Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1920-06-11

l expected, of course. that these
English cooperative people would be
tucked away somewhere in a bv-
street, carrying on their business in
a furtive and struggling manner. The
metropolitan press had told me but
little about them. They were rad
lcal'' That meant that shouldn't
expect much
My first surprise came when | ar
rived IN Manchester and stood be-
fore the buildings of the Co-operat
i've Wholesale society, or c. w. S. as
1t is called. There they were, six
solid blocks of five-story buildings
handsome, dignified, the most i'm
pressive unit of commercial build
lngs had seen in England.
began with the big cooperative
bank-my second surprise. | asked
for a secretary. THE manager him
self will see YOU" I was told by lin
formation" The information man
confided to me with a degree of
pride that the manager was formerly
grocery clerk and had worked up
all his life in the cooperative move
ment.
The managers office opened mod
estly from the main entrance, and
soon l found myself sitting beside
him in his small, approximations
room. We talked for an hour. The
manager simply explained the mean
ing of the figures on several sheets
of bank balances and statistics of the
wholesale organization. What a
business story! The statistical fin
ger of that cooperative banker led
my imagination swift pace across
shores, continents, oceans. I came
to inspect a sect" | was being
shown an imperial commercial ad-
venture.
Here's what | listened to: The CO.
operative Wholesale society is doing
an annual business of nearly half
billion dollars; its sales this year
have increased 35 per cent over last
years; these goods are being pur-
chased by a fourth of the entire
population of Great Britain; it owns
and operates a string of factories
which this year are producing $133,-
/ 100000 worth of goods, an increase
/ of ~ per cent over last years pro-
duction The C. w. S. also owns it's
own steamers and docks, and has a
perfected purchasing organization
which now reaches out into the re-
mote, uncivilized parts of the world.
The C. w. S. sells thousands of ar
ticles-eyery thing, | should judge,
from beeswax to motor trucks, and
many co-operator now boasts that
he secured his wife from it too,
And then the c. w. S. bank itself,
which was located in a corner of
floor of a large building of show
Irooms--it does d banking business of
two and a half billion dollars a year.
Accounts are carried by 99G CO.
operative societies, 1876 trade
unions and friendly societies, and
879 clubs and other mutual organi-
cations.
A business like this, the largest
distributor of general merchandise
in the British empire, being managed
by socialistic cranks,' financed by
a grocery-clerk banker, and owned
by farmers, miners and mill hands
1t was incredible, it was import
ant, it was news, went out from
the bank and took deep breath. l
had planned to see many things dur
ing my four days visit in Manchest-
er; but 1 thought, there cant be
anything more fascinating than this
impossible c. w. S. 1t is the most
interesting business enterprise I
have found in England" I thought
of a hundred questions l wanted to
ask-right off.
found the publicity department
The manager paused in the midst of
a cooperative editorial, drew up a
confidential chair and
Tell me- I began, impetuously,
plunging for the biggest secret of
all, "who is the organizing genius
behind this movement? I want to
meet him
1--WE have no geniuses," replied
the publicity manager. 1--WE don't
believe in them. We don't need
them. They're too expensive"
well, who is the boss?"
"a board of 80 directors. One of
these directors is the ganeral man
ager"
How much do these directors re-
ceive a year?"