The source of this uncorrected OCR text may be viewed in the DjVu format at: http://fax.libs.uga.edu/HD2951xC776/co33 or http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/ugafax/HD2951xC776/co33 COOPERATION ORGAN OF THE Consumers Cooperative Movement in the U. S. A. VOLUME XIX January—December 1933 Published by The Cooperative League of U. S. A. 167 West 12th Street, New York City INDEX INDEX PAGE Accounting .................................................................... 168 Advertising ........................................................ 2, 55, 70, 110, 182 Alanne, V. S. ................................................................ 38, 73 Amalgamated Cooperative Apartments ................................... 25, 51, 74, 123 Amalgamated Dwellings ................................................... 25, 83, 123 American Federation of Labor ................................................... 3 Arabs and Cooperation .......................................................... 69 Argentina, Cooperation in ....................................................... 207 Auditing ................................................................ 45, 104, 110 Austria, Cooperation in ......................................................... 170 Awakening Community, The ..................................................... 146 B Back to the Land .................. ........................ .. .. 22, 147 173 Bakeries ............................................................... 25, 104, 126 Banking ......................................................... 13, 18, 69, 94, 96, 151 Bargain Hunters ................................................................ 103 Barnes, Harry Elmer ........................................................... 83 Baron, N. .................................................................... 18, 67 Beer, Should Cooperators Sell ........................................... 131, 142, 162 Bergengren, R. F. .............................................................. 85 Bokal, M. E. .................................................... ....... .. 56 Book Reviews ................................................... 18, 39, 146, 163, 178 Brands, Cooperative ............................................................ 109 British Canadian Cooperative Society, Sydney Mines, N. S. .......................... 162 Bruere, Henry ............................................................... 83 Builder, The Cooperative ...................................................... 26, 46 Building and Loan Associations ................................................... 94 Bulgaria, Cooperation in ........................................................ 16 Burial Associations .............................................................. 72 Calendar ...................................................................... 117 Capitalism, Cooperation, Communism .............................................. 39 Capitalism and Wage Cutting ................................................... 33 Cash Basis ..................................................................... 12 Cash Trading .......................................................... 134, 156, 160 Central Cooperative Wholesale ................ 6,. 17, 26, 46, 70, 76, 95, 104, 154, 185, 207 Central States Cooperative League ............................ 37, 45, 51, 95, 97, 106, 176 Central States Cooperative Youth League ......................................... 177 Chain Stores ................................................................. 2, 109 Chicago Pure Milk Association ................................................... ] 2 China, Cooperation in ........................................................... 79' Churches and Cooperation ................................................ 12, 30, 102 Citizens Cooperative Store, Buffalo, N. Y. ........................................ 4 Claessens, A. .................................................................. 163 Cloquet Cooperative Society, Minn. ................................. 139, 141, 160, 185 Clusa Service ................................. 17, 37, 77, 92, 115, 129, 140, 146, 163, 170 Codes ............................................ 134, 151, 152, 168, 183, 186, 203, 205 Cohen, E. M. ...................................................... ............ 39 Cohen, H. I. ...................... ....... .... . ...... ................... 58 Cole, G. D. H. ................................................................. 98 Columbia Conserve Co., Indianapolis .............................................. 5 Commonwealth College, Mena, Ark. ............................................ 32, 190 Commonwealth Mutual Savings Bank .............................................. 96 i PAGE Competition ......................................................... 11, 59, 102, 109 Consumer, The Prostrate ......................................................... 82 Consumers, Awake ............................................................. 165 Consumers Cooperation in U. S. ................................... 24, 45, 87, 105, 123 Consumers Cooperative Services, N. Y. City ........................... 27, 123, 139, 189 Consumers Cooperative Services and Restaurant Code ............................... 207 Consumers Guide, The .........................................•••••••••••••••••• 202 Consumers Research ......................................................... 33, 189 Continental Congress ............................................... 102, 111, 141, 160 Cooley, O. ............................................. 4, 19, 22, 24, 43, 81, 112, 190 Cooperation Here and Abroad ................................................... 178 Cooperative Bakery of Brownsville 6 E. N. Y. .................................... 126 Cooperative League, The ............................................. ........ 44. 148 Cooperative Month .......................................................... 35, 167 Cooperative Trading Association, Brooklyn, N. Y. .................................. 126 Cooperative Trading Co., Waukegan, 111. .................. 8, 12, 51, 78, 96, 106, 114. 156 Cooperation vs Coercion ......................................................... 150 Cooperators Life Association ..................................................... 122 Cordiner, Mrs. Alex. ........................................................... 162 Cort, E. G. .................................................................... 38 Cowden, H. A. ............................................................... 6, 175 Creameries ................................................... 11, 12, 17, 41, 87, 140 Credit Trading ........................................................... 16, 34, 58 Credit, The Parentage of ......................................................... 182 Credit Received His Fair Name, How .............................................. 208 Credit Union National Extension Bureau .......................................... 86 Credit Unions ........................................................ 42, 68, 86. 189 Czechoslovakia, Cooperation in ................................................ 16, 178 D Deal, F. E. .................................................................... 18 Democracy Doomed?, Is ......................................................... 146 Democracy in Crisis ............................................................ 146 Deposit Accounts—R. H. Macy ..................... ............ ............... 135 Dietrich, J. H. .................................................................. 32 Eastern Cooperative Agency .................................................... 13 Eastern States Cooperative League .............................. 45, 51, 94, 123, 127, 128 Eastern States Farmers Exchange, Springfield, Mass. ................ 27, 31, 122, 155, 185 Edberg, Gideon ................................................................. 206 Editorials—Oscar Cooley ............... 2, 22, 42, 62, 82, 102, 118, 134, 150, 166, 182, 198 Education ................................................. 52, 102, 108, 182, 201, 205 Electric Power Societies .......................................................... 207 Electricians, Farmers are their own ............'.................................... 160 Emblem, Our Cooperative ...................................................... 206 Emergency Conference of Consumers- Organizations ................................. 184 Employee Cooperation ..................... ...................................... 33 Employees Cooperative Union ............. ...................................... 159 Equity Union Grain Co., Kansas City, Mo. ....................................... 175 Europe, Cooperation in, by C. E. Warne .......................................... 170 Executive Order, President Roosevelt's ............................................. 198 Fairchild, H. P. ................................................................ 19 Farband Housing Corporation, N. Y. City ......................................... 94 Farm Board, Federal ............................................................ 27 Farm Bureau Services, Lansing Mich. .............................................. 156 Farm Credit Administration .................................................. 151, 199 Farm Publications .............................................................. 146 Farmers and the Farm Bureaus ................................................... 3 Farmers as Radicals ............................................................. 62 INDEX PAGE Farmers Cooperation ......................................................... 26, 112 Farmers Marketing Cooperatives and Trade Unions ........................'. n9, 157, 193 Farmers Organizations," "Those Damned ........................ . ... . 13 Farmers Union Central Exchange, St. Paul .................... 37, 50, 72, 95, 105, 155, 185 Farmers Union Cooperative Oil Association, Bancroft, Neb. ........................ 10 Farmers Union Cooperative Oil Plant, N. D. ..................................... 7 Farmers Union, Neb. ...................................................... 11, 49, 50 Federal Farm Relief Administration ............................................'... 201 Finland, Cooperation in ....................................................... 35, 170 Finnish Cooperatives ............................................................ 24 Fire Insurance Companies of Woodridge, N. Y., Associated .......................... 139 Fire Insurance Society, Workmen's Furniture, N. Y. City ......... ............... 24, 93 Fitchburg Cooperative Club ............................... 36, 57, 76, 113, 177, 194, 210 Floodwood Cooperative Association, Minn. . 13 Folk High School ..............................................'..'....'.'.'..'.'...'.. 14 Food and Drugs Act ............................................................ 189 Forgotten Consumer, and Who has forgotten him, The ............................... 120 Forgotten Consumer Organize and Act, Let the ..................................... 188 Franklin Cooperative Creamery Association .................................. 9, 87, 202 France, Cooperation in ...................................................... 17. 170 Garibaldi, Giuseppe C. Assoc.—Mishawaka, Ind. .................................. 207 Germany, Cooperation in ............................................. 26, 35, 118, 174 Gilbert, Joseph .................. ' ' 143 Good, W. C ........................'...'..'....'...'..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. .146 Goss, A. S. .................................................................... 175 Government Finances Cooperative Education ....................................... 201 Grange ........................................................................ 24 Grange League Federation Exchange, Ithaca, N. Y. .......................... 2, 156, 160 Great Britain, Cooperation in ..................... 16, 35, 42, 106, 109, 115, 122, 137, 187 H Hagge, Fred ................................................................... 13 Halonen. Geo. ............................................................ 29, 99, 136 Hayes, A. J. ................................................................'... 58 Health, The Public might take care of its .......................................... 63 Hedebol, F. C. N. .......................................... .. .......... . 14 Herron. L. S. ................................................... 11, 27, 119, 142, 200 Hill, Virginia ................................................................... 98 H. O. B. Cooperative Oil Association, Bruce Crossing, Mich ............ ...... . . 159 Hood, Robin ................................................................... 136 Hospitals ............................. ... ... ..... .. 17 47 Housing ............................................................ 64, 83, 94. 123 How to Spread Cooperation .................................................... 52, 70 Howe, F. C. ......................................................... .. . 202 Hubbardston Cooperative Club .......................... 36. 56, 113, 145! 177, 194, 209 Hughes, H. J. .................................................................. 178 Hull, I. H. ................................................................ 9, 84, 157 Hyde, W. A. .................................... .............................. 17 I Jdrott Cafe, Chicago, 111. ......................................................... 25 Ikle, Adolph .................................................................... 98 Illinois Farm Supply Co., Chicago ................................................ 156 Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association................... 3, 9, 70, 84, 128, 155, 203 Insurance ..................... 17, 25, 38, 45, 77, 92, 95, 115, 122, 129, 139, 146, 163, 179 International Cooperative Alliance ............................................. 16, 140 Industrial Arts Cooperative Service, N. Y. City .................................... 139 International Wholesaling ........................................................ 51 INDEX PAGE Jacobson, Geo. W. ...................................................... 38, 193, 201 Jessup, J. A. .................................................................... 144 Jewish Cooperatives ........................................................... 25, 67 Jokes, Cooperative .............................................-•••••••••••••••• 66 Junior Cooperators of Chicago ................................ 56, 76, 130, 145, 161, 211 K Kastel, A. .................................................................. 130, 145 Keen, George ................................................................... 131 Kirby, George .................................................................. 4 Knights of Labor ............................................................... 24 Kress, A. J. .................................................................... 39 Land, Back to the ...................................................... 22, 147, Land O'Lakes Creameries ........................................................ Laski, Harold J. ................................................................ Laws, Cooperative ...................................................... 37, 162, Lawler Cooperative Creamery Association ........................................ Liberty Cooperative Co., Cleveland, Ohio ...............................•••••••••• Library, Cooperative Chain ...................................................... Libraries, Cooperative ..........................................••••••••••.••••••• Liebman, H. ................................................................ 62, Liikanen, A.M. ........................................................... 36, 75 Lilly, Esther ................................................................... Liukiku, J. ............. ........................................................ London Cooperative Society .............................................. 42, 84, Long, Cedric ................................................................... Luma, A Challenge to the Trusts .....................................••••••••••• 173 26 146 184 17 5 109 12 143 97 53 142 122 24 28 M McCarthy, C. ............................................................ 31, 49, 141 McGuire, A. J. .................................................................. 211 Madera Consumers Cooperative Association, Cal. .................................. 159 Manitoba Cooperative Wholesale, Winnipeg ................................... 156, 162 Manty, Chas. .................................................................. 51 Marketing Associations and Trade Unions ......................... 11. .9, 135, 157, 193 Martinek, Jos. .................................................................. 4 Mass. League of Cooperative Clubs ....................................... 76, 177, 209 Maynard Cooperative Club ....................................................... 194 Meat Market Statistics .......................................................... 50 Men's Guild, Waukegan, 111. ........................................... 58. 78, 96, 209 Mexican Cooperative Law ...................................................... 162 Midland Cooperative Oil Association ............... 6, 17, 26, 46, 37, 70, 92, 108, 155, 159 Minneapolis Cooperative Oil Association ........................................... 110 Mims, Mary and Moritz, Georgia ................................................. 146 Minnesota Valley Burial Association ............................................. 73 Minot Cooperative Co., N. D. ................................................... 72 Moldenhawer, J. V. ............................................................. 12 Money's Worth, Coops, insure the Consumer gets his ................................ 154 Moore, J. L. ................................................................. 18, 59 Morgenthau, Henry, Jr. ........................................................ 151 Mott Equity Exchange, N. D. ................................................... 175 Movies ............................................................... 9, 16, 51, 172 Mutual Trade Relations .......................................................... 159 INDEX INDEX N PAGE National Cooperatives, Inc. ....................................... 1, 6, 10, 33, 70, 205 Nebraska Farmers Union State Exchange ............. 13, 26, 31, 49, 104, 105, 118, 154, 159 Nelson, E. E. .............................................. ................... 4 New Cooperative Co., Dillonvale, Ohio ........................................ 27, 207 New Era Life Association ............. ......................................... 13 New Year's Resolutions .......................................................... 209 Noble Co. Farm Bureau Cooperative Association .................................. 197 Northern States Cooperative League .......... 8, 37, 45, 72, 95, 105, 109, 110, 139, 178, 184 Northern States Cooperative Youth League ........................................ 194 N.R.A. .......................... 133, 150, 152, 166, 168, 182, 184, 186, 188, 198, 202, 205 Nurmi, H. V. .................................................................. 188 o Ohio Farm Bureau, Columbus, Ohio .......................................... 160, 189 Oil Cooperatives ............................... 7, 10, 17, 27, 84, 110, 121, 155, 159. 166 One Hundred Million Guinea Pigs ................................................. 99 Omaha F. U. Credit Association ................;.................:............... 211 Opportunity, Cooperation's ............................................... 23, 30, 42 Orr Farmers Cooperative Trading Co., Minn. ..................................... 33 Ozanne, J. ..................................................................... 142 PAGE Saari, Leo ..................................................................... 79 Sammeli, J. .................................................................... 98 Sankari, H. O. .................................................................. 74 Schools, Cooperative.. 14, 32, 37. 72, 75, 76, 94, 97, 110, 112, 128, 139, 143, 144, 160, 161, 185 Schuyler, G. S. ................................................................. 132 Sciences, Physical and Social ................................................... 43 Scotland, Cooperation in ........................................................ 17 Seidel, Edmund ................................................................ 74 Shadid, M. .................................................................... 47 Slogans ................................................................... 176, 183 Slovenian Cooperative Youth League, Cleveland, Ohio .............................. 113 Socialists and Cooperators ...................................................... 94 Socialists Seeking Cooperation .................................................. 8 Soo Cooperative Merc. Association, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. ......................... 87 Soviet Russia as I Saw It ....................................................... 18 Speakers, A Manual for Socialist ................................................. 163 Spirit of Cooperation, The .................................................... 54, 74 Square Deal Cooperative Store, Milwaukee, Wis. ................................. 175 Statistics ....................................................... 25, 88, 122, 124, 138 Stein, Emanuel .............................................................. 64, 147 Sunnyside Consumers Cooperative, L. I. City, NY. ........................... 142, 207 Sweden, Cooperation in. ............................................... 16, 28, 51, 162 Palmer, Edwin C. ........................................................... . . 95 Palmer, Carlos C. ............................................................... 197 Palestine, Cooperation in ....................................................... 67 Peoples Cooperative Society, Superior, Wis. .................................... 73, 185 Peoples Year Book .............................................................. 39 Pesek, Frank .......................................................... 37, 56, 79, 97 Pointers on Propaganda Meetings ................................................. 192 Producers Cooperation .................. ............................ 26, 87, 106, 122 Profit Seeking Producers vs Cooperation .......................................... 62 Program. Cooperative ........................................................... 21 Profit-Piling .................................................................... 11 Profits or Prosperity ............................................................ 19 Propaganda .............................................................. 52, 70, 19? Public Utilities .................................................................. 3 Publishing Co., Cooperative .................................................. 185, 187 Purity Cooperative Bakery, Paterson, N. J. ....................................... 126 Q Quincy Cooperative Youth Club ................................................. 76 Quotations ................................................ 23, 81, 83, 86, 102, 175, 205 R Racketeering ................................................................... 12 Radio Broadcasting, Cooperative .................................................. 32 Rats, Anti, Campaign .......................................................... 32 Recreation ..................................................................... 17 Rent Relief Fund ............................................................... 94 Reynolds, Q. ................................................................... 157 Rimpila, L. .................................................................. 78, 144 Robinson, Wm. G. ............................................................. 18 Roosevelt and the New Deal .................................................... 85 Rosenthal, E. A. .................................................................. 132 Taxation ............................................................... 104, 110, 168 Technique of Fraternity .......................................................... 43 Technocracy and Cooperation .................................................. 29, 99 Telephone Companies ........................................................... 3 Theatre, Cooperative ............................................................ 17 Throop, C. .................................................................... 43 Trade Unionism ................................................................ 43 Tolstoy, Leo ................................................................... 13 Trade Union and Cooperative Council, Minneapolis ................................ 8 Trade Unions and Marketing Coops. ................................. 119, 135, 157, 193 Twin City Cooperative Council ................................................... 109 Twin Cities Milk Producers Association ........................................... 87 U Unemployed Cooperative Leagues ................................... 8, 12, 58, 107, 175 Union Merc. Co., Isanti, Minn. .................................................. 38 Union Oil Co., North Kansas City, Mo. ...................................... 70, 155 United Cooperative Farmers, Fitchburg, Mass. ..................................... 126 United Cooperative Society, Maynard, Mass. .............................. 51, 126, 160 United Cooperative Society, Fitchburq, Mass. .................................. 126, 185 United Cooperative Society, Quincy, Mass. ......................................... 128 United Farmers Exchange, Fulda, Minn. ....:..................................... 73 U. S. S. R., Cooperation in ................................................ 16, 18, 170 V Virginia Farmers Purchasing Association ......................................... 141 w Wagg, Olavi .................................................................. 36 Wages under N.R.A. ........................................................... 150 \Vages Cut at the Points of Production and Consumption ........................... 204 Wages vs Capitalism ........................................................... 33 Warbasse, J. P. .................. 18, 24, 45, 63, 85, 120, 131, 133, 152, 168, 186, 200, 202 A INDEX PAGE Ward G. H. ................................................................... HI Warinner, A. W. ........................................................ 95, 128, 157 Warne, C. E. ........................................................... 33, 157, 170 Washington Cooperative Egg and Poultry Producers Association .............. 26, 110, 154 Washington, Cooperation Impresses ............................................... 202 Washington State Grange .................................................... 153, 175 Waste, Criminal ................................................................ 10 Waste, Cutting out .............................................................. 31 Waukegan and No. Chicago Cooperative Association ................................ 51 Wentworth Farmers Cooperative Association ....................................... 108 Wholesaling ........................................................ 1, 28, 49, 50, 70 Winchester, H. J. ............................................................... 142 Wise Sayings ...................................................... 81, 92, 103, 163 Womens Guilds ................... 16, 46, 54, 56, 78, 95, 98, 114, 129, 130, 162, 176, 194 Workers Cooperative Union, Lawrence, Mass. ............................ 41, 51, 94, 126 Workingmen's Protective Union .................................................. 24 Workmen's Circle .............................................................. 25 Workmen's Cooperative Merc. Association, Chicago, 111. ............................ 37, 97 Workmen's Furniture Fire Ins. Society, N. Y. City ................................ 24, 93 Workingmen's Cooperative Co., Cleveland, Ohio .................................... 4 World Chaos, A Guide Through .................................................. 98 World Economic Conference .................................................... 140 Y Young Circle League ............................................................ 76 Young Cooperators Club, Maynard, Mass. ......................................... 57 Youth League of Superior, Wis. ................................................... 76 Young Negroes Cooperative League .............................................. 5 Youth Leagues .................. 4, 36, 56, 75, 95, 97, 113, 129, 130, 145, 161, 177, 194, 209 "f COOPERATION ORGAN OF THE Consumers Cooperative Movement in the U. S. A. \ VOLUME XIX January—December 1933 Published by The Cooperative League of U. S. A. 167 West 12th Street, New York City 20 COOPERATION STUDY CONSUMERS' COOPERATION The books and pamphlets listed below are available through The Cooperative League. Read them and pass them on to your friends HISTORICAL Per Copy Per 100 38. Consumers Cooperation In the United States (illus.), 1930.... .10 8.00 6». Story of Toad Lane (By Stuart Chase) ...................... .05 4.00 TECHNICAL 4. How to Start and Hun a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... .25 »>. Muiiel By-Laws fo. Price $1.00 a year. Vol. XIX, No. 1 Jan. 1933 In Cahoots with the National Advertiser? WE WENT into a grocery store and asked for some Florida oranges. "These are all Floridas," said the clerk, pointing to a bank ot fruit. Every orange was wrapped in the familiar trademark of the Califor nia Fruit Growers Exchange. Such is the wisdom of the average grocery clerk. Since the advent of the Era of Na tional Advertising, retailing has be come largely a matter of handing out branded goods, on call, over the coun ter. Your modern retailer is little more than an automaton, a human slot-machine, a puppet with the na tional advertiser as puppet-master. It is complained that there is little profit in retailing any more, but why should there be? One-half of one percent would be big pay for the slot-machine service you get in the average store. How much better are our coopera tive stores? In all too many cases we fear they are merely duplicating the slot-machine tactics of the private re tailer. If called to answer to this charge, cooperative store managers will say that the public calls for national brands and they have to give the pub lic what it wants. Neither statement is wholly true. There are many con sumers—and may we be optimistic enough to think that there are espe cially many among cooperative store patrons?—who have not sold their souls to nationally advertised brands and who are willing—nay, desirous— of being informed by their retailer as to qualities and standards. The re tailer is always in a better position tc influence the customer than is the na tional advertiser, for the retailer cart maice a direct statement at the moment she is making her selection, while the national advertiser can only throw a suggestion at her as she whizzes by his billboard in her automobile, or pages through a magazine, her mind intent upon the story she is reading. Some retailers have taken full advantage of this fact. Many of the chains, for ex- ample, have built up a big volume for their private brands, not by advertis ing, but by judicious "pushing" over the counter. They have done this di rectly against the force of millions of dollars of national advertising. If the chains have done this wit 5 their brands, which have no appeal whatever except price, and quality (maybe), how much more can not the cooperatives do? Besides having every appeal that the chains have, they can point out that the co-op brand is made according to the specifications of the cooperative, that is. of the consumer, and so there has been no incentive to stint on quality. Cooperative brands are good brands. If not, somebody has failed to cooperate, and the result has no business to be called a coopera tive brand. A man with long experience in the retailing field recently expressed to us the opinion that a store could be opened and run successfully without a single branded article on the shelves. He says that much of the public's buy ing of advertised brands is because there is nothing else to buy, or they do not know how to buy according to description and standard. If they were offered an open formula article, un loaded with advertising cost, on the basis of its merits, thev would buy it eagerly, he believes. But this would be a different kind of retailing than obtains at present. The retailer and his clerks would have to know their goods. They would have to be able COOPERATION to tell precisely the difference between Fancy and Extra Fancy and stand back of their words. Such a retailer would gain a tremendous hold on his public. Private retailers will never do this, but cooperative retailers might. Tn fact it seems to us exactly "up their alley." It is a way in which coopera • tives can set themselves apart and out side of competition. Cooperatives are founded on the philosophy of service to the consumer, whereas private re tailers are founded on a ohilosophy cr: profit to themselves. Every coopera tive should be the champion of the consumer. He needs a champion, heaven knows. The private retailer and the national advertiser are both "agin him;" together they are straining every nerve to sell him a big red label and a large measure of hokum. Go into your cooperative store or oil station and take a look around. To what extent is your society serving the consumer and to what extent is it oper ating in cahoots with the national ad vertiser? • Don't Blame the Bureau-crats Too Harshly The reaction of the American Farm Bureau leaders to the proposal of the Chicago conference that they aid and abet a general consumers cooperative is not to be wondered at. They feel that they have one specific job to do: Help the farmer. This, in their view, does not require—or perhaps even per mit—them to go out of their way to help everybody else. Like many a farmer of the past, the A. F. B. F. ap parently feels snug and self-sufficient behind its own line fences and com paratively unconcerned with whafc happens to its neighbors. Provincial, you say? Yes. but when has the A. F. of L., for example, gone out of its way to cooperate with farmers? In fact., what if any organization of a produc ing class has ever shown a disposition to help or to cooperate in helping others than that class; even when, as in this case, cooperation with others 'n. the long run could only benefit them selves? No, organizations of producer classes are traditionally narrow and provincial. They are primarily inter ested in profit for their class, and devil take the rest of the world! This is the root cause of most social conflict. When we organize on consumption lines, however, we have a common ground on which all kinds of produc ers, farmer and laborer, can meet; nay, on which it is positively in their inter est to meet. Thus consumers coopera tion breaks down class lines and tends to wipe out class conflict. This truth is seen by the farmers' cooperative wholesales which at the Nov. 21 conference took a firm stand for a central wholesale capable of serving both farmer and worker con sumers. This is statesmanship of a high order, and great credit is due such, organization as the Indiana Farm Bu reau Cooperative Association, (which, be it noted, has considerably extended its horizon beyond that of its parent organization). There are Farm Bureau cooperators and there are Farm Bu- reau-crats. The former can still milk a cow or two upon necessity; the lat ter are more expert at milking Con gress. Practicing cooperation, coming smack up against the needs of the people and helping them to satisfy their needs through cooperation— nothing beats that as a prescription for toning up and broadening out a phil osophy. Save Money and Breath Many farmers in Indiana—"Other states, too, probably—'are having their telephones taken out. Why shouldn't they? The rate of the Indiana Bell Telephone Company is $24 a year. You can forego a lot of talk for $24 these days. Meanwhile a small coop erative telephone company which has been running in that state for many years we are told has never charged over $6 per year and has averaged nearer $5. Three cheers for the great- ness and efficiency of a nation-wide, monopolistic public utility! COOPERATION WANT to take a trip from New York to Minneapolis and back, stopping here and there on the way to say hello