Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-11-03

ciety and even non-member Gus
toners were given shares in the
Profits of the enterprise proportion
ate to the amounts they expended.
Retail societies have been estab-
lished all over England and Scot
land and these in turn have form
ed wholesale societies. The plan
of organization of the retail societies
is substantially the same as that of
the original Rochdale Society.
Membership is open to anybody,
a fixed minimum of one-pound
shares-one to five-which bear in
terest at a nominal rate of 4 to 5
per cent, and being limited to a
maximum investment of 200 pounds.
The shares can be withdrawn but
are not transferable and hence
never are quoted at more than their
face value.
The business of the stores is car
ried on in the same way and at
practically the same prises as Il
ordinary shops. Members and ION
members are given metal tokens or
paper checks registering the amount
tt each purchase which are collect
ed at stated intervals and credited
upon the records of the society. At
the end of the year, after the in
terest has been paid on the shares
of the members, the profits are dis
tributed in the form of dividends
upon the total amount of purchases,
ron-members receiving ope-half of
the dividend rate allowed members.
Thus if the purchases made of
the society totaled, for example 100,-
coo pounds and the net profits for
distributions amounted to $1,000
pounds, each member would receive
a dividend of Is per cent upon the
aggregate amount Of his purchases
bonuses are sometimes paid to la
Dor and funds set aside for educa-
t1onal and charitable purposes.
Two large wholesale societies, one
in England and one in Scotland,
are organized and conducted on a
similar basis. Only retail societies
can be members of the wholesale So
ciety, and each must subscribe to
one five-pound share for every ten
Of its individual members, such
stock being transferable at par
only. Goods are sold to the mem
Der societies at prices representing
only q slight advance over cost and
the profits of the wholesale con-
Germs are divided among the mem
Der societies in proportion to their
purchases.
The wholesale societies do not
compete with each other, but FREE
quently n acts as the others agent
and they have numerous under
takings in common. They own tea
plantations in Csylon and wheat
lands in Canada, and they have
buying agencies in Ireland, Den
mark, France. Spain, Germany, Hol-
land. the United States and other
countries.
Buying and selling at wholesale is
by no means the sole activity of the
societies. They are manufacturers
on a large scale and in England
they produce boots and shoes, can
| dies, woolens, clothing, furniture,
brushes, upholstery, bedding, but
ter, flour, lard, jam. tobacco, and
printing. The Scottish Society
manufactures -four, tweeds, blan-
kets, mems clothing, shirts. mantles,
furniture, boots and shoes, hosiery.
brushes, preserves, confectionery,
tobacco, timed goods and printing.
The English Society conducts a
banking department for the retail
societies and a weekly newspaper is
published as the official organ OF
the movement. The societies also
have a department through which
they carry all the fire insurance or
the millions of pounds worth oil
buildings which they own.
In one year the retail societies,
or distributive stores as they are
sometimes called, did an aggregate
business of almost one billion dol.
lars with a net profit Of approx.
mately 10 per cent on that amount
In that year there were about 1906
Of these societies with considerabl!
more than 5000, 900 individual
members. 1t is not reported how
many non-members patronized tn
stores.
It may be argued that the saw
ing to individual members, either il
lower prices or in their dividend
on purchases. does not amount t.
enough to make the enterpris
worth while. Certainly on the fig
ures quoted the average dividen'
per member was not a large item
However, the fact remains that tn
societies have grown steadily an,
that the volume of business don
has increased by leaps and bound:
That may be accepted as proof tina
the cooperative movement in Grea
Britain Is success.