CO-OPERATION The source of this uncorrected OCR text may be viewed as a digital facsimile at: http://fax.libs.uga.edu/ Formerly "The Co-operative Consumer" PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY The Co-operative League or U. b. A. VOLUME VIII January—December 1922 CO-OPERATIVE LEAGUE OF U. S. A. 167 West 12tli Street, New York City 1922 INDEX A PAGE Accessory Co-operation ...................................-...-•••••••••••••• 40 Adviser for Groton, N. Y., An................................................ 213 Alanne, S. ...........--•••••••-•••••••••••••-•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 85 American Labor Party's Endorsement....................................... 173 Arnold, Mary £......................-••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 97 Artists' Co-operative, An. ................................................... 14 Ashland Society, The........................................................ 212 Associated Grange Warehouse, Seattle, Wash.. ................................ 168 Australian Co-operation.................................................. 142, 188 Austria, The Co-operative Movement in................................... 142, 169 B Babson's Advice to Throttle Co-operation ..................................... 13 Backward British Step...................................................... 176 Bakeries, Conference of Massachusetts........................................ 107 Bakeries, Observations of Co-operative........................................ 209 Bakery at Paterson, N. J..................................................... 80 Baltimore Co-operative Society Helps Miners.................................. 105 Bank of Philadelphia, Labor. ................................................ 52 Banking .....................................................56, 92, 130, 159, 167 Basel, Switzerland ......................................................... 23 Be a Corporation ........................................................... 182 Beauty, The Need of......................................................... 147 Belgian Congress ........................................................... 179 Belgian Co-operators and War Invaders...................................... 77 Belgian Co-operators Purchase Fishing Boats. ................................ 16 Berlin Co-operative Theatre................................................. 176 Blazowska, Margaret ....................................................... 8 Bloomington, Illinois ....................................................... 87 Bolton, England ............................................................ 149 Book Review, Co-operative Anthology—Totomiantz............................. 18 Book Review, Consumers' Co-operative Movement—Webb. ...................... 36 Boston Co-operative Bank ................................................... 72 Boycott Co-operatives ....................................................... 16 British Co-operation in 1921.................................................. 160 British Co-operative Congress at Brighton..................................... 140 British Co-operative Societies ................................................ 113 British Co-operative Union. .................................................. 141 British Honors to Co-operators............................................... 147 Brooton, Minnesota ........................................................ 175 Building Guild, The Fate of a. ............................................... 77 Buying Club for "Middle Class" Co-operators.................................. 25 Buyers' Strike, A........................................................... 20 C Call to Co-operative Congress, Chicago, Illinois................................. 112 Canada, Encouragement From .............................................. 216 Canadian Co-operative Congress.............................................. 178 Canadian Co-operative Progress.............................................. 125 Can Co-operation Defeat Monopolies?......................................... 182 Carlsbad Congress .......................................................... 77 Catholics and the Co-operative Movement..................................... 44 INDEX Census Returns on Co-operation.............................................. 15 Central States Co-operative Society Feeds Miners............................ 1, 12 Cheapness Not the Aim..................................................... 93 Chicago Congress, The ...................................................... 199 China, Co-operation in....................................................... 105 Clarinda, Iowa............................................................. 174 Cleveland Co-operative Dairy ............................12, 30, 126, 138, 174, 194 Cleveland District League.................................................71, 139 Cleveland, Workingmen's Co-operative of...................................... 51 Closser, W. H. ............................................................. 7 Coal, A Story in ............................................................ 78 Coal, Cheap ................................................................ 161 Coal, How to Run........................................................... 145 Coal, Plan for.............................................................. 189 Coal Strike, The............................................................ 73 Coeur D'Alene, Idaho ....................................................... 175 Colleges Teach Co-operation ................................................. 15 Committees and Program for Third Co-operative Congress..................... 153 Conference of Co-operative Managers in Minnesota............................. 103 Congresses..........................77, 112, 140, 153, 178, 179, 199, 202, 205, 213 Convention of Northern States............................................52, 214 Convention of Ohio District League........................................... 157 Co-operation Dawns Again in Ireland......................................... S2 Co-operation's Duty to Trade Unionists....................................... 40 Co-operation in England and Wales........................................... 41 Co-operation, the One Hope in Europe......................................... 108 Co-operation Saves Strikes .................................................. 195 Co-operative Bakeries, Observations of........................................ 209 Co-operative Bakeries Feed Strikers.......................................... 85 Co-operative Coal Mine in England........................................... 148 Co-operative Congress, Program and Committees............................... 153 Co-operative League House Warming......................................... 100 "Co-operative" League of Pennsylvania (Non-Co-operative) ..................... 69 Co-operative Society of America.............................................. 69 Co-operatives and the Business Depression.................................... 86 Co-operatives and Russian Relief............................................. 88 Co-operatives Cut the Price of Bread.......................................... 16 Co-operatives Launch Fishing Flotilla......................................... 16 Co-operators Do Not Make Sales............................................. 191 Co-operators Elected to U. S. Senate.......................................... 215 Co-operators to Rehabilitate France ................................ .......... 215 Correspondence. .......................17, 35, 54, 72, 90, 107, 126, 143, 162, 180, 196 Course on Co-operation...................................................... 121 Course on Co-operation in French College ..................................... 84 Credit Union Bank in Boston................................................. 15 Credit Unions. ...........................................................82, 89 Crestline, Ohio ............................................................. 35 Cutting Expenses .......................................................... 15 Czecho-Slovakia ........................................................123, 191 D Dangers of the Big Society................................................... 131 Davies, M. L.—Inaugural Address............................................ 144 Dedication of The League House............................................. 100 Democratic Control and Strikes.............................................. 124 Denmark ..............................................................106, 124 INDEX PAGE Desbofough, E"ng., Shoe Factory.....................,.-...-.,.,,..,,.,,........ 94 Despite Mistakes. ............................................................ Ill Difference Between Co-operation and "Business"............................... 109 Dillonvale, Ohio ....................-•.-•...'..••-••......-.............•.... 194 Donnelly, Thos. J., Pres. Ohio District League, Address of...................... 158 Dcn't Ask Too Much of the Store............................................ 3 Dunleavy, F. J. .............. ^.••••• ^-•••-••.••.-.... ^-...^............... 188 Duties of Co-operators............................^...^......f............f.. 3 E Economics of the "Manage X"............ ...................................... 151 Education at Scranton, Pa................................................... 107 Education of British Co-operative Union...................................... 14l Educational Work.................................................63, 65, 76, 99 Efficiency, Not Class........................................................ 128 Electricity in Switzerland and Russia, Co-operative............................ 53 Elimination of Waste in the Restaurant...................................... 97 Encouragement From Canada .............................................. 216 Engineers' Bank Pays Savings Returns....................................... 159 England and Wales, Co-operation in.......................................... 41 English Survey, An......................................................... 178 Erwin, Tenn. ............................................................... 194 European Impressions ..............................................5, 23, 41, 58 F Fairhope, Ala. ............................................................. 126 Fake Co-operation .......................................................... 56 Fake Co-operatives in Los Angeles .......................................... 160 Farmers Buy Together ..................................................... 160 Farmers, The .............................................................. 21 Farmers, The Plight of the .................................................. 164 Farmers' Union Co-operative Insurance ...................................... 30 Farmers' Union Stores in Nebraska .......................................... 35 Farmers' Union Teaches Labor .............................................. 92 Farmers' Union, The ....................................................... 175 Farmington, Illinois, Store Thrives........................................... 31 Fascist! Destroy Co-operatives ............................................... 191 Federal Reserve Bank ...................................................92, 130 Finland Keeps on the Move ................................................. 53 Fire Insurance at Wocdridge, N. Y. .......................................... 71 Fishing Flotilla Launched................................................... 16 Fogelson, B. ............................................................... 118 Food For Thought and Use ................................................. 75 France, Co-operators to Rehabilitate.......................................... 215 Franklin Co-operative Creamery, Minneapolis ........................... 14, 88, 173 French Co-operative Bank .................................................. 177 French "Co-operative Day", A ............................................... 34 French Distrust Government ................................................ 176 French Miners' Plan for Coal ............................................... 189 French Wedding Gift ...................................................... 161 Freundlich, Emmy ......................................................... 169 Fun in the Co-operative Movement ........................................... 183 G Gabardo, G., "A True Story of French Life" .................................. 151 Genoa, Straight From ...................................................... 129 INDEX PAGE German Consumers Take Over Government Works ............................. 175 German Co-operative Congress .............................................. 178 German Pish Industry ........................••••••••••........••••..-•••• 193 German Share Capital ...................................................... 191 Germany, Co-operation in ................................................... 5 Get-Together Club Lectures ................................................. 87 Gide, Chas., "Consumers' Co-operative Societies" ............................. 178 Glasgow, Scotland .......................................................... 58 Glasgow Co-operative Bakers Reduce Bread ................................... 16 Goedhart, G. J. D. C., Letter from ............................................ 198 Government Loans to Co-operatives ......................................... 37 Groton, N. Y., An Adviser for ............................................... 213 H Hamburg Co-operative Union School for State Officials ......................... 4 Health Protection in Madrid ................................................ 161 Henryetta, Oklahoma, Co-operative Society ................................... 18 Hoan, Daniel W., Mayor of Milwaukee ........................................ 114 Honors Thrust Upon Us .................•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 147 Hospital, Co-operative, in Hungary .......................................... 34 Hospitals in Spain ......................................................... 161 Housing in Europe ......................................................... 29 Housing in Milwaukee ...................................................... 116 Housing Policy in Russia ................................................... 16 How Co-operation Can Win ................................................. 55 How to Know the Wild Co-ops ............................................... 2 Hucknall, England, Interests the Children ..................................... 72 Hungarian Doctors Co-operate ............................................... 33 I Incorporate, Co-operative Societies Should .................................... 93 Incorporation of The Co-operative League .................................... 62 Insurance, Co-operative, in New York......................................... 118 Insurance in Great Britain .................................................. 89 Insurance, Life ............................................................ 