to various cooperators who are laboring mightily in their local vineyards? Chances are they will be glad to see us—'it's lonely business tending a green shoot in a desert—and maybe they will let us pay for our din ner, at least partially, with a talk on cooperation—barter's the style now,, you know. Want to go? All aboard, then. One main objective we have: A con ference of district cooperative whole sales to meet in Chicago Nov. 21 to consider plans for combining their buying power. That sounds worth sit ting in on. Mail Order We leave New York Nov. 16. Buf falo is our first stop and a snowy one it is. We call up George Kirby, whose hobby is how to get a cooperative mail order service started. He was with Larkin & Co. many years and so is no tyro at that sort of thing. He would like to see such a service set up and controlled by the League, or perhaps preferably by one of the wholesales, giving people a chance to buy cooper atively who are not in cooperative ter ritory now, insuring honest goods and making savings, too. We would not have to stock goods at first, he says. Arrangements could be made with manufacturers to fill orders direct. Textiles, household articles and toilet goods could be handled, maybe tires, And an ounce of cooperative propa ganda with every pound of goods. This might be the means of planting the seed On the Road By Oscar Cooley of cooperation in many communities that are now barren. Mr. Kirby thinks we may be missing a chance here. There are still left a few men of the old school who were more interested in doing a good job, producing and sell ing good goods at a fair price, than in getting rich quick at any cost to the consumer. Mr. Kirby appears to be one of those men. Dr. Nelson After our visit, he drives us through the slush to the Citizens Cooperative Society store. A gallant band of negro cooperators started this store over a year ago. It has had hard sledding, but is still running. The indomitable spirit of one man, Dr. E. E. Nelson, has kept it running. There he is in a grocer's white apron, waiting on customers. He is a physician; why isn't he doctoring? Because this other thing was more im portant. He has sacrificed his practice, abandoned his office and moved his furniture into the rear room of the store. One girl helps him. Their wages between them are $10 a week. It has to be, to keep the landlord and the bill collector away from the door. "But,\ Dr. Nelson, you will ruin yourself!" "It does not matter, not if I can get my people to see this great thing, Cooper ation, and what it can do for them." The store is cold. One shivers to think that he is allied to a cause that can do this tragic thing to a man. And yet is it tragic? In the midst of a poverty- stricken, starving and hopeless nation, here is a man who is rich indeed. You know, he may win. In the last six months' operation, he has paid off one- COOPERATION half of a $400 wholesaler's bill. It's hard to beat down a man like that. We have to go on. Cleveland is our next stop. United Front There Joe Martinek, about to take a train to Chicago to attend a meeting of Bohemian fraternal societies, pauses to pour into our ears his ardent belief that the movement should get closer to these organizations, which are really cooper ative insurance societies. He sees diem as a part of the complete and united labor front, and for the latter his enthusiasm is intense. As an ex ample he points to the strength of the Bohemian radical group in Cleveland with its well-rounded pro gram consisting of 1. Cooperative so ciety (incidentally, our strongest store society located in a large city); 2. Building and loan association; 3. Fra ternal society; 4. Athletic club; 5. Polit ical party (Socialist). Here we have institutions for satisfying the needs of the community in goods distribution, banking, insurance, information and propaganda, sports, the ballot. Add to these, housing, transportation and health service, 'and we begin to see a new world evolving. Let us sink our differences, says Martinek, all we who yearn for this new world, and merge our forces into a solid phalanx. A phone call informs us that, by, chance, the Slovenian Youth League is meeting this evening. We find them in their snug clubroom over the garage, and guess what they are doing? Read ing Dr. Warbasse's "Cooperative De mocracy" aloud. They are on the chap ter having to do with producers' co ops. This is solid stuff. Who said our young people are interested only in parties and frivolity? Like all our youth clubs, this one is searching for the pro gram which will attract youth and at the same time make cooperators of the future out of them. This is the vital part of our movement; in truth the only part that matters. The next day we enjoy the hospi tality of Roy Shanks, known to many as a former active worker in coopera tion, and after dinner he drives us to the home of Joseph Myers, who takes us across the street to a combined meeting of the Liberty Cooperative Co. and the Young Negroes Coopera tive League, two negro organizations which are developing a buying club. The women, who have a Guild, are present too. This is one of several negro groups throughout the country who with little capital but much ear nestness are delving into the possibili ties of cooperation for their race. They wonder if the time has come to open a store. Easy now. Better go slow and succeed, than hasten and fail. After a good discussion, we hurry away in the rain to catch our train to Indianapolis. Mr. Hapgood Everyone has heard of the Colum bia Conserve Company, the purest ex ample I know of an industrial pro ducers' cooperative, a gallant attempt to achieve complete worker ownership and control. William Hapgood invites us to lunch. He tells us of their diffi culties, caused by shrinking markets. People are boiling up the soup bone these days, it appears, rather than buying canned soup. It's the marketing problem that is the weakness of these producers' co-ops. Columbia is now seeking a way out by developing its own brand. But he tells us of more, of the "each for all and all for each" spirit of these Columbia workers, of their unanimous willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the whole. What we have, that will we share, they agree. Mr. Hapgood believes that the develop ment of social-mindedness among workers through this experience in democratic control is of supreme value. He would like to see a closer working relationship between producers' and consumers' cooperatives. We talk of how this may be brought about. Thence to Chicago with E. G. Cort, who has been paying the Indiana Farm Bureau a visit, and we talk about many things on the way but especially of the purchasing pool, which appears to be about to take the shape of a national 6 COOPERATION cooperative wholesale and which is to be discussed the next day. All day Sunday the men dribble into the Hotel Sherman; from Kansas, Nebraska, In diana, Illinois, the Farmers Union of St. Paul, the Central Wholesale, the Midland. Most of them represent co operative oil wholesales. This is the first time that all these have got to gether; but they have common ground, they are working in the same field. They gather in knots in the lobby and talk. They gang in one another's rooms. Something is in the air. There is a sense of expectancy; something new is about to be created. The Chicago Conference Next morning the conference opens. Howard Cowden of Kansas City is elected chairman; the writer secretary. A set of articles and by-laws has been drawn up by the attorney for the Illi nois Farm Supply Company. We vote to read and discuss these. The reading begins—and pretty soon the fireworks, for it is clear that the majority want something different. The proposed set-up is for an association to pool the purchasing of farm supplies, petro leum products chiefly. It would be in corporated under the Illinois Agricul tural Act. Well, isn't that all right? We're all farm organizations, aren't we? Except the Central Wholesale, and 90% of its supporters are farmers. No, it isn't all right. If we are going to set up a consumers' wholesale or ganization, let us not restrict it to any one class of consumers. Let us make it broad enough to serve all consum ers, as time goes on, with all their needs. Even now more than one of the farm groups represented here are edging into town, seeking to organize urban consumers. These urbanites burn gasoline and use tires and bat teries, do they not? As the line of goods handled is broadened, that common ground will widen. Here's the Central Wholesale of Superior; do we want to shut them out? We're all consumers under the skin; why try to draw a line between town and country? Besides, there is volume. Increased volume helps all of us. The consumers* move ment in the towns has been slow to grow. It will be helped by strong cooperative wholesales. We have the beginnings of such wholesales, built by farm consumers. If these wholesales broaden their scope to reach the town consumer, they may be the means of giving the general consumers* move ment a great boost, which again will help all of us. Thus runs the argu ment. Among those who speak strong ly for this principle are Mr. Cowden, I. H. Hull of Indiana, Ivan Lanto of the Central Wholesale, A. W. Warin- ner, C. C. Talbott of North Dakota, the Midland and St. Paul delegations. On the vote, no one dissents. Naming the Baby Then comes the name. "American Service Association" is the one pro posed. Some one suggests that the word "cooperative" should be in there somewhere. Tom Dewitt of Kansas says that whatever other words we use in the name, he wants to see the word "cooperative" in there. So do we, others chime in. But Mr. Mar- chant of Illinois says the word "coop erative" won't get by with his folks; it is looked upon as a "class" word. How would tank cars marked COOPERA TIVE look in his state? Not good at all. Mr. Herndon, Illinois president, appears to agree with him, but ex presses a cooperative attitude by sav ing "I am here to cooperate with this group." On a vote, "Cooperative" wins. It begins to look as if Illinois were getting it in the neck. Ao- parently they have come here with a different idea of this thing than the rest of us. Many of the de tails of their plan seem good and worthy of acceptance, but basically it is in for revamping. Many names are suggested, such as National Coopera tive Wholesale, American Cooperative Wholesale Society, and National Con sumers Cooperative, Inc. The last is proposed by Mr. Hartsock, attorney for the Indiana Farm Bureau Coopera tive Association, "in order that no one COOPERATION may make the mistake of assuming that this is not a consumers' coopera tive." We don't want the income tax authorities to make any wrong assump tions about this, he says. As to the word "Society," the opinion is gener ally expressed that, though widely used abroad, in this country it connotes a social organization, perhaps a Ladies Aid Society. That would never do. And so the various names are written on the blackboard and we ballot on them, each organization having one vote. The choice seems to lie between National Cooperative Wholesale and National Consumers Cooperative. On the final ballot, the latter wins, 5 to 2. What's in a name? A great deal some times. People think by catchwords and phrases. A good name is a fair beginning for any infant. The discussion flows on, forming ar. eddy here and there but not seriously, the direction of the current having been determined upon. How shall control be vested? In the member wholesales according to the volume of their purchase, each having one vote per $5000 of volume. This is taken over from the original articles. A voice is to be given also to the national organizations that are engaged in co-operative educational work such as the Cooperative League, National Farmers Union, American Farm Bureau, National Grange, and Farmers Equity Union. Each is to have one vote and one representative on the Board of Directors. This too, which seems to many an excellent pro vision for tying up the business and educational interest and unifying their . - ^ •'.;!' I FARMERS UNION COOPERATIVE OIL PLANT, NO. DAKOTA This picture is typical of the hundreds of cooperative bulk plants which have sprung up throughout the West in the last few years. These plants are built, owned and operated by the farmers of a county or more, organized in their cooperative oil association, which is in general founded on Rochdale principles. Cooperative oil distribution is almost invariably successful, in the face of some of the largest and most ruthless of profit concerns, the oil combines. 8 C O O P E R A TIO N aims, was provided in the Illinois set up. Another major principle is that of the contract agreement. Although rec ognizing the value of the principle of voluntarism, the majority feel that mem bers must come in with 100 per cent of their purchasing in the lines the nation al can furnish if there is to be enough assured volume to give the national a basis for bargaining. In other word*, every member wholesale must come in meaning business, not simply with an eye to shop around. But allowance is made for necessary spot buying. Hov/ about this? Is this true cooperation? Is it not an attempt to force coopera tion? Can the voluntary principle al ways be maintained, or are legal sanc tions sometimes necessary in the coop erative movement? This has been amply debated abroad; it is a live topic for our readers to debate. It is night. Many grave policies have been discussed and some really heavy thinking done, although no one feels that this is the last word. Are you ready now to draw up the articles? is the question put to the attorneys. Mr. Kirkpatrick withdraws. Mr. Hartsock says he is willing to try and so the night's work begins, the secre tary translating his minutes and At torney Hartsock dictating the articles of the National Consumers' Coopera tive Incorporated. The next day the articles and by laws are submitted, amended in part and then voted on and accepted. It is agreed that acceptance means that each will report back to his organiza tion and recommend adoption and af filiation. The youngster is born. Whether he will prove a genius or a monstrosity time now will tell. (Later events have indicated that some thought him a monstrosity, and that surgery was called for. This was to be expected. A strong species arises by evolution, not by overnight crea tion.) There have been previous attempts to form national wholesales in this country, never successful. What right have we to be optimistic about this one? Simply that here is represented a large body of organized consumer de mand. Economic law, which caoital- ists have always flouted, to their sor row, but to which cooperators are; obedient, states that it is dangerous to create supply until demand is known. If the National Consumer's Coopera tive succeeds it will be largely because this law has been obeyed. But also it will be because the leaders in this en terprise possess cooperative under standing. If not, we are treading on very dangerous ground. We must be on our way. With Ivan Lanto, sales manager of the Cen tral Cooperative Wholesale, we go to Waukegan. The Board of Directors of Cooperative Trading Company is in session. Is it our imagination, or do we see the light of hope rise in their eyes as we describe the doings of the last few days? May they not be dis appointed. Socialists Seeking Cooperation Thanksgiving with the Liukku's, a tremendous turkey baked in the coop erative bake oven, adorning the board. We visit Ed Carlson and his wife and go to inspect the cellar of potatoes and sauerkraut-making by which the un employed, assisted by the cooperative, are helping themselves. Then on in the morning to Milwaukee where the Mayor's secretary, Mr. Hauser, has called a conference of trade-unionists and others interested in cooperation to discuss ways and means of developing a cooperative movement in Socialist Milwaukee, (isot in every city is tuc cooperative emissary entertained in the Mayor's office and his mission written up in the local papers.) Lead ers who understand cooperation and have time to concentrate on it seem to be the great need here. In Minneapolis we meet the new as sistant secretary of the Northern States League, Joseph Gilbert. More field work is the demand in this district and Mr. Gilbert, a veteran in labor and farmer organization work, has been hired to team up with Mr. Alanne and provide it. Already a Trade Union and Cooperative Council has been or- COOPERATION ganized and will hold classes in coop eration under Mr. Gilbert through the winter. Another similar group has been formed among the employees of the Franklin. Thus the seed of coopera tive knowledge is being sown in the Twin Cities. We have lunch with Mr. Eide, nourishing ourselves with good Franklin milk, sit in a Board of Direc tors meeting and again see hope kindle when we mention the national whole sale. We visit the Farmers Union Central Exchange in St. Paul, go and make the acquaintance of Mr. Mc- Guire of the Land O' Lakes, and listen to E. G. Cort tell of the progress of the movement to start a cooperative oil association in the university section of the city. This will be watched with in terest, as the notably successful coop erative oil movement has thus far been confined to farmers. At the meeting of the Northern States Leaque Board the matter of affiliation of the Farmers Union Central Exchange is discussed and it is voted to defer action until the national wholesale has had a chance to try its spurs at resolving competitive difficulties between its member asso ciations. Thus confidence is expressed in the infant. Will he measure up? Thence back to Chicago where we are entertained by hearty John Konec- ny, have lunch with Clarence Senior, drink coffee at the Cafe Idrott and spend an evening with the eager and intelligent Junior Conoerators' Club. Indiana's Program We have promised ourselves a few days' stop in Indiana on our return trip. The movement in this state is ac outgrowth of the Farm Bureau. The farmers in Indiana talk about "our pro gram" and in truth they have a pro gram. It is a program of filling insofar as possible all the needs of the farmers, from gasoline to credit unions, coop eratively. In their oil compounding plant they compound the best of lubri cating oils; to their seed cleaning plant the farmers bring clover and grass seed to be cleaned and returned to them; in their cooperative hatcheries the farmer's eggs are turned into chicks. To the cooperative elevators the farmers bring their grain to be sold or ground into feed, to their coopera tive creameries their cream. Other en terprises might be named and still others are contemplated. An attempt is being made to get the workers in the cities of Indiana to organize into cooperatives. It annears that in Amer ica consumers cooperation is to be taught to the cities by the farmers. Tony Lehner takes us to a couple of township Farm Bureau meetings. Tony is one of three field men employed by the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association. He hands out the gospel of cooperation without soft pedal or compromise and these weather-beaten, depression-buffeted sons and daugh ters of the soil take it and like it. T*e proof is in the constant and growing patronage they give to their coopera tive enterprises. We s~end Sunday at I. H. Hull's and thoroughly enjoy the hospitality and warmth of this Ameri can, farm-bred family. At the office the next day they honor us with a private showing of a couple of coop erative propaganda films with their employee-actors putting Hollywood's best to shame. These are really ab sorbing pictures, one entitled "True Love and Good Oil," and the other "You Reap What You Sow." We are impressed with the psychological ap peal of films as cooperative propa ganda. There is a depression, true, in all these farm states but their cooperative organizations in general are not going under. Rather they are increasing their activity in many lines and are full of plans and hopes for the morrow. We would hazard a guess that there is more hopefulness in the American farmer today than in the American worker in spite of all that has been said of the farmer's straitened cir cumstances. Perhaps it is because his feet are on solid substance, the land, in which there is always new life gener ating with the seasons regardless of the ups and downs of the industrial structure. 10 COOPERATION COOPERATION 11 Sequel A second trip to Chicago was neces sary Dec. 19th to attend a continuation of the organizational meeting of the "National Consumers Cooperative/' The path of the youngster it seems, was not to be all smooth. Sharp criticisms had been offered. Orthodox coopera- tors had attacked the set-up for not being cooperative, and the American Farm Bureau Federation was objecting because it was so cooperative as to take in general consumers. The A. F. B. F. exists to serve farmers only; why should it be interested in approving a cooperative wholesale for all con sumers? Let this wholesale be set up primarily for farmer-consumers and be incorporated under an agricultural marketing act—then they might be in terested. Moreover, such a wholesale might be able to take advantage of some of the national legislation favor ing farmers, whereas a general con sumers wholesale would not. Thus ran the argument of a committee of the A. F. B. P., supported by the Illinois Farm Supply Company. It looked as if these groups would drop out if the former broad plan of a consumers cooperative wholesale were adhered to. And so—although most of the other district wholesales stated that they had not changed their minds on this point —it was voted to refer the whole pro gram to a committee consisting of a representative from each organization. This committee is to review all cri ticisms of the "National Consumers Cooperative," draft a new set-up and report it back within a year. Mean while, some will be getting practice in actual cooperation by making group purchasing arrangements. There was a lengthy debate on the -question: Should the so-called educa tional cooperative organizations (Farm Bureau, Farmers Union, Cooperative League, etc.) have a vote in setting up and directing the policy of a business cooperative such as this, or should they act merely in an advisory ca pacity? The Farm Bureau bloc in sisted that if they were to accept the responsibility of acting advisorily, they should also have a vote. The Coopera tive League contingent, on the other hand, held that a cooperative business wholesale should be set up and man aged by its member wholesales only, and that the educational organizations should sit in merely for advice and counsel. The Indiana Farm Bureau agreed, pointing out the danger of top-down control by parent organ izations. This question is to be thrashed out in the committee, the next meeting of which is to be on Feb. 20th. • Criminal Waste We made the sad mistake of getting hungry while riding on a train recent ly. An order of bacon in the dining car cost us 70 cents. There were six slices, perhaps one-third of a pound at most. In other words, our bacon cost us well over $2 per pound. The farmer, at the same time, is getting about 2^/2 cents on the hoof. And yet the 14 largest packers, we are told, lost 44 cents per $100 of sales in 1931. Allowing for the fact that there is more than one way of salting down profits which do not show up in a profit and loss statement.—5-figure salaries, for example—the fact remains that the above absurd discrepancy in prices, quite typical of all lines, is the natural result of a system more wasteful than could have been created by a nation of lunatics. And the poor, dear packers have played their part in the crime of building such a system. At lunchtime we bought an apple (10 cents). It was one of those very big, very red and very tasteless apples grown in the Pacific Northwest. At the time our train was passing through the heart of New York state, than which no state produces better apples —for eating purposes. • On the Increase, Even Now The Farmers Union Cooperative, Oil Association of Bancroft, Nebr., in creased its volume of gasoline handled last year by 19,064 gallons and kero sene by 14,960 gallons. A 10% patron age dividend was paid. Profit-Piling Is the Evil; Not Competition .25 1.35 .75 1.85 1.10 2.25 1.00 1.00 1.10 L*0 1.00 1.50 .75 3.50 5.00 1.60 1.65 1.25 1.35 .75 COOPERATI Organ of the Con- Movement in the FES ,& sumers Cooperative United States '([7 Vol. XIX, No. 2 FEBRUARY, 1933 10 cents THE COOPERATIVE PROGRAM Aims .—Production for use.—not for profit. •—To each, plenty—to none, wealth or want. Philosophy •—Control by persons.—not by money. •—Voluntarism.—not coercion. •—Self-help.—not charity, or paternalism. •Recognition that a squarer economic deal will not be achieved ex cept by the cooperative efforts of those who most need it. .—Development of society by development of the character and intel ligence of individuals. •Recognition that the individual is strong only as he acts with the group. Technique for Accomplishing These Aims According to this Philosophy •—Ownership and control of industry by voluntary associations con sisting of consumers, run by consumers, functioning for consumers. I. The banding together of neighbors whose economic needs and tastes are similar into local associations for purchasing or other wise producing those needs, such associations to govern them selves by the following (Rochdale) principles: a.—Open membership, b.—One man, one vote, c.—Rate of interest on capital limited. d<— Market prices, or prices which provide a margin of safety, any net accumulations to be used jointly for the good of the group, or to be refunded to each, periodically, in proportion to his purchases. II. The banding together of these local associations into federations for wholesaling, manufacture, banking, insurance, education or other forms of cooperative action, these wholesales to govern themselves by principles basically similar to the above. II'I. The organizing of all production under these two types of as sociations, or variations therefrom which maintain the fundamen tal principle of democratic consumer control. 22 COOPERATION COO PERATBO N An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St., New York Gty.____________________ OSCAR COOLEY, Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner L, S. Herron Herman Liebman V. S. Alanne___________George Jacobson Entered as Second Class matter, December 19, 1917. at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., un der the Act of March 3. 1879. Price $1.00 a year. Vol. XIX, No. 2 Feb. 1933 Landward Out of the cities, back to the land, trek our depression-weary citizens. Out of the tenements, out of the rook eries — yes, and out of the more respectable pueblos along the avenues, pass the job-seeking-weary; on another search now, a search for a strip of land, a plow and a handful of seed, a search for the sources of production and a chance to translate willing ener gy into the wherewithal to live. So great is this migration during the last two years, according to the esti mates of the LI. S. Bureau of Agricul tural Economics, that by the end of 1932 our farm population had regained all that it had lost during the previous twenty years! "The farm has once more become a refuge," says the information service of the Federal Council of Churches, "many abandoned farm houses are once more occupied, rural schools have increased enrollments, and all the so cial and religious institutions are deal ing with an increasing farm popula tion." Even from business men comes the evidence. Colby Chester, the president of General Foods Corporation, ascribes a .part of his company's loss of food sales to this emigration from the cities, where people must buy every mouth ful of food, to the country, where they can produce much of it. Let us shed a tear for Mr. Chester. Because the people are turning to production for use, poor Mr. Chester's production for profit is being interfered with. Has it occurred to Mr. Chester that, because his and other firms like his have pro duced so assiduously for profit and salted the profit away so safely, that on this very account the people are now being forced to turn to production for use? • Which Side o£ the Cow There are many who deplore this migration. The editor is not among them. His slogan is "production for use," and you don't have to put "mass" in front of it to suit him. It is true that many of these ur- banites will find hard sledding on the farms. The first season they will raise more blisters than beans. Books won't tell them which side of the cow to sit down to. They'll soon find how igno rant they are of farm "production for use." And their standard of living will be low—but not so low as in the bread lines. There are too many people in the cities. We are too highly centralized. This migration proves it. We are too highly industrialized. We have piled intricate machine upon intricate machine, factory upon factory —'and as a result human beehive upon human beehive. But we are not so smart as the bees. We thought we could pull it off, but we couldn't. Now, some will say, all that ails us is the profit motive. That does ail us, granted. But assuming that profit mo tive could be wiped out tomorrow and replaced by true service motive, still would we be smart enough to run this stupendous machine? Doubtful. It won't hurt us any to reach back and take a new hold in a smaller way, building 'our production-for-use in dustries up on a modest scale, with democratic control and resident own ership, educating ourselves as we go— learning which side of the cow to sit down to. Consumers' Cooperation offers us the way to do this. Our cooperatives can not take over a Ford factory, but as they grow they can build smaller COOPERATION 23 plants. Efficiency will be sacrificed? Let it go. God, haven't we a bellyful of efficiency! • Our Opportunity What a priceless possession we have in Cooperation at this time! We do not evaluate it ' near highly enough. Economic society is bankrupt and the people are completely at a loss for a technique to build a better society. Co operation offers such a technique. A pall of hopelessness, cynicism, broken morale, casts darkness over the land. Cooperation has hope, light, vigor. The nation is like a crew of sailors whose ship has sunk under them and who are nigh exhausted from swim ming in a circle. They are at a point where they do not much care whether they sink or swim. They need a life- raft to bear them up and renew their faith in life. The bright hope and prom ise for the future which Cooperation offers is such a life-raft. Cooperation can not cure the de pression; that is a mess which capital ism must mop up as best it can. But Cooperation offers a way of reorgan izing society so that such a scourge may not descend upon us again. It of fers a system for establishing and building production for use, a system for guaranteeing such an equitable distribution of wealth that none will be in want—and not a mere paper system drawn by economists and theorists but a proven system which the workers and common people in over 40 coun tries have developed by practice. We know that it works. The local cooperative society of con sumers (with open membership, one consumer—one vote, and distribution of profits according to purchases— which is true industrial democracy) is the type-form, .the basic machine, of an entire production-for-use economy. Who runs this machine? The fra ternity of workers, pulling together. Singly they are powerless; cooperating together the strength of each is as the strength of ten. Here is the 'keynote which we should sound and sound again during these times: Fraternity. Technique o£ Fraternity America has staked her faith on in dividualism and individualism has failed her; consequently she is all at sea. Gone faith, gone hope. What now? Love. In its truest sense. Frater nity, mutuality, Cooperation. This is not gush; it is plain, hard, common sense. Wouldn't it be fine if we could all cooperate immediately, as one vast fraternity? We can't; let's be honest with ourselves. But we can as groups, as communities of workers bound to gether by common need and by loca tion, brothers by need and neighbors in fact. Group by group, locality by lo cality—thus the pyramid of fraternity is built. We are too apt to be smitten with the idea of great, mass grouping. But that may be impractical. There was a .tribe whose members warred so among themselves that they were in danger of extinction. Some wanted to hold a great, mass peace conclave of all the people. But they in habited a rugged, mountainous coun try, with narrow valleys and small, open meadows here and there. There was no large plain, or common, on which all could pitch their tents. And so they came together in groups, each in its own small meadow and made peace and learned to work together in these groups. Later each group sent representatives to a central conclave. The tribe grew in strength, wisdom and prosperity. It had learned through the practice of Consumers' Coopera tion. Shall that tribe be America? The knowledge of Cooperation as a way of creating the genuine fraternity which people long for is a pearl of great price which we in the movement possess in abundance. When will we cease babbling about rebates and go out to our starving countrymen with this nourishing man na in our hands? O. C. Cooperation is the one banner be neath which all the nations are able to unite.—T. W. Mercer. 