Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1936-12-24

AID is URGED
Continued from Page ~


II am perfectly aware that the
term Understanding and sympathetic
cooperation is strange one in the
business world. Business men use it
commonly enough, but they do not use
it when they are talking shop. But
that's the whole trouble. 1t is our
efforts to run business on the OPP
posite principle which got us, as we'll
as the rest of the country, into such
a mess; and now, unprepared as we
may be to undertake it, we've got to
give first consideration to the common
we are ever again to achieve any
lasting business success.
Master-and.Servant Age Is Over.
I'm sense, l myself am benefic-
larry of special privilege, and many Of
my fellow businessmen are not only
mystified but initiated that l should
be seeking the way out of a system
which gives me, through my wealth,
such power over others. l can COM
mand their services. can even
threaten them with unemployment, if
they don't do what / tell them to do
could, if l wished, employ a large
lretinue of personal servants-not in
doing anything which needs to be
done but in ministering to my person
al whims; and these servants, gradu-
American Sunday schools, instead of
being shocked at such a misuse of
their power to serve, would probably
thank me for giving them work. That
is what we need to correct. We have
passed out of the master-and-servant
age into the machine age; and the
machine age makes it necessary that
the masses be employed, not in serv-
ing any favored group but in serving
one another-in serving everyone.
There is great new system of
distribution developing in America
a system which, if it works, will help
business tremendously, by enabling
millions in our lowest-income groups
to buy, and therefore to have far
more than was ever possible before
am speaking of the Consumer Co
operative system. 1t is interesting
to note how some of our American
businessmen are viewing it.
A More Efficient System.
do they say it won't work? No.
They are alarmed, rather, lest it put
them out of business; which is an
admission on their part, that they
consider it more efficient system of
distribution than is the one in which
they are engaged.
Nov, that's a most interesting
point of view-both from the stand
point of religion and of business. AS
a student of business, | can assure
them that the Consumer Co-or erative
movement, if it succeeds in serving
the masses better than they have
been served, will help instead of in
juring all legitimate business. They
need not be alarmed, then, for fear
it will succeed. If they were guided
by the business facts, instead of by
this quaint attitude of theirs, they
would be alarmed, rather, lest the
new movement might fail; and they
would cooperate with the co-opera-
tives in an effort to see that they Sc
cured the best possible business
management.
But just suppose that this were not
so. Suppose the consumer co-opera-
tives, through enabling the lower-in-
come groups to buy more shoes and
clothes for the children, better furni-
ture for the home, better medical
care for the sick and some of the
comforts and luxuries which have
hitherto been reserved for the more
fortunate classes-well, just suppose
that it did put these alarmed profit
seekers out of business. From the
standpoint of true religion, what of
it? Should their privileges be sacri-
feed for the common good? Or
should the interests of the masses be
sacrificed, so that these mere profit
seekers may continue to make
1.-THE American masses are waiting
They need your leadership. They
want to know how they can dwell to-
gether in unity and security. The
machinery for such unity and securi-
tv has a1rpadxr hoop dova1Ono1 Tba