200 Insurance of Farmers' Union ............................................... 30 Intercollegiate Co-operative Society .......................................... 60 International Alliance Central Committee .................................... 105 International Co-operative Alliance Report on Russia .......................... 125 International Co-operative Summer School .................................... 124 International Congress, The Next ........................................... 213 Ireland, Co-operation in .................................................... 32 Ireland, The Future of ...................................................... 89 Italian Co-operatives ....................................................... 54 Italian Government Aids Co-operation ....................................... 33 It Pays to Stick ............................................................ 26 Japan, Co-operative Movement in ............................................ 190 Jewish Societies Affiliate with League ........................................ 137 Jewish Societies, Conference of .............................................. 64 Job Cursed the Day He Was Born ........................................... 166 K Kalamazoo, Michigan, Progressing ........................................... 126 Kansas Strikers Fed by C. S. C. S. .......................................... 12 INDEX Kaufmaun, Heinrich ................ Keen, George, Letter from ........... King, Dr. Wm. and the "Co-operator"- Kittering, England .................. PAGE ....................................... 142 ....................................... 196 -Book Review .......................... 144 .....................................77, 94 Labor Council of Nashville, Tennessee, Endorses League ........................ 172 Labor Federations Endorse Co-operation ..................................... 102 Labor Leader Visits Italian Co-operatives ..................................... 54 Laundry at Little Rock a Success ............................................. 17 Laundry, The Co-operative, of Lynn .......................................... 134 Laundry, The Greenwich Village............................................. 104 Law, Model ................................................................ 29 League Helps Co-operative Cigar-makers ..................................... 195 League House, The ........................................................ 62 League Needs for 1922 ...................................................... 10 Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Co-operative Association............................. 78 Let's Work Together ........................................................ 207 Lewiston Association Doubles Business ....................................... 139 Life Insurance Saves Life ................................................... 200 Light Ahead .............................................................. 201 Llano Colony, The ................................................. 128, 132, 196 Loans to Co-operatives ...................................................... 37 Locked Out Rush Run Miners Send Money .................................... 215 London Co-operatives ....................................................... 41 Long, Cedric ....................................................25, 78, 150, 209 M McGowan, R. A. ........................................................... 44 Maintenance of Way Brotherhood .......................................... 84, 105 Making the Pictures ........................................................ 76 Manager, The Honest ....................................................... Ill Marquette University Chapter, I. C. S. ...................................... 60 Maynard, A Town in New England .......................................... 133 Medical Co-operation ..................................................... 34, 161 Milk and Health, Co-operative ............................................... 122 Milk Distribution ....................................................... 160, 194 Milk Strikers Organize a Co-operative Creamery ............................... 12 Milwaukee, The Co-operative Movement in .................................... 114 Minneapolis Labor Studies Co-operation ..................................... 14 Mistakes of Corona, L. I. ................................................... 121 Model Co-operative Law ..................................................29, 100 Model Educational Letter ...............................................'....' 65 Monopolies, Can Co-operation Defeat ........................................ 182 Mount Olive Co-operative Society ..........................................86, 160 Moving Picture Theatre, Co-operative ...................................... .' 30 N Nash, Marion L. ............................. 99 National Co-operative Association .......................................... 68 Nebraska Co-operative Stores ............................. ... "' 35 Nebraska, Farmers' Union of ..........'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.".'.""""""""""""" 50 Nebraska, Report from ........................ 1.."".'.'.".'.".".".". ^ " ^ "'"' 205 Nebraska Survey .................. . ....................... News and Comment ...............'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.".".".'.'.".'12,' 30,' 49,'66,' 85,' 157,' 171, 194 INDEX FAGU New Year Greetings ... .,..-,..• *. <............. ^..-..• < *..,.... f............. 9 New York Co-operators Do Business of $1,600,000.............................. 70 New York Credit Unions Unite ............................................. 82 New Zealand Co-operative Society ............................................ 15 Next International Congress, The .......................................... 213 Ninety-Year Old Co-operative .............................................. 88 Northern States Co-operative League .......................52, 70, 95, 159, 171, 214 Norway, Co-operation in .................................................... 190 Nothing Fails Like Success ................................................. 56 Nurnberg, Germany Co-operative Society ..................................... 5 O Oklahoma Farmers Save .................................................... 88 One Cent on the Dollar "National Co-operative Association" .................... 68 One Vote, One Member, Origin of ............................................ 186 Our Co-operative Cafeteria, N. Y. City ..............................31, 53, 99, 103 Pacific Co-operative League in Receivers Hands ............................... 66 Paducah, Kentucky ......................................................... 198 Paterson, New Jersey, Bakery................................................ 80 Philadelphia, The Producers' and Consumers' Bank of ......................... 52 Picnic at Bloomington, Illinois ............................................... 138 Pine Bluff, Arkansas ...................................................106, 197 Pittsburgh "Co-operative League" Defeated .................................. 122 Plymouth Society Has Bad and Good Fortune ................................. 113 Poland, Progress in ....................................................... 190 Policies, Practical and Pressing ............................................. 10 Poor Reason for a Co-operative Store ........................................ 213 Posters, Material for ...................................................... 156 Potatoes Don't Grow By The Pot ............................................ 165 Practical Advice .......................................................... 64 President's Address at Third Co-operative Congress ........................... 184 Princeton, Mo. ............................................................. 194 Producers' and Consumers' Bank of Philadelphia, The ........................ 52 Producers' Factories in England, Co-operative ................................ 94 Profits, Sales and Taxes ................................................... 38 0. Questions to Ask Promoters of Fake Co-operation ............................ 3 R Railroad Brotherhood Endorses Co-operation .................................. 139 Railroads for the Consumers ............................................... 163 Rappaport, Harry ......................................................182, 186 Rayland, Ohio ............................................................. 123 Relatives of Directors ...................................................... 57 Report from Nebraska ..................................................... 205 Report of League Activities for 1921 ........................................ 28 Reports of Illinois Societies .................................................. 51 Reports to Third Co-operative Congress .................................. .207, 209 Republicans and Democrats ................................................. 183 Restaurant, Co-operative ..............................................97, 99, 103 Restaurant, Elimination of Waste in the ..................................... 97 Revolution?, When Will The, Come .......................................... 91 Ringing Up A Quorum ...................................................... 195 INDEX PAGE 26 Rose, William, British Pioneer .......................................... Rosedale, Pennsylvania ..................................................... 175 Roseland Co-operators Save 110 Per Cent. .................................... 104 Roumama 124 Royal Arsenal Society ...................................................... 131 Rural Credits, Co-operative Banking ......................................... 167 Rush Run Miners Send Money .............................................. 215 Russia, International Co-operative Alliance Report on ......................... 125 Russian Co-operative Societies Buy Raw Material ............................ 123 Russian Co-operatives Trade Policy .................................:....... 192 Russian Delegate to Cooperative Congress in Chicago ......................... 171 Russian Fair, The Great .................................................... 141 Russian Situation ......................................................... 46 Russian Soviet Housing Policy ............................................. 16 S San Bernardino Takes Over a Bank .......................................... 143 San Diego, California, Victory............................................... 138 Sault Ste Marie, Michigan .............................................7, 70, 143 Savings-Return or No....................................................... 77 School, The Co-operative League's.........................................63, 76 Scotch Help Russia ....................................................... 142 Scotland, Co-operation in ................................................... 58 Scottish Co-operative Societies, Early ........................................ 41 Scranton, Pennsylvania, Course on Co-operation............................... 70 Seattle Grange Warehouse Takes Over Food Products Association .............. 139 Secretary, The Educated .................................................... 76 Soap, A Story in ........................................................... 168 Socialist Error, A .......................................................... 21 Soo Co-operative Distributes $12,000 ......................................... 70 Sound Advice from the Canadian Union ...................................... 83 Spain, Co-operative Hospitals in ............................................ 161 Spirit of Christmas ......................................................... 216 Spurious Co-operation in Scranton ........................................... 119 Stafford Springs, Co-operation in ............................................ 150 Standard Oil Company ..................................................... 181 State Goes to the Co-operative School, The .............. ................... 4 Stiles, T. D., Letter from .................................................... 198 Store, Don't Ask Too Much of the ........................................... 3 Store Managers, Advice to ................................47, 83, 101, 119, 136, 155 Strike Aid of British Co-operatives ........................................... 140 Strike Insurance ........................................................... 32 Strikers Aided by American Co-operatives ................................... 1 Strikers Fed by Co-operatives ............................................... 85 Subscription Contest ................................................... 120, 216 Success at Red Wing, Minnesota ............................................. 122 Superior Finns, The ........................................................ 211 Sweden, Progress in ....................................................... 192 Swiss Trust Boycotts Co-operatives .......................................... 16 Switzerland, Co-operation in ................................................ 23 Symbol and Word .......................................................... £05 T Taylor Springs, Illinois ..................................................... 174 Taxation of Co-operative Societies in England ................................ 38 Technical Advice to League's Members ....................................... 11 INDEX PAGE Theatre Collapses, A ....................................................... 39 Theatre, Co-operative Moving Picture ................................. ...... 30 Theatre, Berlin Co-operative ................................................. 176 Third Co-operative Congress, Chicago ........................... 109, 136, 171, 202 Thompson, Dorothy ........................................................ 108 Three Reasons ............................................................. 14?. Throttling Co-operation .................................................... 13 Totomiantz, Prof. V., "Co-operative Anthology" .............................. 18 Trade Unionists, Co-operation's Duty to .................................... 40 Tade Unions Burn Money .................................................. 128 Training for the Service of the Workers ...................................... 1 Transactions of the Third Co-operative Congress ............................. 205 Trust Busting .............................................................. 181 Tucumcari, New Mexico, Society............................................. 77 U Ukrainian Co-operation ................................................... 8, 142 Unemployed, The ........................................................... 135 United Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees......................84, 105 U. S. Senate, Oo-operators Elected to ........................................ 215 Utica, N. Y. Co-operative Society ......................................... 17, 85 V Vacations for Co-operators ................................................. 117 Vatican, At the ............................................................ 53 Villa Grove, A 50 Per Cent. Co-operative Town ............................... 