24 COOPERATION Consumers' Cooperation in the United States By Oscar Cooley Beginning a series of articles in which we attempt to survey the pres ent status of the Consumers' Coopera tive Movement in this country. In so doing we have drawn heavily on the pamphlet written by J. P. ^^arbasse and last revised by Cedric Long in 1930. Our readers will, naturally, find more facts and figures on cooperatives that are members of The Cooperative League than on non-members, since we have access to more information concerning the former. But we shall try to give a true, though not an ex haustive, picture of the extent and character of the entire movement. In this issue we give a general sur vey of the movement; in future issues we will describe specific societies, take up special types such as credit unions, and discuss the structure and work of The Cooperative League. Statistics on the operations of societies in 1931 and 1932 will also be published in connec tion with future installments. I THE history of associations of con sumers for service to themselves, not for profit, dates back in the United States at least 88 years. In 1845, the year after the founding of the Roch dale Pioneers, the Workingmen's Pro tective Union opened its first coopera tive store in Boston. In 1853 we find the International Industrial Assembly of America, with a membership of 200,000, promoting cooperative enter prises; likewise the National Labor Union 13 years later. Then followed the Patrons of Husbandry (Grange), and the Knights of Labor who by 1877 had hundreds of stores throughout the Central and Eastern states. The New England Protective Union at one time had 400 branches located along the Atlantic seaboard. All of these, with the exception of a few of the farmers' stores established by the Grange, have faded away. "Countless societies," wrote Cedric Long, "have burst into bloom, flour ished for a few months and gradually withered away again. Until the past 15 years, the United States had no gen uine national cooperative movement^- never anything better than some loose aggregations of isolated cooperative societies. As recently as the beginning of the World War we still were in the dark ages of Cooperation in America. Hundreds of struggling little societies were scattered over the country, each one completely separated from its kind; most of them ignorant of similar efforts being made elsewhere; no opportunity for collective buying; no standard of form, of structure, of technique." And little recognition, we might add, that cooperation is more than an eco nomic method, that it is a movement of radical social change, requiring a right-about-face in the psychology of the individual and therefore calling for a constant and expert educational pro gram to establish the cultural base necessary. Central leadership was the need. It came with the establishment of The Cooperative League in March, 1916, by a handful of enthusiasts under the leadership of Dr. J. P. Warbasse. For some years Dr. and Mrs. Warbasse traveled about the country, forming contacts with existing cooperative so cieties, helping and advising by virtue of their knowledge gained on exten sive trips abroad, and drawing these groups together into a national, educa tional union, with headquarters in New York. A national magazine, CO OPERATION, was started in 1914. Regular bulletins, .pamphlets and other educational materials were issued, speakers were sent out, legal advice was given. And finally the first na tional Consumers Cooperative Con gress was convened in Springfield, 111., in 1918. Seven congresses have been held since that time, each of them a rally of cooperative leaders and dele- COOPERATION 25 gates of societies from many parts of the country. In England the Coopera tive Union has been called "the soul of the movement"; here in America The Cooperative League has had to be this and more; for here we have no great national Cooperative Whole sale Society, as England has in addi tion to its Union, to bring our societies together into a united, national pro gram. Make-Up of the Movement How many and what type are the co operative societies in the United States at the present .time? The total number of consumers' co operative societies is estimated to be 2000 or over. Approximately half of these operate general merchandise or farm supply stores in the small towns and villages. Some 400 have grocery or meat stores; some 600 oil associa tions; and the balance have restau rants, bakeries, apartment houses, dai ries, etc. These societies can be divided, roughly, in two classes: the foreign- born, or those founded by foreign- born, and the American farmers. The societies which have made the greatest success over a period of years are the foreign-born. Cooperation is a part of their culture, brought with them from the homeland. The Finns, for ex ample, upon their arrival here found it as natural to set up cooperative stores as it was for the Puritans to establish churches. Then, too, their natural im pulse to herd together for protection and mutual aid, upon finding them selves isolated in a strange land, sur rounded by a babel of strange tongues, helped them to cooperate successfully. Unhappily, as they learned American ways and caught the American con tagion of profit-seeking, and as political dissension invaded their ranks, some of their enterprises failed, but the so cieties established by the Finns in the Lake Superior country and in New England, in cities like Waukegan, 111., Fairport Harbor, O., and Brooklyn, N. Y., still form the backbone of the co operative store movement. Other suc cessful racial cooperatives are the Bohemian, Italian, Jewish, Slovenian, Russian, German and Swedish. In many of these groups, political So cialism, as well as Cooperation, is a "tie that binds," and a large measure of working-class-consciousness is pres ent. This is an aid in binding the group together in the common enter prise of the cooperative society, and the latter is looked upon as an integral part of the broad, working-class pro gram. At the same time, this factor, together with the racial segregation so prevalent in American communities, in many cases has undoubtedly restricted the cooperative from extending itself among consumers who as yet lack class-consciousness or who hold more conservative opinions. Following is a tabulation of the co operatives originally founded by for eign-born (though numbering many American-born at present). These are chiefly League societies. The figures are approximate. No. of societies Total Members Finnish Bohemian Italian Jewish Slovenian Russian Swedish 117 3 19 9 2 2 1 32315 2044 2001 5412 732 318 150 153 42972 The majority of these are store so cieties, but in many cases they operate also bakeries, dairies, coal-yards and other services. The single Swedish so ciety is the Cafe Idrot, a unique co operative workers' club-restaurant in Chicago. The Jewish group includes two large housing societies, the Amal gamated Cooperative Apartments and Amalgamated Dwellings of New York City, but the balance are bakeries. Most of these Jewish bakeries were established during and after the War, at a time of high bread prices, and were fostered by branches of the Workmen's Circle, fraternal Socialist workers' organization. Not included in this tabulation is the Workmen's Furniture Fire Insurance Society of New York, started in 1872 26 COOPERATION by Germans, but now 'having 61,600 members of all nationalities and oper ating 90 branches in many states. This unique organization will be discussed in more detail in a later issue. Nor have we included the many large fraternal organizations offering sick and death benefits on a cooperative plan. An other type not included are the Finnish boarding houses, many of which were originally established largely by un married men, lately arrived in the country, but now less flourishing—• perhaps because the single men are no longer single! Among the Farmers The American farmers' cooperative societies, or "associations" as they are more often called, are birds of a somewhat different feather. In general they are more strictly "economic," or utilitarian. The farmers are led to co operate in purchasing, just as in mar keting, because it appears that it will pay them to do so. Swindled and horn- swoggled for years by salesmen of fer tilizer, seed, stock foods, spavin cures and gold bricks ad infinitum, the farm ers combine for purchasing simply to get better goods at lower prices, not to help bring the cooperative common wealth, of which most of them have no conception. They are not class-con scious; they are on the other hand highly individualistic. They do not fraternize as Socialist "comrades"; in fact to most of them Socialism is anath ema! When they practice consumers' cooperation, they are not aware that they are doing anything "radical"; to them it is just plain, common sense— as indeed it is. The result of this atti tude is that they cooperate as long as it pays them to, and don't when it doesn't. At present, however, in certain sec tions as in Nebraska and the North west under the urge of the Farmers' Union, and in Indiana, consumers' co operation among American farmers is taking on something of the aspect of a crusade. We find the influential "Neb raska Union Farmer," published in Omaha, preaching the faith of Roch dale as well-nigh the salvation of the farmer. Farther north, "The Coopera tive Builder," published by the Cen tral Cooperative Wholesale of Su perior, in addition to its large circula tion among the Finns and others in the 101 store societies of the Central Wholesale group, is now circulated to 12,600 farmers, chiefly American, who are members of the Midland Coopera tive Oil Association in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Thus the influence of the Finnish class-conscious cooperators is spreading over the prairies. The farm cooroerative purchasing as sociations tend to specialize in farm supplies, such as fertilizers, feeds, gas oline and oils, in contrast to the co operative societies of the foreign groups which tend to deal primarily in personal daily necessities such as food products and general merchandise. This is probably because the farmer is not used to thinking of his groceries as an important item of expenditure. After all, he can produce a good share of his groceries, and once did; perhaps he is still thinking in terms of those days. His feed and fertilizer bills loom up more threateningly and it is natural that he should seek to save in these lines first. Cooperative purchasing by farmers has sprung largely from cooperative marketing. Having found that the co operative techniques—one man, one vote; limited rate of interest; and pat ronage refunds—work in marketing associations, it is an easy step to pur chasing associations. Often these are fostered by the same farm organiza tion, such as the Farmers' Union. Usu ally they are separately incorporated, although many of the cooperative ele vators for marketing grain also serve, as feed stores. And mention should be made of the cooperative purchasing activities of such large marketing or ganizations as the Land O'Lakes Creameries, and the Washington Co operative Egg and Poultry Producers' Association. The latter's feed purchas ing department handles about 7000 carloads a year. Such volume has been aggregated by the farm movement so that produc- COOPERATION 27 tion plants are not uncommon. For ex ample, there are plants for compound ing lubricating oils in Minneapolis, In dianapolis and Kansas City, Mo. The Eastern States Farmers' Exchange re cently opened its second fertilizer plant, at Wilmington, Del. This or ganization, as well as the Grange League Federation Exchange of New York and others, also manufactures its own feeds. These two organizations are notably utilitarian in their outlook on cooperation. A recent bulletin of the Federal Farm Board estimates the total number of farmers' cooperative purchasing as sociations in 1931 at 1588, membership 392,000, business $215,000,000. There are estimated to be in addi tion some 2000 mutual insurance asso ciations for the protection of buildings, crops and livestock of farmers. In some districts there are rural cooperative telephone companies, with notably low rates. Both of these types are of long standing. A cooperative electric light and power company serves a rural district in Washington. Cooper ative burial associations are another type now coming to the fore in Minne sota making large savings. The Oil Associations But most successful of all among the farmers are the cooperative oil associa tions, each serving perhaps a county or more, distributing gasoline and oils in bulk, and also operating service sta tions, which carry a line of tires, bat teries and other accessories as well. We estimate the number of such asso ciations to be at least 600. They arg operating in direct competition with the largest profit oil companies. "When our cooperative oil associa tions came into the field," states L. S. Herron, editor of the "Nebraska Union Farmer," in his address, "Cooperation, The Way Out," published in 1931, "the old-line companies reduced their retail prices 3 or 4 cents a gallon. In addition to causing this saving in price, our local associations have been mak ing patronage dividends of 12% to 20%, averaging about 15% through out the state." Fifty cooperative oil companies in Minnesota and Wisconsin did a total business of over $2,500,000 and show ed a net of $320,343, or 12.32%, in 1931, according to a report of the Wis consin department of agriculture and markets. There are at least six cooperative oil wholesales in the central West, serv ing these local oil cooperatives. The total volume of gasoline and kerosene handled by these wholesales in 1932 was approximately 14,000 cars of gasoline and kerosene, and propor tionate amounts of other oil products. Aside from those societies which were organized by and consist largely of foreign-born, and the farmer groups, we can count a handful of societies, American working-class and middle- class. Examples of the latter are the cafeteria chain, Consumers' Coopera tive Services, with 4000 members, and a few housing societies in New York City, a large store society in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and a few budding at tempts at cooperative buying by liberal groups here and there. The American industrial worker has not as yet made a conspicuous success in co operation. In some communities he is, however, in increasing numbers coming into the cooperatives founded and built up by his brother worker of for eign origin. (To be continued) Co-op Society in Stricken Coal Region Forges Ahead Black depression in the coal-mining region of southern Ohio apparently doesn't faze the New Cooperative Company (24 years old) of Dillonvale a particle. This cooperative store so ciety has just opened a new branch in Brookside, and this is the second branch to be opened within a year. The society now has six stores. Total sales in 1932 were $236,038 and net gain was $1998. This co-op is in sharp competition, not only with chain stores but with "company" stores owned by the mining companies. 28 COOPERATION 1:1 r'4- J The first international cooperative factory, Stockholm. The raised portion at right is a glass erection which is perpetually illuminated by lamps on burning test—an advertisement which is visible for miles. Luma—A Challenge to the Trusts AGAIN the cooperators of Sweden are on the warpath. It is the electric lamp trust they are gunning for this time. The fight will hold especial interest to Americans because of the dominating part which our General Electric Company plays in this inter national trust. The story of the amalgamation of European electric lamp manufacturers, of the wiping out of small companies, and of the international agreements and conspiracies to limit competition, cul minating in the international cartel, Phoebus, with headquarters at Gene va; and then of the creation of the co operative lamp factory at Stockholm, Luma, is told by Anders Hedberg, Luma's manager, in a pamphlet re cently arrived at the office of The Co operative League. It is translated into English by John Downie and published by the English Cooperative Union at sixpence. To Swedish cooperators, never slow to push into cooperative production, belongs the credit of initiating this of fensive. The Luma lamp factory in Stockholm was built by the Swedish C. W. S. Then, in the spring of 1931, the cooperative wholesales of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland joined in forming the North European Luma Cooperative Society, which took over the new factory. This is the first inter national industrial cooperative society in the world. Its shares are held by these four wholesales, each of which has an equal vote in the general meet ing. The management rests in a Su pervisory Council (corresponding to a board of directors) consisting of representatives of these wholesales, and in a Board of Managers (2). Luma commenced operations in the spring of 1931, and the co-op lamps soon began to find their way into the homes of North European cooperators. Even before the factory was finished, the cartel lowered its prices in Sweden from Is. 6d. for the 25-watt lamp to Is. Id., and soon after the Luma lamp was COOPERATION 29 placed on the market, the cartel had come down to the Luma price, lid. (Some of this drop, but certainly no£ all of it, may be due to falling price levels). In addition to making consumers this saving not only on the 5 million lamps which it turned out in its first year but on the millions of lamps which its competitors sold, Luma closed its first year with a net surplus of £6000. And yet there are those who loo'k upon cooperation as a mere grocery store affair! The present capacity of the Luma factory is 15,000 lamps a day. It has 248 workers, two-thirds of them wo men. Those on time rate earn an aver age of 43s. per week, and those on piece rates, between 50s. and 55s. Concerning the quality of the Luma lamps, we read the following testi monial: "I, the undersigned, employed as mechanic at Krokslatt factory, Claes Johansson-Molnlycke Co., spinning section, have charge of the electric lighting. In my flat there are 48 lamps burning about 147 hours a week. On llth September I received six Luma lamps, which I inserted on that day. They are still in service. In the interval I have inserted 164 new bulbs of other makes in the remaining 42 lamps. I have, therefore, much pleasure in warmly recommending Luma lamps.— Karl Johansson." This is an absorbing story, or rather an absorbing first chapter of a story. For the cooperative offensive against the lamp trust has apparently just be gun. The last words in this pamphlet are: "The cartel has requested the Lu ma Society to cease matting Luma lamps, as these are infringing the Trust's patents. This, Luma flatly denies, asserting that the fullest in vestigation was made and every satis faction obtained that there was no in fringement before ever the factory was started." The world will yet hear this clash of arms. Technocracy and Cooperation By George Halonen WE cooperators are certainly poor publicity men! For years and years we have known and proved that the profit system cannot wor.k. We have put our theory of a non-profit system into practice in our consumers' cooperative societies. Thus through practical examples we have shown that production and distribution can be ar ranged without the profit motive. How ever, we have not been able to get our message across to the large masses. Our progress has been relatively slow. The daily press has ignored our mes sage, yes—even stifled it, for obvious reasons. Now come the "technocrats," and although their spokesman says that "technocracy proposes no solution," their schemes are getting the widest publicity. Why? Perhaps because they understand the psychology of the masses better than we. To say and prove that "with what is known of technology today in this country, it is now necessary for the adult popula tion, aged 25 to 45, to work but 660 hours per year per individual to pro duce a standard of living for the en tire population ten times above the average income .of 1929," the interest of not only the unemployed but of all the worlkers is naturally aroused. Moreover, when it is added that "we do not need any politicians to achieve this end," no wonder that "everybody talks about technocracy." The technocrats prove that in the last 130 years the rate of output of man increased 9,000,000 times. "Today America is equipped with one billion installed horsepower in prime movers. If this were operated at capacity, it would do worfc at a rate, which if we 30 COOPERATION attempted to do by man power alone, would require over five times the popu lation of the globe." New machines have been developed constantly. Thousands of workers are thrown out of work on account of some new labor- saving invention. In New Jersey, as an example, a new factory for the produc tion of rayon yarn is nearing comple tion, which will be entirely mechanical and capable of producing twenty-four hours a day without a single worker in the plant! The technocrats give many astound ing examples of socially useful and necessary inventions, which have not been put into practice, because they would have created havoc in the pres ent industrial set-up. As a result of this technological development, unem ployment is rampant and. . .the "price system" has failed, say the technocrats. It is to be admitted, of course, that the technocrats have given us many sensational facts in a popular and catchy style. But they present nothing fundamentally or basically new. The consumers' cooperative movement has shown that as long as we have the so cio-economic system which is based on profit, technical improvement will not in the main profit mankind as a whole, but chiefly those who control the ma chinery of production and distribution for their private gain. Many Admit It Now It is common knowledge that some thing is wrong. Even the churches are warning the capitalists. The Federal Council of Churches in its message to its membership, drawn up at its quad rennial meeting in Indianapolis; states that "economic exploitation, wherein the acquisitive instinct has not alone outstript but submerged the sense of social responsibility, is bearing and eating its own bitter fruit today. . . . Corporate greed has brought its com mensurate consequences of corporate woe. "Christianity was not founded for the purpose of supporting the capital istic system," says Father Gillis, repre senting views which are widespread among the Catholic clergy. On top of all this comes the report of the Research Committee on Social Trends, which was appointed by presi dent Hoover in 1929. This committee had more than 500 investigators, who certainly were not anti-capitalists. However, they admit that ". . the death rates are still much higher in the lower income groups than in others. . . One man in ten is buried a pauper. . . Un- les there can be a more impressive in tegration of social skills than is re vealed by recent trends, there can be no assurance that these alternatives with violent revolution and dark pe riods of repression can be avoided. . ." The cooperative movement has pointed out all this already decades ago. Now these facts are recog nized—but what is being done about them? Does technocracy solve these problems? No! The technocrats are wrong in maintaining that the basis of the present day evils is in the develop ment of technology. They are wrong when they propose that the "price sys tem"—their misnomer for the profit system—can be replaced by technoc racy, a dictatorship of technologists. They altogether either forget or ignore the composition of the human society. They show no understanding of the class relationships in a society, or the human factors of which the present so ciety is composed. Now Is the Time for Cooperation The technocrats and others have un doubtedly done great work in bringing to light facts of the contradictions created by the profit system. They have unquestionably done much that will help in changing the people's ideas and their traditional views. But nothing will be changed or accomplished sim ply by being a "yes-man" or sym pathetic towards these conclusions. However, technocracy offers no pana cea. On the contrary, judging by what the technocrats have presented in sup port of their views to date, technoc racy is only a means to fascism and dictatorship. The consumers' cooperative move ment gives something practical for to- COOPERATION 31 day and for tomorrow. Now it should awaken to its possibilities. Now, if ever, our theories and practice should be popularized and our activities ex panded by getting the masses into our movement. Thus we would be doing our bit, concretely, towards making the world the paradise the technologists say would be possible today without the profit system. News and Comment Cutting Out Waste By cooperation wastes are effective ly eliminated. One of the Indiana coun ty cooperative associations put in a bulk plant and began to distribute gas oline and kerosene among the farm ers. At the time they began there were seven different tank wagons driving down the same road, delivering similar products to the farmers along that road and each and every one of them carry ing a high overhead because of the scattered business. They had an over head cost of delivery which was just seven times as great as it needed to be. Within a two-year period of time the cooperative was delivering 80 or 90% of the petroleum products to the farm ers in that county and one tank wagon with one operator was making deliv eries and giving service which had formerly been'carried on by seven dif ferent men. • Nebraska's 1932 Record Sales of the Farmers Union State Exchange of Nebraska for 1932 (not including sales from branch stores) totaled $1,192,837.91, compared with sales of $1.571,028.29 for 1931. Over a half of the decrease in sales occurred in the first quarter and was largely due. in Manager McCarthy's belief, to weather conditions and deep snow. Total sales in 1930 were $2,118,211. Total net earnings for 1932 were $22,297.63, compared with $48,052.79 for 1931. Expenses of the State Exchange have dropped steadily in the last three years. In 1930 they totalled $122,301; in 1931, $111,235; and in 1932, $92.- 826. As to volume of oil business: 64 as sociations in 1932 purchased a total of 1318 cars of gasoline, kerosene and distillate. This compares with 1738 cars in 1931 and 1551 cars in 1930. Ship ments of lubricating oils totaled 205,- 505 gallons in 1932 and 269,710 gal lons in 1931; and of grease, 198,167 in 1932 and 214,016 in 1931. "These reduced sales reflect the fi nancial condition of agriculture," writes Mr. McCarthy in the "Nebraska Union Farmer," "but speak volumes for the loyalty of our cooperative asso ciations. . . These are strenuous times. Our farmers have little to spend. Ten- cent corn won't pay taxes and interest. There's nothing left to buy merchan dise. . . . We have a deep feeling of gratitude for those loyal souls who, in spite of hardship and reduced buying power, are sticking tighter than cockleburs to their cooperatives." • Opens New Store The Eastern States Farmers' Ex change has recently opened a fertilizer plant in Wilmington, Del., to take care of the requirements of members in the southern part of its territory, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland. It has another plant in Bos ton. The Exchange also opened a new service store on December 14, at Man chester, N. H. This is its fourth store, others being located at Worcester, Shelburne Falls and Great Barrington, Mass. Most of the ooods of the Ex change, which are chiefly feeds and fertilizer, are distributed to members by the car-door method. The stores are merely a supplement to the car-door service. The Manchester store will serve local farmers around Manchester and will also serve as a wholesale depot for much of New Hampshire. 32 COOPERATION Orders will be taken in advance and bulked in car lots; Five cents a bag over the car-door price will be charged to cover the expense of the store. The Exchange is 14 years old. It has 42,000 members in nine states. It gained 4000 members in 1932. • Going the Way of the Dinosaurs? "The dinosaurs, just before they vanished, grew to an incredible size- some of them a hundred feet long. But they became too large and clumsy for their environment, so they became ex tinct, giving way to smaller but more active and intelligent animals. The huge size and the enormous wealth of the trusts and syndicates, and the tre mendous bulk of our industrial system of the present day, would seem to in dicate that they have at least entered their period of excessive development. They may still become larger and wealthier than they are now; but they already exhibit symptoms of being out of harmony with their environment. They seem destined to perish before some more suitable form of industrial organization^-perhaps the lowly co operative enterprise."^*John H. Die- trich in "What Is Revolution?" • A Good Subject John H. Dietrich, minister of the First Unitarian Society of Minnea polis, will speak on "The Cooperative Movement," Sunday morning, Feb. 26, at the Shubert Theatre in that city. This is one of a regular series on Modern Economic Theories. These tal'ks are broadcast over WDGY. • Rough on Rats Rats are an abomination. On eastern farms they cause an average loss of $40 a year per farm. And if one farmer gets busy and puts out rat poison, the rats pick up, whole kit and caboodle, and move on to the next farm. How are you going to get around that? By cooperation. All the farmers put out poison at once. Such a cooperative anti-rat cam paign is being sponsored in eastern farming states by the Dept. of Agricul ture, through the county agents. The cost of the bait to the farmers will be about $30,000 but it is expected to save them $1,200,000. • Sense of Proportion An institution we like is Common wealth College in Mena, Ark. We have never been there, but if the little fortnightly paper put out by the stu dents and instructors is a true reflec tion, they have pluck and self-reliance and the if-you-want-thing-done-do-it- yourself philosophy. Both students and teachers "work their way" large ly. For board, room and laundry, each does 20 hours of work .per week on the farm-campus. The school pro duces most of its own food. Various phases of labor economics are taught, with a conspicuous absence of ortho doxy. We get from the fortnightly also a feeling of sense of proportion, a pas sion for the cause of the worker, and also an appreciation of the comedy as well as tragedy of life, an appreciation rare in labor circles. • Government Employees Form Buying Association A "National Cooperative Associa tion" has been formed in Washington. D. C. Membership is confined to Government Clerks and to present and former members of the military serv ices resident in Washington. These total about 100,000. At last report the membership had reached 6,000. Mem bership is obtained through" the pay ment of $1.25 as an initial fee and an annual dues of $3.25 per year. The association secures discounts from business concerns and distributes them in turn to members monthly. The first opportunity offered the membership was a 10% cut in laundry rates in one of the largest steam laun dries in Washington, later extended to another laundry. Washington is a heavy patronizer of laundries due to the large amount of employment of both husband and wife and the large num- COOPERATION 33 ber of women employees in the District of Columbia. A serious attempt is being made to build a cooperative dairy out of one of the smaller but high-quality distributors already in existence. Some difficulty is experienced as the dairy industry is esceptionally well organ ized here and quite willing to defend1 itself against competition. This is evi-t denced by the price of milk locally^* 13 cents per quart. A start has been made allowing a rebate of 5% with the hope of eventually reducing the price to 9c. A reduction in gasoline prices is available to members at sev eral stations and the association hopes to increase the number. Its president also states that negotiations are pend ing that will ma'ke groceries available at cut prices. A few weeks ago the association held an open house in honor of the opening of its own store. The head quarters and store combined occupy about half the floor space on the 4th floor of a large downtown office build ing. The store sells ready-made wo men's clothing and accessories and men's suits and overcoats. The wo men's dresses are brought down weekly from New York. The president states the activities of the new group have already caused Washington depart ment stores to lower the prices of their goods. Alterations are taiken care of at cost in the workrooms of the society. In addition, the association has a lit erary service of an advisory character, an insurance advisor and a medical clinic is being set up with its own drug department. Some educational work in the his tory and ideals of the cooperative movement is said to be contemplated. The officers are in each case former service men. The president is W. A. Anthony. e Education 5%, Interest 2% At the annual meeting of the Orr Farmers Cooperative Trading Com pany in far northern Minnesota, the members voted to set aside 5% to the educational fund and but 2% as in terest on share capital. The Fruits of Capitalism In these days of wage-cutting, are the "wages of capital" taking their cuts, too? It appears not. Total divi dends and interest payments for the first 10 months of 1932 were $6,030,- 000,000, as compared with $6,028.000,- 000 in the entire year of 1928. These figures are given by the conservative New York Journal of Commerce and are considered accurate enough to be quoted by the U. S. Dept. of Com merce. While the "wages of capital" have had an actual net increase in the last four years, the waaes of labor have fallen more than a half, states Colston E. Warne, writing for Federated Press. Thus piles up the evidence that our capital structure, with its demand for "wages" (whether it is working or not), is eating us alive. The only rem edy is to put capital to work to earn its wages in the service of the people. This is what is done when the con sumers take over the ownership and control of their own capital structure through consumers' cooperation. Phony Fire Extinguishers How our benevolent government withholds information from us that might save hundreds of lives, is told in a recent bulletin of Consumers Re search, Inc., which discusses fire ex tinguishers. Consumers Research con demns as ineffective the so-called hand-grenade type of extinguishers, consisting of a bottle or globe filled, usually, with carbon tetrachloride. "Government departments," says Con sumers Research, "know all about the inefficiency of these devices and the gross public deception involved in their sale, but function to restrain them neither by obvious regulatory action nor by simple publication of the facts, easily expressible in a single mimeo graphed page of the hundred thousand or so, issued annually to the press by government publicity bureaus. Such release, given wide publicity, would save millions in dollars to American consumers and hundreds of lives." 34 COOPERATION The Facts About Cash and Credit THE well-known evils of credit trading were strikingly pictured when the Accounting Department of the Central Cooperative Wholesale of Superior recently issued the results of a questionnaire study of cash and credit in the cooperative stores of that territory. Of particular interest is the fact that 14 stores changed from credit to cash in 1932, and without calamitous effects. From the summary of returns, pre pared under the direction of Arnold J. Ronn, we cite the following: The 69 stores that reported had over a half million dollars tied up in ac counts receivable, of which the man agers estimated $150,000 as being of no value. The total losses due to bad accounts since the stores have been in business (15 to 18 years) are over $200,000. Of the 69 stores reporting, 37 stores (57% of the total number) sell for strictly cash; 32 stores (46%) sell on credit. Of the 37 stores that sell for cash only, 14 went on a cash basis in 1932; 7 in 1931; 7 in 1930; 3 in 1929; and 6 prior to 1929. The following reasons were given for changing from credit to cash trad ing: 1. Lack of working capital. 2. Closing of mines. 3. Unable to compete with prices. 4. Accounts receivable too high. 5. Too many poor risks. 6. More economical to sell for cash. 7. To avoid losses from bad ac counts. 8. To escape evils of credit business. 9. Only possible way to 'keep the Accounts Receivable from growing. 10. Could not buy for cash and sell on credit. 11. To reduce expenses. 12. To avoid bankruptcy. 13. Only solution to the credit evil. 14. Self-preservation. What Happened When the change was made from credit to cash, the sales volume dropped in 18 stores. Practically all of these 18 stated that the decrease was very slight and temporary; only in a very few instances was the drop substantial. Some reported that the financial condi tion of their association was recover ing from its previously low state as a result of the cash basis—'in spite of the loss in sales; 14 stores reported that their sales remained the same after the cash system was adopted, while one reported an increase. Four reported that their sales had dropped but could not determine if it was due to the cash system or other reasons. Two reporte'd having lost a few customers that they have been unable to get back, while most of the others were quite fortunate in getting their customers back. A couple of the stores that are on a cash basis complained that some of their customers are unreasonable in that they expect the managers to ex tend them credit at their own personal risk. One stated that "We have found it impossible to sell 100% for cash." Another reported that "Our strictly cash system has brought a loss in sales of large items, such as furniture, barn equipment, etc." Conclusions The experience of these 69 stores in the matter of credit trading has been most excessively expensive, in many instances making the cooperative an extra-heavy burden on its members and patrons rather than a blessing. The replies received show most con clusively that liberal credit trading not only seriously handicaps the store, but actually threatens its very life. We find that the most successful of these 69 stores are those that sell strictly for cash, and next in order those that allow but a highly restricted credit. We also find that stores pre viously allowing liberal credit have COOPERATION 35 saved themselves from bankruptcy by changing over to strictly cash* Credit trading is a "luxury" that most of our cooperative stores simply cannot afford,—not even those that are well fixed can afford it for a very long time. Our cooperatives must learn to face the facts in this matter,—it's a question of life and death in most in stances, it's "cash or bust!" Bear in mind that cash trading is never known to have bankrupted a store, while credit trading has taken a heavy toll, and will continue to do so. Of course, cash trading will not come of itself; it generally requires a lot of intensive educational work among the patrons to convince them of the ever-present evils of credit and advantages of cash trading. The di rectors and managers, who are nat urally most familiar with questions of this type, are charged with the respon sibility of enlightening the members on this subject and working for the goal. . "CASH TRADING." Cooperation Abroad Growing in Quality The membership of 548 German consumers' societies belonging to the Central Union as of Sept. 30, 1932. was 2,780,910, which represents a de crease of 143,133 in a year, chiefly due to the policy of the German societies to eliminate disloyal members. Al though total sales dropped about 25%, purchases from the German wholesale (G. E. G.) increased, and sales of G. E. G. goods during the third quarter represented 46.69% of total sales of the societies,. a record percentage. Goods produced in G. E. G. coopera tive factories were 17.31 % of the total, also a higher percentage than ever be fore. This goes to show that the Ger man movement is growing in quality if not in quantity. • British To Push Co-op Press The British cooperative movement is building up a Press Fund for im proving its cooperative papers and ex panding their circulation. The aim is to protect the movement against the propaganda of the profit press. So cieties are being asked to guarantee a, certain minimum of advertising per year. At this writing 316 retail societies have guaranteed over £6000 per year. • Economic Superiority Figures don't lie. Here are some figures from Finland that prove the economy of cooperative, over private, business: In the operations of the two Finnish cooperative wholesale societies in 1931, the overhead expense was 4% of sales as compared with 11.1% for the profit wholesales of Finland; gross profits were 5.7% for the cooperative and 9.6% for the profit wholesales; and net was 1.7% for the cooperative and 1.5 % for the profit wholesales. • In Spite of Depression During the last ten years South Wales has been experiencing depres sion because of the slump in coal mining. In that time a quarter of a mil lion people have emigrated, and those who are left are largely unemployed or under-employed. In spite of this, the cooperative movement has not merely held its own but has improved its posi tion in membership, share capital, and sales. The Mid-Rhondda Society has increased its membership from 3,549 in 1925 to 5,987 in 1932 and its share capital from £16,304 to £18,405. The. Ynysybwl Society, although it suffered a slight decrease in membership during these years, increased its sales by £9,- 712 and its share capital by £31,258. • Co-opportunity Month Liverpool Society celebrates Octo ber as Cooperative Month, as is done in the U. S., but calls it "Co-oppor tunity Month." 