Newark post., 1919-11-12
COOPERATIVE BUY
ING PROVES EMINENT
SUCCESS
Was Initiated 20 Years Ago
in Effort to Lower Living
Costs

which has been agitated for several
months by Newark residents under
the leadership of William Tierney, as
a means of combating the present
high cost of living, is by no means an
untried experiment, but has in the
past in this country and IN England
proved to be conspicuous success.
While in this country most of the
cooperative activity is in the Middle
West and the Far West there are
some splendid examples of big sue
cess in the East, notably that of the
Into Cooperative Society of Fitch
burg, Massachusetts. In 1910 this
society opened a grocery store which
did a business of $4,000 year. Now
the society operates four grocery
stores. a mems furnishings and shoe
store, and bakery, all of whose sales
combined during the past year
amounted to over half million dol
lars. Recently the society took over
a milk distributing route and is now
serving 1000 families in day.
The real origin of the cooperative
movement dates back 70 years or more
when two dozen or more flannel weav-
ers of Rochdale, England, in an effort
to stretch their wages over the high
cost of living and to better their con-
dition, evolved a scheme whereby
they bonded themselves into a society,
rented a store room, stocked it with a
small wholesale order of staple pro-
visions. On two evenings every week
one of the members volunteered to
act as storekeeper, and dole out to
fellow members provi sions at the reg
ular market prices asked by other
storekeepers. At the end of three
months the stores profits, after an
appropriation has been voted to a sink
ing fund, was returned to the pur-
chasing members in proportion to the
purchases of each during the quarter.
The management committee were all
practical men and the profits were
sufficient to attract many new men,
bers of the society, including many
who had previously ridiculed the en-
terprise.
How the Enterprise Was Financed.
Each member was asked to contri-
butte five dollars to the working capi-
tai of the grocery business and as it
grew and prospered the profits be-
came greater until the business finally
developed into one of the biggest mer-
camille establishments in England. 1t
remained, however, the property Of
the society members and subject to
their democratic control on the basis
of one vote to every member, man OF
woman. The news of this remarkable
success spread with marvellous rapid
ity and in less than 20 years there
We're a sufficient number of these So
cieties to form a powerful federation
which could pool purchases and con
troll sufficiently large trade to com
mand the respect of the great mer
chants and manufacturers.
Boycott Leads to manufacturing
The jealousy and rage Of the smalle
dealers against the cooperative store
resulted eventually in boycott O
manufacturers and wholesalers whicl
drove the "Cooperatives" to do thei
own manufacturing, a step made pos
sible by the gradual expansion of tn
sinking fund. These productive en-
terprises still further cheapened tn
cost of living and the movement grey
rapidly until the outbreak of the wa
they were operating the biggest mar
ufacturing plants in Great Britain
Other countries followed England
example and Belgium went one bette
under the leadership of Anseele, VIII
instead of dividing the profits, turne
them to community benefits-a clu
house, sick benefits, aid for the unfo1
tunate and death benefits. The clu
house has developed along its ow
lines and is now fitted up as one of tt
most complete recreation centers
the world. This association survive
the wreckage wrought by the war al
is today stronger than ever.
In Russia the development was 7
markable. When the 5olsheviki to'
control, it was believed that thu
would make short work of the coo
erative movement ,or the suprer
council was heartily opposed to the1
Instead they were compelled to lea
them respectfully alone.
The Experiment in America.
America was but little oehind En-
land in this project. The workin
mems Protective Union tried the e
pertinent in the New England Stat