Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-11-03

Washington. Nov. 3.---In these daye
Of high living costs. widespread III
terest .ie being manifested IN ha
tion-wide plan OF cooperative puy.
trv and distribution. Farmers enn
fruit growers are perfecting market
ing organizations 10 protect their IN
tereata and IL is urged that II In nigh
time something was done In benaIl
Of the consumers
whenever project OF this natuf"
ia under consideration attention - ~
rected naturally TO the Rochdale ran
which has operated successfully IN
England for more than three-auarters
Il a century This organization EN-
bodies what la perhaps the largest ana
most prosperous cooperative system
the world has ever known and lts al
vocatea cay there IN no reason why
Il could not be adapted to this country.
The cooperative movement In Great
Britain started with the corn mile
and baking societies that were estab-
ljshed IN the closing years OF tns
eighteenth century and the first dec
AIDE OF the nineteenth. II resulted
| from a fnillers' monopoly that had al
vanced the price Of flour TO an exorDl-
| tant level. Mills and bakeries were
/ operated on a ready money. oct price
/ bnsia. and a little later Robert owen
came along with his communistic ex-
permenta
1t was not until 1s44 when the Roch-
dale Society Of Equitable Pioneers
was founded, however, that the move
ment attained real proportions. The
objects Of this s-ciety were the saie
Of provisions. ct cetera, the building
and buying Of houses for members
the employment OF out-of-work mem
bars, in manufacture. ITO establish q
self supporting home colony OF united
interests, and 20 start temperance
hotel Doing business on strictly
cash basis and furnishing goods o.
first class quality were principles o.
: the original cooperative movement
that were adopted by the now society
but two new ideas were taken up tina
were to prove the foundation for sue
ceFsful co operation. First q these wa'
the abandonment OF the attempt q
sell at cost prices.
While Il may not have been demon
etrated that any cooperative plan o.
a cost price basis was doomed 20 fail
IRE II is certain that the prosperit
Of the movement dated from tho dis
cardlng OF that principle.
Profits on Purchases Shared.
The second of tho new ideas was IN
n system OF dividing profits upon pm
!. chases. Instead OF deriving their benz
g fits from cooperation through bsin
e able 10 buy at greatly lowered price
n the members o. the society and eve
- nun-member customers we're give
r ehares in the profits Z the enterpris
o proportlonote IN the amounts the
Y expended.
10 Retail societies have been establish
ed all over England and Scotlar
q and these in turn have formed Who'll.
z sale societies. The plan Of organic,
" ton OF the retail societies IL substr,
10 TALLY the sams as that OF tho origin
Il BochdaIe Society.
% Membership Ia open 20 nnybod
" each member being required to buy
fixed minimum Of onc-pound sharer-
n ono 20 five--7vhich bear interest at
?. nominal rate OF or per cent, ar
. being limited 70 a maximum inves
n ment Of 200 pounds. The shares ca
l. be Withdrawn but are not transferab
Is and hence never are quoted at mo-
than their face value.
81 The business OF the stores IS carri,
e. on IN the same way and at practical
s. the came Prices "a IN ordinary shoI
n Members and non-rnembers are givt
T. metal tokens or paper checks reg!ste
a ing the amount OF each pUr-ha
NJ which are collected at stated intsrvs
= and credited upon tho records Of Z