The Llano colonist. [volume] (Llano, Calif.) 191?-1937, 1922-06-10
co. OPERATION WILL DELIVER
THE PEOPLE FROM BONDAGE
By Georee Lowe n ssTmg5seel.ar

Without the savings of the agncul-
turist, The artisan and the craftsman,
study could not Be pursued. investiga-
lions could not Be carried on. and SILL
Ience could achieve nothing. All Of
(which proves the necessity Of capital.
savings. thrift. No one, however, IS
under obligation to pay tribute to 9th
lers for service which can Be dispens-
led with. The earliest forms IF indus
TRY, other than that Of individual work
Iers, took the form Of cooperation. III
his work, Thrift, Smiles quotes par
llnmentary reports to show that cooper
alton has been carried on from the ear
I hest times Being, therefore, an old
land well-tried system Of carrying on
industry, why not make it universaI9
Capital Of course is needed. But great
oaks from little acorns grow. III 1874
E26 Rochdale weavers with a capital Of
"a few cents each bought bag Of oat-
meal for mutual use. In 1920 the CO.
operative societies which are the out
Igrowth Of that humble beginning, had
Ia capital Of SIS, 100000 with a turn
over Of 250,000,000.
there are approximately 100000
workers in the United States. The ay-
erage earnings Of the Individual is pro-
badly not far from SIS per week. Were
10 percent of the earnings saved, that
would amount to about SIS per am
mum per worker, or ST 500,000,O00 per
year in the aggregate. Not every one
of the workers could save the sum men
TONED, but many could save more than
30 percent Of their wages, thus bring
the average savings up to the above
figure, Anything like such sum an
nua)ly withdrawn from the hands Of
the capitalists would soon drive all of
them into bankruptcy; when the thrift
ty workers could, through cooperation
buy up their plants and run them for
the benefit Of the actual producers.
The sense Of ownership in ones place
of employment, with the knowledge
that share of the profits Of ones
toll would instill in the minds Of all
feeling of pride in work well done, and
an appreciation of the nobility of la
Dor.
Well paid. there is no good reason
why one should despise any calling
that tends to fulfill real service to
society. The entire currency Of the
United States is at most but few Bill
lions Of dollars. Let me repeat, could
the wage earners and salaried workers
be induced to save 10 percent OF their
earnings and lock up their savings III
safety deposit vaults. or put them into.
cooperative institutions thus gradually
withdrawing the working capital Of the
country from the hands of the capital
lists, the industrial market would be re-
volutionized. As the funds thus accu-
INFLATED grew large enough, factories
as well as supply stores could be start
ed. The workers who thus saved their
money would In the meantime, because,
of their abstaining from expensive
amusements, have ample time in which
to become versed in methods of con-
Quoting manufactures as well as in the
business of distributing, and with wise
choice of the ones to conduct an en-
terprise there is no reason why success
should not reward each venture. A
stated amount of capital owned by | :
600 workers is just the same sum as it
would be if the property of three men.
The panic Of 1907 came as the result
of boarding on the part of small cap
italists.
The lesson is plain; without the saw
ings of the toiler the wheels of indus
try become clogged and cannot work.
How does the present system reward
the thriftyp One puts ones money in
the bank, which pays 4 per cent inter
est. Along comes a speculatpr who
borrows from the bank at 10 percent.
He buys wheat, or pork. or wooden or
cotton goods, which he resells to the
thrifty depositor at the rate of 40 per
cent interest. An endless chain of ex-
tortion. made possible only by the i'll
directed thrift of the producer,
Had the time and energy devoted to
unionism, socialism, communism, and
other panaceas for industrial evils been
devoted to the spread Of cooperation.
by this time the capitalist. so-called.
would have been removed from the
world. Three generations at most
would be sufficient to accomplish the
redemption of all industrial slaves from
the servitude TO which lack of cooper
alton has condemned them As long
4