36 COOPERATION Cooperative Youth News from Hubbardston, Mass., Cooperative Club Just a few lines to let the world know that Hubbardston has a cooperative club. We or ganized eight months ago and at present have forty members all interested in the cooperative movement. "We meet twice a month at the Farmers' Hall. This hall is owned and run by The Farmers' Cooperative Trading Associa tion of Hubbardston. In the basement is the grain business and upstairs is the hall. We have a dramatic group, and we are now getting up a glee club. December 17-th the club held a program night for the benefit of the older peo ple. We had a one act comedy in Finnish and an interesting time. We hold dances and card par ties once a month and we always have a large crowd present. We have a library with a fine collection of cooperative books. At present we are having a drive for more books. A member presents the club with a book and challenges another member to do likewise. Following is a list of the officers: President—Veikko Merikanto Secretary—Gertrude Johnson Treasurer—Hilma Haltunen Vice-President—Andrew Erickson Educational Committee—Olavi Wagg, Carl Wanhala, Onni Kujala Social Committee—Leevi Hakkila, Carl Poi- konen, Victor Tammi, Veikko Merikanto Sports Committee—Herbert Virta, Tarmo Hannula, Onni Kujala, "William Herk Refreshments—Kenneth Hannula Editors—Leo Wagg, "Raivaaja Cooperative Corner"; Olavi Wagg, "Cooperation" We are a member of the "Massachusetts Youth League," and we will participate in the one act play competition to be held by the "League." Happy New Year to all. • Olavi Wagg Fitchburg is truly a cooperative city. That fact is evi denced too by the large crowds that come to the Youth Club meetings and also to the Wo men's Guild meetings and affairs. The Youth Club is very active. We have at the present writing 117 members in good stand ing and new members coming in at every meet ing. The club rooms are occupied all the time. Perhaps it's a ping-pong tournament or a game of billiards going on. Then you're sure to find some one perusing the cooperative literature which is always on hand. The new room of the Women's Guild was officially opened the 22nd of January and the Youth Club's room (where the entertainment was held) was filled to overflowing. The local Youth Club members worked hand-in-hand with the Guild members in making this affair the huge success that it was. Study classes were held on each Monday night and now plans are in readiness to conduct other classes, of which we shall hear more later. An Inter-Club Play Contest will be held in Fitchburg February 2nd at the Saima Hall. Maynard and Hubbardston and Fitchburg are taking part. Maynard has selected the play "Ambition" while Hubbardston has selected "Dawd Cast Ya Both" and Fitchburg, "The Valiant." Everyone is anxious to see the out come of this contest. The club presenting the best one-act play in the best manner gets a prize. The club is still running the subscription drive to secure new readers to "COOPERA TION" and also to the "Cooperative Builder." The Massachusetts Cooperative Youth League (formed last fall) has held quite a few meetings and they have big things planned, some of which are already beginning to leak out. There has been some talk about a reunion of Brookwood's students to be held here in Fitch burg. A good time is in store for everyone if the plans go through. See you there! A. M. L. • Chicago Heard From Our Junior Club has about 25 to 30 mem bers. They make up for the small number by an interest which has just recently developed but which seems to be there to stay. We are at present trying to increase this number with a membership drive, which will end with our annual meeting on January 25th. In this mem bership drive we are following the plan of the Cleveland Youth League; i. e. dividing the group into two sides, the boys and the girls. Whichever side brings in less new members is the loser and must make a party for the win ners. An important branch of our club is the study class, which has about 10 or 15 of our most active members. We follow the Cooperative League's course on "Principles of Coopera tion" and have some interesting discussions. It was largely through its influence that our club sent seven students to the Central States League's Summer School last year. This Study Class also edits and publishes a monthly pbper "The Cooperationist." We also have a "Kiddy Club" for children up to 14 years of age. This was started by the Study Class—is financed and run by our Junior Club. Our club bought a movie projector and we find this invaluable in keeping the children interested. On December 30th the Kiddy Club held a Christmas party or program with only the children taking part. The attendance is regularly around 40 or 50 and has even gone as high as 74! They usually meet on Sunday after noons and we expect big things of them in the future. We are actively taking up the organization COOPERATION 37 of a "Women's Guild and are now only waiting for the annual meeting of our Cooperative So ciety (Workmen's Cooperative Mercantile As sociation) so that they may get behind this project with us. Our club gets publicity through our column in the Bohemian Socialist paper "Spravedlnost" (Justice). We have quite a program planned for this year, including excursions to cooperatives in other towns, open air meetings and such under takings to advertise cooperation and our co operative store. One of the main things in holding a meeting is to maintain pep. If a meeting proceeds slow ly it is a cinch that the members will lose in terest. Although I don't know how it would work out, I think it would be a good idea to have a cheerleader at every meeting, lead a cheer between each order of business. Yours in Cooperation Frank Pesek • In Rock, Mich., the District Section Com mittee is organizing a traveling library. Each of the four affiliated Youth Leagues will con tribute to the book fund. The books will stay in each community long enough to give the members a fair chance to read them, then will "travel" on to the next. This district is also studying Journalism and is planning a contest for the best written ar ticle. Members must write one "imaginary" ar ticle first, before entering the real contest. Insurance Pointer No. 3— WATCH THE WARRANTY Many insurance policies contain the phrase "warranted by the assured that, etc., etc." Watch that little word, "warranted." If the policy holder does not comply with the warranty, the whole policy is void. For instance, fire insurance policies on private houses often contain the phrase, "Warranted by the assured that the within described building is occupied exclusively for dwelling purposes by not more than three families." If a building under such a policy has a fire and the company can prove that there was a store on the premises, they can deny liability and pay nothing. This sounds rather rough on the owner of the building, but the companies insist that they have no other defense against the man who wants to insure his store or apartment house at the low private dwelling rates. A monthly insurance paragraph, con tributed by Clusa Service, Inc., the League's insurance service for cooperators. The Cooperative Youth League of the North Central States, Superior, is engaged in as sembling a library of cooperative books, which will be loaned out to members over the ter ritory. News of the Northern States Cooperative League Attention is being given to the organizing of county federations of cooperatives, the object being to bring together all cooperatives, pro ducer as well as consumer, in a county for the purpose of encouraging and advancing educa tion in cooperation and to promote cooperative effort and unity in legislative and economic en deavor among farmers and workers. There are now four such county federations of coopera tives in Minnesota, viz.: Carlton, Becker, Kana- bec and Pine, the latter having been organized December 17, 1932. • The League is assisting in an attempt to get a new cooperative law enacted in Minnesota which, while preserving the fundamentals of consumers' cooperation, will at the same time make provision for the greatest latitude in the incorporating of both producers' and con sumers' cooperatives in accordance with the principles of true cooperation. At the present time there are practically two cooperative laws, one a Marketing Act, and the other a General Cooperative Law, neither of which is entirely satisfactory. A bill has been prepared to be presented to the legislature in January. This bill is the result of several conferences held with the Department of Agriculture, Dairy and Food, and representatives of both producers' and consumers' cooperatives. The bill embodies the essential features of a cooperative law which will not only meet present needs but at the same time permit of growth and expansion along genuine cooperative lines. • Representatives of the League attended the annual convention of the Farmers' Union Cen tral Exchange of St. Paul, December 15-16. The volume of business done by the Central Ex change for the fiscal year ending October 31, 1932, was approximately $1,750,000, while the preceding year it was only a little more than a million. The Exchange showed a net profit for the year of approximately $100,000. It has 26 retail branches and in addition there are 86 cooperative companies buying gasoline from the Exchange and 130 buying lubricating oil and grease. • The Midland Cooperative Oil Association held a cooperative oil school Jan. 11 to 14 in clusive, in Minneapolis. The program dealt with the practical features of business connected with gasoline, oils and tires, and also with the principles of cooperation generally and specif ically as applied to this particular line of busi- 38 COOPERATION ness. A. J. Hayes, editor of "The Cooperative Builder," spoke each of the first three days of the school on "Cooperative Principles and Practices." George W. Jacobson spoke on PRICES CUT! To make it easier for students of coopera tion to get study material, we have cut prices on all our Correspondence Courses in half. For example: Cooperative Bookkeeping, was $10 Now ......................... $5 Principles of Cooperation, was $10 Now ......................... $5 Organization & Administration, was $20 Now ........................ .$10 Special rates to Study Groups Send for particulars THE COOPERATIVE LEAGUE 167 West 12th St., New York, N. Y. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York, N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, Wis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wis. Economic Basis for Cooperation" and "Co operation in our Territory—Its Possibilities." The directors of the Midland Cooperative Oil Association gave a banquet at the West Hotel to the officials, managers, and bulk and service salesmen of its constituent cooperatives. Joseph Gilbert, assistant secretary of the N. S. C. L. addressed this gathering on the subject: "What is Cooperative Business?" General Manager E. G. Cort took an active part throughout the school sessions with talks on various technical and business phases of the oil industry. • The Insurance Committee of the League has recommended to the Board of Directors that the League organize a life insurance company under the fraternal insurance laws of the state of Minnesota. e A question on the agenda at the last board meeting of the League was whether to en courage or discourage the formation of con sumers' cooperatives which are under the neces sity of depending for a market on concerns en gaged in business for private profit. It seemed to be the consensus of opinion among the Board members that such cooperatives, regardless of being organized as consumers' cooperatives, were in reality producers' cooperatives, and should hereafter be so regarded by the League. Such cooperatives should be admitted to mem bership in the League as fraternal, not as con stituent, members. e Many requests have come in during the past month for Secretary Alanne and Assistant Secretary Gilbert to address meetings, parties larly annual meetings of cooperative societies, which is an evidence that the importance of cooperative education is being realized more and more. e The annual meeting of the Union Mercantile Company of Isanti, Minn., was held on January llth. A financial report submitted to the share holders present showed sales of $29,349 in 1932, a reduction of nearly 24% as compared with 1931. In the latter year, sales dropped not less than 42%, as compared with 1930. Due to the efforts of the management and the board of directors, the gross margin realized for the year of 1932 increased 12.5% over that realized from considerably larger sales in 1931. Ex penses at the same time were reduced 17%. Still, due to comparatively large investments in the store building, fixtures, beanery equipment, etc., high overhead expenses made it impos sible for the organization to eliminate any more than 38% of the operating loss sustained in 1931. The present board of directors were re- elected. A. J. Peterson is president. Peter Hal- den, secretary and C. F. Dunder, manager. An educational meeting was held in the after noon at the Oxlip schoolhouse. Some 50-60 people attended this meeting. Joseph Gilbert, assistant secretary of the League, delivered the main address and Secretary Alanne spoke briefly. V. S. A. COOPERATION 39 Books CAPITALISM, COOPERATION, COM MUNISM, by Andrew J. Kress. Ransdell, Inc., Washington, D. C. 1932, $2.00. "Cooperation, then, is the middle ground be tween the class levelling of Socialism and the driving greed of Capitalism." This sentence printed in large capitals almost at the end of the volume may be considered the central theme of Dr. Kress' book. Dr. Kress points out the shortcomings of capitalism in failing to supply a living wage for its workers during a time when production was on the increase. He quotes the figures of Professors Warne and Patterson to show that while the per capita income in the U. S. be tween 1919 and 1928 increased one-third, the earnings of workers during the same period were augmented by only one-tenth; that while be tween 1919 and 1925 the physical output per worker increased 37%, his wages rose only 11%. "But the end is not yet," exclaims the author "and something should be done imme- dia.ely before the masses, in their misery fol low the false beacon of Communism in their search for a better opportunity." By far the best parts of the book are those devoted to the author's treatment of consumers cooperation. The material here may be divided into the history of the movement and the author's conception of it. Chapter II and ill are devoted almost exclusively to an historical sketch of the movement abroad, while chapter IV, the best in the entire volume, is set aside for a similar treatment of the movement in the United States. The information in these chap ters is good but necessarily brief and does not deviate from the paths beaten by others, notably Dr. Warbasse, Sonnichsen, the Webbs, etc. The volume is well written and contains use ful information. The admirable introduction by Dr. \Varbasse is an outstanding feature of the book. Edward M. Cohen THE PEOPLE'S YEAR BOOK, 1933. Published by the British Cooperative Press Agency. Price, through The League, in paper covers, $.75, cloth, $1.35. Even more informative and attractive than usual is the People's Year Book of 1933. If anyone doubts the superioty of cooperative over profit business, let him peruse this review of the progress of cooperation the world over. While capitalistic businesses in all lines and in all countries are bending under the force of the economic blizzard, even to the point of collapse, the cooperative movements among all people are not only weathering the storm but are actually making progress. But like moles bur rowing in the dark, the bulk of the world's statesmen, economists and captains of industry are blind to the sunshine of this fact In addition to the facts and statistics, this Year Book contains a collection of opinions by cooperative leaders, both of Britain and of other countries, indicating cooperative "eco nomic plans" for the future. Among the special writers are Sir Norman Angell, Leo Chiozza- Money and Sidney Webb. The book is replete with beautiful illustrations. The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ ov the Canadian Coopera tive Movement, owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum NEW ERA LIFE ASSOCIATION Affiliated with The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. All standard forms of Legal Reserve life insurance contracts written. We can insure you by mail without medical examination. Cooperators, patronize your own insurance society. For full particulars clip this coupon. New Era Life Association Grand Rapids, Midi. \Vithout obligation send me information concerning your different certificates: Name ________________________________________________ Address _________________.______________________ _______________________Age:__________ 60 COOPERATION STUDY CONSUMERS' COOPERATION The books and pamphlets listed below are available through The Cooperative League. Read them and pass them on to your friends HISTORICAL Per Copy Per 100 38. Consumers Cooperation in the United States (illus.). 1930.... .10 8.00 <9. Story of Toad Lane (By Stuart Chase) ...................... .06 4.00 TECHNICAL 4. How to Start and Run a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... .25 15.00 6. Model By-Laws for a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... .05 2.50 19. Credit Union Primer (By Ham and Robinson) .............. .50 51. Model Lease for Cooperative Apartment House ............ .10 MISCELLANEOUS It. Model Co-op State Law ........ .10 38. "When the Whistle Blew" (Story. by Bruce Calvert) .......... 06 57. How a Consumers' Cooperative - Differs from Ordinary Business .02 61. Buttons (League emblem). % inch diameter ............... .05 •3. Sign or Transparency of League Emblem. Green and gold, 8 in. diameter .................... .25 16.00 €7. Stock certificates, engraved, with League Emblem. Bound in books of 100, 200, or 250 «8. To Mothers ................... .02 70. Farmers' Cooperation, A Way Out: An address by L. S. Herron.. .05 72. "Little Lessons in Cooperation" 74. The Burden of Credit ......... .02 76. What is the Cooperative Store.. .OS 76. What Is Consumers' Cooperation .05 77. The Most Necessary Thing in Life ......................... .02 78. Are You Sure You Are Getting Your Money'8 Worth ........ .02 79. There Are Two Sides to Every Counter ...................... .02 80. Consumers', Credit, and Produc tive Societies, Bull. 631 of the Bureau of Labour Statistics.. .25 81. Cooperative Youth Songs ...... .25 82. What Cooperation means to a de pression-sick America ........ .03 .85 2.00 1.00 4.00 35 1.00 2.00 4. DO 1.00 1.00 1.00 2 00 "What Consumers' Cooperation Means to a Depression-Sick America" Try it on your depression-siok friend A new leaflet, mostly pictures 3 cents per copy, $2 per 100 We also recommend "What Is Consumers' Cooperation?" by Dr. J. P. Warbasse. A clear, concise definition. 5 cents per copy, $4 per 100 Order from The Cooperative League MONTHLY PUBLICATIONS Cooperation—(In bundle lots, $7.50 per hundred). Subscription, per year (foreign, $1.15).... $1.04 REVIEW OP INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (Pub. by the I. C. A.) ........ Per Year. |1.60 BOOKS The following books are recommended as con taining the best discesslon of the model i Coopera tive Movement. They may be ordered through The League, postpaid as follows: Bergengren, R. F.: Credit Union, A Cooper ative Banking Book .................. Blanc, Elsie T.: Cooperativs Movement in Russia, 1924 ________ ____________ Brightwiil, L,. R.: Animal "Co-op" Book— For Children ........................ Chase and Schlink: Your Money's Worth, A Book for Consumers ................ Pianagan, J. A.: Wholesale Cooperation in Scotland, 1920 ........................ Gide, C.: Consumers' Cooperative Societies, American edition and notes, 1622, Cloth Hall, Prof. Fred: Handbook for Members of Cooperative Committees ............. Hoijoake: Rochdale Pioneers ............ HoListh, E. M-: Cooperation in India 1932.... Indian Cooperation, Children's story ...... Jessness. O. B.: Cooperative Marketing of Farm Products ....................... Kress, A J. :Capitalism, Cooperation, Com munism, 1932 ......................... Raivaaja Print—Fitchburg, Mass. Life A? We Have Known It Life stories of English guildswomen, telling what the Guild has done for them.. Madams, J. P : The Story Retold ......... Nicholson, Isa: Our Story ................ Odhe, Thorsttn: Finland, A Nation of Co- operators ............................. Oerne. Andres: Cooperative Ideals and Problems ............................. Owpn, Robert: Autobiography ........... Poisson, E.: The Cooperative Republic.... Potter, B.: Cooperative Movement In Great Britain ............................... Redfern, Percy: The Story of the C. W. S. Redfern, Percy: The Consumers' Place in Society, 1920 .......................... Smith-Gordon & Staples: Rural Recon struction in Ireland, 1918 ............ Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation in Denmark ............................. Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation in Many Lands, 1920 .................... Stolinsky, A.: The Cooperative Movement. (In Yiddish) ......................... Warbasse, J. P.: Cooperative Democracy, (1927,) ............................... Warbasse, J. P.: What Is Cooperation, 1927 Warne, C. E.: Consumers' Cooperative Move ment in Illinois ...................... Webb, B. and S.: The Consumers' Coopera tive Movement, 1921 .................. Webb, Catherine: Industrial Cooperation, 1917 .................................. Wooif, Leonard: Cooperation and the Fu ture of Industry ..................... Cooperation, Bound Volumes, 191B to- 1931 inclusive, each ....................... The People's Year Book, 19S2, English, paper .75, cloth Year Book of The Cooperative League, 1932 $1.50 1.50 .16 1.10 2.10 l.oO 2.50 1.10 3.75 .IB 8.10 2.00 1.25 .85 .25 1.51 1.35 .75 1.85 1.10 1.25 1.00 1.00 1.10 l.SO 1.00 1.50 .75 3.50 G.OO i.«e 1.65 1.25 1.35 .75 COOPERATION Organ of the Con- Movement in the ^ ^ sumers Cooperative ^h - /M United States / #fc/t ^%o ^d. Vol. XIX, No. 3 MARCH, 1933 Co-op Cleanliness Clinches Contract 10 cents Lawrence plant that Xvon city milk order r |THE city of Lawrence, Mass., had J- to settle the question: "Who shall supply the milk for the Ci-ty Hospital?" Bids were called for. Joe Salerno, man ager of the Workers Cooperative Union, decided that the co-op should be in this contest, and so he submitted a bid. It was 1 cent a quart above that of another dealer. "Hold on," the city fathers said, "price isn't the only consideration. Let us take a look at these plants." So they took an inspection tour. And when it came to cleanliness and high quality, the modern plant of the co operative won the day. Naturally, when the consumers co operate to supply their own babies with milk, they get MILK, not bacteria. The milk of the Workers Coopera tive Union is supplied by the Man chester Dairy System, a farmers' co operative. 42 COOPER ATION COO PERATBO N An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St., New York City.___________________ OSCAR COOLEY, Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner L. S. Herron Herman Liebman V. S. Alanne___________George Jacohson Entered as Second Class matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. T., un der the Act of March 3, 1879. Price $1.00 a year. Vol. XIX, No. 3 March 1933 More Members the Need The London Cooperative Society has more than tripled its membership since 1925. It now has about a half mil lion members, one-fourteenth of the entire population of the world's largest city. It seems that London is always having a membership campaign, but recently it had a special one of four weeks. The result was 20,583 new members. This doesn't just happen; it takes work, planned, systematic, constant and unremitting missionary work on the part of employees and sharehold ers. It costs money, too—you can't get something for nothing. But it means that cooperation in the city of London is a living, growing thing. Would that the same could be said of New York! Ho'tv many of our American socie ties are even scratching the surface of the possibilities for getting new mem bers? Who can name a single local so ciety which has gained as much as 500 members in the past year? Come, now, don't all speak at once. But the people have no money, you say. They can not afford to pay for shares. Fiddlesticks! Neither can I af ford to pay for my supper tonight but I shall sup nevertheless, and I may go to the movies afterwards, who knows? People are still spending money'—for the things they want. Haven't money? The working people of London I sup pose are wealthy, then. Can not afford to buy shares? Lower the price, then. You can not afford to have the shares of your cooperative society priced so high that the working people can not afford to buy them. No, that's not the reason. Laziness, inertia, lack of courage, lack of daring —those come nearer it. We're afraid to say "Come and join us" for feax someone will say "Mind your own business." We have created our little societies and we hug them tight like dolls for fear some big boy will see them and want to take them away from us. So we draw around us the cloak of monastic self-righteousness and wait patiently for the coming of the cooper ative commonwealth. But, some will say, we can not af ford during these times to spend money and effort on a membership campaign. It isn't practical. You can not afford not to. Your sales are falling off. You can not reduce your expense propor tionately. Consequently your net is dis appearing. You must boost those sales. That means more patrons and more members. Practical? New members are the lifeblood of your society. When a man is dying, is it practical to go out after a transfusion of new blood? Every society should budget a cer tain amount every month for canvas sing and getting new members. Quotas for employees should be set and re wards given for exceeding the quotas. '"New members' meetings" should be held frequently at which cooperation if explained and they are instructed to go out and get more new members. Especially should the women be in structed in what cooperation means and why they should give all their trade to the cooperative. A cooperative society never remains static; it is always either in growth or in decay. e A credit union is a type of coopera tive society in which the members produce as well as consume. When they deposit money, they are produc ing, and the thing they are producing is credit; and when they borrow, they are consuming credit. It is as though the members of a cooperative store so- COOPERATION 43 ciety grew and picked and canned the tomatoes which later they buy off the shelves. Psychologically, wouldn't it be a good thing if we could grow and can our own tomatoes? Just "consuming" is dull, uninspiring business. We want to produce, to create—don't you? To see things grow and take shape under our hands, and to feel that they are ours from start to finish. This strikes us as an advantage which the credit union has. It's mem bers can grow tomatoes to their heart's content, that is, they can save and de posit regularly, according to their means. They should be encouraged to do so and to get others to. Thus they will accumulate their own pool of co operative credit, which will be just as useful, even more so, as a whole ware house full of tomatoes. • Big Business in Trouble Industrial leaders are testifying to the superiority of small business over large business under depression condi tions. The following is a letter from an editor of a business magazine: "Big business is at a decided disad vantage in comparison with small busi ness in those fields where big business has been sufficiently well financed so that no material deflation has occur red in the capitalization of plant, ma chinery, etc., and where small business has been sufficiently harassed by poor business so that complete reorganiza tions have occurred in the capital structure and in the capitalization of plant and equipment on what amounts to a liquidation basis. In other words, with the prevailing buyer's markets, the large buyer has little or no advan tage over the small buyer and, hence, the small manufacturer whose capitali zation has been reduced to a depression minimum can operate on parallel costs as regards labor and materials, but at lower costs as regards overhead. Even those large companies with substantial cash reserves are finding that selling at a loss is not tending to eliminate competition, but on the contrary is tending to force reorganization on the part of smaller concerns, which reor ganizations are stiffening rather than decreasing the competition offered." o. c. • Time to Study Social Science Today the physical sciences com mand the attention of the world. The doings of the astronomers are front page news. Physicists and chemists are employed by the large corporations to conduct research programs costing thousands of dollars. We are all thrill ed by the discovery of a new star; we take pride in our civilization, that it can determine what makes an automO" bile engine knock, and how to stop it; and the successful inventor is re warded beyond all dream. But it is gradually becoming rec ognized that we have put too much emphasis on the physical side and too little on the social. It is a common say ing that "We have solved the problem of production, now we must solve the problem of distribution," and that "Another war will destroy our civiliza tion." These statements, together with the concern over the increase in men tal diseases, and the opposition to the movement of population from the farms and villages to the cities are all indi cations that we are beginning to rec ognize certain angles of the problem, if not the whole problem itself. To the forward-looking members of the younger generation then, we point out that the field in which they can be of the most service to society is that of the social sciences. To some of them who enter that field now, there will come the recognition that is now given to the Edisons, the Steinmetzes and the Einsteins. Cooperation is one of the most im portant applications of social science that has so far been put on a practical basis. Some of the youthful cooper- ators of today will be the country's leaders of tomorrow. C. Throop • The private grocery trade in Great Britain is 2j/£% unionized; the cooper ative movement 85%. 44 COOPERATION I I 1 5 O CO COOPERATION 45 Consumers' Cooperation in the United States By Oscar Cooley II The Cooperative League THE Cooperative League is the na tional federation of Consumers' Cooperative societies and associations in the U.S.A. It does not handle goods; it is purely educational and propa gandist in purpose. It is non-political, and non-sectarian. It is the focal point in the movement to establish produc tion for use, not for profit, through Consumers' Cooperation. The League is supported by 450 af filiated local cooperative societies. The members of these societies are largely farmers and industrial workers. The League also has individual members, dues $1 per year. Anyone, anywhere, who wishes to help and participate in this movement is invited to become a member. The President of the League is Dr. J. P. Warbasse of Brooklyn, N. Y. Dr. Warbasse founded the League in 1915 and has been its President ever since. He is internationally known as an authority on Cooperation. The Gen eral Secretary is Oscar Cooley. Functions The League publishes this magazine. It publishes practical pamphlets, such as "How to Start and Run a Rochdale Cooperative Store"; small leaflets, such as "What Consumers' Cooperation Means to a Depression-sick America"; and other propaoanda material such as posters, package stuffers, a yearly calendar, etc. It distributes books on Cooperation, such as Dr. Warbasse's "Cooperative Democracy." The League holds a Congress every two years. Each district has an annual convention. One-week Institutes for students of Cooperation are held in each district every summer. A 4- weeks' summer school is held in the Northern States district. A correspon dence school is conducted. A Speakers' Bureau is maintained. Study groups are encouraged and assisted. The Accounting Bureau of the League audits the books of cooperative societies. An insurance department, Clusa Service, Inc., advises on insur ance problems and fills insurance re quirements for both societies and indi viduals. Detailed information on any of these services, or on any question relating to Consumers' Cooperation, may be ob tained from the main office, 167 West 12th St., New York. The League embraces three dis tricts: the Eastern States district con sisting of New England, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, office, 167 West 12th St., New York, N. Y.; the Central States district, consisting of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, Secreta ry, A. W. Warinner, 1410 No. Main St., Bloomington, 111.; and the North ern States district, consisting of Min nesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and the Dakotas, Secretary, V. S. Alanne, 2100 Washington Ave., N., Minneapolis, Minn. These districts are largely au tonomous. Both societies and indi viduals are invited to join the League through their respective districts. In addition, there are societies in non-districted territory, which are affiliated directly with the national League. When these become numerous in any one section, a new district league is formed. The district leagues, being local, maintain more intimate contact with societies and thus help to draw the movement together in unity. The work of each district league is of interest. Northern States Cooperative League Organized in March 1922, this league had on June 30, 1932, a total of 78 constituent (dues paying) societies, consisting of 65 store societies, 4 re gional oil associations, 3 mutual banks and credit societies, 2 wholesales, 2 hotels and boarding houses, one con sumers' creamery and one life insur ance society. 