13 Vital Issues .............................1, 19, 37, 55, 73, 91, 109, 127, 145, 163, 181 W Wages Before Dividends ................................................... 199 Warbasse, J. P. ................. 1, 5, 19, 23, 37, 41, 55, 58, 73, 77, 91, 109, 113, 127, 145, 163. 182, 184, 199, 211 Warning Concerning the Co-operative League of America, of Pennsylvania (Non- Co-operative) .......................................................... 69 Warning from Missouri .................................................... 31 Waukegan, Illinois Opens New Dairy ..................................... 86, 160 We Are Onto Genoa ........................................................ 74 Webb, S. and B., "Consumers' Co-operative Movement" ........................ 36 What We Owe the Poor ..................................................... 130 When Will the Revolution Come? ............................................ 91 Wilbrandt, Prof. Robert "Konsum-Genossenschaften" .......................... 144 Wisdom from Germany .................................................... 33 Womens' Guild ............................................................ 29 Woodcock, Leslie E. ......................................................... 207 Woolwich, England, Co-operative Society...................................26, 41 Word and Symbol Contest .................:............................. .11, 205 - Workers Need Training .................................................... 166 Workers, Training for the Service of the ..................................... 1 Workers Unite at Their Peril ............................................... 146 Y Yardley, Washington, Co-operative Store...................................... 35 Y. W. C. A. Co-operative Store in Cleveland ................................. 31 • i A magazine to spread the knowledge of the Co-operative Movement, whereby the people, in vol untary organization, produce and distribute for their own use the things they need Published monthly by the Co-operative League of America, 2 West 13th Street, New York City. J. P. .Warbasse, Editor. Price, $1.00 a year. Entered as second class matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Vol. VIII, No. 1 JANUARY, 1922 10 Cents VITAL ISSUES TRAINING FOR THE SERVICE OF THE WORKERS The news comes that the Central States Co-operative Society has sent a train of ten carloads of food to the striking miners in Kansas— $64,000 worth of food—and that altogether this makes $200,000 worth of food that it has sent to them—forty carloads in all. Let us look into this business a little. Some body must be doing this. It is the sort of thing that does not do itself —this business that is done by the workers for the workers. There are people who say that all that is needed is for the workers to capture the government, take over the industries, and then tell the su perintendent of what was formerly a capitalistic wholesale grocery con cern to send food to the striking miners. It sounds easy. It is the soap-box method. But history shows that people who have got their training by administering business for the profit-making interests do not readily change their psychol ogy. The Russian Soviet Republic tried the political revolutionary method, and executives of capital istic training sabotaged the workers all along the line. The workers who study history are learning that the best people to direct and or ganize industry in the interest of the workers are people who are trained and experienced in doing just that thing. And the Co-opera tive Consumers' Movement is the only organization of the workers that is steadily growing and success fully producing and distributing for use, and that is training people from the ranks of labor to serve the workers in administering industries. Aside from the men who had the imagination and vision to conceive of it, somebody had to do it. Who directed this job for the, Kansas miners? Who got the food togeth er, saw that it was put on the right cars and saw that the cars went to the right place, to feed the families of the miners? Not the superintend ent of a capitalistic grocery concern. I would not like to trust him with the job. He and his concern might do it, but they would have to have their rakeoff; and their heart is not in the undertaking. But the work ers in the United States are raising up men and giving them the train ing to do this sort of thing. The man who did this job is Bob McKechan, manager of the Central States Co-operative Wholesale of East St. Louis, 111. Others of the staff di^that organization contrib uted their services; they also are working men trained to serve the Of CO-OPERATION workers. How did McKechan learn how to do this sort of thing; it is in the realm of big business? When he was a coal miner he joined the Gillespie Co-operative Society; then he became manager of its little store; and then he became manager of the Central States Co-operative Wholesale. He began at the bot tom, and as he got experience he moved on up. That is the kind of training that fits a man to adminis ter industries for the people. He is a friend of the workers; he knows the workers; and he has practical training in administering industry for them. These miners of Kansas, unfor tunately, are not organized as con sumers. They had to turn to the nearest group that was. The Cen tral States Wholesale performed all of the service free of charge and sold goods to them at cost. They gave them the advantage of saving both the wholesalers' and retailers' profits, and the advantage of get ting pure food, and not having any thing put over on them. And they got the food they needed. This sort of schooling, that McKechan and his associates are getting, will some day put the workers in con trol of the situation. Thousands and thousands of workers through out the world are now getting this training in the Co-operative Move ment. The method is slow and arduous. It cannot be gotten out of books or lectures. It requires pains, and work and patience. But there is no other way. And with out it victory at the polls or revolu tion will fail. Victory without the people behind it—people who can control industries, who know how to run industries—will cost more than it is worth. The captured in dustries cannot be held unless they can deliver the goods to the people. And if the people are sufficiently trained to run their industries they will find that they have captured them without a victory at the polls and without revolution. HOW TO KNOW THE WILD CO-OPS There is a little book called "How to Know the Wild Flowers." It tells their names and peculiari ties. Among other things it tells how to distinguish mushrooms from toadstools. It gives much useful in formation. The people of the Unit ed States need such a book to guide them in the fields of Co-operation. "How to Know the Wild Co-ops" would be a good name for it. Every trade union should have several copies, and for initiation each mem ber might learn it by heart. There are simple tests which may be applied to things that claim to be co-operative that will determine whether they are really flowers or weeds; whether they are safe or poisonous. A smart fellow, called an "organ izer," comes to town and talks about his old college chums, the Rochdale pioneers. He tells the working peo ple that the workers are just as smart today as those old fellows in Rochdale were, and closes by ex claiming: "Let us have a society right here and now." He then pro ceeds to tell how easy it is, and that all the people need to do is to buy a share in the great society that he represents, and a store will be opened for them the first of next week that will put the private mer chants out of business and return dividends that will cut the high cost of living all to pieces. He tells of the wonders of the "Corobberating Society of America," or the great "National Solesale," or the "Spe cific Leak," or the "Roachvale Sores Incopperated." All that the simple people have to do is to pay in their money, patronize the store, and every night the money from the cash register will be sent to the great and good and self-sacrificing men at the central office, and there you have a Co-operative Movement! Here is where the key to "How to Know the Wild Things" comes in. Here are a few acid tests: CO-OPERATION (1) Ask to see the by-laws of the wonderful society. Is it co-opera tive? Has each member one vote and no more? Does capital receive not more than a fixed interest rate? What is done with the surplus sav ings? Do the members get them in proportion to their patronage? (2) Ask to see the "organizer's" credentials from some labor body. It is a good thing to know just what labor leaders, if any, are behind the scheme. Some of the fakers now in jail carried good labor credentials. (3) Under what state law is the society incorporated? Is it incor porated as a co-operative society? Look out here for the "deed of trust" game that puts the control of the whole business in the hands of three trustees, who can take out of it all they want and the members have no say. (4) How are the officers elected, or are they appointed? Who ap points them? (5) How much is the organizer paid for selling stock or getting members, and who pays him? Is he paid a commission on sale of stock? (6) How much control of this store and its funds will the members have after it is started ? (7) What are the members going to get for the money they put in? How much goods will be put on the shelves ? There are smart organizers who actually give what are apparently satisfactory answers to all of these questions. On the Pacific coast one of these carried a different set of by-laws in his pocket from the by laws of his organization. But these fellows get fussed when the hard questions are asked. Just keep poking the questions at them and see if they respond to the test of genuine Co-operation. Some of these things are not even toadstools. Some are like the Congressman and his seeds: his. arguments won't go down and his seeds won't come up. And one more point: Be sure that you know the right answer yourself when you ask the question. These chaps have much skill in making people think the wrong an swer is the right answer. DON'T ASK TOO MUCH OF THE STORE We have a letter from a society in Missouri which says: "Our store is doing well, but unable to make a net earning sufficient to satisfy all members. They feel that they should re ceive not less than 10 per cent savings returns every six months. The 'cash-and- carry' stores owned by the A. & P. Co., and located all over town, seem to give us the most trouble. Our members want their store to compete with this chain of stores, while we maintain a good delivery system which is demanded by our stockholders." This is hardly fair. Still, we have heard of a society where some of the members made purchases at the A. & P. "cash-and-carry" store and brought their packages around to the co-operative store and asked the manager to send them home in the Co-op, delivery truck! Any member of a co-operative society who is going into a private profit store to buy something that he could get at his own store should stop and ask himself a few ques tions: Is it fair to the other mem bers? Have not they the same right to be disloyal to our store that I have? If they should all do the thing that I am thinking of doing how long would we have a co-oper ative store? Do I want the co operative store to fail or succeed? If it fails who will be responsible and how much better off or worse off will the people of this town be? Am I playing the game fair? These are some of the questions he should ask himself. But there are other questions that a still bigger man will ask himself: Suppose that I do save a few cents in this A. & P. store; do I never CO-OPERATION CO-OPERATION spend any money for a good cause? I can afford to go to the movies once in a while; I smoke, I buy a drink occasionally, I buy a capitalist pa per every day that lies to me about my job and my store; I would be better off to save that money and spend it on something that is good, on something that is building a bet ter world, not only for me, but for my children? Suppose it does cost me a little more in my co-operative store; if I stand by it and make it increase, then it will save me money in the end. We started this store of ours in good faith; the fellows who want to make profits out of us have tried to destroy it; will I be one to help them? How are the working people ever going to learn to run business for themselves unless we stick by our own undertakings? If this private profit store sells cheap er than my store does, why don't I help our board find out the reason why, and then turn in and make our store do as well? There is a reason for everything; am I the sort of fel low who just gives up and acknowl edges that he is licked and can't make a success of Co-operation, or did I mean business when I joined the co-operative society? Am I a Co-operator or a piker? But suppose that the co-operative store does sell as cheap, or cheaper, than the private store. Usually, the co-operative store, in the long run, is cheapest. Then, what is the mem ber to do? The short weight, the adulterations, the—I don't like to mention all of the things that the profit business has learned to put over on the innocent consumer, but if any Co-operator will ask himself one more simple question, he will be thinking about something that may help him much: Where am I apt to fare best, at the hands of the man who is dealing with me for the one ;and only purpose of making as much money out of me as he can, or at my own hands, in my own store, in which I have as much of a voice as anybody, and which is run not to make money out of me, but to serve me? Don't ask too much of the store; but remember that the store has an equal right to ask something of the member. THE STATE GOES TO THE CO OPERATIVE SCHOOL The Minister of the Interior, Dom- inicus, before the Prussian Landtag on the 14th of October, according to "Le Co-operateur Suisse," of Novem ber 2, 1921, said that in the se lection and in the advancement of high officials, it was necessary from now on to pay particular attention to the development of the modern social spirit of the candidates. One of the best means for encouraging this spirit is, in his opinion, to send these candidates to work for a pe riod of several months in the service of the great co-operatives, or in the "maisons du peuple," in order to find out a little what is the life of the worker and the real point of view of the worker, and also to learn from them the methods of economic administration. In another declaration on the 18th of October, this same Minister an nounced that the Co-operative Union of Hamburg is readily dis posed to lend itself to this purpose. Thus we see that the State is com ing to school to the Co-operative Movement. This is only the begin ning of the educational work which the world will yet witness. Today in Europe the co-operative societies are carrying on economic affairs more efficiently than either the gov ernments or capitalistic business. The Co-operative Movement must be the teacher and leader. J. P. W. EUROPEAN IMPRESSIONS CO-OPERATION IN GERMANY By J. P. WARBASSE (Concluded) Every day for a month we had visited co-operative societies