The Llano colonist. [volume] (Llano, Calif.) 191?-1937, 1922-08-05
COOPERATION
BY George ID. Coleman

and produce health and strength. The
cells Of the bodies Of all animals and
fish cooperate and this co-ordination
produces the many forms Of life in
the world.
The same can be said Of all plant
life; it is the cooperation 81 the midi
vidual cells that produces all TIE Or
game life on the planet.
Cooperation may Be stated to Be the
material basis of all life. This may
be assumed as demonstrated scien-
tific hypothesis. if not fact. Disease
is the lack of cooperation among the
individual cells or organs, and when
the cause Of the lack Of coordination
is removed, or nature is aided to re-
store cooperation. the disease ceases.
Animals in the jungle that will not CO.
operate in any manner, rarely survive;
or, if they do, they are few in number
and maintain themselves because of
some natural advantage. enabling them
to avoid their enemies
The degree of cooperation among
animals is naturally limited. Wolves
hunt in packs. The coyotes Of the
plains will chase a jack rabbit BY re-
lays and tire him down, and gradual
ly close in on him. The peccaries. or
wild hogs, of tropical America run in
droves and attack tigers and game that
single they would be utterly unable to
cope with.
Examples innumerable could be giv-'
en- Of cooperation in the animal world,
and Of character that their very ex-
istence can be said to be due to that
fact.
1t is cooperation that makes the ants
and bees and many insects able to sur
vive.
One of the strongest proofs that man
is as Thomas Edison has said, in the
dog stage yet, or that evolution has
not yet developed human capabilities,
is nationalism and the wars between ma
tions-which are virtually big tribes
that are but an advance from the saw
agery of jungle life. Another proof
is the system of society that was based
under Rome. Greece and Carthage, on
slavery, then developed to feudalism,
chattle slavery still remaining in part
and then evolved to the, present ex-
listing system called competition, CAPT
talism or plutocracy.
When corporations became the or
ganizational method of production,
there was a greater degree of cooper
alton, but the cooperation did not in
clude the laborers who did the work,
and the "co-operators" co-operated
only to the degree of the capital they
had interested. Then the State be-
comes the tool Of the corporate inter-
ests. and the laws, the Judges and the
courts and the police powers become
the servants Of the owning class WHO
ARE THE ONLY CO-OPERATORS.
Under this method of cooperation, un-
der nationalism, wonderful develop
ments have taken place and great ma
lterial growth.
| All Of this demonstrates the power
Of cooperation, but humanity at large
has not benefited by all this-only the
owning class. Hitherto the mass Of Ia
Dor. accepting modern feudalism as
correct, taught by some that master
and servant is a divine institution, have
contented themselves with trade union.
ism and that mainly craft unionism
and that has served the owning-clas.
interests, so much so that Samuel Com
pers, head of the American Fedora
ton of Labor, has long received from
the Civic Federation, financed by Nor
gan and Co. and Others of the owning
class, $4,000 per year, something tina
would not be tolerated a moment il
Europe. Hitherto the mass of labo
has had no idea of cooperation, henc,
they have been pawns and the com
mon herd" to the ruling class; bu
just now the idea of cooperation ha
come to them, and ii is not to be won
dered at that Babson. the adviser 0
the privileged class. has sounded not
. of warning and told them its great dan
: ger to their class. But if the presen
4 system remains and the producing elias
co-operates separately and competitive
lilly with the owning class, there cannc
\ be, in the end. as Babson has foreseer
II but one result, and that is that labol
\ if it remains united. having the nun
be-s for voting. will gain the politics
J power. Having the technical skill,
Il will absorb the industries. as it has
II few shops already. and thus by grac
u ual approaches it will fall heir to tn
N pro,,erties IF the country and thus prir