a bathroom and kitchen mot Kitchen
ettel and for these accommodations thew
paid into the common building fund
@26.35 month.
As it became known that such homes
could be obtained at such remarkably
low price, the first SIX co-operators were
overwhelmed with applications from other
families who wished t0 Ioiu the vDav.A /