by pre- arrangement and introduction. We had seen the great institutions in the great centers. Now we determined to go to some small city of which we knew nothing. It might have a co operative society or it might not; we would take a chance. Niirnberg would do—half way between Carls bad and Basel. We did not know a soul there nor the name of a hotel. Just for variety's sake we hoped for something small, struggling and in significant, or new, or nothing at all— something that might make us think of home. We refrained from speak ing the word until we sat down to dinner in the hotel; then, with tim orous misgivings, I asked the waiter if there were a co-operative society in Niirnberg. His face beamed with interest. Of course! He was a mem ber. How many members? He did not know, but the membership must be about 50,000. How many fami lies in Niirnberg? About 100,000 (400,000 population). The telephone book revealed nearly a page of num bers given to the society. We went to its central office next morning unannounced and sent in our cards to the directors. We were invited in and saw spread on the table of the president of the board a copy of a co-operative journal containing my Hamburg speech which they had the goodness to say they had read with interest. Then the same arrange ments were made for our entertain ment as we had experienced every where in Germany. An automobile was ordered for us, guides to take us to the various plants and a pro gram of co-operative sight-seing laid out. The enthusiastic waiter was wrong; the Niirnberg society has only 40,000 members, but that means that nearly one-half of the families in that wonderfully clean and quaint old town are connected with the society. And its growth is steady and sure. The society has 30 stores, a large banking business, a warehouse, a bakery, and a number of dwellings for the members. The bakery has 23 double ovens—that means 46 ovens. The largest private bakery in Niirn berg has 4 double ovens. The bakery of this society is capable of baking all of the bread that is consumed in the city. Besides the model dwellings that the society rents to its members, there is a co-operative building soci ety, which has created a garden city in the suburbs which far surpasses anything that the English garden cities have attained. This society to day, despite the high cost of building, is going on with extensive house con struction. In America the working man pays one-fourth of his income for the rent of a thing he calls home. In Niirnberg the workingman Co- operator pays one-fifteenth of his in come for the rent and up-keep of a whole house which his society owns— and it is a house which he takes pride in calling "home." It is well built— brick, covered with gray stucco; a red tiled roof; a garden of vegetables, fruit trees and grapes in the rear; rose trees in the front yard;,' and climbing vines over the front of the house. I take for example the house of a railroad worker which I inspected from cellar to attic; his salary is 15,000 marks a year, and he pays 595 marks yearly rental. This rental will shortly be increased to 900 marks; but even at that it is less than one- fifteenth of his salary. These brief glimpses of German Co-operation may be regarded as typi cal of what is going on all over Ger man-speaking Europe. Co-operation has been seized upon by the people as the most practical means to win democracy. The German Socialists now realize that they have been mis led by Lassalle and Marx into exag- L CO-OPERATION gerating the possibilities of political action. A Socialist leader and mem ber of the Bavarian Parliament told me that the teachings of Lassalle had done great harm. As a result of a newer understanding, the German working people, while still retaining an interest in political action, are giv ing their real serious attention to Co operation as offering the greatest hope. They have learned by bitter experience that political regimes may come and go, but Co-operation is con stant. In no other field of action do they have such good prospects of holding what they gain. I went to Germany expecting to find the Co-operators poor, hungry and distressed. Germany is poor, hungry and distressed; but these con ditions do not apply to the Co-opera tive Movement; the distress is of po litical origin. The Co-operative Move ment is independent and self-reliant and comparatively prosperous. I have studied Co-operation in ten of the leading countries of the world; and I can say that the German Movement possesses qualities which will tend to make it supreme. Germany leads the world in science and technical effi ciency. Co-operation is taking advan tage of these qualities. It is em ploying experts. This democratic or ganization of the people is hiring sa vants to do the things which the plain people cannot do. The plan is succeeding. Every where is efficiency—the most marvel- ous efficiency. In the administration of financial matters are experts—the sort of men who in our country be come the masters of finance; in Ger many the Co-operative Movement is getting them. At the head of the factories are directors who embody the genius for organization and ad ministration. Under them are tech nical experts—engineers, chemists, technicians. The chemical laboratory is found in every great factory and industry, not only making tests of products but inventing new methods and synthetic substances. Even in the warehouses, the chemical labora tory tests commodities bought and sold. The value of this use of science is beyond calculation. Compared with other countries, the German Movement is also character ized by cleanliness and by lack of waste. I think the two are related. I have visited soap factories and pre serve factories in several countries. In some the floors were slippery with soap or sticky with preserves. But in the German factories the floors and side walls were of tile, and always spotlessly clean. Perfect machines were doing the work better than the unsteady human hand. Labor saving devices are much employed. I recall a great nine-story building with an enormous output; and think of my wonderment at the silence and the small number of people—a beautiful building, artistic in every detail, stair ways of soft colored glazed porcelain, hand-carved wood-work, paintings, vases, stained glass windows,, and scrupulous cleanliness to the utmost corner. Here was order, quiet, and a great silently moving current from the intake of raw materials to the out-go of finished product. Here were silently moving passenger ele vators without an attendant; bub bling founts of water on each floor; a spittoon at each stair landing, through which fresh water constantly flowed; a dining room on the top floor for the employees, where one's order was waiting for him already served and paid for and warm st his place the minute he walked in the room; a heating system for winter, which could use either coal, coke or crude oil. All of the machinery of this great plant was run by an engine. I have been in many engine rooms; they are greasy, dirty and hot, and so are the engineers. This was the latter part of July. The door opened and I walked into the engine room of this co-operative plant; a single great square room of lofty height; the floor was of tile; the side-walls were glazed green art-tile. There was no spot or stain. The room sug gested an enormous Roman bath chamber, but for the fact that in the center stood two Diesel engines. CO-OPERATION The only motion to be seen were the two huge fly wheels, silently revolv ing, creating and storing power. No human being was in the room. These engines, luxuriantly housed, were quietly doing the work of thousands of hands while no eye watched. I did not see him, but it is possible that the engineer sat reading in his study, twenty yards away, inter rupted only by the indicator which informed him that visitors had en tered the engine room. Already the membership of the German Co-operative Movement has surpassed that of the British Move ment. I am persuaded that we shall find Germany taking the lead of the world in this field unless the German people are still further suppressed and crushed by that greatest modern atrocity which sprang from the loins of Wilson, George and Clemenceau and was spawned in the womb of Versailles. There is something in the German genius that makes for Co- opeiation. Along the French border one sees the change. The French towns are poor in Co-operation; the German towns are rich. In Switzer land, the German population have pro duced a Co-operative Movement which in many respects is the best the world has to offer; in French and Italian Switzerland the Movement has about one-half the potency. In dismembered Austria it is the Ger man population that is taking the lead. This Movement in Germany had attained to its highest development just before the war. It was ready for a great forward swing when the war burst upon Europe and shattered its hopes. But that impetus is still operative. The hope is that the pol itical governments will be satisfied with the damage they have wrought and will leave the people unmolested to work out their problems for the saving of humanity. ROCHDALE SUCCESS AT SAULT STE. MARIE By W. H. CLOSSER The Soo Co-operative Mercantile Association of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, was organized in 1913, with a capitalization of $3,000, a very small beginning. But this as sociation was founded by men who saw in true Rochdale Co-operation the very principles, which, if fol lowed, would bring success; and al though they met with many an ob stacle during the first few years of their existence, they clung tena ciously to the above principles, with the result that their record of growth has shown what can be ac complished. During the first three years after organizing, this association was very unfortunate in securing two different managers who were not business men; but what was a more serious drawback these managers were not real Co-operators. This resulted as might be expected. The turning of the keys by the sheriff was looked for daily. At this point came the real constructive ability of the board of directors, and they took hold with the determination to make the business go. A new young manager was decided upon. He was taken from the force of clerks; and this young man certainly worked. He not only worked, but listened to advice of the board. To make a long story short, there has been true Co-operation ever since. This association is very frank in their praise of the help derived from The Co-operative League of America, through Dr. J. P. War- basse, who visited them a year ago. One of the members of this Soo As sociation was elected last year at the convention at Cincinnati, as a member of the Board of Directors of The League. The following comparative state ment shows the business done since 1918. The 1921 prices from good 8 CO-OPERATION authority decreased about 30 per cent from the prices obtained dur ing the year 1920: 1918 January ........ $3,511.88 February ....... 3,347.35 March .......... 4,207.21 April ........... 3,188.06 May ............ 4,983.86 June ............ 5,777.50 July ............ 6,260.54 August .......... 5,450.59 September ....... 6,110.13 October ......... 6,581.65 November ....... 5,342.41 December ........ 5,236.45 1920 January ........ $15,625.40 February ..... 14,407.40 March .......... 19,288.38 April .......... 19,480.09 May ........... 22,930.36 June ........... 22,681.54 July ........... 24,445.68 August ......... 24,300.72 September ...... 22,416.87 October ........ 25,653.04 November ...... 22,888.41 December ...... 21,415.52 This association installed a very modern electric bakery two years ago, with a daily capacity of 1,500 loaves, besides all its pastry baking. This plant is now far too small to take care of the increasing demand, 1919 $6,830.98 8,307.92 7,951.41 10,879.07 12,916.52 13,734.87 15,824.55 16,627.51 15,479.27 16,855.57 17,372.01 22,585.98 1921 $25,800.36 22,756.59 27,671.59 25,188.91 24,713.16 24,031.48 26,510.32 27,950.95 27,692.77 26,197.06 24,408.95 and the association plans to build an addition to its large building, and will erect a modern oven amply large for this increased business. This association is not content sim ply to maintain their present status, but they plan in the near future to completely stock the second floor of their building with dry goods, boots and shoes, having in view the final establishment of a department store. The Soo Association was one of the first to lead out for the estab lishment of a Co-operative League in Upper Michigan at the time the war broke out. But on account of the following depression a district League was not formed. They are, however, buying in a wholesale way many of the staple groceries, and by so doing are cutting out the profits of at least one middleman. This Soo organization own their own three-story stone building, which they term the Main Store, and are operating a bakery, two meat markets, and a chain of four additional grocery stores. We pre dict a continued growth as long as they stand by and maintain the true Rochdale principles. THE TERRORIZATION OF UKRAINIAN CO-OPERATION By MARGARET BLAZOWSKA of Vienna There is no people among whom Co-operation has a more national character than in Ukrainia. In the Ukraine Co-operation and polit ical action for national independ ence are identical. During the time of the Czar Ukrainian Co-operation was regarded by the Russian ruling class as a poorly disguised form of the Ukrainian nationalization move ment; and only the mischance of war compelled the Russian govern ment to permit the development of initiative and freedom to the least degree. However, up to the time of the revolution, the Ukrainian Co operation Movement had existed un der the pressure of the government. During the period of national re construction (1917-20) the Ukrai nian Co-operative movement was brought to full development. This movement is completely unified with the life of the peo ple, and has been the fountain- source of the political power of the Ukraine. Many people upon the political stage have come out of this movement. Therefore, it is easy to explain that the Ukranian Co-operative Movement is always brought to the fore in political af fairs and the intolerance within the movement brought out. People who CO-OPERATION were neutral in the nationalization movement and who worked in the purely co-operative field in the Co operative Movement are pointed out as suspicious. Finally, the nationalization move ment in Ukrainia has been given the character of a purely political party of "evil nature." The people want to be free from Russia. In view of the above facts, it was but natural that the Ukrainian Co operation Movement was oppressed and the terrorism of the Bolsheviki was instituted as a result of the oc cupation of Ukrainia by the Bolshe viki. Unfortunately, certain irre sponsible Co-operators, who contin uously change their political opin ions as a chameleon its color, for want of a Soviet organization in the Ukrainia, use the political situation to exterminate the "unpolitical peo ple" who seem to be dangerous for the above reasons. During the month of July of the past year, the