46 COOPERATION The 2 wholesales are the Central Cooperative Wholesale of Superior, Wis., and the Midland Cooperative Oil Association of Minneapolis, Minn., which had respectively, 101 and 42 af filiated associations of their own. Fif ty-five of the affiliated associations of the Central Wholesale paid constituent dues to the League thru their Whole sale and nine were directly affiliated. This league also has fraternal mem bers, consisting of organizations in sympathy and accord with its aims, such as labor unions, women's cooper ative guilds, producers' cooperatives, etc., to the number of 14; also six life members who have each paid $30. During the year 1932, a total of 429 individuals paid one dollar as indi vidual membership dues. The aggre gate number of members or sharehold ers belonging to the affiliated associa tions in this district is approximately 60,000. The N. S. C. L. has held 11 annual conventions of its own; has conducted six sessions of a short-term training school, covering a period of 39 weeks, with a total of nearly 1,600 hours of class work done and with 156 men and women trained to serve the cause of cooperation. It also conducted a sum mer school in 1932, with 39 students in attendance; conducts an auditing de partment with five auditors employed; has organized an insurance department; has issued four yearbooks (1925-28) under its own auspices, and two year books (1930-32) under the auspices of The Cooperative League of U. S. A. The executive secretary and an as sistant secretary devote their entire time to field work, lecturing, giving advice and assistance to cooperatives, and distributing literature. "The Cooperative Builder," pub lished semi-monthly by the Central Co operative Wholesale at Superior, Wis., is the official publication of this league. The Wholesale also publishes a week ly paper in the Finnish language, a large number of its membership being natives of Finland. A brief picture of some of the out standing member organizations of the N. S. C. L. is in order. Central Cooperative Wholesale This is one of the largest, most stable and most progressive cooperative or ganizations in the country. It is a con servatively run business and at the same time a revolutionary social insti tution. Its leaders are imbued with the ideal of nothing less than the complete Cooperative Commonwealth, but they know that it will not come in their day. "Some one must lay the foundations," they say. "Let us do it." And so they are. The Wholesale, located in Superior, Wis., has 101 affiliated societies, in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, with a total of over 25,000 cooperators. It is also patronized by a score or more of non-member societies. Its sales in 1932 were $1,310,149.08. Groceries, feeds and general merchan dise accounted for $1,110,444.28, cloth ing $97,505.45 and bakery products $67,514.75. Net gain was $9,090.57. Founded in 1917 as the Cooperative Central Exchange, with 15 member societies, the Wholesale has made steady progress, helping to build up the local societies which in turn gave the Wholesale their trade and helped it to grow. Its high-water mark in dol lar sales was reached in 1930, when its total trade was $1,767,760.33. Since, in two years of depression and falling prices, the dollar volume has fallen ap preciably, but the tonnage has actually increased. Educational work has always been a cardinal policy with the Wholesale. "We 'sell coffee with cooperation and cooperation with coffee,'" they say. The results in growth prove it. Two papers, one in English and one in Fin nish, are published. A full-time educa tional director is employed. Women's Guilds and Youth Leagues are fos tered. Whenever a national or district congress is held, the representatives of the Wholesale are found in the front rank. About 90% of the cooperators in this district are farmers. Others are miners and miscellaneous workers, all hard hit by depression. But the Wholesale announces that in 1933 it is out for $1,500,000 sales. (To be continued) COOPERATION 47 The Story of the Community Hospital of Elk City, Oklahoma By Dr. M. Shadid ELK CITY, Oklahoma, where we promoted the first cooperative hospital in the United States, is a town of six thousand people, surrounded by cotton farmers and having a trade ter ritory of about twenty square miles. In the town of Elk City there are ten doctors, three chiropractors, five den tists, and two general hospitals besides our cooperative community hospital. I have lived in this county for twen ty years. Three years ago, when I con sidered a cooperative hospital, I had been operating a small institution of eight beds for a period of four years. In 1927 I made a trip to Europe and the Mediterranean countries with a view to locating in my native land, Syria, and devoting myself to free med ical and surgical work to my country men regardless of any possible emolu ment to myself. On my return to the United States I decided to • promote a cooperative hospital and demonstrate that the peo ple can build their hospital and hire their doctors and surgeons on a salary basis. I approached the doctors who had private hospitals in Elk City with a view to getting them interested in the project and having the cooperative as sociation buy their institutions as I felt that the success of a cooperative hos pital should be achieved without loss to others if possible and furthermore I figured that it would be advantageous to the institution to eliminate the com petition of nrofit business. Both doctors who were approached turned the proposition down flat and I therefore proceeded with the project single handed. I called a meetinrr of the leaders of the cooperative movement in the coun ty and laid my plans before them. Upon their approval we formed an organiza tion commitee, capitalized for $100,000 and began to sell shares of stock for $50 each. In the literature we sent out we stated that immediately after a per son bought stock he would be eligible to have all his medical and surgical work discounted fifty per cent and that in no case would the surgeon charge him more than $50 for any surgical operation. We also stated that as soon as the hospital was built and the num ber of stockholders justified it that we would do all their medical and surgical work for $50 a year less hospital fees or less the cost of hospitalization which was to be at the usual rates. The discount idea was a mistake. The reason we adopted it was because people hesitated to subscribe for a share of stock hoping that a hospital might be built and that they might be benefited thereby; they wanted some immediate benefits, even while we were in the stage of organization. The dis count plan was a mistake because pri vate practitioners would try to meet the competition and leave the impres sion with the cooperators that they were not receiving any discounts on their work at the cooperative hospital. Indeed private practice in many in stances has met this competition in our community to our detriment. Neither was it practicable to charge the usual rates for medical and surgical work and give back a patronage divi dend every six or twelve months, for the people are poor and want benefits now. Therefore the only feasible plan was to charge a premium once a year for all medical and surgical work for the family. That we are now doing, charging $25 a year for all work for the family including examinations, treatments, and surgical operations less the cost of hospital care and home visits. The majority of our members still use us on the discount basis, while the minority pay the premium of $25 a year for their work. 48 COOPERATION May Reduce to $2.50 a Day For hospital care we used to charge $5 a day, anaesthetics and operating room fee extra. Now we have reduced same to $3.50 per day, and we believe the time will come when the increase in membership will justify us in re ducing still further to $2.50 a day. When I started to promote this hos pital I had no other doctor with me but promoted it among my own patients who believed in cooperation and they in turn promoted it among their friends and neighbors. This was a mistake al so for no cooperative hospital should ever be started except with a com petent staff of men of at least five or six covering the main branches of medicine and surgery. The chief phy sician or surgeon in charge of the professional work should be thorough ly sold on cooperation. He must be a good man, as well as a good surgeon or physician, as he must inspire both lay and professional members of the or ganization. I can not stress this too emphatically. We sold shares of stock for $10 cash and a $40 note and have in our possesion $60,000 in notes. We built the hospial with borrowed money thinking that we would collect in the fall of the year when cotton is ginned, as is the usual custom in the South. The depression came and money was hard to get and although the hospital has been operating with a little margin of profit we still owe the money we borrowed and are paying interest on it. Moral: never build a cooperative insti tution on credit. We had trouble getting doctors to stay with us, for two reasons. First, all the doctors, surgeons, dentists and druggists have united to overthrow the cooperative hospital because they sus pect that it will ruin their business. We offered to do all work for our members for $25 a year. The doctors could readily see that if the cooperative hos pital were a success, they would no longer obtain a $150 fee for an appen dix operation, and similar fees. Secret meetings were held, even with mem bers of the State Board of Medical Ex aminers. Charges were preferred against us for "steerage," and but for the Governor of the state and John Simpson, National President of the Farmers Union, they would have easily succeeded. Doctors whom we hired to work for what they could get from our members on the discount basis would not shoulder the professional ostracism attached to the work. Others would sell out for a consideration and leave town. It certainly has been an uphill fight and the medical profession is living up to its history in persecuting every new idea or discovery. For this reason I think cooperative hospitals should not be built in small communities but in larger cities until the practice becomes more popular, after which it may be introduced into smaller communities without so much strife. Secondly, many doctors who are looking for a location are at fault with their environment and have therefore been a failure elsewhere. Many of them are morphine habitues. One such com mitted suicide in our operating room about mid-night after having been here on probation less than a week. At the present time we have on our staff two physicians, one surgeon, and one dentist. Dental work is done for our members at half price. The doctors get what they can from the members and do their work at 50% discount. I re peat this in order to condemn it. For one can readily see that the doctors can tcike advantage of such practice. Com peting doctors can caoitalize the idea and it is impossible for the members to judge as to whether they are getting a discount on their work or not. There fore it is our intention as soon as pos sible to reorganize the service strictly on a premium basis, getting the mem bers to pay a small sum each year, per haps $15, for their medical and sur gical work, and making no charges ex cept 25 to 50 cents for medicine and $3 for an X-ray film. This has not been done before because the Board of Di rectors has not been able to get enouqh of members to pay $25 a year to Concluded on page 57 COOPERATION 49 How They Did It in Ainsworth By C. McCarthy 'T'HIS is the ordinary story of an J- average cooperative oil associa tion in Nebraska. It is the more im portant for that reason. Extraordinary accomplishment may excite wonder and amazement but ordinary success excites the desire to emulate. What an ordinary group can do in a simple un derstanding way, other groups can do also. In 1930 the farmers about Ains worth, Brown County, held several meetings for the purpose of organizing a cooperative oil association. Subscrip tions for shares were solicited but they were unable to raise sufficient capital to make a start. In April 1931 the Board of Directors annealed to the State Exchange of Omaha to put in a bulk plant to be operated by the Exchange so as not to disappoint the hopes of the loyal folks who had done their best and whose efforts seemed likely to end in failure. We submitted a plan to them which was approved by their shareholders, by which they were to turn over to the State Exchange what cash they had on hand ($1250) and the Exchange agreed to put in bulk tanks and equip ment and keep them supplied with gas oline, kerosene and lube oils, all to be paid for out of sales. They have main tained their local organization with a Board of Directors who look after the business and property of the Associa tion and hire the drivers for the truck tanks. The drivers report directly to the State Exchange which controls their bank account, keeps the books, makes profit and loss statements as often as desired, makes the annual re port and files income tax report and claim for exemption. The cost of this service for 1932 was $75 and $15 of that sum was for work on accounts re ceivable—always an expensive luxury in a cooperative. The contract between the Associa tion and the State Exchange stipulated that we were to turn the business over to them when the State Exchange ac count was paid. When we offered to do so the Board wanted to know if we couldn't go right along as we were. The plan seemed so thoroughly prac tical that we were "lad to continue the experiment. Here are the results: Auditor Mc- Pherson commenting on the report for 1932 says, "Your Association is en tirely free from debt. The Farmers Union State Exchange account is paid in full. The report shows that after paying interest on capital stock, setting up a reserve- for losses and reserves for depreciation on equipment, your Asso ciation has a balance of $2754.69 avail able for patronage dividends on 1932 business. This will enable you to pay a patronage dividend of \2V-% for the year." The 1931 patronage dividend was $1049.06, making a total of $3803.75 paid or credited on shares. This sum is almost twice the total cash put in by the shareholders, $1940. Patronage dividends are set up for shareholders and non-shareholders alike. When the accumulated dividend of a non-shareholder equals the value of a share, a share is issued if the pa tron is eligible. Shareholders of record totaled 127 at the close of 1932. Of this number 57 became shareholders through the 1931 patronage dividend and many more will be added for 1932. The Association now owns a half block of ground which cost them $500, two bulk tanks with full equipment, two truck tanks, inventory fully paid for and no debts after nineteen months' operation. Their nresent assets, fully depreciated, total $7052.81. The State Exchange helped, of course. We have helped many other associations under similar circum stances. That's one of the many ad vantages in having a strong central Concluded on page 55 50 COOPERATION News and Comment They Seem to Favor Self-Help Through Cooperation \Vho said capitalist papers would not print cooperative news? On the front page of no less conservative a paper than the Chicago Journal of Com merce we find a highly complimentary article on the Farmers Union of Oma ha. "During all this talk about farms and farmers going to pot," says the writer, T. R. Porter, "a dirt farmers' cooperative organization out here in Nebraska has gone right along making money for its farmer-stockholders and farmer-customers and doing business on such a tremendous scale as to stand second only to the Union Pacific Rail road among all Nebraska business con cerns in volume of business." Then after reciting facts and figures he ends with: "One lesson the Nebraska farmers have learned through this cooperative establishment is this: If the farmer is going to get out of his present predica ment, he will do it by his own efforts. He has learned that laws to fix prices may avail him as temporary expedients, but that permanent prosperity for the farmer will comfe through the intelli gence of the farmer himself and through his own work and efforts." Farmers' 'Wholesale Increases Turnover The Farmers Union Central Ex change of St. Paul reports total sales in 1932 of $1,678,345.64. The largest items are gasoline and kerosene, oils and greases, twine, and feeds: 817 more cars of gasoline and kerosene were handled in 1932 than in 1931. The in^ crease in lube oil sales was 258,991 gallons. Net income in 1932 was $10Q,j 504. Of this $76,490.17 was accounted for by 25 branch stations (19 in Wis consin and 6 in No. Dakota) which are run by the Exchange. In addition to distribution through these branches, the Exchange acts as a wholesale for nearly 100 independent oil associa tions. It began operations in 1928. Among the resolutions passed at the annual meeting was one calling on the states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, No. Dakota and Montana to teach coop eration in the public school systems and State Colleges of Agriculture. It is al ready taught to some extent in the pub lic schools of So. Dakota due to the efforts of the Farmers Union in that state. Another resolution put this farmers' organization on record as in favor of labor unionism and instructed the man agement "to purchase Union-made products whenever advisable." • Running a Meat Market Good display, wide variety of prod ucts, and reputation for fresh, pal atable meats, were the three important factors common to every successful meat market of the 356 studied in a recent survey. Among the 356 mer chants there were some whose volume and profits had steadily increased in spite of unfavorable conditions and in creased competition. The important factors common to these successful stores are outlined as follows: (1) Every successful store had an excellent display of its prod ucts, (2) carried a wide variety of meat products, and (3) spared no ef fort to maintain a reputation for fresh, palatable meats. The survey presents information on means of reducing costs. Gross margin in the average meat establishment stu died in this survey was approximately 23.6% of net sales. The expenses of a typical meat market, averaging 20.9% of sales, are reported to be divided as follows: Salaries and wages 62%, delivery 12.8%; rent 8.5%; refrigera tion 5.3%; wrapping and laundry 3.5%; depreciation and bad debts 2.1%; light and power 1.5%; and tax es, insurance, interest and miscellane ous expense 4.3%. This is, of course, COOPERATION 51 exclusive of cost of merchandise. This typical establishment made a net profit of 2.5%. • Cooperative House Cuts Costs, But Not Wages Who said that cooperative business cannot compete with profit business in efficiency? The Amalgamated Cooper ative Houses in The Bronx, Ne\v York, in the last year have cut oper ating costs by 35%, according to Man ager A. E. Kazan, without cutting wages: 85% of the tenants are wage- earners. • Another Cooperative Movie A movie film showing what coopera tion has accomplished in Sweden has been received by the Educational Com mittee of the Franklin Cooperative Creamery Association, Minneapolis, Titles in English are being written and the film will soon be ready for circula tion. The first part of the film presents some of the beautiful scenery of Swe den in colors. Then the picture takes you on a trip through the Swedish co operative stores, bakeries, butcher shops, coffee, roasteries, the Whole sale, and cooperative factories such as the up-to-date Tre Kroner mill at Stockholm and Tre Lejon mill at Gothenburg, the margarine factory, rubber tire, boot and shoe factories, and the latest to be erected, the Luma electric lamp factory, operated jointly by the cooperators of Sweden, Nor way, Finland and Denmark. The all- year cooperative school at Saltsjoba- den is also visited. The film presents a striking .picture of what is possible through Cooperation. If your society would like to borrow this film, write the Cooperative League or the Franklin direct. The cost, if any, we are advised will be nominal and can easily be met by a small admission charge. • Successful Year at Maynard The financial report of the United Cooperative Society of Maynard shows another society that is holding 4 the fort and carrying on the work started by our Rochdale forebears. Total sales for 1932 are $245,256.69, which is approximately $7000 less than during 1931. However, since Irving Fisher's Statistical Bureau shows that current prices in 1932 were 13.7% lower than in 1931, the actual volume of business increased 10%. Net business gain for the year was $9,023.96 which will be distributed in the following manner: $7,357.57 will be rebated to customers of the society at the rate of 3% on purchases. The sum of $500 will be utilized for the re demption of common stock. $500 will be devoted to charitable purposes for needy children in our schools, as a milk fund, and also to members of our society who, due to physical and so cial reasons are unable to provide the necessities of life for themselves. To show that this society is interested in developing the cooperative movement, $500 was apportioned for educational purposes. With an increased interest in the cooperative movement in this locality we can safely conjecture continued success for the United Cooperative So ciety of Meynard. Chas. Manty • Convention Dates The seventh annual congress of the Central States Cooperative League will be held in Waukegan and North Chi cago, 111., April 23-24 at the invitation- of the Cooperative Trading Company of Waukegan and the Waukegan-No. Chicago Cooperative Association. Upon the invitation of the Workers Cooperative Union of Lawrence, Mass., the 1933 convention of the Eastern States Cooperative League will be held in Lawrence, Mass., some time in May. • International Trade The export department of the Eng lish C. W. S. has sent 50 tons of grass and vegetable seed to Lietukis, the co operative wholesale society of Lithua nia. 52 COOPERATION How to Spread Cooperation—Methods Any Society Can Follow /CONSUMERS' COOPERATION ^-^ is for all. It excludes no one; in fact it tries to include everyone, for everyone is a consumer, and can bene fit himself and everyone else by co operating as a consumer. The larger the society, the greater the buying power, and so the greater the advantage to all present members of the society, and to all who may be come members. Consequently, our co operative societies should progress as rapidly as possible toward the ideal of having as members all the con sumers of the community. The aim of our propaganda then is: Every Consumer a Cooperator. In America this all-inclusive char acter of Cooperative societies has not been clearly evident. In many commu nities the public has gained the impres sion that the cooperative society is restricted to the members of one na tionality, or of one political belief. This totally wrong impression has without doubt impeded the progress of co operation in our country to an enor mous extent. We must eradicate this impression; we must make people see: that cooperation is universal. This should be the first concern of all of ux as propagandists. First, what are the available me diums of propaganda? Newspapers How to get publicity in local news" papers. First, is such publicity worth while? Yes, because the local paper, usually, more than any other medium is read by all the community. Publicity therein keeps the cooperative con- stantly before the community. It be comes apparent that this is not simply "another store" but is a social institu tion, somewhat like the Grange, the church and the school. This is im portant, because it shows that the co operative does not have the commer cial object of other stores, that is, of making profits. Appoint one of your number as Press Correspondent. It should be his (or her) duty to provide all local papers, and papers in nearby cities which cir culate within your town, with write- ups. All meetings, elections and speeches, as well as athletic contests, picnics and other social events should be covered. Financial reports of the society may contain news facts. Sometimes if news is lacking it can be definitely "planned." For example, if a coming meeting or picnic does not promise any "good copy," get a prom inent citizen of the town, such as a minister, lawyer, school superintend ent, to speak. Make him your head- liner. If he will speak on cooperation, so much the better, but if not, add to your story something about the aims of cooperation, relating it if possible to his talk. Add also the news of your so ciety, Youth Club, etc. Alone it might not get into your paper, but dished up with the headliner, it may. This might be called the Big Name Method. On another occasion you may plan a news story by getting your speaker to make a certain statement which will be striking enough to give you ci "lead." For example: "The consumers' cooperatives of Great Britain have in creased, rather than laid off, employ ees during the depression," was the statement of John Jones, president of the Bingville Cooperative Youth Club, who spoke at the combined meeting of the Youth Club and Women's Guild, last night in Cooperative Hall. "Per haps the cooperative movement will yet show the world how to banish un- employment," was Mr. Jones' opinion, etc., etc. This fact alone, or John Jones alone, might not "make" the Bingville Bugle, but together they may. The fact in striking, and the event of Jones' say-- COOPERATION 53 ing it in public meeting, gives the editor an excuse for publishing it. Often an editor will not use a complete feature story, but if the same material can be put in the mouth of a speaker, he will use it as a report of the speech. In contrast to the Big Name Method, this may be called the Big Noise Method, Put them together and you may be pretty sure of making the front page. Further it is the function of the PresH Correspondent to promote good rela tions with the press. Make friends with the editor. Don't assume that he is "agin" the co-op. Some editors still have the interests of their readers at heart, and if you can show him that the co-op membership constitutes a goodly number of his readers, he may be in clined to give them news that they want to read, that is, news about their own organization. Also, he needs copy. There is not much "hot" copy in the average town. The local newspaper editor is often tempted to use the copy that is at hand. Therefore, make it your business to see that co-op copy is at hand. Have it neatly typewritten, double-spaced. Put the most newsy fact in the first paragraph. Mention all the names of local people you can. Make it brief and snappy. Study As sociated Press stories for style. Know when the paper "closes" and have your copy in on time. Furnish pictures when possible, as of speakers, picnics, parades, etc.; the editor likes 'em and so does the public. Some will say that the newspapers, being controlled by capitalist adver tisers, will print no favorable publicity about the co-op. Let's not be too sure until we have tried thoroughly. Nor man Thomas certainly is not a capital ist, but look at the amount of news paper space he got during the last presidential campaign! When you are giving a dance or program, a small ad in the paper may be money well spent. It shows the pub lic that you really want them to come, and it doesn't hurt your relations with the editor. This brings us to the subject of paid advertising, which we will take up in a future article. The "Spirit of Cooperation' FIRST PRIZE Cooperation is Strong in a "One- Horse Town" Esther Lilley, Herman, Mich. WHEN cooperation is established in small communities, it is based on such firm, solid foundations that the most damaging efforts to tear it down prove failures. In spite of blows and set-backs, cooperation stands in the center as big and strong as you please, with great possibilities for advance ment in the future. Cooperation in one such "one-horse town" bought out .a store and hall. The community's entire interest was given to the success of those establish ments. There being no other suitable person for manager, a former private store owner was appointed. The store Prize Winners Announced We print herewith the first of the prize essays in our contest for the best ex ample of the "spirit of cooperation." The first prize, won by Esther Lilley, was $10 in cash; the second, won by Edmund Seidel, was $5. These were awarded by the Edu cational Committee of the Eastern States Cooperative League. Four third prizes, each consisting of a year's subscription to COOPERATION, were awarded to Violet F. Holloway of Long Island City, N. Y., Mrs. Gust C. Albrecht of New Ulm, Minn., Mrs. Alex ander M. Cordiner of Minneapolis and Arthur Oman of Two Harbors, Minn. gained headway and cooperative edu cational work was conducted. Later the manager was elected to a county office, which necessitated a new man ager. Cooperation grew stronger every day, but evidently not sufficiently be cause a split came among its members. 54 COOPERATION dividing the consumers into two groups as a result of disagreement in the ideas of bettering the condition of the working class. The true cooper- ators could not be affected in such a manner as to discard their own organi zation, but those who disregarded co operation put up a desperate fight against it. A storm such as this would naturally do great harm in the already small group of consumers. The sales were sadly affected but cooperators put up a courageous fight also, remain ing resolute, not wincing and feeling beaten. This alone did not cause the downward grade, but the world-wide depression set in, which cut the con sumer's buying power to a very low level. Time flew past and rumors were heard of the former manager being in financial trouble, his term of office having expired. The present manager was retiring. Who was again given management of the store but the for mer manager! It later proved to be the cooperators' worst error, for during his absence, in serving capitalism his idea of privately owning a store had grown, making him no longer a suitable person for cooperative work. The store had begun its downward grade, mys terious robberies occurred, and when finally the directors found out about the entangled affairs, the most mys terious event occurred. The building including the store and hall was found in ashes. This was a bad blow but co- operators didn't wince, they made a temporary store of the warehouse which was later made into a perma nent one. They go on in spite of other set-backs, of which one is the privately owned store of the former manager, about three hundred feet away. An other hard blow later was a loss of money in a bank failure. Such is cooperation! So deep-rooted and firm, and a "one-horse town" can prove it in its own simple way. What Does Cooperation Mean to Women? Won't some of our women cooper ators answer that question? Meanwhile the Editor makes bold to offer a few remarks on the subject. IT seems that women, especially housewives, should be the most natural cooperators, for their work al ready is "production for use, not for profit." Whether cooking a meal, darn ing a basket of socks, making beds, or doing the washing—we defy the clev erest housewife to make a profit at these things. Think of the millions of hours of labor performed daily by women in the home, and every hour of it based on the use-philosophy. We say that there are some 3000 consumers' cooperative societies in our country. Rubbish! there are at least 29,980,146 (total number of families in U. S.)