Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-08-13
BY VIRGIL BARNHART

II you owned a Supermarket, or a
chain of them, you could be making nice
profit right now, couldn't you?
But unfortunately you haven't that
kind of money to invest, have you?
So you aren't making any profit. In.
stead you are helping the fellow who
owns the store to build and own new
stores.
But-and this may be a surprise to
you-yOu can own such a supermarket-
in fact series of them-for the very
small investment of $25.
Does this sound too good to be true?
Let us discuss it.
BY purchasing just one $25 share in the
Toledo Consumers Cooperative, Inc, you
can become a partner in one of the ma
TONS biggest businesses Last year the
cooperatives did business of more than
one billion dollars.
When you own this share of stock you
have voice and vote in deciding how the
store is to be run. Every other stOckholder
has voice and one vote, just as you have,
regardless of how great his investment
may be. No one can control the coopera-
tive by purchasing large block of stock.
Your profit is based upon the stores
profit, not upon the $25 investment and
upon the purchases you made from your
store during the year.
Not a bad idea. You purchase from
your own store, and save by buying from
yourself. This is known as a patronage re-
fund. And remember, through our large
volume of business, we will be able to
purchase these items at good prices. too,
besides our yearly patronage refunds. In
our Pontiac and Flint cooperatives the
savings amounted to between and 20
cents on the dollar.
There are other advantages, too. When
you purchase from your own store, you
get what you pay for. After all, wouldn't
it be foolish for us to cheat ourselves,
when we are the owners? No goods are
misrepresented or overpriced, because
there just wouldn't be any sense in it
when the person who had been overpriced
would be the one to receive the profits
anyway.
If a businessman offered you this op-
portunity you would think he was Santa
Claus, and that you were favored per-
son. You would be. But don't wait for
them to do that, or your beard will be
longer than Santa Claus beard.
This should be a pleasant surprise.
Anybody can join the Toledo Consumers
Cooperative, regardless of race, religion,
color, nationality, or any other considera.
ton. 1t is not for union members only, al
though many non-union members have
joined it. Anyone who wishes can pur-
chase share of stock in the coop for $25.
These shares become the working capi-
tai which will supply the new warehouse
supermarkets with the fixtures, grocery
stock, and other necessary equipment The
SIS share of stock entities you to a life
time membership in the coop, unless you
wish to turn in your stock at some later
date, in which event you would be return
ed your money. But the only reason any,
one would ever want to do this would be
because they were moving from Toledo.
We are sure of that.
COOperatiVeS are playing an increaS.
ingly important part in the lives of mill
ions of Americans. Farm people who for
many years were at the mercy of the sup.
pliers of feed. fertilizer, and machinery
learned to supply themselves by forming
cooperatives, and when this happened
prices were forced down and the exploit
tatiOn ceased.
City people who have been the victims
of grocery chains, oil companies and other
mOnOpolies, have successfully met the
challenge of the price gougers by estab-
fishing their own grocery warehouse mar
kets, with automobile accessories, oil and
other products.
There is nothing new about the CO.
operative movement. 1t is new here but
it was first established in England more
than 100 years ago by working people
who tired of paying excessive prices for
the necessities of life.
These people were desperate. So are
many housewives today. Let us solve our
problem the democratic way-bringing
economic democracy into our everyday
lives, using the democratic principles of
consumer cooperation found to be SO sue
cessful ever since they were formulated
by that first real cooperative, established
in the town of Rochdale, England.
Here are the eight Rochdale principles,
under which all true consumer coopera-
tives operate:
Omen membership (Anyone NAV