Extraordinary Com mission, in Odessa, arrested all active managers of the Central Ukrainian societies, officials, members who came in from the country, and also the janitors of the co-operative union The most dastardly crime was the killing of the Ukrainian Co- operators. The following were murdered: Members of the board of directors of the Consumers' Union of Odessa and the members of the board of directors of a branch of the Dniprossojus in Odes sa (engineer Boris Blazowsky), su pervisory board member of the Con sumers' Union in Odessa (Tit Klim- iwitsch), directoress of the educa tional department of the Dniprosso jus in Odessa (Katerin Kamarets- ka), and the secretary of the Odes sa branch of the Ukrainian Agricul tural Co-operative Union (John Sirenko). These innocent people had en gaged in no political activities. They had gone about their co-operative business, and remained true Co- operators at their posts to the last moment, in the conviction of the jus tice of the government and their own innocence. On the other hand, others fled to the villages and sought to hide themselves upon the outbreak of the terror. From the above it is evident what difficulties co-operative workers had to contend against. The sad dest fact is that, on account of the political conditions, no opportunity is allowed to care for the poor fam ilies of the murdered Co-operators. It should be the first duty of Co- operators to care for the poor, bereft children of the murdered comrades, but this is made difficult or impossible. THE SEASON'S GREETINGS! With those who work for the cause of Co-operation, who give of them selves and of their substance, we join heart and hand in high hopes and renewed allegiance. May the New Year bring us nearer to the realiza tion of our fond ideals. As we look across the year that has passed we see the gains made, the positions held, and the new foun dations laid. Clouds have cleared away. Steadily the structure in this land of ours is building. It does not rear itself; it is the work of human hands. For those who have given help, we are thankful. For those who have obstructed, we have only the hope that their feet may yet find the path. May we consecrate ourselves anew to the Cause which brings upon its wings peace, justice, and good-will among men. May the strength of those whose hands hold aloft the light increase, and may their number multiply. Greetings, good wishes, and success to all! We go forward together, to ward the sunny slopes of the Land of Cooperation. The Executive Board of The Co-operative League. 10 CO-OPERATION POLICIES—PRACTICAL AND PRESSING FINANCING PROGRESS Who believes strongly enough in the civilizing power of the Co-oper ative Movement to be willing to help finance it? We are going to have a great Movement in the United States some day. But when? That depends on the amount of foundation work we can do now. Maybe we shall have a great Move- mentment here in twenty years from now; maybe in ten; maybe in five years. Those who are striving for it know the obstacles that must be overcome; and they know that the educational and guiding work of The League is necessary to give the substantial results. Already far-seeing people have written in their wills bequests for carrying on the work of The League. But the work must be pushed for ward today. We want the well- wishers of the Co-operative Move ment to live long; we want them to see great results in their own life time. Who will add immediate help for this cause? The Executive Board of The League are carrying too great a bur den. Each is doing the work of two. Our offices in New York are now located in four different places. We need a building of our own, where we can concentrate our ad ministrative work. Who will give The League a building? We have to have it; why delay? Ten district advisers are needed to cover the United States. We know just the work these advisers should do; who will finance them? A district adviser for New England, one for the Pacific States, and one for the eight other districts could save to the Co-operative Movement and to the people ten times their cost. Who will give The League the money to finance an adviser in one district? Where are the ten peo ple to finance the whole field? The executive office work of The League is not met by the dues paid by the member societies. Still more help is needed; where is it coming from? The Labor movement has sunk millions of dollars in fake co-opera tives and spurious ventures during the past twelve months; enough to finance for fifty years the most splendid co-operative educational program that our fondest dreams could conceive of. And The League has earnestly ad vised the working people and begged them not to put money into these very enterprises; but the workers in the United States are not yet ready to lead the way. They still must be shown and educated by those who have the understand ing. In the course of time the pow er as well as the leadership will be theirs; but these are the pioneer days. The call today is for pio neers. Now we are laying the founda tions for a better civilization. We need help. Who will finance the following needs: (1) A building for the League, so that Co-operation in the United States may have a central home of its own, and a fund to endow it, $100,000. (2) A house for The League with out endowment, $50,000. (3) Ten district advisers, one for each of the ten districts in the Unit ed States, at $3,000 a year each, $30,000. (4) A school with 20 scholar ships for training district advisers, store managers, co-operative execu tives and teachers in the Movement, for a year, $20,000. (5) Four Secretaries to do the essential work of the central office at $2,500 a year each, $10,000. (6) A national traveling advis er, to visit societies in every part of the country and advise them in mat" ters of education and administra tion, and all expenses, $5,000. CO-OPERATION 11 (7) One much needed district adviser at once in a district greatly suffering for want of expert advice and guidance, $2,500. (8) The yearly deficit on the printing of educational literature, $1,000. (9) A new typewriter, $100. (10) Individual, non-voting mem bership in the League, $1. All of these things are going to come. We are going to have a great Co-operative Movement in the United States. But when? Much depends upon the response of those who are willing to finance perma nent progress. TECHNICAL ADVICE TO THE LEAGUE'S MEMBERS The League has issued a bulletin to its affiliated member societies for the month of December on the In come Tax, giving legal advice on the items which are not subject to taxa tion, etc. Monthly bulletins are sent regu larly to all affiliated societies. Dur ing the past year these bulletins have covered the following sub jects : Advertising, suggestions for co operative posters. Labor costs and labor efficiency. Practical instructions to clerks. Co-operative education and the employees. Bookkeeping advise and hints on overhead. Women's guilds. How to give credit. Advice on share capital. A model report form for financial statements. Advice on marketing conditions and buying. Societies affiliated with The League get these bulletins every month free of charge. WORD AND SYMBOL FOR THE LEAGUE The contest for a word and sym bol for The League, announced in CO-OPERATION December, 1920, and March, 1921, has closed with over a hundred competitors making contributions. Many of the sym bols submitted are beautiful and ex pressive works of art. Some show real genius. The encouraging fact is that they display a large grasp of the significance of Co-operation. Many represent fine allegorical con ceptions and co-operative symbol ism. Unfortunately, none of the better pictures were simple enough to make reproduction easy, nor could they be grasped quickly and readily carried by the eye. The Executive Board has reluctantly de cided not to accept any symbol that has yet been presented. It further more announces that no word that has been submitted has been found acceptable. Contestants desiring to have their drawings returned may communicate with The League. HOW TO BOOST THE MEETINGS The Tucumcari Co-operative Mer cantile Company, of Tucumcari, New Mexico, has a clever plan for making all the members turn out for the monthly business meeting. Every man, woman and child as he enters the meeting is given a num bered ticket. At the close of the meeting two of these tickets are drawn. The person holding the first number receives a fine 12-pound ham, and the second lucky person gets a 48-pound sack of flour. Need less to say, the attendance is large at such meetings. INDEX TO CO-OPERATION VOL. VII., 1921 Subscribers to CO-OPERATION wishing the index to Vol. VII., 1921, may have the same sent free of charge by sending a two-cent stamp to The Co-operative League, 2 West 13th St., New York, N. Y. 12 CO-OPERATION NEWS AND COMMENT MILK STRIKERS ORGANIZE A CONSUMERS' CO-OPERA TIVE CREAMERY IN CLEVELAND The dairy workers of Cleveland, Ohio, who are on strike to resist the attempt to cut their wages $6.50 per week, have followed the ex ample of their fellow-workers in Minneapolis, and have organized a Consumers' Co-operative Creamery. It will be remembered that the Franklin Co-operative Creamery Association, now doing a business of more than $100,000 a month, grew out of a lockout of the milk drivers about two years ago. At the invitation of the milk workers of Cleveland, some active members of the Minneapolis Co-operative Creamery got busy in Cleveland, showing the milk drivers how to or ganize. A committee of the strikers then went on to Minneapolis to study the organization methods at first hand. The new Cleveland Creamery is to be called The City Co-operative Dairy Company. The society is in corporating, with a capital stock of $20,000, which is to be increased as more capital is required. The ma chinery for the plant is being or dered, and a lease has been signed for premises. Farmers in the vicin ity are giving their heartiest sup port to this new co-operative dairy, which will enable them to get a fair price for their products. In the meantime, collectors are out for sub scriptions to the stock of the co operative, not only among the con suming public, but among the dairy workers as well. Shares sell for $10 each, and no member may own more than $1,000 worth. No mem ber has more than one vote, and proxy voting is not allowed. A rea sonable rate of interest will be paid on shares, and it is planned to set aside reserve and educational funds, after which savings-returns will be paid out of the balance. The City Co-operative Dairy will be a consumers' co-operative, and it is designed to deal justly with the milk producer, the workers and the consumers. The producer is as sured of a fair price, the worker of living wages, and the consumer will get pure products on the co-opera tive basis. During eight months of operation, the Franklin Co-opera tive Creamery in Mineapolis made a net profit of $31,689.00, which will be distributed among the consum ers. What is more, they have forced down the price of milk 3 cents a quart, since they began business, and have furnished milk free from adulterants. What has been done in Minneapolis can be done in Cleveland and elsewhere. When the strike broke out in Cleveland, the city government at tempted to take over one of the large milk depots and distribute milk to the consumers by means of the city trucks. An injunction is sued by a Judge did away with this effort. Now the strikers and the consumers are taking the situation in hand themselves. What the city government cannot do, because of its limited powers, or because of the prohibitions of the courts, the Co- operators are doing today. "CENTRAL STATES CO-OP" FEEDS KANSAS STRIKERS The miners in Kansas who have been out on strike for many months as a protest against their enslave ment by the Kansas Industrial Court Law, will have received $200,000 worth of foodstuffs from the Cen tral States Co-operative Wholesale Society by the time this magazine CO-OPERATION 13 is printed. Forty carloads of flour, beans, bacon and other foodstuffs have been shipped to the striking miners, and more are on their way. At the November, 1921, conven tion of the United Mine Workers of District 12, in Illinois, the miners voted to assess themselves $1 per month per member, for the purpose of providing food free of charge for the Kansas coal miners. There are 90,000 miners in Illinois contribut ing to this fund. The money thus collected is discharged through the Central States Co-operative Whole sale for food supplies. The Co-oper ative does not make a penny's profit on the transaction, the goods being charged against the strikers' fund at the wholesale cost. It should be remembered that the Illinois miners who are now supporting the Kansas miners are the backbone of the Co operative Movement in Illinois, which is now acting as the commis sary department of the labor move ment. The latest report to the Board of Directors of the Central States Co operative Wholesale Society is a good one. Manager Robert McKe- chan reported that in the three months ending October 15, the wholesale had sold $746,052 worth of goods, or about $3,000,000 a year. The overhead expenses of the wholesale were surprisingly low— 1.1 per cent, and the overhead of the retail "union" stores affiliated with the society amounted to 10.3 per cent, which is a low overhead for retail stores. The society is $60,000 richer than it was three months ago. Educational work is going for ward energetically. The Educa tional Director, E. D. MacDougall, is sending out study courses to local societies, literature is being distrib uted broadcast, and Mrs. Mabel W. Cheel, of The League, is being toured by the Educational Depart ment of the "Central States," giving illustrated lectures among the so cieties. A 50 PER CENT CO-OPERATIVE TOWN The "Villa Grove Co-operator," commenting on an article published in last month's issue of CO-OPER ATION, informs us that over 50 per cent of the families of Villa Grove, Illinois, are Co-operators. We re print their figures, in the hope that some other societies can make claim to as good a record as the follow ing: In an article in the November number of "Co-operation," a statement is made that 25 per cent of the people of Waukegan, Illinois, are buying their groceries, meat and milk from the co-operative store. Now, we claim a much better record here, and we think our figures will prove it. Qur 175 members bought $22,661 worth of goods in the last quarter. We sold to non-members $14,760.43 worth, equal to about 115 members, so we are supplying approxi mately 290 families. That is over half the total number of families in Villa Grove, so that we now claim that in proportion to the population of our city, we have more members than any city in Illinois. We also claim that our business with non-members is greater to the total business than any society in this state. If we are wrong we want to be shown. The Villa Grove Co-operative Society has a clever means for pop ularizing Co-operation in the homes. Prizes of $5.00, $3.00 and $2.00 are offered for the best three essays on Consumers' Co-operation written by high school pupils. The pupils whose parents are