—• and each one has a woman manager. Men may boss the factories and production plants, but in the "con sumption plants," the women are in charge. Approachin^ your economics from the consumer end, as we cooper ators do, you encounter woman first, governing the quality of what comes onto the table, making the house clean and decent to live in, in other words working in the service of Husband Consumer and all the Little Con sumers. Who shall say that woman does not deserve considerable credit for having organized her phase of pro duction so thoroughly on the service basis? Alas, that's more than man has done. But women do more than cook and sew. They select and buy the materials for cooking and sewing. Over 80% of total retail purchasing is done by wom en. Here is a most important act of production, and it too is "production for use, not for profit." For the house wife buys her groceries with the aim of getting good groceries, the kind her family of consumers likes, and at a fair price. Well, isn't that about what the manager of a cooperative society does? We said something about every house- COOPERATION 55 wife being manager of a cooperative. "Good groceries, at a fair price." That's what the housewife goes out to buy, and that's what the cooperative store manager goes out to buy, but, dear me, that is not what the private retailer goes out to buy. He goes out to buy one thing: Groceries that he can resell at a profit. Does it matter to him that his ketchup contains benzoate of soda? Not particularly. Does it matter that his coffee is half chicory? No, not so long as he can keep his customers thinking they are getting a bargain. To insure his profit, he is not above short- weighting a customer upon occasion- Housewives are trusting and they rare ly reweigh their purchases; they just can't be bothered. A manager of a certain cooperative store tells us that he ran out of turkeys one day and went across the street to procure one from a chain store. When he came to weigh it for his own cus tomer he found that he had been short- weighted over half a pound. In another case a chain retailer ad vertised phenomenally low prices on a certain brand of packaged cheese in a round flat box. These boxes were dis played in the window, face up, in such a way that the shopper did not observe how shallow the box was. In reality it was a half inch shallower than the usual box of this brand of cheese. Those Alluring Ads Why does the grocer down on the corner carry X brand of coffee? Is it because he has tested several different brands and found X brand to be the best? No, it is more likely because the X salesman came in one day and showed him a great portfolio of ad vertising for X coffee which was about to appear in The Saturday Evening Post, and said, "See what a lot of money we are spending to advertise X coffee. You want to be ready when the demand comes. How about a dozen cases, one case free in a dozen to in troduce the line?" Down goes the gro cer's name on the dotted line. The cof fee comes but the demand doesn't. He has to get rid of it somehow, and so the next woman who asks for coffee with out stating what kind gets X coffee. It isn't worth the money, she pays; it can't be, too much of her money goes to pay not for coffee but for adver tising. Most advertising is done to impress, not the housewife, whom the average advertiser knows has "got on" to his pretty pictures, but the retailer. Cases have been known where fine portfolios of color spreads have been made up and carried around by salesmen as bait to get orders and then never run in any magazine at all! These are a few of the nets thrown out to catch the purchaser's dollar. How long will the housewives of America continue to depend upon re tailers who care not a whit for good groceries but only for profits? For th,e sake of her children wouldn't any housewife and mother feel safer to trade with a cooperative store in which she or her husband owns a share and which she knows is run in the con sumer's interest? And wouldn't she feel even safer to know that her gro ceries were processed and packed in cooperative factories also run in the consumer's interest? For the motive in these cooperative institutions is pre cisely the same motive which she em ploys in the running of her home. How They Did It In Ainsworth Concluded from page 49 wholesale. What these Brown County farmers have done any community anywhere may do if they have a fair understanding of cooperative principles and the courage to follow through. Why should farmers (and the same reasoning applies to town and city folks) continue to pay tribute to some one to run their business for them when they can, if they will, run their own business cooperatively and save the earnings for themselves. One by one the outposts of capital ism are taken over by cooperators. We build as slowly or as rapidly as cooper ative knowledge spreads among our people. When cooperative understand ing becomes universal our fight against capitalism will have been won. 56 C O O P E R A TI O N Cooperative Youth Chicago Club Gets New Members Our Junior Cooperator's Club held its annual meeting January 25th. The meeting lasted till late at night because of the elections, which probably saw more members elected to office and to the various committees than ever before. The most noteworthy thing about the meeting besides the results of the voting was that 12 new members were brought into our club and that many of these are now on some commit tee. Our officers are as follows: Joseph Schubert, President; John May, Vice-President; Sylvia Osterlik, Recording Secretary; Georgiana Hlou- sek, Corresponding Secertary; Anton Drabik, Financial Secretarv; Mildred Kocian, Treasurer. We feel sure that these officers, many of whom have been re-elected, will fullfill the tasks that each of their offices present in a conscientious manner. We wish to bid them good luck and promise them our cooperation. Our Senior Society held its annual meeting January 29th, where quite a bit of time was devoted to discussing the relief the county furnishes the unemployed. Our Children's Club finally made a decisive step toward organizing itself definitely. Feb ruary 12th they held elections of officers. We found a place to borrow films, free of charge, so we will do our bit to make their meetings interesting. The Study Class decided to change its policy of study. Instead of using the League's course as it had in the past, it will now operate as an open discussion circle. Current events in the "Builder" and "Cooperation" and any other timely articles of interest will be discussed. We should like to hear from other coopera tive youth clubs or cooperative groups who would care to exchange experiences with us. Address Frank Pesek, 3028 So. Avers Ave., Chicago, 111. • Success in Cleveland The cooperative supper and dance, Novem ber 24th, sponsored by the Cooperative Youth League and helped by the Women's Guild, was surely a surprise to us. This was held at the Slovenian Hall on Waterloo Road and 35 cents admission was charged. Because of the depression, we were rather pessimistic about sponsoring an affair like this, but we surely would have made a big mistake if we had cancelled it. The dance floor and chairs for supper were filled with more guests than could be accommodated. The supper tables were served about five times and we had ex pected only two servings. We had a little over 400 guests and a profit of $112.50 resulted. We also had three prize waltzes. The prizes as follows were donated by one of the flour salesmen of our store: 1st prize, 100 Ib. Aristos flour; 2nd, 75 Ib. Aristos flour; 3rd, 50 Ib. Aris tos flour. The Cooperative Youth League was willing to divide the profits with the Women's Guild for helping us. But, through their wonderful cooperation, they gave the profits all to us, so we could build up our empty treasury. The Board of Directors has also helped us by do nating $25 when we organized our Youth League. This we needed to start our corres pondence course from New York and to pur chase books. The Ladies' Guild is going to sponsor a co operative banquet similar to our cooperative supper and dance, charging 40 cents admission. They will hold this Saturday night, February 25th, in the Slovenian Home near our new store opened recently in Euclid Village. The Cooperative Youth League will help them and we hope they obtain the same results we did. We haven't planned or held any public enter tainments since our dance which I have just reported, but we have held a few social enter tainments after our educational meetings. These socials were successful in increasing the at tendance at our meetings, and also brought a few new members. Mamie A. Bokal • Station CYL Hello everybody! This is Hubbardston broad casting. Everything is going along smoothly here. Our dramatic group seems to be the most active part of our club during these cold win ter months. We came in third in the Inter- Club Play Contest at Fitchburg. The 16th of this month we will show a one-act play for the Saima Society in Fitchburg, and in April we will be one of the three clubs to give a one-act play in Finnish in either Fitchburg or Maynard, the proceeds to go to the Massachusetts Youth League. Our library has been enriched by a dozen books. Six of them are a present from the Eastern States Cooperative League office, for which we are duly grateful. The other six are from club members. W^e are planning on publishing a monthly club newspaper, but you will hear more about it after our plans have materialized. Club members, attention! Remember our meetings on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. "In Cooperation there is satisfaction." Oakie • Maynard's Activities (From a renort of the Youna Cooperators' Club to the annual meeting of the United Co operative Society of Maynard.) Our membership of 75 constitutes a body where one finds the children of parents who COOPERATION 57 speak various languages. This feature is im portant. It spreads the knowledge of our co operative activities not only to the homes of the founders of the cooperative society, but to all those who have thus far felt the restriction of a particular language. We have participated in spreading Coopera tive education. At present, a forum meets once weekly and it shows promise of becoming an institution in our club. That the scholarships offered by the Society to the Eastern States Cooperative Summer Institute are of enormous value is demonstrated by those young coopera- tors who have attended these courses. Credit for the Maynard interest in the organization of the Massachusetts Cooperative Youth League of which we are a member must be given to the students who attended the institute. Two of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Co operative Youth League are from Maynard. The Club has two representatives on the New England Educational Committee of the Eastern States Cooperative League. Two of our members are on the Board of Directors of our local society. When we elected them we furthered the interests of the Club to the ad vantage of the society as their creditable work will testify. Recently we have cooperated fully with the Women's Cooperative Guild and hope that the future connections will be stronger as we develop. As a group of young people we have ex tended ourselves into social activities, namely: Dramatics, dancing, card parties and socials. As a recreational center our club rooms have been a haven to those of our members who have been unemployed. In closing we present a list of the more im portant activities we have participated in: 1. The study classes at Brookwood Labor College,—our institute. 2. Our First Anniversary Program. 3. The Organization of the Massachusetts Cooperative Youth League. 4. The Cooperative Club Forum. 5. The Cooperative Summer Festivals. 6. The Cooperative Fall Festivals. 7. Our representation in: a. Board of Director's of local society, b. Eastern States League Educational Com mittee. c. Executive Board of Massachusetts Co operative Youth League, d. The local Society. 8. The help we offered Quincy in its Youth Club organization. 9. Social Activities and the League Play Com petition. Young Cooperators' Club • Doings in Fitchburg The Inter-Club Play Contest held here Feb ruary 2nd was a great success. The three clubs, Maynard, Hubbardston and Fitchburg com peted for the best acted one-act play. Fitch burg won the contest with "The Valiant," directed by Emil J. Waaramaa, president of the Fitchburg Youth Club. Maynard came second with "Ambition," and Hubbardston third with "Dawd Gast Ya Both." The plays were well presented to an appreciative audience. The United Cooperative Society of Fitch burg is sponsoring courses in cooperation, to be held in English, starting Feb. 20th and con-> tinuing every Thursday thereafter for a period of two months. A large attendance is expected. Mr. Kenneth E. Pohlman has charge of the classes. (Mr. Pohlman has lectured to us at the club on numerous occasions, always to a large assembly.) The alumni of E. S. Cooperative Institute are planning a reunion to be held in Fitchburg, March 4th and 5th. There will be a conference all day Saturday, the 4th, and in the evening there will be an Entertainment and Dance to be held at the Saima Hall. (Tickets are already being sold by the alumni of Massachusetts.) All day Sunday will be devoted to out-of-door ac tivities. We have a whole camp colony beside a lake at our disposal (doesn't that sound in viting?) Invitations have been sent out to all the students that have attended Brookwood for the past four years, and a good time is assured. It has been suggested that the New Yorkers come in a body by bus leaving New York Fri day night, and arriving here early Saturday morning. The New Yorkers intending to come are urged to get in touch with Julia Perkins, 167 West 12th St., or with Jack Coleman, 433 West 21st St., N. Y. C., immediately so that we can make accomodations for you individually. The Massachusetts students are to write to T. Wm. Reivo, 421 Mechanic St., or Miss A. Liikanen, 375 Elm Street, Fitchburg, immediately. The week-end will be spent in renewing and making new acquaintances, and discussing with them their experiences in cooperative fields after leaving Brookwood, and enjoyin" their pleasant company. It will be interesting to note which of the classes has the most nerfect attendance, leaving Brookwood and enjoying their pleasant for the future, and the committees are working hard to make them a success. A. M. L. The Story of the Community Hospital of Elk City, Oklahoma Concluded from page 48 guarantee the doctors' salaries. We hope however to be able to do this by reducing the annual premium to $15. Also it is our hope soon to make this a Farmers' Union hospital, for the ma jority of our members belong to the Farmers' Union, and there are some 5000 members of the Farmers' Union within twenty square miles around the hospital. This change to a Farmers' Union hospital will not alter the status of the cooperative hospital or the in terest of its stockholders. Also, we are thinking of other changes which will relieve us of the payment of t-axes. 58 COOPERATION Readers' Forum News from Waukegan The Men's Cooperative Guild of Waukegan, 111., had a discussion recently led by J. N. Hau- tala, on the subject, "The Cooperators and the Cooperative Brands." The general trend of the discussion was that all the cooperators, when buying merchandise from their respective co operative stores should concentrate in demand ing the cooperative brands of goods as much as possible. V/e do not believe in building the local cooperatives only, but will endeavor to build the movement on a national and interna tional scale. It was shown that when buying the privately marketed goods it is the same as sup plying the ammunition to our enemies, and if it is a crime for a cooperator to buy from private ly owned stores, it is just as well a crime for him to buy privately labeled merchandise. When we buy goods distributed by the co operative wholesales we are also buying goods to the full value of our pennies and at the same time are helping in building our own whole sales. The following were elected officers of the Guild for the next six months' period: president, Waldemar Petrell; vice-president, Toivo Jal- kanen; secretary, Leo Koski; treasurer, Elmer Adams: correspondents for the cooperative press, Anthony Willems and Leo Saari. The entertainment committee of five, program com mittee of three, and also auditing committee of three were also elected. The meetings of the Men's Guild are held at the Cooperative Club House every second and fourth Thursday of each month, at 7.30 P. M. Anyone interested is welcome to attend. Waukegan Cooperative Credit Union held its annual meeting on January 23rd. Last year was the second of actual operation for this or ganization. During the year the assets of the credit union have increased over 150%, being close to $8,000 at the end of the year. The membership has also increased from 82 to 129 during the year. We have now 50 borrowers, which is 26 more than a year ago. We made 61 loans during the year, totalling $11,905. Let's have another year of just as successful opera tions, and learn the habit to keep away from the loan sharks. If the times were not just as bad as they are, there would be no question of steady progress. The local Cooperative Unemployed League is growing strong. The total membership has reached the mark of 800 families. Many new unemployed leagues have been organized in the neighboring towns after the Waukegan ex ample recently and still new ones are in the bud. The activities of this league have been ar ranged on the self-help basis. Entertainments are held and funds collected to help the needy. Two carloads of potatoes, for instance, have been bought so far with the proceeds of the en tertainments and distributed amono the unem ployed. Numerous farmers in the vicinity have donated foodstuffs for the same purpose. The League holds its meetings every Sunday after noon at the Cooperative Club House, 523 Helmholtz Avenue. "Uncle." • Wanted: More Cement in the Cooperative Movement When the consumers' movement started with the Pioneers in Toad Lane, Rochdale, the only cement to keep the members together was the return of the surplus in form of purchase divi dends. The members could convert the divi dends into shares of stock on which the society paid interest of 5% as an incentive to invest. This is the foundation of consumerization: the cement to bind the members, and a plan to get capital. They did not limit the shares, in order that there should be capital to spread. It laid a foun dation for a world movement. The German and the Belgian movement fol lowed the English with a better organization, to my mind, adding social insurance, sick and child-birth benefit, and an orphan fund. The members are willing to pay a little more on their purchasing in order that they are secure on a rainy day. In Belgium the cooperators paid a cent more on a loaf of bread for the purpose. It is a fraternity, not just a business with share holders. I dislike to call members of a cooperative so ciety, shareholders. It sounds like a Coopera tion of Capitalists to make money for share holders. My idea is to combine the consumers' movement with fraternalism. It should be a humanitarian movement. It should palpitate with humanism. Everybody should see and feel the difference from ordinary corporation busi nesses. Hyman I. Cohn, Bronx, New York. • Apples, Competition, etc. By way of diversion, let me inform you that you have cast obloquy upon this fair North west. You mention the "tasteless apples" from the Northwest. I was born and raised to the mature age of COOPERATION 59 17 in southern Ohio where they raised "apples that were apples," so I thought. I have spent 35 years in Washington and have eaten apples that came from California, Oregon, eastern and western \Vashington, the latter right from the trees and those bought in the open market. Having thus qualified as a taster of apples I rise to pronounce your difficulty to be either apples from California or from some part of Oregon, or unwise choice. Bro. Herron's article on competition indicates that he likes competition, or feels that he needs it, but as for me I want none of it. Perhaps much of our attitude will depend upon our con ception of competition but it seems to me that competition is a driver while what we need is a puller. One should see a goal ahead and not a fear behind. There is more enduring and ef fective and wise strength in the former than in the latter. It may be that for a time we must encourage competition between individuals or groups of individuals in order to secure their efforts, since we have all been educated to the belief in that school, but I cannot heln but be lieve that a bucket of oats is a greater incen tive to a mule than a kick in the rear; and fur thermore, I cannot believe that rewards on a competitive basis are just or productive of the best results; at least we should look forward to educating people out of that idea if such an idea does exist. U. G. Moore, Seattle, Wash. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York, N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ of the Canadian Coopera tive Movement, owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum /\n interesting ana lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, \Vls. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wis. NEW ERA LIFE ASSOCIATION Affiliated with The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. All standard forms of Legal Reserve life insurance contracts written. We can insure you by mail without medical examination. Cooperators. patronize your own insurance society. For full particulars clip this coupon. New Era Life Association Grand Rapids, Midi. Without obligation send me information concerning your different certificates: Name Address .___ —————— .Age: —— COOPERATION STUDY CONSUMERS7 COOPERATION The books and pamphlets listed below are available through The Cooperative League. Read them and pass them on to your friends HISTORICAL Per Copy Per 100 38. Consumers Cooperation In the United States (illus.), 1930.... .10 8.00 M. Story of Toad Lane (By Stuart Chase) ...................... .06 4.00 TECHNICAL 4. How to Start and Bun a Roehda)e Cooperative Society .......... .25 15.06 6. Model By-Laws for a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... -05 2.50 Z9. Credit Union Primer (By Ham and Robinson) .............. .6© 61. Model Lease for Cooperative Apartment House ............ .1© MISCELLANEOUS 16. Model Co-op State Law ........ .19 30. "When the Whistle Blew" (Story, by Bruce Calvert) .......... 08 67. How a Consumers' Cooperative Differs from Ordinary Business .02 .86 62 Buttons (League emblem), % inch diameter ............... -06 2.00 63, Sign or Transparency of League Emblem. Green and gold, 8 in. diameter ..............>..... -25 16.0fl 67. Stock certificates, engraved, with League Emblem. Bound in books of 100, 200, or 250 68. To Mothers ................... .02 1.00 70 Farmers' Cooperation, A Way Out: An address by L. S. Herron.. .05 4.00 72. "Little Lessons in Cooperation" 30 74. The Burden of Credit ......... .02 1.00 76. What is the Cooperative Store.. .03 2.00 76. What is Consumers' Cooperation .05 4.00 77. The Most Necessary Thing in Life ......................... -02 1.00 78 Are You Sure You Are Getting Your Money's Worth ........ .02 1.00 79. There Are Two Sides to Every Counter ...................... -02 1.00 80. Consumers', Credit, and Produc tive Societies, BML 531 of the Bureau of Labour Statistics.. .25 81. Cooperative Y'outh Songs ...... .25 82. What Cooperation means to a de pression-sick America ........ .03 2.00 "What Consumers' Cooperation Means to a Depression-Sick America" Try it on your depression-sick friend A new leaflet, mostly pictures 3 cents per copy, $2 per 100 We also recommend "What Is Consumers' Cooperation?" by Dr. J. P. Warbasse. A clear, concise definition. 5 cents per copy, $4 per 100 Order from The Cooperative League MONTHLY PUBLICATIONS Cooperation — (In bundle lots, $7.50 per hundred^. Subscription, per year (foreign, $1.25).... $1.09 REVIEW OP INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (Pub. by the I. C. A.) ........ Per Year, $1.59 BOOKS The following books are recommended as con taining the best disci-.ssion of the model i Coopera tive Movement. They may be ordered through The League, postpaid as follows: Bergengren. R. F. : Credit T'nion. A Cooper ative Banking Book 1931 .............. Blanc. Elsie T : Cooperative Movement in Russia, 1924 _________________ Brightwill, L R. : Animal "Co-op" Book — For Children ........................ Raivaaja Print—Fitchburg, Mass. Chase and Schlink: Your Money's Worth, A Book for Consumers ................ Flanagan, J. A. : Wholesale Cooperation in Scotland, 1920 ........................ Gide, C. : Consumers* Cooperative Societies, American edition and nous, 1622, Cloth Hall, Prof. Fred: Handbook for Members of Cooperative Committees ............. Holyoake: Rochdale Pioneers 1S92 ....... Hough, E. M-: Cooperation in India 1832.... Indian Cooperation, Children's story ...... Jessness, O. B. : Cooperative Marketing of Farm Products ....................... Kress. A J. :Car>italism, Cooperation, Com munism, 1932 ......................... Life As We Have Known It Life stories of English guildswomen, telling what the Guild has done for them.. Madams, J. P.: The Story Retold ......... Nicholson, Isa: Our Story ................ Odhe. Thorsten: Finland, A Nation of Co- operators ............................. Oerne, Andres: Cooperative Ideals and Problems ............................. Owen, Robert: Autobiography ........... Polsson, E.: The Cooperative Republic.... Potter. B. : Cooperative Movement in Great Britain 1891.. ...................... ... Redfern, Percy: The Story of the C. W. S. Redfern, Percy: The Consumers' Place In Society, 1920 .......................... Smith-Gordon & Staples: Rural Recon struction in Ireland, 1918 ............ Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation in Denmark ............................. Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation in Many Lands, 1920 .................... Stolinsky, A. : The Cooperative Movement. (In Yiddish) ......................... Warbasse, J. P. : Cooperative Democracy, (1927) ............................... Warbasse, J. P.: What Is Cooperation, 1927 Warne, C. E. : Consumers' Cooperative Move ment in Illinois 1926. ................. Webb, B. and S. : The Consumers' Coopera tive Movement, 1921 .................. Webb, Catherine: Industrial Cooperation, 1917 .................................. Woolf, Leonard: Cooperation and the Fu ture of Industry ..................... Cooperation, Bound Volumes, 1915 to 1931 inclusive, each ....................... The People's Year Book, 1S32, English, paper .75, cloth Year BOOK of The Cooperative League, 1932 ?1.5B 1.50 .IB 1.10 2.10 l.bO 250 1.10 3.75 .16 3.10 2.00 1.25 .8.1 .26 1.50 1.86 .75 1.85 1.10 1.26 1.00 1.00 1.10 1.60 1.00 1.50 .76 3.50 6.00 l.«0 1.66 1.25 1.35 .76 COOPERATION Organ of the Con- Movement in the sumers -a United S| ates LIBRARY 4MI Wait i *» B APR 111933 Vol. XIX, No. 4 APRIL, 1933 10 cents IN THIS ISSUE The Public Might Take Care of 7ts Health Dr. }. P. Warbasse The Cooperative Movement in Palestine N. Barou ' Cooperative Housing Emanuel Stein 62 COOPERATION COO PERAT1O N An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St.. New York City.___________________ OSCAR COOLEY, Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner L. S. Herron Herman Liebman V. S. Alanne___________George Jacobson Entered as Second Class matter, December 19, 1917. at the Post Office at New York, N. T., un der the Act of March 3, 1879. Price $1.00 a year. Vol. XIX, No. 4 April 1933 Farmers as Radicals Of all classes the farmer should most naturally and easily turn to the practice of consumers' cooperation. First, because he is the only fellow who still produces, to any extent, for his own use. This is the basic principle of consumers' cooperation. To the extent that the farmer and his family are self- sustaining, t;o that extent they are a "consumers' ' cooperative society" in miniature. Thus what he and his family do and always have done as a matter of course, city consumers are doing when they establish their cooperatives. If they are to be in anywise blamed, then blame him for planting a hill of beans. Of course consumers' coopera tives take trade away from old-time business. So does the farmer planting beans for his own pot, or corn to fatten the hams that will hang in his own smokehouse. Think how the trade of Swift & Co. would be increased if the six million farmers in the United States ceased sticking pigs for their own use! Consumers' cooperative societies don't raise beans or hogs for their own use for the simple reason that they do not live on the land, where those things can be done. But they carry on other processes of production for their own use, such as retailing to themselves through their ;own store, baking for themselves in their own bakery, pas teurizing milk for themselves in their own dairy, or housing themselves in their own apartment house. A cooper ative store is a production plant, just as truly as is a farmer's smokehouse. "Production for use, not for profit" is such a commonplace" practice of the farmer that he probably never has thought what a radical thing he waa doing! • What a Difference! To find markets or outlets for his commodity the profit-seeking producer must do one or all of the following: 1. Hire salesmen or commission agents; 2. Produce blindly for unknown markets; 3. Undersell his competitors or buy them out; 4. Advertise his goods; 5. Look for foreign markets if ne cessary; 6. Sell on credit when overstocked and lose on collections; 7. Maintain his private profit, and pay dividends to his investors; 8. Reduce wages to lower cost or raise profits; 9. Lay off help when not producing; 10. Demand of his Government pro tection for his interests even by force, which means War. And all this is added to the ultimate price of the commodity which the con sumer must pay, unless he goes to War. Then, of course, he gets every-' thing free plus '$30.00 a month, with an insurance policy, and a white cross should he suddenly decide to consume a bullet or two. So much for Caoitalist production and distribution. Now let us see how Consumers' Co- operation by reversing the entire pro cess eliminates all the above mentioned evils. 1. Consumers organize into socie ties and create a known demand. (Eliminating evils No. 1, 4 and 5 from above list). 2. Finance their own distributing en terprise thru small share holdings. (Eliminating evil No. 7). 3. Set up a Wholesale when mem- Continued on page 66 COOPERATION 63 The Public Might Take Care of Its Health By James Peter Warbasse, M. D. THE consumers—the patients and prospective patients—have failed to take care of their health. This fail ure has been costly. It is attracting much attention. A Committee on the Cost of Medical Care has been in oper ation for some five years and has made a report. This committee was com posed of highly conservative doctors and laymen. The chairman was Ray Lyman Wilbur, M. D., Secretary of the Interior, in Mr. Hoover's cabinet. Everybody was surprised that the committee reported unfavorably upon rugged individualism in medicine. They found that it does not succeed. The doctors have trouble in making a living, and the patients have difficulty in getting medical care. There are 142,000 physicians in the United States. Their average net in come is $5,300. One third of all private practitioners have net incomes of less than $2,500. For every physician with a net income of more than $10,000 there are three with net incomes of less than $2,500 each. These figures are of 1928 and 1929. Now the doctors are seriously depressed. On the other hand the public is not getting medical service, although $3,500,000,000 is spent annually in the United States for that purpose. Surveys show that 50 per cent of people having incomes under $1,200 a year receive no medical care in illnesses needing medi cal attention. An average of 38 per cent of persons, having illnesses that cause incapacity, receive no medical attention. This is white people. A sur vey among the negroes of one county in Tennessee showed that among those who had syphilis, 86 per cent had re ceived no professional treatment what ever, and less than 3 per cent had been given the only known specific treatment that can cure the disease. People defer sending for the doctor. They are afraid of the unknown costs. The expansion of medical know ledge, especially in the fields of diag nosis and treatment, has gone beyond the capacity of any single physician. Once the old family doctor was mas ter of the whole gamut of medical learning. He is gone. Medicine is now for experts in its several departments. This means that the patient, with any thing but the most simple malady, must pass through many hands. The average patient can not afford to employ all of the service that medi cine can render. The average doctor can not afford to give the time and attention to each case necessary to bring to bear everything that medical science has to offer. The expansion of medical learning is creating a problem for both physician and patient. The problem of specialization may be solved by the union of doctors into groups for prevention, diagnosis and treatment. These are comparable to the guilds or trade unions. The problem of the inability to pay may be solved by the group insurance method. The patient when he is well must make his contribution to medical protection in order that when he is sick the cost shall not be so great. These two are most effectively com bined by the consumers' cooperative method. The organized doctors repre sent the trade union of employees. The patients are organized as consumers. The trouble in medicine today is due to the neglect of the consumer. This is now the cause of the collapse of our banking system and is preventing the recovery of business. Any social insti tution, to be on a sound foundation and to deliver service, must have its con trol in the hands that pay for and con sume the service. The consumer prin ciple in medicine is the practical prin ciple. To vest control anywhere else ultimately fails. The neglect of the consumer has brought the world close to chaos—and medicine with it. Where the consumers' cooperative 64 COOPERATION societies have added medical service to their functions, they have quite gen erally succeeded. Where groups of consumers have organized cooperative societies for the special purpose of sup plying medical care, they have proved efficient. This is testified to by the splendid medical services of the cooperative so cieties of Holland, France, Belgium, Germany and other countries. In these societies we see the members, united under Rochdale principles, maintaining hospitals, clinics and laboratories, with all of the scientific facilities for diag nosis and treatment. We see them em ploying physicians, chemists, nurses and technicians, with guaranteed sala ries representing more than the aver age incomes of their several crafts. We see them establishing convalescent homes, and sanatoriums—in Great Bri tain, using for these purposes the cas tles of the nobility and the ancient man or houses of the decaying bourgeoisie. In cities such as The Hague, we see a cooperative health society with 118,000 members, representing more than one fourth of the population. In these cooperative organizations, the members receive medical attention whenever it is needed. The service is paid for, whether the members are sick or well. The physicians have their as sured incomes, whether the people have treatment or none. And these members would rather pay for medical service and not need it than pay for it and get it. The consumers in the United States could make use of this principle, if they would. They could establish their own medical centers and employ physicians to keep them well. They could main tain hospitals and dispensaries and provide medical service for all of their members at all times. They could pay doctors adequate salaries. They could bring to all of their members the ad vantages of the advances of medicine which now only few enjoy. All of this is possible under the cooperative method. It remains to be seen to what degree the people have the intelligence, the initiative and the efficiency to pro tect themselves in this way and lead medicine out of the morass of profit business in which it is lost. Cooperative Housing By Emanuel Stein Mr. Stein is an instructor in New York University. He has recently written a book on "Housing in New York," TN December, 1931, there was held •*- at Washington President Hoover's Conference on Home Building and Home Ownership. To this conference, which was attended by students of the problem and by people actively en gaged in housing, there were presented many reports of committees which had been engaged for many months in in tensive study of special aspects of housing. One of these committees, that on Blighted Areas and Slums, made a detailed survey of the housing problem in cities and came to the conclusion that drastic remedial action ought to be taken. In his foreword to the report, Ray Lyman Wilbur said, "The housing conditions of the wage-earning popu lation of American cities and industrial villages, with surprisingly few excep tions, are characterized by ugliness, poor sanitation, overcrowding of build ings on the land or of people within the dwellings or bedrooms. The num ber of wage-earning families affected by such unwholesome, drab, and un inspiring conditions runs into the mil lions .... "The slums of our cities, and blighted areas, whether in cities, towns, or vil lages, are an economic and social lia bility and disgrace. No nation can af ford to permit such conditions of un wholesome daily living to be perpet uated for they are too closely linked not only with industrial inefficiency and COOPERATION 65 economic incompetence on the part of their victims, but also with colossal annual expenditures on the part of public and private agencies for poor relief and social service, for cure of the sick, reform of the delinquent, educa tion and reformation, which alleviate after the needless damage has been done." Secretary Wilbur went on to discuss the nature of the reform which he felt to be the most suitable, adding, as an afterthought, that if private en terprise did not come through, some form of government housing would have to be adopted. This same report, in describing the various model housing projects that have been started in different parts of the country, discusses the cooperative houses that have been built, in New York at various times during the past six or seven years. These houses have been of such outstanding appearance and have, almost without exception, operated so well as to have become shining examples of what cooperative effort combined with care and skill in management can do, given the oppor tunity. Large-scale housing offers an almost unparalleled opportunity for the prac tice of Rochdale principles as formu lated by the Equitable Pioneers. For here, as in few other instances, does there appear a common economic problem whose solution is of major im portance to most people and which at the same time contains within itself the essence of the cooperative common wealth. The cooperative grocery, bakery, restaurant, and creamery, as well as cooperative purchasing of laundry and electricity service, affect the cooperators only incidentally. Living in large cities, the interests of the cooperators are for the most part diverted to other things, the coopera tive movement appearing to them as something visionary, unreal, and with out great promise. It is in cooperative housing that there emerges a concrete instance of the possibilities inherent within cooperative effort. More than that, the mere fact that people are brought in close proximity to one an other, that they become well acquaint ed, and that they learn to solve com mon problems by common effort is one of the chief advantages of the coopera tive dwelling over other forms of co operation. Let us trace, then, a cooperative apartment house from the time the de sire for such a house first occurs to the participants. The chief problem, apart from the purely mechanical ones involved in the choice of a site and the drawing up of building plans, is that of finances. In the cooperative house, a corporation is formed and shares, generally in the denomination of $100, are sold to the cooperators. To take a specific example: suppose that the total cost of the structure is $1,500,000 and there are 1,000 rooms in the house. Assuming that it is possible to get a first mortgage for two-thirds of the total cost, the sum of $500,000 would have to be advanced by the cooper ators. This would mean $500 per room. Hence, a person desiring a three-room apartment would purchase 15 shares; the occupant of a four or a five-room apartment would have to purchase 20 or 25 shares respectively. One of the difficulties to be avoided is that of selling the apartment to the cooperator. Under no circumstances should the cooperator own his apart ment with the consequent right of sell ing or sub-letting at will. It is highly desirable for the tenant-cooperator to get a long lease on his apartment, but all resales should be in the hands of the corporation. This has the dual ad vantage of preventing the tenants from selling their apartments at a profit to the detriment of the other tenants, and second, of preventing undesirables from coming into the house. Further, as far as possible, no apartments should be rented, nor should people living outside of the house be permitted to own stock of the corporation. In short, every tenant should be a stockholder, and every stockholder a tenant. The management of the enterprise is, as in other cooperative ventures, chosen by the stockholders, each man having one vote regardless of the num- 66 COOPERATION her of shares he owns. Thus, the man occupying three rooms has the same voice in the affairs of the house as the man occupying five or six rooms. Sim ilarly, all committees are elected by the vote of the residents and should, in general, consist almost entirely of tenants. A monthly carrying charge should be fixed which is sufficient to meet all operating expenses and fixed charges, such as interest on the mortgage, de preciation and taxes. If, at the end of the year, there is a surplus in the cor poration's treasury this should be re turned to the cooperators in propor tion to their payments, unless it is deemed advisable to set up a special reserve fund. Care must be taken that the carrying charge is high enough for ordinary purposes and not so high that it will act as a bar to prospective coop erators. It is desirable that repairs and renovation be done under the direction of the corporation to insure speedy and effective repairs and renovation. Of course, the carrying charge would have to be somewhat higher to make allowance for these. It is to be expected that, other things being equal, a cooperative apartment house will be conducted more efficient ly than a privately-owned one. In the first place, the cooperators take a great deal of pride in the appearance of their house—'buildings of the Amalgamated Housing Corporation are an outstand ing example. Second, damages to the property and wasteful consumption are paid for by the tenants themselves; they have every incentive, therefore, to be as careful of the house as possible and to try to avoid all unnecessary ex pense. Other cooperative activities can be carried on which should prove de sirable and profitable. Cooperative groceries, bakeries, meat stores, dry- goods stores, cooperative laundry service, etc., are all possible and should be introduced wherever the size of the project will warrant such extensions of the field of cooperative endeavor. Nat urally where the unit is small a gro cery store all of whose business is to come from the cooperators is probably impossible. But, it should always be fairly simple to buy milk and laundry service cooperatively and thus to effect a substantial economy. One further field of work is possible: cooperative education. A cooperative house offers a splendid opportunity for the establishment of classes of various kinds for adults and young children: it is easy to supplement the classes with clubs, discussion groups, and open forums. While the educational activi ties at the Amalgamated Housing Cor poration are far superior to those in any other cooperative house, they merely illustrate what can be done if only the attempt is made. Space does not permit further elab oration of this most interesting sub ject. It is perhaps sufficient to say that, of all the forms of cooperative organi zation, the cooperative apartment house is the one with the greatest immediate advantages both in an economic and cultural sense. Sceptic: I don't think much of this cooperative store idea; it takes jobs away from private store-keepers. How do you justify that? Cooperative propagandist: Sir, do you shave yourself? S.: Yes. C. p.: Does your wife cook your din ner? S.: Usually. C. p.: Bad, very bad. You are taking jobs away from barbers and your wife is ruining the business of restaurants. \Vhat a Difference! Concluded from page 62 bership increases. (Simply a central purchasing service to buy more cheap- ly.) 4. Go into producing only when enough societies affiliate to assure a consuming market. (Eliminating evils No. 2, 3 and 6). 