The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-10-31


widespread interest is being mani
tested in a nationwide plan OF CO.
operative buying, production ana
distribution. Farmers and fruit
growers are perfecting marketing
ORGANIZATIONS TO protect their inter-
ests, and 1t Is urged that it 10 high
time something was done in benaif
Of the consumers.
Whenever a project Of this, ma
ture 10 under consideration aften-
ton is directed naturally to the
Rochdale plan which has operated
successfully in England for more
than three-Quarters OF century.
This organization embOdies what is
perhaps the largest and most pros
porous cooperative system the
world has ever known and its ad-
vocates say there is no reason why
it could not be adapted to this
country.
The cooperative movement In
Great Britain started with the corn
mills and baking societies that were
established in the closing years OF
the 18th century and the first de-
cade Of the 18th. 1t resulted from
a millers' monopoly that had ad-
vanced the price of flour to an ex-
orbitant level. Mills and bakeries
we're operated on a ready money,
cost price basis, and a little la er
Robert Owen came along with his
communistic experiments.
1t was not until 1874 when the
Rochdale Society of Equitable Pho
neers was founded, however, that
the movement attained real proper
tons. The objects Of this society
were the sale of provisions, ct
cetera, the building and buying Of
houses for members, the employ
ment of out-of-work members in
manufacture, ito establish a self
supporting home colony of united
interests" and to start temper
ance hotel. Doing business on a
fstrictly cash basis and furnishing
goods. of first class quality were
principles of the original coopera-
tive movement that were adopted
by the new society, but two new
ideas we're taken up that were to
prove the foundation for successful
| cooperation. First of these was the
abandonment of the attempt to sell
at cost prices.
While it may not have been dem
onstrated that any cooperative plan
ON a cost price basis was doomed
to failure. it is certain that the
prosperity of the movement dated
from the discarding Of that princi'
pie.
Profits on Purchases Shared.
The second of the new ideas wa:
the system of dividing profits upor
purchases. Instead of deriving theil
benefits from cooperation through
being able to buy at greatly low
cred prices, the members of thu
society and even non-member Gus
toners were given shares in thu
profits of the enterprise proper
tomato to the amounts they ex
pended.
Retail societies have been estab
lished all over England and Scot
. land. and these in turn have formed
wholesale societies. The plan 0
organization of the retail societie
! is substantially the same as tina
, Of the original Rochdale society.
Membership is open to anybody
each member being required to bu
a fixed minimum of one-poun
. shares-one to five-which bear in
terest at nominal rate of to
: per cent, and being limited to
, maximum investment of 200 pound.
: The shares can be withdrawn bu
are not transferable and hence ney
er are quoted at more than thei
5 face value.
. The business of the stores is cal
4 ried on in the same way and a
t practically the same prices as i
3 ordinary shops. Members and nor
t members are given metal token
5 or paper checks registering tn
amount of each purchase. whic
1 are collected at stated intervals an