officers in the society are not eligible for the com petition. THROTTLING CO-OPERATION In one of Roger Babson's finan cial bulletins to his wealthy clients some months ago, he said: "We have the schools. We have the pulpit. The employing class owns the press. There is practically no important newspaper in the United States but is theirs." This, of course, was not news to most of us. But it has not been an easy task to trace the control which advertisers and financial interests exercise over the press. The "Okla homa Leader," a fearless organ of •int - 14 CO-OPERATION CO-OPERATION 15 the farmers and workers of Oklaho ma, in its issue of December 10, has an editorial which exposes a specific instance of an attempt to throttle its advocacy of Co-opera tion, through pressure brought to bear by advertising concerns repre senting private commercial inter ests. We reprint the editorial in part: Co-operation not only saves us money, it not only adds to our well-being mate rially, but it cultivates that happy relation ship with each other which is so necessary to the accomplishment of larger things. Not only that, but it develops and demon strates our social power, and proves indis putably that the workers can do things when they try. Representatives of certain big advertis ing concerns in Oklahoma City called on the "Leader" recently. One of the com mittee observed that the "Leader" was an insistent advocate of co-operative buying and selling by the farmers and wage- earners, to which we pleaded guilty. "Why should we—how can you expect us to— advertise in the "Leader" when it is trying to develop a plan and system which will eventually put us out of business? Why should we patronize your paper and give you money which you are using to prepare a club to knock us in the head with?" The inference is plain. If the "Leader" would quit talking co-operation, if it would suspend or abandon its campaign of educa tion in behalf of co-operation, if it would quit telling the farmers and wage-earners how to escape successfully the plunder machine which is robbing them, then the "Leader" could have a ten-page paper, of which eight pages would be advertising, and it would be a money-making institu tion, independent of a question of circula tion. In other words, a newspaper that tells the truth, one that tells the farmers and wage-earners what is best for them, cannot live with the consent of the big advertisers. AN ARTISTS' CO-OPERATIVE Two hundred and fifty of the most prominent artists in New York City have launched a co-operative store, which will distribute artists' materials on which dealers have hitherto been making huge profits. A staff of experts has been selected, consisting of artists and chemists, to examine all materials offered for sale to artists and to pass on them as to their technical qualities. This is good news for the artists who have paid enormous prices for their paints, oils, canvases, modeling clay and other materials, only to receive inferior materials. Many an artist has painted a picture with paints supposed to be permanent, but which was ruined as soon as it was exposed to the light. A co-opera tive society has been hit upon as the remedy. And, as a matter of fact, Co-operation is the only rem edy. The artists are subscribing the capital with which to start their store. The society has also engaged an attorney to constantly look after the rights of artists in their rela tions with dealers. In addition to this, the artists are to publish their own magazine devoted to technical phases of their work. The organizers of this new de parture in co-operative effort in clude such well-known men as Rob ert Henri, George Bellows, Hayley Lever, William Auerbach Levy and other leaders among the painters and sculptors. Its first headquar ters is the National Arts Club, Grammercy Park. Any class of consumers who set their minds to it can do this same thing. MINNEAPOLIS LABOR STUDIES CO-OPERATION A course in Co-operation is being given at the Workers' College at Minneapolis. The Franklin Co operative Creamery Association was responsible for the inauguration of this course. The idea was sug gested by members of the Co-oper ative to the teachers of the Work ers' College, and what is more, the Franklin Creamery is contributing $400 to subsidize this course. Quan tities of literature are being order ed from The League for the stu dents. WORKERS' COLLEGES TEACH CO-OPERATION Co-operation is now being taught in at least seven of the workers' colleges run in conjunction with the labor movement. Courses on the history, philosophy and tech nique of the Co-operative Move ment are being given in the follow ing colleges: Denver Labor College. Minneapolis Workers' College. Seattle Workers' College. Passaic Trade Union College. Workers' University of New York. Washington (D. C.) Trade Union College. San Francisco Labor College. In the near future, more colleges will undertake such courses. A syl labus has been prepared by The League to aid teachers in carrying on a Co-operative course. This out line of Co-operation, together with a bibliography prepared by The League, is to be put at the disposal of all the labor colleges in the coun try, through the Workers' Educa tion Bureau. It can also be ob tained! from The Co-operative League for study groups of any kind. CENSUS RETURNS ON CO OPERATION The U. S. Bureau of the Census has issued figures on the extent of co-operative marketing and purchasing by farmers. In the 1920 census, figures were taken of the business done by farmers' co-operatives dur ing the preceding year. These returns show that 329,449 farms secured their farm sup plies, such as fertilizer, feed, twine, coal, and even household necessities through co-operative purchasing associations. Co operative purchases by farmers amounted to $84,615,669 in 1919. These purchases were made by 5.1 per cent of the farmers of this country. The figures for co-operative marketing during 1919 are even more impressive. There were 511,383 farms selling their produce through co-operative marketing associations, or 7.9 per cent of all the farms in this country. They sold $721,983,639 worth of farm produce in 1919, or an aver age of $1,412 for each farm. The Co-operative Consumers' Movement among the farmers is strongest in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and California. ANOTHER BOSTON BANK A new credit union has just opened for business in Boston, Mass. Com pare these features of the credit union with the business methods of your bank: One may become a member, by pay ing $5 for a share. This need not all be paid at once. Shares can be paid for, by weekly instalments of as low as 20 cents. Deposits as low as 25 cents are ac cepted. Loans are made to members only, at a reasonable interest rate. Repay ment may be made within one year, in weekly or monthly instalments. All officers and members of com mittees of the credit union serve without pay. They are sworn to the faithful performance of their duties. The credit union is under supervision of the State Banking Commissioner. The treasurer is under bond. Finan cial statements are rendered every month. This credit union is called the Union Workers' Credit Union, and is located at Room 634, Little Building, Boston. For the convenience of the members, the office is open Tuesday evenings from 7.30 to 10 P. M. CUTTING EXPENSES All the way from New Zealand comes a report of the efficient serv ice of the manager of a co-operative society in that far-off country. When this enterprising manager took charge of his store in Decem ber, 1918, the percentage of ex penses on turnover amounted to 13.3 per cent. For the period end ing June, 1919, the expenses were 11.18 per cent; six months later, December, 1919,11.08 per cent; for the year ending June, 1920, down to 10.2 per cent. By the end of the last half year expenses had been cut to 9.5 per cent. This shows two 16 CO-OPEKATION CO-OPEKATION 17 years' overhead cut down 4 per cent, while costs of labor were going up. And the percentages of surplus- savings went up, while the ex penses were going down. NEW RUSSIAN SOVIET HOUSING POLICY A significant bit of news came in a recent dispatch from Kussia. Leon Kamenev, Chairman of the Soviet Department of Moscow, is quoted as follows: "The new municipal policy brings with it a radical change in the housing question. The section for housing only has the right of administration of the so-called fund of available houses. This fund consists of 10 per cent of all housing accommodation which is handed over to the newly-formed housing co-operatives. These co-operatives undertake the maintenance and repair of the houses. There are today about 200 such co-operatives, which also undertake the restoration of destroyed houses or houses which require thorough repair and renovation." BOYCOTT CO-OPERATIVES The other day the "Journal of Patronal Associations" stated that, although the manufacturers of cer tain branches (especially textiles) had lowered their prices 50 to 60 per cent, the retail merchants had not lowered theirs more than 20 per cent. Also the Secretary of the Swiss Industrial Associations for mally accused the retail merchants of having an understanding amongst themselves to resist the lowering of prices demanded by the manufac turers. We have, on our part, on many occasions, cited cases where the Co- operators were threatened with the blacklist by these associations of retail merchants, if they continued to cut prices, which proves the truth of the allegations of the "Schweiz. Arbeitgeberzeitung." In further proof of this the Co-operative Union of LaChaux-de-Fonds has just added a bit of news. Here is a letter which the society has received from the stationery trust: Our members who deal in stationery in La Chaux-de-Fonds complain that the Co operative Union of your city sells mer chandise below the prices (of others) and carries on unfair competition. We are therefore asking if you will con tinue to refuse to sell at the same prices charged by other stationers of your city. If we cannot agree on this we shall be obliged to boycott you in order to help our members. We shall regret to be forced by you to take this measure, but present conditions cannot continue. CO-OPERATIVES CUT THE PRICE OF BREAD The bakers of Glasgow, Scotland, made an announcement a few weeks ago that was welcomed by all the workers of that city. The price of the standard four-pound loaf was to be cut to a shilling. This ac tion on the part of the bakers did not spring solely from the generous feelings of the bread profiteers. It was forced upon them by the United Co-operative Bakery, which announced that it would reduce the price of its bread to one shilling. Previous to this the price of Canadian flour had been cut, so that the bakers could afford to reduce materially the price of bread. But they continued to retain for themselves the benefit of the reduction in the price of flour. Then the co-operative bakery got busy and set the pace. It stated publicly that it saw no reason why bread should not be sold at a reduction of two cents a loaf, and announced that it would cut the price of its bread. The private bakers grudgingly had to follow suit. CO-OPERATIVES LAUNCH FISH ING FLOTILLA In the launching of two stalwart ships, the other day, Edouard Anseele, the vet eran leader of Co-operation in Belgium, realized another of his dreams. Since 1886 he had been raising his voice against the exploitation of the fishermen. Now the co-operatives in Belgium have taken a step which is destined to wipe out the unjust system by which the fishermen were vic timized. Two steam trawlers were purchased from the English Admiralty by the Belgian Co- operators for $35,000 each. They had been at sea only a year, and are substantial. The ships bear the names of two prominent Co- operators: Edmond van Beveren, the foun der of Co-operation in Flanders, and Theo- phile Massart, the father of a great co operative bakery. The inauguration of this new enterprise was celebrated for several days at Ostend, which is to be the harbor of the North Sea co-operative fishing steamers. The capital of this venture was subscribed by Vooruit, the great consumers' society of Ghent, the socialist fishermen of Ostend, trade union organizations, and various co-operative so cieties. CORRESPONDENCE TUCUMCARI BUSY "Have been very busy with our Co-operative store here," writes N. S. Bell, of Tucumcari, New Mexico. "We got into financial difficulties and had to change managers. We have with us for manager now Mr. A. W. Warinner, of Missouri. He is pulling us out of the hole in good shape. We sold about $3,000 worth of new stock and are going uphill again. A great number of members are paying their grocery bills in ad vance and have taken new interest in the movement. "There is nothing can stop the bunch we have here now. They have got the co-op, bug bad. Mr. Warinner is a real live wire. He has done more to put the idea over since he has been here than we could in a whole year. Now that the crisis has passed I will have the time and will gladly get out and see what I can do towards getting subscriptions for the magazine Co-OPEEATlON." (We happen to know that Mr. Bell, who is a locomotiye engineer, loaned the society $1,000 to tide it over.) COMING THEIR WAY As President of the Utica Co-operative Society I have just received an invitation to address the New Century Club, a woman's organization of considerable in fluence in this city. I consider this a fine opportunity to plead for their co-operation. You no doubt agree with me that what ever we can do to interest the women is of inestimable value. I may mention that we have secured the support of the local branch of the Con sumers' League, who last week became a member of the Utica Co-operative Society as such, and one of its most influential mem bers joined us individually, with an initial subscription of $250 in shares. The Utica Trades' Assembly whose sup port we have solicited and who had a committee meet with us to investigate our methods has likewise reported that we de serve the trades union support. OTTO L. ENDEES, President, The Utica Co-operative Society, Utica, N. Y. CONAWAY ALIVE No doubt but that you have given up hearing from us, thinking, perhaps, that we had gone the way of the has-beens or those who have tried and failed. But we have cut out the words "fail," "can't," 'if," "don't have time," "afraid," "too busy," and such. All we know is "go." Therefore, you will please find enclosed a check for membership in The League and for subscription to CO-OPEKATION; also enough to cover cost of printed matter you kindly mailed us. Please send us another supply as soon as you get this letter, as we want to keep the co-operative idea be fore the people and let them understand that we are alive. THOMAS A. FEEGUSON, Conaway Co-operative League, Toppenish, Washington. LITTLE ROCK LAUNDRY "We are still alive and in the field," writes L. W. Lowry, manager of the Cit izens' Co-operative Laundry Co., in Little Bock Ark., "showing a small gain each week in spite of hard times and tough competi tion. The Co-operative flag is nailed to the mast, and the thought of failure never enters our heads. Yet— "We have our careless members and our knockers! 