5. Substitute service and quality for profit. (Eliminating evils No. 8, 9, and 10). H. Liebman. Editorial in Amalgamated Cooperator. COOPERATION 67 The Cooperative Movement in Palestine By N. Barou Mr. Barou has recently spent two months in Palestine where he made a study of the Cooperative Movement. HPHE visitor to Palestine is im- J- pressed by development of the cooperative movement. While cross ing the country one sees two Pales- tines: one primitive, muddy-looking, badly cultivated, recalling Germany or Ireland of 70 years ago, or Russia at the end of the last century; and the other, bright, cultivated, even Amer icanized, with tractors and combines and with beginnings of prosperity. The first is built on Felach labour, ex ploited by Effendis, absentee land lords; while the other is tilled by co operative organizations of Jewish workers and small producers. Palestine is a small country with only 1,035,000 inhabitants. It is pre dominantly agricultural; the settled rural population numbers 570,000, the urban 387,000; while there are also 60,000 to 80-.000 nomad bedouins. Ten years ago there were 84,000 Jews in Palestine (11% of the total popula tion), and in 1931, 175,000 (16.9%). The Jewish rural population has in creased from 15,172 persons in 1922 to 46,465 in 1931, i. e. threefold. The first cooperative society was organized by Jewish settlers 40 years ago. It was very difficult to develop cooperation in Palestine at this period because cooperative societies under Ottoman law had no legal existence. Legal status was conferred on them in 1920, and rapid growth of cooper ative activities started ten years ago. Cooperative societies registered in Palestine number at present 308; in cluding 67 credit and banking, 52 agricultural, 93 building and 96 con sumers, productive and otKer societies. It is estimated that over 200 are in operation. The cooperative movement is still almost entirely Jewish, except ing five societies, four German and one Arab (orange marketing), just reg istered. Agricultural Cooperation Agricultural cooperation plays a dominant part in cooperative activities in Palestine. Cooperative marketing of oranges, almonds, grapes, milk and dairy produce, eggs, honey, vegeta bles, tobacco, grain, etc., has amounted in the last year to nearly £900,000 or about 20% of the total trade of the country in agricultural produce. The three main cooperative orange market ing associations, "Pardess," "Hachak- lai," and "Hit" have handled for the last season about 1,000,000 cases or nearly 40% of total orange export trade of the country. They have al ready done excellent work in the or ganization of picking, packing, ship ping and marketing, but a lot more can be done. The ideal of the future is the organization of a Palestine Coopera-1 tive Citrus Growers Exchange. A leading part in the internal market is played by another marketing or ganization, the cooperative marketing association of the Jewish workmen's settlements, "Tenuvah." These work men's settlements, "kevutzoth," repre sent a new form of collective effort and have played an important part in Jew ish rural colonization; they have been a school for the training of agricultural labour and have transformed many thousands of acres of stony and swampy land into prosperous modern colonies. The settlements are provid ing members with all requirements and their whole economy is built on col lective lines; even to the bringing up of the children. They have been pioneers in developing new, progressive methods in agriculture. Their total production amounted in 1931 to nearly £180,000 and their membership was over 3000. "Tenuvah" handles the marketing of these products. 68 COOPERATION A new form of rural cooperative activity is represented by the Agricul tural Contracting Cooperative Asso ciation, Ltd., "Yachin." It is engaged in the plantation and cultivation of oranges, bananas, and other fruits for clients, many of whom reside abroad. For the last year Yachin has done work of over £30,000, employing 400 workers. Yachin has made good progress in developing the technique of work and in diminishing costs. Rural cooperative insurance is rep resented by two cattle insurance so cieties, which have insured 5,240 head of cattle in 94 villages for a value of £140,000. Credit Cooperation Credit is the largest section of the cooperative movement in Palestine. It is divided in two groups: the credit so cieties formed by small artisans, trad ers, farmers, etc. and the loans and saving societies (credit unions) organ ized by wage-earners. The informa tion supplied by 33 societies of the first type show that they unite 28,490 members, with £130,000 capital and reserves and £641,000 deposits. In May, 1930, 17 societies operated in towns and 27 in villages. The workers credit unions (three in town and five in rural districts) have a membership of 7,211 and have accumulated a capi tal of £10,471 and deposits of £17,225. Thus, the whole cooperative credit movement unites nearly 36,000 mem bers or 20% of the Jewish population of Palestine. The accumulation of resources is not less successful. The credit movement has accumulated near ly £700,000 deposits or nearly 15% of the estimated total deposits of the country. The members receive credits on normal terms, 10—12% per annum and are enabled to develop their pro ductive activities and to organize their households free from the exploitation of usurers and money lenders. The amount of loans granted to clients is very considerable: out of total loans of the credit system in Palestine of about £4,000,000 the indebtedness to cooperative credit societies amounts to nearly £900,000, or 22%. The very rapid growth of the movement has in it great dangers. The societies need very close supervision and revision by a first class Auditing Union. It is re assuring that the great majority of them understand this need and a con ference convened in April 1931, unan imously decided to organize such a union. Unfortunately the registration of the union had not yet been ap proved by the Government of Pales tine. Workers Cooperation Workers cooperation in Palestine represents a centralized and widely ramified system. The General Federa tion of Jewish Labor, which unites over 30,000 workers, has established a special cooperative association for the development of cooperative activi ties, "Chevrath-Ovdim." The various existing organizations are considered as branches of the association in dif ferent fields of cooperation: the "Nir" for the agricultural collective settle ments, "Tenuvah" and "Hit" for marketing, Yachin for rural contract ing, "Merkas Haco-operazia" for pro ductive and service cooperation, "Hasneh" for insurance and the "Workers Bank" as a central financial institution of the labor movement. The workers nroductive and service societies number 55 and employ more than 900 .persons. Their establishment was stimulated by the difficulties of adaptation to new economic conditions which it was felt could be more easily overcome by joint cooperative effort. The societies have accumulated £53;- 000 of capital. Their turnover of pro duction and services in 1931 amounted to £260,000. Consumers Cooperation Consumers cooperation is up till now the least developed branch of the movement, the newcomers, having been so busy organizing production, did not pay enough attention to their interests as consumers. The central cooperative consumers society, "Ha- mashbir," was formed in 1916 by the General Federation of Jewish Labour COOPERATION 69 for supply and marketinq. The bulk of its membership, consumers organ izations of rural settlements, had to sell their produce in order to be able to buy goods. "Hamashbir" had to take over the produce of the settlements and be come a mixed society of supply and marketing. It had to establish a spe cial department for the handling of the agricultural produce of its member so cieties. However, after years of ex perience, it was found advisable to transfer all the marketing activities to "Tenuvah." The "Hamashbir" serves now as a Cooperative Wholesale So ciety for the consumers' movement and kindred organizations, and as a central purchasing agency for all the branches of workers cooperation. It operates for 16 consumers' societies, 34 rural settlements, 27 worker groups and 31 other cooperative organizations and institutions. The turnover of "Ha mashbir" amounted in 1931 to £68,145. The rapid development of all branches of cooperative organizations has been largely helped by the Central Bank for Cooperative Institutions and the Workers Bank. Cooperative Banking The Central- Bank for Cooperative Institutions was organized in 1922 with the aim of financing the coopera tive movement, and especially the agri cultural cooperative societies. It has a capital of £102,666 and long term loan funds of £80,051. In nine years of activity the bank has extended £1,003,- 044 in short term and £107,570 in long term loans. During this whole period the bank had to write off only 0.8% as bad debts. The Workers Bank was established in 1922, has a paid up capital of £80,- 000 and serves the whole labor move ment of the country. During its nine years of existence it has granted loans amounting to £1,603,378, distributed among different groups of clients as follows: Agricultural organizations £512,125, Loan and Saving societies £93,767, various cooperatives £359.-- 368, Institutions £329,769, Public Works and Buildings £308,379. Arabs and Cooperation Cooperative organizations remain practically unknown to the Arab masses. The Arabs have much more land than they need to earn a living of a standard not lower than the Jewish. The question is not that of lack of land, but by whom it is owned and what is done with it. The small Arab cultivator (Felach) works with primi tive implements on his land and gets 600 pounds of wheat per acre. His cow yields him 800 litres of milk per year against 3,000 in the Jewish collectives and his chicken 90 eggs against 220. He "sells" his produce to the usurers at half price. Under such conditions no amount of land put at his disposal would help the Felach. The main cause of the low state of Arab agriculture and of the poor conditions of life is the heavy indebtedness and the high rates of interest, running up to 200% per annum, which the "national" repre sentatives of Arabs, the Effendi class, are squeezing out of the Felach masses. What the Felach needs is to feel that the land he cultivates is his own and can not be taken away from him at- any moment by an Effendi landlord 01 usurer. He needs cooperative organiza tion, which will teach him to work his land efficiently to grow produce which can be marketed, to breed good breeds of cows and chickens, to save and to receive credit. But in order that the Arab cultiva tor should learn all this, much prelimi nary legal and educational work is necessary. Cooperation is a part of the existing capitalist system. It can be built only on the basis of modern legislation. The British Administra tion has had enough time in 12 years to do good work in this respect, but it has not done much. It has proceeded with all these tasks slowly and with great delay. The Palestine Govern ment is now taking the first prelimi nary steps in introducing cooperation among the Arabs. It is sending a responsible civil servant abroad id study cooperation and to take over the office of the Registrar of Cooperative societies. 70 COOPERATION District Wholesales Make Progress Toward Central Buying THE central purchasing agency for district cooperative wholesales, discussed at two conferences in Chica go in November and December and named at that time the "National Con sumers' Cooperative, Inc.," made prog ress at a third meeting in Chicago Feb. 20. The name now proposed is "Na tional Cooperatives, Inc." By-laws were accepted and a simplified set-up, eliminating the complex and much de bated "membership agreement," was approved. One wrinkle remained to be ironed out and that was the agreement on the part of members: "To use every reasonable effort, with other members operating in ad joining or over-lapping territory, to ad just all differences and controversies in reference to territorial operations and business relations with members operating in such adjoining or over lapping territory, and upon request of such parties the National Coopera tives, Inc., shall use its best offices to effect a settlement." This was to be discussed further at another meeting to be held March 20, when further organization was to be carried out. Already these district wholesales are beginning actual cooperation by con tracting together for lubricating oil stocks, gasoline, grease, tires and bat teries. The gasoline contract, in addi tion to securing a very favorable price, provides that the contracting coopera tives shall receive 50% of the refiner's profits on the gasoline, kerosene and distillate which they buy. Under the new set-up, purchasing of a certain minimum volume by members is not made compulsory. This was a feature of the earlier plan which aroused much opposition from the "voluntarists." Member associations may now contract for certain quanti ties, or not, as they choose. The meeting of February 20 was described by those present as much more harmonious than the one of De cember 19, renewing hope that this central purchasing agency may even tually develop into a genuine "C. \V. £ " for America. The district wholesales represented at the February meeting were the Central Cooperative Wholesale of Superior, Midland Cooperative Oil Association of Minneapolis, Farmers Union Central Exchange of St. Paul, Illinois Farm Supply Company of Chi cago, Indiana Farm Bureau Coopera tive Association of Indianapolis, and Union Oil Company (Cooperative) of No. Kansas City, Mo. Representatives of the American Farm Bureau Federa tion and the National Grange were al so present. How to Spread Cooperation—Methods Any Society Can Follow Paid Advertising Does it pay? When and how? We all agree that cooperation needs propaganda and needs it badly. Then, isn't it worth paying for? We dislike advertising, say it is wasteful, anti social, etc., but we must remember that there is bad advertising (such as a $10,000 4-color page for a toothpaste in a national magazine) and good ad vertising (such as the retail advertise ment of the cooperative society in the local newspaper). Advertising is a tool for influencing the mind of the indi vidual. To influence the individual to COOPERATION 71 buy a certain toothpaste is one thing, but to influence him (or her) to join the cooperative movement and to use his dollars to build the cooperative commonwealth is decidedly another. Every cooperative society should ad vertise, to some extent, in the local press of its community. It should ad vertise its wares and it should adver- tise cooperation; it has a double mes sage. (It pays the private storekeeper to advertise merely his wares and not very fine ones at that). Such adver tising by the co-op pays because it brings more patronage. More patron age means more volume, more sales per dollar of operating cost, and therefore in general a larger percentage net earnings to be rebated to consumers or used otherwise, as the society may choose. Paid advertising pays too because it, again, is an invitation to the whole community to "come in and join us." Such invitations cannot be extended too often if the society is to avoid the danger of becoming isolated and of ceasing to grow. This applies to any type of consumers' cooperative society, in any size of community. Paid advertisinq should be judicious ly used. A big splurge is not necessary. Goods and prices should take up half or more of the space, but there should always be room for an "institutional" message, that is a few words about what cooperation is and what it means to the consumer. We have more to sell than goods at a price; let us say so. Slogans may be used, such as: "Cooperation frees the consumer from exploitation." "Speculation ends in depressions. Don't speculate; cooperate." "This store is owned by consumer- members; chain stores are owned by Wall Street." "Every consumer in. .... .is invited to join this cooperative society." "Cooperation began in Rochdale in 1844; it is going strong in. ........ .in 1933." "When every consumer cooperates, there will be no paupers and no pluto crats." "This society paid $...... back to consumers in 1932." But lengthier paragraphs should be used, too, explaining the Rochdale principles, showing that the coopera tive is not exclusive and why, describ ing the extent of the cooperative move ment, etc. The Cooperative League will supply such paragraphs if desired. Members of the Youth Club or Wom en's Guild should assist in writing such material. It is hardly necessary to say that the cooperative society which follows a policy of regularly buying space in the advertising columns is in a perfectly good position to expect publicity in the news columns; in a better position in fact than a private store because the private store is not a community insti tution of social significance and never will be. Paid advertising should be carried on as a policy, not as an occasional splash. We are not merely selling the consumer a can of beans, specially priced; we are selling Him an idea, the biggest idea in the world, without cost. He will buy the beans, eat them and forget it; but if he once gets the idea, it will last him forever. But the bigger the idea, the harder it is for him to get it, it seems. It takes constant and con tinuous propaganda. The effect of such propaganda is cumulative. Consequent, ly the society should make a regular appropriation every year for adver tising, realizing that it is in reality not mere advertising, but propaganda, or education if you prefer the term. Go, Ask Your Librarian Does your local public library take COOPERATION? If not, show the librarian a copy; maybe she will subscribe. Or maybe you will sub scribe for her. Think of the number of readers whom each copy will reach. COOPERATION should be in every public library, especially in every town where there is a coop erative society. 72 COOPERATION News of the Northern States Cooperative League Farmers' Union Central Exchange Holds Co-op Courses in North Dakota In spite of unusually cold weather and severe snow storms prevailing in North Dakota during the second week of February, the Farmers' Union Central Exchange of St. Paul went thru with its program of two-day cooperative courses, held in five localities in that State. The courses were originally scheduled to be held at Jamestown, Feb. 3-4; Devils Lake, Feb. 6-7; Minot, Feb. 8-9; Williston, Feb. 10-11 and Dickinson, Feb. 13-14. As the height of the February snow storm hit Minot on February 8 and reduced the attendance to a very small figure (6) it was decided to hold the school at Minot again the following week (Feb. 16-17). In the other four localities the courses were held in accordance with the organized schedule. Altogether 94 people attended the five courses. Attendance was best at Minot (6-25) and Jamestown (24). Of those attending, 24 were managers of Farmers' Union Oil com panies or F. LI. C. E. branches; 32 were board members; 14 other employees of Farmers' Union oil companies, while most of the remaining 24 were shareholders of Farmers' Union oil com panies or Farmers' Union members. The full schedule at each of the two-day courses comprised 8 fifty-minute class periods each day. However, on account of poor road conditions prevailing most of the time during the two weeks the full schedule could be fol lowed only at Jamestown. In the other localities a few hours were lost. The program at the courses consisted of classes in the Principles and Methods of Con sumers' Cooperation, conducted by V. S. Alan- ne, secretary of the Northern States Coopera tive League and classes in Qualities and Specifi cations of Petroleum Products, conducted by J. L. Nolan, one of the department heads of the F. U. C. E. Mr. Nolan also explained in detail the nature of the contracts entered into by the F. U. C. E. with certain oil refineries for the purchase of petroleum products. Mr. Alanne used one class period to analyze the financial statement of a cooperative business enterprise (a cooperative store or an oil association). Op portunity was always given to those attending to ask questions. The interest shown by those attending these courses was very gratifying. At Jamestown, the class elected a committee to draft a resolution commending the courses. • Success at Minot, N. D. About 12J/2 years ago a group of railroad men, residing at Minot, North Dakota, started a cooperative store in their locality. They called their organization the Minot Cooperative Com pany. The first couple of years did not go so well, because deflation set in even before the organization work of the new cooperative had been completed. But since 1925 the store has been on a paying basis and in some years it has done exceedingly well. For a few years the organization operated two stores but in 1930 the branch store was closed up, because it showed a loss, evidently due to dishonest man agement. The sales of the Minot Cooperative Com pany reached their peak in 1926. In that year they were $159,785. Three years later (in 1929) they still were $126,585. Since then the three depression years have made heavy inroads in the sales, as figured in dollars and cents. For 1932 the sales of the Minot Cooperative Com pany amounted to $69,291, which means a total deduction of 45.3% for the last three years. In last November an up-to-date meat market was opened in connection with the grocery store. In the first two months the sales of this new department averaged about $500.00 per month. Some $1,800 was invested in a modern ice box and other meat market equipment. The organization does *iot own its own building, but operates its grocery and meat market in rented quarters. When organized, the par value of the shares of the Minot Cooperative Company was fixed at $100.00. This may account at least partly for the fact that their membership has remained small, being now about seventy. However, at the last annual meeting of the M. C. C. which was held on January 26, it was voted unani mously to lower the par value of the shares to $50.00. Since then applications for shares have been received from nearly a score of steady patrons of the store. During the past several years an educational fund of more than $1,700 had been gradually accumulated but it was never used until recent ly. Now there seems to be a healthful awaken ing to the importance of educational work. As an indication of this we might mention that a few weeks ago the board of directors of the M. C. C. decided to order fifty copies of Dr. J. P. Warbasse's book "What is Cooperation," to be circulated among the members and pa trons. For several years, the Minot Cooperative Company, has been a member of the Northern States Cooperative League and last year they decided to have the League do their auditing. Real Service The Minnesota Valley Burial Association of New Ulm, Minn., is one of the largest organiza tions of its kind in Minnesota. Its secretary, Herman Pfaender, reports that during the past year his organization acquired 62 new mem bers, making its total membership at the end of the year, 1015. The membership fee is $5.00 per COOPERATION 73 family, and may be paid by installments, if so desired. There are no annual membership dues, nor are any assessments levied. At the end of the past year, membership fees actually paid in totaled $3,116.50. During the year of 1932 the organization conducted 82 funerals. The average cost of adult funerals was $210. Number of vaults used, 45. The total receipts of the organization during the year of 1932 amounted to $15,863.34. A permanent funeral director and licensed em- balmer is engaged and is paid a specific amount, varying between $30 and $50, for each funeral. The secretary of the organization takes care of the books and the general management and is paid a nominal salary (last year $355). The total administration cost for 1932 was $741.42. The net gain from operations in 1932 amounted to $1,305.69, which was allotted as follows: $400 to the depreciation reserve and $905.69 to the permanent reserve fund, making the latter, $1,702.88. The Minnesota Valley Burial Association was organized in 1930 with 10 members. The fact that its membership has grown so rapidly goes to prove that the organization is rendering a real service to the people. There is a large profit in the undertaking business and funeral costs have been cut to less than one half by the Minnesota Valley Burial Association. One would think that a business of this kind would have to be conducted strictly on a cash basis, but the financial statement of the M. V. B. A. shows accounts receivable to the amount of $3,679.95, as of Dec. 31, 1931, and at the end of last year these accounts receivable had in creased to $5,770.80. e Fulda Co-op Store Weathers Depression The annual meeting of the United Farmers' Exchange of Fulda, Minn., was held on Satur day, January 28. This organization has for the past twelve or thirteen years operated a gro cery store in the town of Fulda, which is lo cated in the Southwestern corner of the state, about 180 miles from Minneapolis. Besides gro ceries, the store has handled some produce from its members and patrons. The founders of the organization evidently had this function of the store in mind when they called it an "Ex change." The United Farmers' Exchange has suffered from the effects of the depression, the same way most of the other cooperatives have. Its busi ness showed a considerable loss for the year of 1931. In the beginning of 1932 a new manager was acquired and in spite of a heavy (44.3%) drop in the sales as compared with the previous year, the operating loss for 1932 was reduced to about one seventh of what it was for 1931. The sales in 1931 were $37,688, while in 1932 they amounted to only $21,007. The latter figure does not include the sales of binder twine which amounted to $2,650 and brought a net income of $127 for the store. As the accounting methods followed by the U. F. E. haven't been quite u*i to date, its dij rectors decided to ask the auditing department of the League to install an up-to-date system of books and to make a balance sheet audit of the last year's business. This has been done with the result that the figures on the League's audit report are quite different from those appearing on the statement presented to the last annual meeting by a local auditor. The statement prepared by the local auditor showed an oper ating loss of $3,115, with no depreciations taken into consideration, while the League's audit re port showed only a net loss of $777, of which $494 was depreciation on the store building and the store fixtures. The League's secretary, V. S. Alanne, ad dressed a gathering of some 150 people at a program meeting which had been arranged to precede the annual meeting. Free luncheon was served by ladies connected with the organiza tion. An interesting feature at the business meet ing was a proposition made by one of the di rectors of the U. F. E. to elect three women to fill the vacancies on its board. However, after considerable discussion, only men were elected. During the business meeting at which also a few women were present, one of the women inquired about the possibility of organizing a women's guild in the locality. It developed that she was a reader of the Cooperative Builder and had been following the work of the North ern States Cooperative \Vomen's Guild. The United Farmers' Exchange owns its own store building and operates a very neat-looking store. Its total assets, as of Dec. 31, 1932, amount to $18,273. Its paid-in share capital, in cluding patronage rebates payable in shares to the amount of $1,332.42, is $7,132.42. Balance of surplus fund or permanent reserve, $4,357. E. G. Christensen is now managing the busi ness and there are two other employees. The United Farmers' Exchange is a member of the Red and White Stores and is not yet affiliated with any cooperative central organiza tion. V. S. Alanne • From Superior, Wis. More than 200 members and patrons attended the annual meeting of the Peoples Cooperative Society on February 23rd. In spite of the de pression the year's business showed excellent results. Net sales for 1932 for the store and meat market totaled $72,652.24, only $5,344.00 short of 1931's record, with sales increasing in the last six months over the first half of the year. Taking into account last year's price declines, actual volume had increased by an estimate of 8%. The Superior store has been among the most efficient for years, and even bettered its service in the past period by re ducing average gross margin for the grocery and meat departments to 16.62% and inven tories by over $400, besides increasing the stock turn in both departments to 34 and 82 respectively. Operating on a cash basis, the store is financially sound, with current assets 7 times the liabilities, and reserves of $9,000. Net 74 COOPERATION gain for the year stood at $1,430.86, and by decision of the meeting this will all be dis tributed in purchase dividends. The society decided to take subscriptions for the Cooperative Builder and the Finnish Co operative Weekly for members and regular patrons. An educational committee was ap pointed. Joe Aho, Hjalmar Davidson and Victor Keskela were elected to the Board. Six dele gates to the annual meeting of the Cooperative Oil Association at Maple, Wis., and 9 dele gates to the annual meeting of the Central Co operative Wholesale were chosen. H. O. Sankari The "Spirit of Cooperation' SECOND PRIZE The Cooperative Spirit Edmund Seidel, New York City THE fundamental idea of coopera tion is so apparent that it hardly requires elaboration. The very word it self conveys the idea—working to gether, combined effort toward a com mon purpose, in place of singlehanded, individual effort. We have instances of such action in trade unions, mutual benefit societies, consumers' leagues, credit unions, housing projects. The essential feature of cooperation is that of conscious and deliberate mu tual helpfulness. The combined forces and resources of the members are pool ed to achieve that which it would be impossible for the individual to achieve single-handed. What, then, is the Cooperative Movement? It is the theory of coop eration translated into action! No more pious "wishing," but actual doing! Is it effective? Take housing as an example, among others. The Amalga mated Cooperative Apartments of the Bronx, N. Y., are a case in point. These houses are now rounding out their fifth year of success, and since their inception they have constantly expanded. From a first unit of 250 families, they have increased to four units of 600 families. What are the advantages enjoyed by the members of this community? As the purpose is not one of profit in the sense of capitalistic enterprise, but of comfortable living quarters with a rid dance of private landlord annoyances and exploitation, the members enjoy spacious, airy and sunlit rooms, at better than private landlord rates. They Prize Winners Announced We print herewith the second of the prize essays in our contest for the best example of the ssspirit of cooperation." The first prize, won by Esther Lilley, was $10 in cash: the second, won by Edmund Seidel, was $5. These were awarded by the Edu cational Committee of the Easterr States Cooperative League. Four third prizes, each consisting of a year's subscription to COOPERATION, •were awarded to Violet F. Holloway of Long Island City, N. Y., Mrs. Gust C. Albrecht of New Ulm, Minn., Mrs. Alex ander M. Cordiner of Minneapolis and Arthur Oman of Two Harbors, Minn. don't fret about ample heating in win ter, of repairs, hot water, or renova tions. They are their own landlords and treat themselves generously. In addition, they enjoy what they simply could not have from a profit- seeking landlord—beautiful and de lightful stretches of green gardens, winding walks skirted by hedges, a wealth of shrubbery, grassy carpets, and colorful flower-beds. The dead ening drab of cold and forbidding brick is eliminated and a variety of architectural design and nooks, set off by a plentiful verdure, furnishes its thrills and inspiration. What of the ethical gains? They are distinct, which is but natural. The members of a cooperative enterprise are all shareholders--part owners. As such they have a direct interest in its success, just as though it were their own private undertaking, which in deed it is jointly. There are no "ab sentee" landlords. A direct sense of responsibility is engendered, which leads to a sense of social concern. The Continued on page 77 COOPERATION 75 Cooperative Youth Report of the Eastern States Coopera tive League Institute Reunion The first reunion of all E. S. C. L. Institute students was held here in Fitchburo, Mass., March 4th and 5th. Invitations had been sent to all the alumni of the past four years; 25 former students came and the roll call brought forth greetings from as many more. ,xis? '"4 Members and friends of the alumni from other cities began to arrive Friday night, and by Saturday noon we had quite a crowd to gether. Due to the- fact that most of the New Englanders had to work Saturday afternoon we made the most of our time showing the visitors our fair city and points of interests, such as cooperative enterprises, some of which were altogether new to them. After our tour we settled ourselves comfortably around the coffee table at the Cooperative Cafeteria and enjoyed reading letters from members of the alumni that for some reason or other had been unable to attend and whom we missed very much. In the evening we all went to the Saima Hall where an Entertainment and Dance was held. The hall was filled to capacity with young people and it was a happy occasion. Everyone was up bright and early Sunday morning. It was a glorious day to spend out in the open. We went to a lake a short distance from here and built a fire in the fireplace of the camp and prepared our coffee (if the students of the 1931 class remember the "koffee Mutches" we used to have afternoons, then they have a perfect picture of the group at the re union.) We romped out in the snow and even had a snow fight, took snapshots, went on hikes, and did about everything that we pos sibly could until we were so hungry we had to retire to the cabin for another meal and more coffee. During these intervals of eating and joining in the out-door fun, we wrote a round- robin letter to Mr- Cooley. All our time was not spent in play, however, for we took time out to be serious also. It had been proposed at the last session of the Institute that at the reunion a check-up be made of the progress of the Youth Clubs to see how prac tical the Youth Club program, developed at the Institute, had proved to be. Charles Manty acted as chairman. The program was read by Svante Huhta- niemi, article at a time, and discussed. Most of the points brought out there had been tried and found usable. A motion was passed that each club propose at its next meeting the organiza tion of a junior youth club (for children). It was thought by the Fitchburg people that they had a good field for this work, and possibly other cities did too. The program was approved. It was suggested that it be carried on further. By the time the program had been gone through, it was growing dusk, and we had to leave the camp. \Ve had a parade of cars con taining cooperators, tired but happy. The week end was coming to an end, and everyone was sorry to have to bid good-bye to friends and class-mates, some of whom we probably wouldn't see again for some time to come. Everyone expressed their regrets at having to part, and with renewed courage to carry on further the good work for their respective co operative enterprises and for the cooperative movement, we waved "au revoirs." In behalf of the Fitchburg alumni I wish to express our sincere thanks to the cooperators and alumni that helped us to make this reunion a success and especially to Julia Perkins for her cooperation towards this end. Let us all hope that the next time a reunion is held, even more of us can get together. Aino M. Liikanen Secretary to the Reunion. ^ -'••» sfwi*-- sf =>- *-J^ f "f 76 COOPERATION Mass. Youth League News Last October the various Youth Clubs of Massachusetts gathered in Fitchburg and form ed the Cooperative Youth League of Massa chusetts. An Executive Committee was elected which includes the following members: Charles Hekkala, Herbert Ruotsala of Maynard; Olavi Wagg of Hubbardston; Hugo Erickson, Wil liam Reivo, Emil V/aaramaa and Helvi Kiuru of Fitchburg, with Emil Waaramaa acting as chairman and Helvi Kiuru as secretary- treasurer. Meetings have been held once a month. The Young Cooperative Club of May nard, Hubbardston Cooperative Club, Quincy Cooperative Club and the Fitchburg Coopera tive Club have entered into the League with a membership totaling close to 250. The follow ing is a list of each Club's officers: Young Cooperative Club of Maynard President—Richard Lawson Vice-President—Paul Heikkila Treasurer—Charles Hekkala Secretary—Helen Mark Mem. Sec.