Evening star., 1927-04-28
MEN AND MONEY
By NJ. S. Rukeyser.
tCopyright. 1927

Along with the remarkable develop
ment in recent years Of the purely
| commercial chain store idea in the
United States a system OF consumers
cooperative societies has fiouriShed.
As compared with the chain store,
the co-operatives have been small rae
tors, and have functioned most enec-
tivelv in small towns. They are
strongest in communities of $4,000 or
less, and one-f1fth of the total business
transacted by the co-operatves is done
in Minnesota, with Wisconsin, Massa-
chusetts, Nebraska and Mlchlgan
ranking next in order.
The Department Of Labor. Ill re-
cent survey of the cooperative move
ment, concluded:
MANY a. community has found the
society q power in raising the quality
Of goods sold. 1t pays fair wages to
labor, and so tends to raise the lever
foY. workers in other stores OF the TO-
cality. Bv inaugurating such features
oe reading rooms, clubrOomS, lectures,
libraries, etc, the cooperative society
NAV exert an influence in developing
not only a wider social, but high cur
turaI tone in the community. 1t also
tonda 40 give it's members training
NOT only in working for the good OF
in business enterprise.
Many Wiped Out.
Tn +he de1ation of 1920-21 many CO.
onera atives were wiped out, but those
which survived are doing a larger
current business than ever oe1ore:
Originally the cooperative society soio
it's merchandise at cost plus the eSll-
mated cost of operations. Ihe new
prevalent policy, however, Is to sen
goods at current prices, ana 10 return
profits as special dividends TO the co
lucrative consumer owners. IhiS
new policy mitigates the antlpethy ol
regular merchants.
According to Department of LABOR
statistics. all consumers societies
combined showed an increase in aver
age membership Of 80 per cent and In
ayerage sales per society of 81 per
cent. If price differences are adjusted
the increase in average sales amounts
to 81 per cent. The number Of So
cieties reporting was 479, and their
sales in 1925 totaled $50,000,000.
The total average membership OF
these societies is 80, compared with
269 in 1920. Four-fifths of the CO.
operatives now operating have been in
business for from to rs years, and
many have branched out into new
lines, such as restaurants, boarding
houses, laundries and gasoline filling
stations
More than $3.50, 900 900 was returned
in dividends on the 1925 sales. This
averaged $10.62 a member, which was
3.8 per cent on sales, and on the basis
of capital invested represented a re-
turn of 80 per cent.
Foreign Population Communities.
The cooperative is most active in
communities with large foreign popu.
lations.
The somewhat anomalous survival
Of the cooperative in highly individual.
istic America is a reminder of the di.
versity of the economic organization
Of the country.
What happens to the worthless &C.
curities which are emitted each year
from the gushers of fraudulent
finance? What becomes of the COM
panies that are builded only of the
hopes of promoters and the verbal in
fiation of reckless statesmen?
Roland M. Smythe, pioneer tele-
phone subscriber, who discontinued
service last year because the tele-
phone made him too accessible to
intruders on his time, is leading
expert on obsolete securities. He
makes his offices in the Produce
Building, New York, where he has
occupied space since 1873. He has
an array Of data concerning thou
sands OF companies which have been
dashed against the rocks. He sells
the worthless engraved certificates to
souvenir hunters.
Guarantees Them Worthless.
"I guarantee that the stocks and
bonds that / sell are worthless" the
gray-haired veteran OF finance, who
has pointed goatee and flowing
mustache, said, in a recent interview.
''If they turn out to have some value
my customers are delighted-and am
not displeased. Disposing of patches
and bundles of these o-called worth
less securities is just a by-product
of my business.
'In recent years there has been a
fad of using worthless securities as
wallpaper to decorate dens in houses.
have sold great many securities
for that very purpose.
MY experience proves how care
fully one must examine what Is back
of the security--the name does not
necessarily mean anything. There is
Just as much difference between
stocks and bonds as there is in people
except that a. security may die and
later come to life. That one possi-
bility seems to fascinate those who
collect obsolete and unknown stocks
and bonds"
Many brokers sell worthless secu-
rites. The unique point about Mr..
Smythe is that he carries on a legiti-
mate trade in such stocks and bonds.
Mr.. Smythe Is a walking encyclo-
pedia, specializing in little known,
obscure and forgotten corporations,
II ;o11 hAay, fvf IN Ano ~ ria I