'Tis easy to dispose of the knocker from the outside, we know what to do with this fellow if he won't listen to reason—but the guy that should be a booster, he is a thorn in the flesh. He can not be convinced, he will not listen to reason, he won't even listen. At his union meetings he will repeat some false story, magnify it, and when told that it is not true, he leaves and spreads it broadcast. Against that kind of poison, the writer does not know what to use- "In spite of this, perhaps because of this, we are getting ahead. While other laun dries have laid off employees and cut wages, we have kept all of ours busy, and made a slight gain each week. A CO-OPEEATIVE LAUNDEY CAN BE MADE A SUCCESS —WE HAVE ONE HEEE." EDUCATION AT MAHONINGTOWN We worked for eighteen months to get started—had about $3,300 collected—but we were afraid of the times, lots of articles coming down. We thought we had better wait until times were more settled. Every member received his money back and aU but two are ready to try it again, just as soon as times are more satisfactory. We think in about eight months to a year con ditions will be more settled. We appreciate the fact that The Co-operative League of America has helped us in many ways to III 18 CO-OPERATION get started in the right way. We are not going to give up, but still work for the good we know there is in it for us. Our board of directors is acting as an educational committee. Mahoningtown, Pa. C. M. HILL, HENRYETTA HAS GOOD POLICE The Henryetta District Co-operative So ciety of Henryetta, Okla., was organized during November, 1919. Twelve of us met and put up $10 each to defray expense of legal advice, charter fee, and incorpora tion expense. We were accorded the priv ilege of meeting in the police chief's office during our organization period. We se cured enough stockholders and money to buy out an old stock of goods, though we were sorry later for buying old goods. We launched into' business on February 1, 1920. We had a hard struggle our first year on account of incompetent managers. The second year we have done fairly well under another manager. We have bought and paid for a business lot, and hope to build in the near future. We have built a corrugated iron garage on our lot to house our two auto trucks, which saves us $30 per month rent. We are paying on a contract for a loan of $15,000 in a loan company, which we expect to use in erect ing our own store building. At present we have 224 members. We do about $10,000 business a month. We handle groceries, dry goods, shoes, and a small line of hardware. Goods are sold at current retail prices. We are at present in a very trying time, but we know we will surmount all obstacles. GEORGE McKAY, Treasurer Henryetta District Co-operative Society, Henryetta, Okla. (During the last quarter this society paid a savings-return of 6 per cent to all its members on their purchases). HANNIBAL EDUCATES We think the Associated Magazine to be a great scheme to educate members and can be used very effectively by mailing a few copies to active trade unionists and others inclined to be open on this subject. Experience teaches us that nothing is so essential to the success of a co-operative store as is education. Send us 500 copies at your earliest convenience. A. S. BREWER, Manager Hannibal Co-operative Society. CALENDARS FOR 1922 A very attractive calendar has been issued by the Co-operative Central Ex change of Superior, Wisconsin, for the year 1922. The calendar has a striking reproduction of a four-colored oil painting made especially for this purpose. The pic ture teaches a Co-operative lesson, and makes the calendar suitable for advertising and educational purposes. Last year the Co-operative Central Ex change supplied 25,000 calendars to local societies. It intends to do even better this time. A substantial reduction has been made in the price of the calendars, which sell for 14 cents each in lots of 1000 or more, 15 cents each in lots of 500 and less than 1000, and 16 cents each in lots less than 500. Many societies are ordering cal endars for their members and customers. BOOK REVIEW Co-operative Anthology. Theoretical and Practical Guide to Consumers, Producers and Agricultural Credit Co-operatives, by V. Th. Totomiantz, former professor of the University of Moscow. Published 1921 by J. Povolozky & Co., 13 Rue Bonaparte, Paris, France. Professor Totomiantz has rendered a val uable service in compiling this anthology. It is a collection of the opinions, philoso phies and principles of various prominent European Co-operators. Most of the ex tracts are brief and give a fitting view of the thoughts of the authors. We find col lected here quotations from the pioneer advocates of the Co-operative Movement, such as Holyoake, Owen, Maxwell and H. Wolff, of England; Schultze-Delitzch, F. Studinger, H. Mueller and H. Kauffman, of Germany; Charles Gide, Fourier, Pois- son and Daudet-Bancel, of France; L. Luz- zatti, Mazzini and L. Barbieri, of Italy; and H. Pronier, of Switzerland, etc. We in the United States will regret not only that this valuable anthology is pub lished only in the French language, but that its author has not included in it ex tracts from the American writers on the Co-operative Move_ment. Nevertheless, we may look forward in the future revised edi tion for the inclusion of extracts from those who are helping to guide the Co-operative Movement in this country, as well as for an English translation of the stimulating hopes and ideals of our Euro pean fellow Co-operators. CO-OPERATION, VOL. VII, 1921 Bound volumes of this magazine, with index, for 1921, may now be had by writing to The League. Our readers may be interested to know that the volumes of the recent past years are nearly exhausted. This publication is an historic record which is now preserved by libraries and by individuals as the most authentic record of co-operative progress in the United States. CO-OPERATION 19 PUBLICATIONS OF THE Co-operative League of America HISTORICAL Per Copy Per 10Q 3. Story of Co-operation .................................................$ .10 $6.00 7. British Co-operative Movement ........................................ .10 6.00 10. A Baker and What He Baked (Belgian Movement)...................... .05 38. Co-operative Consumers' Movement in the United States............... .05 4.00 TECHNICAL 4. How to Start and Run a Rochdale Co-operative Society.................. .10 4.00 5. System of Store Records and Accounts................................ .50 6. A Model Constitution and By-Laws for a Co-operative Society........... .05 2.60 8. Co-operative Education. Duties of Educational Committee Defined..... .10 9. How to Start a Co-operative Wholesale................................ .10 27. Why Co-operative Stores Fail .............. .......................... .02 1.00 MISCELLANEOUS 46. Producers' Co-operative Industries ................................... .10 11. Control of Industry by the People Through the Co-operative Movement... .10 12. Credit Union and Co-operative Store.................................. .05 1.76 34. Co-operative Movement (Yiddish) .................................... .02 1.25 43. Co-operative Housing ................................................. .10 45. Harmonizing Co-operative Producers and Consumers.................... .03 ONE-PAGE LEAFLETS (One cent each; 60 cents per 100; $2.50 per 600; $4 per 1,000) (1) Principles and Aims of the Co-operative League of America; (17) Do You Know Why You Should Be a Co-operator; (20) Why Loyalty Is Necessary; (21) Cost and Crime of Credit; (22) A Real Co-operator; (26) Resolutions Adopted by A. F. of L.; (26) Factory Workers, Co-operate!; (28) Do You Know About Co-operation in Europe?; (40) Have You a Committee on Education and Recreation?; (44) What Is the Co-operative Movement ? MONTHLY PUBLICATIONS CO-OPERATION—(In bundle lots, $7.60 per hundred). Subscription, per year......... .$1.00 HOME CO-OPERATOR, 4 pages ................................................ $1 per 100 INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATIVE BULLETIN (Pub. by The I. C. A.).......per year, $1.50 BOOKS The following books are recommended as containing the best discussions of the modern Co-operative Movement. They made be ordered through The League: Bubnoff, J. B.: The Co-operative Movement in Russia, 1917.......................... .$1.26 Faber, Harald: Co-operation in Danish Agriculture, 1918.............................. 2.75 Flanagan, J. A.: Wholesale Co-operation in Scotland, 1920............................ 2.00 Gebhard, Hannes: Co-operation in Finland, 1916............................... ...... 2.00 Gide, C.: Consumers' Co-operative Societies, 1921...................................... 2.50 Harris, Emerson P.: Co-operation, The Hope of the Consumer, 1918. Cloth, $2.00; paper bound ........................................................................... .60 History of Co-operation in the United States. Vol VI, John Hopkins University Studies, 1888 ...............................................................................4.00 Holyoake, George Jacob: The History of Co-operation, 1908............................ 2.00 Holyoake, George Jacob: The History of the Rochdale Pioneers........................ 2.00 Howe, Fred C.: Denmark, a Co-operative Commonwealth, 1921.......................... 2.60 Maxwell, Wm.: History of Co-operation in Scotland, 1910.............................. 2.00 Nicholson, Isa: Our Story ............................................................ .26 Powell, G. Harold: Co-operation in Agriculture. Macmillan ........................... 1.60 Redfern, Percy: The Story of the C. W. S............................................. 2.00 Smith-Gordon & Staples: Rural Reconstruction in Ireland, 1918....................... 2.60 Smith-Gordon: Co-operation in Many Lands, 1920...................................... 2.60 Sonnichsen, Albert: Consumers' Co-operation, 1919. Cloth bound, $1.76; paper bound... .76 Stolinsky, A.: The Co-operative Movement. In Yiddish................................ 1.00 Webb, B. and S.: The Consumers' Co-operative Movement, 1921....................... 2.00 Webb, Catherine: Industrial Co-operation, 1917 ...................................... 1.60 Woolf, Leonard: Co-operation and the Future of Industry............................. 2.00 Woolf, L.: Socialism and Co-operation................................................ 2.00 "The Co-operative Consumer" and "Co-operation," Vols. I (1914-16), II (1916), III (1917), IV (1918), V (1919), VI (1920), VII (1921)........................................ 1.25 Transactions of Second American Co-operative Convention, 1920....................... 1.00 (Ten cents postage should be added for books which cost more than $2.00, and five cents for the smaller books.) THE CO-OPERATIVE LEAGUE OF AMERICA (Member of The International Co-operative Allinace) Executive Office: 2 West 13th Street, New York An educational organization for teaching the history, principles, methods and aims of the Co-operative Movement and for the promotion of Co-operation in the United States. Join the League and thus help promote the education work of the Co-opera tive Movement. Individual Membership, 1.00 a year. Subscribe for CO-OPERATION Formerly the ''Co-operative Consumer." The Monthly Magazine of The Keep in touch with the Movement, $1.00 a year. This Journal is Not Published for Profit Ce-operative Central Exchange Wholesale Grocers and Jobbers, Bakers We supply goods to Co-operative Societies ONLY We are owned and controlled by Co-operative Societies. We are organized to enable Co-operative Societies to do collectively what they cannot do indi vidually. Co-operative Central Exchange Offices, Warehouses and Plant: Winter Street and Ogden Ave., SUPERIOR, WIS. Co-operators' Ltd. Mutual lire Insurance Co. Is now writing insurance in State of Wisconsin. The Canadian Co-operator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ of the Canadian Co-opera tive Movement* owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Co-operative Union of Canada. Published monthly; 75c per annum MOVING PICTURES and Stereopticon Lectures may foe rented from CO-OPEBATTVE LEAGUE OF AMERICA » West 13th St., New York City 1. "Some Examples of English Co-operation." Moving pictures of factory processes (two reels) ................................SB.OO 8. "Coperation in the United States." With 63 stereopticon views ........... .$3.00 'The Co-operative Momevent in Russia." With 36 colored stereopticon views. .. .$3.00 3. Co-operation in Scotland In no part of the world is Co-operaiion further developed, or more successfully practised than in Scotland. If you wish to keep in touch, read "The Scottish Co-operator" (Published Weekly) Subscription: Year 12 sh.; half-year. 6 sh. Address, 119 Paisely Road, Glasgow, Scotland THE PRODUCER Issued Monthly Price 3d. If you want to keep in touch with business, organization, administra tive affairs, and problems of the British Co-operative Movement, read THE PRODUCER. Published by Co-operative Wholesale Society, Inc. 1 Balloon Street, Manchester. Post free 4 sh. 6d. a year. The Trade and Technical Orean of British Co-operation. CASH REGISTER FOR SALE The Consumers' Co-operative Company, of Dayton, Ohio, has a cash register which it wishes to sell. The register was bought for $750 only one year ago, and is now for sale for $500, which we are assured is a bargain price. The register was especially built for use by co-operative societies. It prints a record of each transaction in dupli cate, so that the store and the customers may figure up the amount of purchases upon which dividends are to be paid. Com munications should be addressed to M. E. Dooley, Treasurer, 21 South Terry Street. Dayton, Ohio. I I 11 .