The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-07-28

lot any new ueIdll OF n6r pro-
gram. Columns in the. papers
every day. My union meeting,
which comes this afternoon,
has cooperation as it's pro-
gram. And every manager Of a
cooperative knows that if he
goes to the state banks for
credit, they will meet him with
a glad hand, and what can l
do for you today, comrade?"
Lenin For Co-operatives.
The reason for all this is that the
private trader has been gaining on
the state in. the field of retail trade,
and after careful discussion, it has
been decided that co-operatives,
rather than state retail stores, are the
best way to beat him. The co.operat-
ives are already socializing organ
ism, with their roots deep in the Rus
sian population. Not that co-opera-
ton is regarded by the Communists
as in any way possible substitute
for revolution, as some co-operators
outside Russia think it. But, as Lenin
said, "once the State Power is in the
hands of the workers, once the State
Power possesses all means of produc-
ton, we need to achieve our aim only
thru a cooperative population"
This is one Of the statements going
the rounds in the leaflets and posters
boosting cooperation. Another,-"To
organize cooperation widely enough
and deeply enough among our people
under the New Economic Policy, is
all that we need And another
Among us the growth of co-opera-
ton is the growth of socialism" All
these were statements of Lenin, in the
days after the New Economic Policy
began, and his followers realize that
they have not sufficiently needed
them.
Old Movement.
Even without their heed, co-opera-
ton has grown tremendously. While
the workmens practice of working in
artels, or cooperative producing
groups, dates back in Russia to the
eighteenth century or earlier, regular
consumers cooperation began in the
middle of last century, on the British
model, and spread until the beginning
of the World War, when there were
a million and a half members in
1880 societies, and a turnover Of
nearly $50 million dollars a year. So
cieties for marketing agricultural
produce and cooperative credit banks
were also growing. The consumers
co-operatives we're centralized in one
Central Union, known as the Centric
soyus; the agricultural societies in a
central union, known as Selskosoyus,
and both were connected thru the Mar
odny Bank, the Moscow Peoples Bank.
During the war, cooperation grew
by leaps and bounds until in 1917 II
had seven million members. Under
the government of Kerensky private
trade broke down completely and the
fco-operatives were almost the only
medium of exchange between town
and country. The soviet government
legalized this situation, placing upon
the co-operatives the full responsible
ity for collecting and distributing raw
stuffs and foods, and making member
ship in the co-operatives compulsory
for all citizens, In order to obtain ra-
lions. After the signing Of the Brit.
ish-Russian Trade Agreement in
March, 1921, and the introduction Of
the New Economic Policy, which gave
much liberty of private trading to
peasants, the rationing system fell in
to disuse, the control Of the govern
ment over the co-operatives relaxed,
and the movement began to return to
It's voluntary basis in fact, long before
the decree OF December, 1928, made
cooperation purely voluntary move.
ment again.
However, the decree gave an &C.