-•£" I A magazine to spread the knowledge of the Co-operative Movement, whereby the people, in vol untary organization, produce and distribute for their own use the things they need Published monthly by the Co-operative League of America, 2 West 13th Street, New York City. J. P. Warbasse, Editor. Price, $1.00 a year. Entered as second class matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Vol. VIII, No. 2 FEBRUARY, 1922 10 Cents VITAL ISSUES THE FARMERS The time was when the United States was an agricultural country. Most of the farmers worked on their own farms. The ambition of the fa ther was to leave a farm to each of his children. The culture, the sta bility and the wealth of the country were among the farmers. Up to sev enty-five and fifty years ago, the United States was breeding a race of sturdy farming people. The farmers lived well, did their own thinking and fostered a fine spirit of friendliness and neighborly sympathy. Each fam ily produced in those days most of the things they consumed. Their indus try had a large social motive. The agricultural period held the best days in the history of the United States from the standpoint of the making of men. Then came the steady encroach ments of trade, manufacturing and intensive industry for profits. A new race of people became dominant—a race of traders, speculators, and pro ducers for profit. Gradually it came about that money could be made easier in exchanging and gambling in the products of the land than in actu ally producing things. Laws were made to promote and protect gam bling-. (It was called "trade" or "business.") The products of the farms presently became objects of in terest and importance because of their gambling possibilities. The most influential citizens ceased to be of the farmers and became the cham bers of commerce, produce exchanges, stock exchanges, merchants associa tions, and boards of trade. Buying at the lowest price and selling at the highest price became the great na tional occupation. Steadily now, for the past thirty years the number of farmers who work on their own farm has dimin ished. The number of mortgaged farms has increased. The number of farms owned by absentee landlords and worked by tenant farmers has multiplied. The average farm worker has made a bare living from his in dustry. Out of sheer economic pres sure, the boys and girls have left the farms and gone to the cities to take jobs in factories and to engage in the game of selling their labor at the highest price and buying at the low est price. The year 1921 saw a great change in the United States. For the first time in its history, the town popula tion became greater than the coun try population. The majority of the people are no longer occupied in agri culture. The United States has ceased to be an agricultural country. How fares it with the farmer now? In the Fall of 1921, a hearing be- 20 CO-OPERATION fore the Agricultural Commission in Washington brought out the fact that the farmer in this country receives but thirty cents out of every dollar that the consumers pay for farm pro ducts. In Denmark, the farmer re ceives ninety cents of the consumers' dollar. The greatest economic power in the United States today is represented in those forces that take this seventy cents tribute out of every consumers' dollar and hand the farmer thirty cents. This force is organized; it controls the press and the schools, and its representatives and agents constitute the great majority in every state legislature, in congress, in the cabinet and in the courts. This is a serious problem; but it is not only a farmers problem; it is the problem of every one of us. No civilization can endure that subjugates the pro ducers of necessary things to the will and Gemination of traders in those things. To meet this situation, there is one first step. The farmer must organ ize. Industrial labor lifted itself out of a state worse than slavery by or ganizing. The farmer is headed, for peonage; and nothing but organiza tion can save him. His first duty is to organize as a producer—as a worker—to get adequate pay for his labor. That means adequate prices for what he produces. The consum ers who are not farmers can not justly raise a voice against this. The farmer must organize for the same reason that the industrial worker must organize. In the present eco nomic system, without organization, slavery is their destiny. The man who is opposed to the trade-union principle for every worker, indus trial or agricultural, is an enemy of civilization to just that degree. But the farmer, as well as the in dustrial worker, cannot solve his problem by merely organizing and se curing better reward for his labor. When he comes to spend the wages he has gotten for his toil, he is still at the mercy of the same forces that control his selling power. Inasmuch as he spends as much as he receives, he is a consumer as much as he is a producer. It is for this reason that he must organize his spending power as well as his selling power. These two forms of organization are neces sary and should go hand-in-hand. The organizations that are doing the most for the farmers in the United States are those that are giv ing attention to both ends of the farmers' problem. Several are sin cerely interested in having the farm ers organize as consumers. Their stores and purchasing organizations are beacons of hope. They have es tablished some of the best consumers' societies in the Middle West. Their great need is the intensive promotion of education so that the farmers shall understand the need and the correct methods of organization. The Co-operative League desires to render every possible assistance in this direction. There is every reason why the organization of the people as producers and as consumers should go forward together. The hope of the United States rests upon the pro gress of the Co-operative ,Movement and not upon the fictitious wealth, the product of exploitation, which high finance holds up as the test of our greatness. A BUYERS' STRIKE The Attorney General of the United States has suggested, as a remedy for profiteering and high prices, that the buyers should boycott all shops where they think prices are unreasonably high. There is one thing that strikes the thoughtful citizen in these trying times: that is the utter poverty of politicians in constructive ideas. The whole country is beset with profiteer ing, unemployment, suffering and crime rampant. Boards of aldermen and city councils fail utterly to touch the problem. One American city has been advertised with screaming head lines as having a solution for its crime problem; and what do we find is its CO-OPERATION 21 solution? It is building two new criminal court buildings and has in creased its criminal prosecuting staff! If one would be especially im pressed with the utter futility of our political system, let him go to Wash ington and see the whole outfit of politicians, busy chieflly in avoiding doing something fundamentally use ful. Dear reader, did you ever walk the fields and turn over a big flat stone and see the commotion among the bugs underneath? Such a scurrying and rushing hither and hither! Do you realize what all the excitement and fuss is about? The bugs are afraid of the light. They live and work in darkness. That is Washing ton. The big flat stone is the present benighted economic profit-system. A new idea, born of suffering and dis content, comes along and tips it up a bit. A little light creeps in around the edges, and there is danger that the thing may upset. The bugs scur ry as far from the light as possible, loudly proclaiming to each other the virtues of the stone and asserting that the light cannot get in very far and disturb things. The solution offered by the Govern ment will not upset the stone—never fear! It proposes a nation-wide buyers' strike! If the workers proposed a nation-wide strike of workers because wages were too low, hell would be to pay. But high prices is exactly the same thing as low wages. The pre cious Attorney General knows that the buyers are not organized and there is no such a thing as an unor ganized strike. A strike is a nega tive force any way. The Attorney General advocates a consumers' strike not only because of dearth of ideas, but because of its impracticability. The government's job is to suggest something that will not worry the supporters of the present system or upset the structure under which they work. Suppose we had a government of constructive statesmen. I admit the impracticability of the supposition. But suppose we had. And suppose the government taught the people about organizing the consumers, not to strike, but for constructive pur poses. Suppose it used its machinery of education, propaganda and pub licity, not for negative purposes, but to teach them how to organize co operatively as consumers to supply themselves with the things they want. Suppose it fostered laws for the protection and the promotion of such organizations of the people. Sup pose the Government should do what The Co-operative Leage is attempting to do. The United States would be converted into a Utopia. The possi bilities of bringing happines, self-re liance and justice to the people are so great as to be beyond human calcula tion. Privilege and poverty would disappear along with the train of crime and sin that follows them. That the Government will do such a thing is unthinkable! If the people want privilege and poverty abolished they will have to do it for themselves. Not a buyers' strike, but a buyers' co operative organization for construc tive purposes is what this country of ours needs. A SOCIALIST ERROR Socialists in the United States are teaching that the people need to vote for Socialism and secure a majority at election; and, lo! and behold! in the twinkling of an eye, all will be changed! The New York Call, January 5, 1922, in an editorial said: "H. G. Wells is right. It is not war that is the most terrible thing, horrible as it is. It is the stupidity of the people who, having it within their power to change the present hellish conditions between the rising and setting of the sun, refuse to do it." The editor who wrote this is the best informed on economics of any editor of any New York daily news paper. He did not mean just what the editorial reads. He meant that the people have the power, in a day, to take the first step toward a change. But many people take the statement 22 CO-OPERATION literally. The teaching among so cialists is very prevalent that when they have a majority at the polls the change is as good as accomplished. Soap box orators are fond of giving this impression. As a matter of fact it is far from the truth. If in any industrial country, the socialists should win a victory at the polls and should attempt to change the present hellish conditions between the rising and setting sun, by a socialization of industry, that country would be thrown into a state of hellishness that would be worse than the present con ditions. If the captured government should proceed to take over the indus tries, chaos would be turned loose. There would be unemployment, sup pression of civil liberties, suppression of freedom of speech, force without stint, wholesale arrests, bloodshed, poverty and crime—all multiplied be yond what they are today. Before the upset had lasted long the majority of people would be praying for the good old times back again, some arch reactionary would be elected presi dent, the "radicals" would be stood in rows in front of a wall, and mowed down with machine guns, and the same old game would be on again. If there is any particular class of people in the United States today who are not radical it is the people who call themselves "real radicals"—the so-called extreme left wingers. Radi cals are at the root; these left wingers are up in the branches—and a good thunderstorm would shake them out and bring them tumbling to the ground. What the people want is bread and potatoes, and plenty of them. Any reorganization of society—that does not at once give them at least as much as they have been having—poor as it is—will not last very long. The prom ise that "we are working put a better state of society for our children" does not satisfy hungry people. No change from the present system will succeed unless it is an economic change. Poli tics can change little. The politics, the government, is but the echo of the voice of the owners of the prop erty. Sudden revolutions, both poli tical and economic, fail because the present owners of the property are opposed to sudden change. And they are the forces which hold the surplus wealth, the surplus food, the guns and the powers of coersion. Finland came up against this thing. It elected 103 socialists in a parliament of 200. Then the trouble began. It is not a question of what is right or what is wrong; it is a question of facts, a question of the action of forces which cannot be changed overnight. I do not say politics is futile. But I do say it is a secondary field; and any movement that hopes to change the present "hellish system" by politi cal action alone is futile. It is an idle dream. The only way to make the world a better place to live in is to go to work day by day and make it a better place to live in. That means work; and there are a lot of people who want it done without work. They think vot ing is easier. If production and distribution for profit is a source of evil, then the remedy is to distribute and produce things for use. If people do not want to be dependent upon profit-making capitalists for the necessities of life, then the thing to do is to learn how to supply themselves with the things they want, independently of the cap italists. There is no easy way to do this. It can not be done by electing some other fellow—to go to a capital city—to instruct the thing called the government—to do it. The people must do it themselves. The capital ists are now supplying us with most of the things we use. They have learned how to do it. But if we want a change we have got to train our selves to do things ourselves. If we are not willing to remake the world ourselves with our own hands, per sistently and constructively, then other non-creative and destructive forces will remake it; and for the worse. J. P. W. CO-OPERATION 23 EUROPEAN IMPRESSIONS CO-OPERATION IN SWITZERLAND By J. P. WARBASSE There is a story told of a wealthy traveller whose life was saved by some Swiss peasants in the moun tains and who, out of gratitude, sent a sum of money to the Swiss Govern ment to be given to the poor. In due time he received a letter of thanks from the "little republic of the moun tains" ; but the letter returned to him his money and informed him that the government could not use it as there were no poor in Switzerland. I like this story because it shows the self- respect and independence of the peo ple. Of course there are poor people in Switzerland — every country that has the conspicuously rich has the poor—but they are few; they will not accept alms—and the Government knows it. As governments go, the Swiss have a very decent one. Switzerland owns no colonies, has no imperialistic pol icy, supports no navy and accordingly can maintain a pretty high type of political regime—at least a vastly higher type than any government can which possesses these incumbrances. The Swiss Government is one of the few governments that is not un friendly to Co-operation. Its attitude is nothing worse than that of cheer ful neutrality. The Swiss press dares not attack Co-operation. The pulpit utters no word against it. The schools teach Co-operation. And the universities have chairs devoted to its propagation. All of this comes about not because Co-operation is a good thing, but because one half of the population of Switzerland are in the Co-operative Movement, and because the state, the press, the pulpit and the schools are not leaders of the public but only reflections of the public will and intelligence. I spent two happy weeks in Basel. Here is the central office of the Union of Swiss Co-operative Consumers' So cieties (Verband Schweiz. Konsum- vereine—V. S. K.), Several of the factories of the wholesale are located here. Among these, none is more noteworthy than the shoe factory. This splendid plant kept running dur ing the war and has never laid off a hand during the slack times that fol lowed. When capitalistic shoe fac tories in Switzerland were closed or were working half time or had laid off half of their employees, this factory continued to produce shoes at its full capacity. I said to the manager, "What do the consumers' societies say to this production of shoes beyond their needs? You are making more