—Helen Mark Chairman Social Committee—Kay Koivu Chairman Sports Committee—Tauno Torppa Quincy Cooperative Youth Club President—Paul Cavan Vice-President—Emily Harvey Treasurer—Wilho Savela Secretary—Irja Aaltonen Fitchburg Cooperative Club President—Emil Waaramaa Vice-President—Hugo Erickson Treasurer—Aino Liikanen Recording Sec.—Miriam Honkanen Membership Sec.—Helvi Kiuru Chairman Educational Com.—Arne Oksanen Chairman Social Committee—Arne Oksanen Editor—William Reivo (Hubbardston's officers were listed in February Cooperation.) Joint entertainments will be presented at Gardner and Quincy for the further organizing of Youth Clubs during March. The League sponsored a Play Contest in Fitchburg on Feb ruary 2nd, which proved a success in all respects. Plans are under way for another play night sometime in April whereby each club will present a one-act play in Finnish, thereby ob taining our parents' interests in our under takings. Buying Clubs have been formed amongst the various clubs. When a fellow needs a shirt and a girl a pair of stockings we all know whom to go to. No, not the folks, but our purchasing agents. In this way large savings are obtained and with the aid of the local cooperatives, what more do we need? Local stores will soon rec ognize each buying club member and discounts will be offered galore. In this way cooperation is being spread throughout the neighborhood. The League heartily welcomes all clubs de sirous to work hand in hand with us. Join US! Secretary From the C. C. W. Region The work of sectionalizing our units is progressing, although slowly. In the State of Michigan, the Co-op Youth League units have organized two sections and in Minnesota, the Orr-Gheen and the Wawina-Mississippi sec tions are being organized. The members of the Co-op Youth League of Superior, Wis., are making themselves familiar with the practical side of Cooperation. Re cently, in place of a routine educational meet ing they visited the local store of the Peoples Cooperative Society, and listened to a talk on the store's history and problems by the man ager, Jalmar Nukala. Next they are going to visit the bakery plant of the Central Coopera tive Wholesale, where the bakery foreman will tell them about cooperative baking. They then plan to visit the Wholesale's main building, see the warehouses, stocks, offices, merchandise samples, and listen to talks on cooperative merchandising, by some members of C. C. W. staff. That is a way of getting first hand in formation. The Peoples Co-op Society in annual meet ing heartily commended the work carried on by the Youth League, Guilds and local Co-op Club. The members of these organizations had sponsored several united house-to-house visits in behalf of the store society. As a result, many new customers were obtained. A word about the Youth Courses for 1933. Plans are to conduct an advanced course, where the students will get instruction that will concentrate more on preparing them for cooperative organizational work. About 30 stu dents, 20-27 years of age will be accepted and given scholarships from the Course fund which is being raised by the various cooperative or ganizations in the district. H. O. Sankari From Chicago Our Junior Club held its regular meeting March 8th. We decided to join the Central States Cooperative League and have informed them to that effect. Our membership committee is planning another membership drive from March 29th to April 26th. We appointed an executive committee, to consist of our officers and the chairmen of the various committees. Its work shall be to suggest and plan projects with special emphasis upon making the educa tional ones popular. Delegates were elected to represent us at the Congress of the Central States League. An open air meeting is planned for sometime in June. Slides and motion pictures are to be used, and speakers will lecture on Cooperation and possibly other sub jects. We are working on a Minstrel Show which will be presented in May. The proceeds will be used to send students to our League's Summer School. Sunday evenings we hold a discussion circle at the Co-op Store. The subjects are general. COOPERATION 77 Last Sunday there were about thirty-five present; the speaker, a Socialist, sailed into the Cooperative movement but our side was well defended by our chairman Joseph Schu bert. Our Kiddy Club is getting along very well and are beginning to conduct their meetings themselves. We should like to hear from other Cooper ative Youth Clubs and we hope that any or ganization that needs advice or has any advice to give on matters pertaining to activity of Co operative Youth Clubs will please write to us. Frank Pesek Address: Junior Cooperators of Chicago, 2659 So. Crawford Ave., Chicago, 111. • EDITOR'S NOTE The Junior Cooperators have their own news sheet called the COOPERATIONIST. It carries high-lights of co-op news, a full program of the local social events and the pick of the mem bers' gossip. Keep us on your mailing list, Frank. • A Brother Youth Movement The Young Circle League of the Workmen's Circle, Socialist fraternal organization, is close ly akin to our Cooperative Youth Leagues. A paper entitled "Call of Youth" is published. The branches carry on educational and social work similar to our Youth Leagues. At a re cent conference in Philadelphia, it was reported that 9 YCL branches, with 233 members, were organized in the Eastern states in the last year. The "Spirit of Cooperation" Concluded from page 74 narrow, individual outlook makes way for a realistic social consciousness. What is no less important, a better understanding of the problems of man agement—economic problems—is ac quired. For in a cooperative project one deals with matters of finance, of industry, and of distribution, and learns to appreciate them. Members learn, not "in theory," but in practice. And all real learning, after all, is by doing! All of which is helpful in at taining a realistic understanding of the larger communal and govern mental problems; in short, a better un derstanding of our own affairs and of an adjustment to them. In this way the cooperative spirit, translated into deeds, equips people the better to work out their living problems and to get something out of life. This FREE Booklet Will say* you money I The U. S. Government and large corporations buy on I I SPECIFICATION to ensure high duality and low cost. I I You may enjoy similar benefits and savings by using the I I Ephraim Method of SPECIFICATION Buying described I I in this "Guide", which lists 37 Ephraim products for your I I personal and household needs. Send for free copy today. I When You Are Laid Off What happens to cooperative employees when they get old? In England and elsewhere in Europe there are elaborate plans for retiring cooperative employees on pensions. In this country, so far as I can learn the usual practice is to turn them out when they get old and let them shift for themselves. If they have saved some money it is all right. If they haven't it is just too bad. Is it time for the Cooperative societies in this country to set up a retirement plan? What do the members think about it? What do the boards think about it? Finally what do the employees think about it?— they are the ones most con cerned. If there is a demand for a pension scheme, the Insurance Service of the League is available to investigate the field and lay out a plan for starting one. Wm. A. Hyde, Mgr. Clusa Service, Inc. Insurance Pointer No. 4^ COMPANY STATEMENTS This is the time of the year when insur ance companies publish their annual state ments. By the same token it is the tima foi policyholders to make an annual check up on the companies in which they are in terested. Get statements from the agent 01 the companies and study them carefully. Look at the size of the surplus in a mu tual company or the capital and surplus to gether in a stock company. This is the emergency fund. How does it compare in size with the liabilities? Look at the quality of the assets. Is there a good sized bank balance and a backlog of quickly saleable high grade bonds? This is particularly important in a fire insurance company that may have to meet a con flagration loss at any moment. How are the assets valued? If they are quoted at any figure other than market is there a substantial reserve for depreciation? If the operating statement is published it is worth looking at. Did the company make or lose money on insurance operations in 1932? Did it make or lose money on invest ments? Many very good companies lost some, but the better ones didn't lose very much. A monthly insurance paragraph, con tributed by Clusa Service, Inc., the League's insurance service for Cooperators. 78 COOPERATION Readers' Forum The Guild Movement in Massa chusetts In spite of the fact that the cooperative movement is over 20 years old in this state, the women's guilds are only in their beginning. However, during last Cooperative month Helen Hayes-Lantto, whom we were fortunate to have with us was directly responsible for the or ganization of at least four women's guilds. They are (in the order of their organization) the May- nard Guild, with a membership of 64, the Farmwomen's Guild of Fitchburg with a mem bership of 15, the Fitchburg Cooperative Women's Guild, membership 45, and a Guild in Quincy. The latter group has not affiliated with the Massachusetts district group as yet, so we are unable to report their activities more definitely. We do know that they meet regu larly, have held entertainments and have es tablished their own paper. All of these groups function in the Finnish language, and confine their work mostly to their own nationality. Yet, tentative plans are on foot to extend their activities and educa tional features to the average American con sumers. The accomplishments of the Fitchburg and Maynard guilds in establishing guild rooms, which seem an essential part in bringing all the cooperative women consumers together are to be highly commended. This has required a great deal of effort on the part of the members, who have adopted the guild movement as their own. The male sympathizers have assisted willingly and the women are ever grateful for their cooperation. The district secretary is corresponding with all possible cooperative stores and organizations urging them to aid in organizing the women in to an active educational group. A formative plan of circularizing, and per sonal contacts by means of telephone and house to house canvassing is getting under way. The fast moving political, economic and social con ditions are a great aid for the so-called well-to- do class of people are counting every penny same as the unemployed. Some of the educational features of the Guild in Fitchburg are talks and lectures on the quality, price and preparation of foods; on Art, Sociology, Psychology, as well as entertainment, and practice in self-expression both oral and written. This is greatly aided by papers on such subjects as "My Conception of the Coopera tive Movement," "Women's Work in the Co operative Movement," "How we can most effectively aid the advancement of the Co operative Movement," all planned with the idea of forcing the women to think cooperative ly. To many of the women the work is tedious, but at the same time the spirit of their en deavors is very gratifying, and enjoyable not •only to each, but to the whole group. Lempi Rimpila News from Waukegan The Cooperative Trading Co. has pulled through the 1932 year of depression with a sales total of $607,016.24, or 20.77% less than that of 1931. The decrease was due to declining prices and to the buying power of the con sumers being greatly depleted, in many in stances, practically exhausted. However, there was a net gain for the year of $9,544.00. There were 67 new members, making the total in our organization 2,104. The annual meeting was held on March 4th, officials of the Board presiding and 286 mem bers present. The financial statement and re ports of the Board, the manager, educational committee and auxiliary organizations, were read, discussed and approved. The net gain for the year was voted to be divided as follows: 4% interest on the share capital, 1% rebate to the members and customers on the basis of their purchases, and 1/3 of 1% rebate to the milk producing farmers on the basis of their milk receipts. The balloting for Board members to fill the places of those whose term expired, brought the following results: Wm. A. Chandler and David A. Hustvedt, re-elected; Wm. Hill and Robert Moses, new; for alternates, Frank Wo- rack, A. H. Pierstorff and Mauno O. Heiska- nen. At the meeting of the Board on March 8th the following officers were elected: \Vm. A. Chandler, president, Oscar Carlson, vice-presi dent, Anton Stenros, secretary. The question of going on a cash basis in all our departments was seriously discussed at the annual meeting and the Board was instructed to make preparations to that effect and arrange ' so whenever they see it proper. This problem should be taken seriously, especially at times like these, bearing in mind that we had to re serve for doubtful accounts $12,822.02 during the year 1932, or 2.11% of the total sales of the year; $9,928.68 was entirely written off the books at the end of the year, considered worth less. The Educational Committee for the coming year is composed of the following members: from the Board, David Hustvedt, Robert Moses and Wm. Hill; appointed by the Board, Georgia Albright, Ed Carlson and Waldemar Petrell; from the Men's Guild, J. N. Hautala; to be elected, one from Co-op Women's Guild and one from Co-op Youth League. The Men's Co-op Guild had its monthly business meeting on the evening of March 9th. Reports of committees were read and approved. The Program Committee initiates one regular business meeting and one educational meeting for each month, the latter to alternate with edu cational entertainment every second month. Two members were elected to the picnic ground committee to serve jointly with the committee elected from other auxiliary organizations and from the Finnish Progressive Society. Walde- COOPERATION 79 mar Berg, Waldemar Petrell and Chas. Wirta were elected, alternatively, to act as fraternal delegates at the annual congress of Central States' Co-op League, which is to be held in Waukegan on April 23rd and 24th. To finish the business of the evening, an honorary vis itor, Mrs. Georgia Albright, led the discus sion on "How to Make Educational Committee Work More Effective." Constructive criticism and valuable suggestions followed. The next educational meeting of the guild will be held at the Club rooms on the evening of March 23rd and the next business meeting on April 13th. All the old members and an unlimited number of new members are urged to attend. • <•„ Leo Saari At the Men's Guild Entertainment of Thurs day, Feb. 23rd., Harry Carlson was the toast- master for the large gathering. The program consisted of two accordion- solos by G. Berg- mon, a song by S. Nordmpck, and selections by the harmonica orchestra. The speaker of the evening was Reverend Cowling of Gurnee, 111., a recent convert of the unemployed league. Refreshments were served, and dancing con cluded the evening. Anthony D. Willems • China reports a little under 100,000 cooperators in that country at the end of 1931. The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, . Canada The organ or the Canadian Coopera tive Movement, owned by and crn- duc^ed under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada, Published monthly 75c per annum FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York, N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, Wis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, \Vis. NEW ERA LIFE ASSOCIATION Affiliated with The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. All standard forms of Legal Reserve life insurance contracts written. We can insure you by mail without medical examination. Cooperators, patronize your own insurance society. For full particulars clip this coupon. New Era Life Association Grand Rapids, Mich. Without obligation send me information concerning your different certificates: Name ____________________.___>_________ Address ..Age: 100 COOPERATION STUDY CONSUMERS' COOPERATION The books and pamphlets listed below are available through The Cooperative League. Read them and pass them on to your friends HISTORICAL Per Copy Per 100 38. Consumers Cooperation in the United States (illus.). 1930.... .10 8.00 69. Story of Toad Lane (By Stuart Chase) ...................... .05 4.00 . . TECHNICAL 4. How to Start and Run a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... .25 15.00 6. Model By-Laws lor a Kochuale Cooperative Society .......... 05 2.GO 29. Credit Union Primer (By Ham and Robinson) .............. .50 51. Model Lease for Cooperative Apartment House ............ .10 MISCELLANEOUS 16. Model Co-op State Law ........ .10 80. "When the Whistle Blew" (Story, by Brace Calvert) .......... 06 57. How a Consumers' Cooperative Differs from Ordinary Business .02 .85 62. Buttons (League emblem), % inch diameter ............... .05 2.00 63. Sign or Transparency of League Emblem. Green and gold, 8 in. diameter .................... .25 16.0« 67. Stock certificates, engraved, with League Emblem. Bound in books of 100, 200, or 260 68. To Mothers ................... .02 1.00 til. Farmers' Cooperation, A Way Out: An address by L. S. Herron.. .05 4.00 72. "Little Lessons in Cooperation" 36 74. The Burden of Credit ......... .02 1.00 75. What is the Cooperative Store.. .03 2.CO ~t*i. What is Consumers' Cooperation .05 4.(JO 77. The Most Necessary Thing in Life ......................... .02 l.CO 78. Are You Sure You Are Getting Your Money's Worth ........ .02 1.00 79. There Are Two Sides to Every Counter ...................... .02 1.00 80. Consumers', Credit, and Produc tive Societies, B:ili. ESI of the Bureau of Labour Statistics.. .25 81. Cooperative Youth Songs ...... .25 82. What Cooperation means to a de- pression-sicfe America ........ .03 2.00 83. What is the Cooperative League 84. The Coop. Movement, J. H. Dietrich .05 4.00 "What Consumers' Cooperation Means to a Depression-Sick America" Try it on your depre=sion-sirk friend A new leaflet, mostly pictures 3 cents per copy, $2 per 100 We also recormnpnd "What Is Consumers' Cooperation?" by Dr. J. P. Warbasse. A clear, concise definition. 5 cents per copy, $4 per 100 Order from The Cooperative League MONTHLY PUBLICATIONS Cooperation—(In bundle lots, $7.50 per hundred). Subscription, per year (foreign, $1.25).... $1.00 REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (Pub. by the I. C. A.) ........ Per Year, $1.60 BOOKS The following books are recommended as con taining the best discussion of the model a Coopera tive Movement. They may be ordered through The League, postpaid as follows: Bergen gren. R. F.: Credit TTnion. A Cooper ative Banking Book 1931 .............. Blanc, Elsie T.: Cooperative Movement in Russia, 1924 ______________:_____ Brightwill, L. R.: Animal "Co-op" Book— For Children ........................ Chase and Schlink: Your Money's Worth, A Book for Consumers ................ Flanagan, J. A.: Wholesale Cooperation in Scotland, 1920 ........................ Gide, C.: Consumers' Cooperative Societies, American edition and notes, 1922, Cloth Hall, Prof. Fred: Handbook for Members of Cooperative Committees ............. Holyoake: Rochdale Pioneers 1892 ....... Hough, E. M.: Cooperation in India 1932.... Indian Cooperation, Children's story ...... Jessness. O. B.: Cooperative Marketing of Farm Products ....................... Kress, A. J. iCanitalism, Cooperation, Com munism, 1932 ......................... Raivaaja Print—Fitchburg, Mass. Life As We Have Known It. Life stories of English guildswomen. telling what the Guild has done for them.. Madams, J. P.: The Story Retold ......... Nicholson, Isa: Our Story ................ Odhe, Thorsten: Finland, A Nation of Co- operators ............................. Oerne, -Andres: Cooperative Ideals and Problems ............................. Owen, Robert: Autobiography ........... Poisson, E.: The Cooperative Republic.... Potter, B.: Cooperative Movement In Great Britain 1891....................... ... Redfern, Percy: The Story of the C. W. S. Redfern, Percy: The Consumers' Place In Society. 1920 .......................... Smith-Gordon & Staples: Rural Recon struction In Ireland, 1918 ............ Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation in Denmark ............................. Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation In Many Lands, 1920 .................... Stolinsky, A.: The Cooperative Movement. (In Yiddish) ......................... Warbasse, J. p.: Cooperative Democracy, (1927) ............................... First edtion IS23, paper bound ........ Warbasse, J. P.: What Is Cooperation, 1927 Warne, C. E.: Consumers' Cooperative Move ment in Illinois 1926.................. Webb, B. and S.: The Consumers' Coopera tive Movement, 1921 .................. Webb, Catherine: Industrial Cooperation, 1917 .................................. Woolf, Leonard: Cooperation and the Fu ture of Industry ..................... Cooperation, Bound Volumes, 1915 to 1931 inclusive, each yeair ................ The People's Year Book, 1933, English, paper .75, cloth Year Book of The Cooperative League, 1932 $1.50 1.50 .IE 1.10 2.10 l.bO 2 50 1.10 3.75 .15 S.10 2.00 1.25 .85 .25 1.5t 1.36 .75 1.85 1.10 2.25 1.00 1.00 1.10 1.CO l.Ot 1.60 .50 .75 S.50 G.Ot i.et 1.65 1.25 1.35 .75 COOPERATION Organ of the Con- Movement in the sumers Coopera United States MAY 12 1933 Vol. XIX, No. 5 MAY, 1933 10 ce£l? A Few Figs and Some Thistles HPHE worker will continue to be a slave until he recognizes that his A. interests as worker are less important than his interests as consumer. • Capitalism has fed on the acquisitive instinct until it has a severe belly-ache; shall the workers imbibe the same poison? • The worker collects his wages not from the paymaster but from the grocer. When will he begin "unionizing" against the real exploiter? . • If the worker is poor, can he be sure that it is because he has received so little pay? Or is it because he has allowed the profit distribution system to take his wages away from him without a murmur? • The worker is paid only in the product of his labor, but after that product is ground through the wasteful mill of our distribution system, it looks like a snow man who has been dragged through hell with a rope around his neck. • The workers and farmers who have turned to Consumers' Coopera tion are cutting the costs of distribution and are thus steadily increasing the quality and quantity of that part of the product of their labor which is coming into their own hands. • The profit system of distribution costs the American people 30 billion dollars in 1929, over half the total retail bill. • Consumers' Cooperation is a boycott of the profit system. 82 COOPERATION COO PERATIO N An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St.. New York City.____________________ OSCAR COOLEY, Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner L. S. Herron Herman Liebman V. S. Alanne___________George Jacobson Entered as Second Class matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. T., un der the Act of March 3, 1879. Price $1.00 a year. Vol. XIX, No. 5 May, 1933 The Prostrate Consumer As Doctor Warbasse so aptly writes in this issue, "the consumers have been laid so prostrate that they are not able to get up and go to the store with their baskets to buy things. Kicking them in the ribs" no longer works. Our rulers and relievers have a blind spot to the obvious fact that the welfare of the country depends upon the wel fare of consumers, and that the con sumer is now down and out and no 'marked improvement in conditions can te expected until he is enabled to get to his feet. Whatever measures are taken will do no good and probably \vill do evil unless they aid the people as consumers. And yet, what do we find? Hardly a thing is being done for the consumer; on the contrary, and as usual, he is being taxed and penalized to the limit. Sales taxes are being passed or contem plated in dozens of states. The domes tic allotment plan, by which the ad ministration hopes to succor the farm er, constitutes a national sales tax upon the consumer, the proceeds of which will go to the producer to reward him for cutting down his production. Is this economics, or madness? However, it is only what the high tariff has done these many years, if that be any comfort. Steadily the R. F. C. feeds credit in to the banks and railroads, using the people's money to support tottering and outworn institutions. The banks all but crashed; a governmental hypo dermic saved them for the time being. Meanwhile the people, paying exor bitant freight rates, continue to sup port a criminally wasteful and extra vagant system of railroads. Amalga mation to effect economy is proposed, and straightway opposed by roads and workers alike, on the ground that it would effect economy! Are we indeed in a madhouse? The big navy boys as'k for a large appropriation, pointing out how much employment it will provide. Hire work ers to build ships and guns to blow other workers to hell! Blub-blub-b-b- b-bub-blub! This is the final absurdity of the "made-work" economics. "Made-Work" In less villainous form, this theory proposes to set men to work doing harmless things like planting trees, landscaping Muscle Shoals and build ing a few unneeded bridges. Every body who has a pet bridge to be built is urging Congress to build it with public money, saying "See how much em ployment this would provide." We have a bridge that we should like to have built. It's across a gully out in New Jersey where we went blueberrying once. We got our feet wet. We probably won't ever go blue- berrying there again and maybe no body will, but that isn't the point. To bridge that gully would give employ ment to about 5 men for a month. We estimate that there are 99,999 such gul lies in the country, and each one of them ought to have at least one bridge, which would mean a month's employ ment for 499,995 men, not counting the thousands of men required to fabricate materials and a few hundred women to cook their chow and polish their nails. And when the month is up, we have another job for these men and that is to dip water out of the Pacific and car ry it across country and dump it into the Atlantic until the latter is full, and that will qive them employment in per petuity. Come to think of it, they might as well begin with the dipping job and not bother about bridging those gullies. COOPERATION 83 It is not recorded that the people of Egypt achieved economic salvation by building the pyramids. Some believe that these "public works" projects help in the redistribu tion of wealth. This is founded on the theory that the bulk of taxes are paid by the rich. This is not so; it is the working-class consumers who pay the taxes. Assuming that the bulk of revenue is raised by taxes on big in comes, it's a poor business man who does not budget his income tax as an "operating cost" and pass it on to the consumer in the price of his goods. An income tax is not necessarily a profits tax. We whine about the "high cost of distribution, but taxation adds mightily to the high cost of distribu tion. Call it a cost of distribution or call it abracadabra, the fact remains that the cost of running our government, with all its manifold appropriations, must come out of the wheat, coal, iron, lumber, cotton and other wealth which the workers of the country produce. And those workers who are employed at building bridges over gullies, yes, or running unnecessary railroad trains or counting money in wasteful and un necessary banks, are a dead weight on the backs of the workers who are pro ducing wealth. We already have a horde of parasites on the government payroll. Shall we add to them? The worker in the long run can be paid in only one coin: The product of his labor. If he produces bridges over gullies, he will have to eat bridges over gullies. Or he may be paid in the product of the labor of others, but then he is filching. The earth groans today because so many of its inhabi tants are filching. You Can't Get Away from This The consumer must be served. This is the law of common sense. We have flouted this law and the penalty is a world "depression." It is a depression which will continue so long as the world persists in flouting this law. Thus, from all appearances and from the acts and utterances of our pro- foundest rulers and relievers, it looks as if it would last a long time. We know of only one school of thought which appears to see these simple facts clearly, and that is Con sumers' Cooperation. Bedeviled by governments, heckled by the profit hogs, hampered by the ignorance and indifference of the proletariat, this school patiently labors toward the light. A Desirable Public Work One kind of public works we do favor is housing. Here the double ob jective of producing something which the consumers sorely need and of pro viding employment can be accom plished. There are laws restricting the number of cattle you can ship in a freight car, but none saying how many human beings a landlord can pack in to a one-room rabbit warren on New York's East Side. The R. F. C. has signified that it would loan funds for low-cost, slum clearance housing. The technique of cooperative housing has not only been worked out but worked. Lack of funds is the rub, but here are the funds. Shall we let the Fred Frenches and the other profit realtors grab them all off? Cooperative housing, partially fi nanced by the state or municipality, has proven the most practicable solu tion to the housing problem in Euro pean cities. Why not recognize this experience? "This is a great monument to co operation and I am proud that the Bowery Savings Bank has had a hand in it."—-Henry Bruere, president of the Bowery Savings Bank, speaking at the recent second birthday of Amalga mated Dwellings, New York coopera tive house, 231 families. A Letter to the Editor I have long been sympathetic with the co operative movement, but it is probably too sen sible and intelligent to have much following in this country. Harry Elmer Barnes 84 COOPERATION Help Wanted! Strange but true. We need help in getting more subscribers to COOPERA TION and so increasing the number of pairs of eyes who read the cooperative message. We want ambitious young men and women in every community to represent us, to dis tribute free sample copies to the people— they are now aroused and ready to read and act^-and to take subscriptions. The price is $1 per year or 50 cents for six months. You as our agent keep 25% as your commission. Send for Agent's Book and free sample copies. COOPERATION 167 West 12th Street, New York City. How Much Do You Offer the Member? One is impressed by the multiplicity of services and benefits which the London Cooperative Society offers its members. For example, foods in over 200 food stores, clothing and general merchandise in some 50 "depart mental" stores, milk from its own farm, coal, laundry, hairdressing, shoe re pairing, theatre and travel tickets, drugs, optical service, buses to hire, etc. In addition to the regular patron age dividend, a part of the surplus made on each member's trading is set aside to provide death benefits, the loan of surgical equipment in case of sickness, and treatment at a convales cent home. Also the member, through the "mutuality" club is entitled to pur chase articles like furniture on a week ly payment plan. In addition the fol lowing departments of the society ex plain the type of service offered: elec trical, catering, legal and estate. Also, the member is helped to save for spe cial needs, such as Christmas shopping, by a "stamp scheme." You buy 6d. worth of stamps whenever you shop in the stores and thus accumulate a fund. An extra dividend on purchases is paid during December to encourage this scheme. Probably we have not mentioned all, but these give some idea of the scope of this society. Can it be that there is some connection between the wealth of services offered and the fact that this is the world's largest (over 460,- 000) and fastest growing cooperative society? Indiana Figures Total sales of the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association in 1932 were $2,041,034, in 1931 $3,018,- 537. There was a large drop in volume of fertilizer and feed, a considerable increase in seeds, and a smaller increase in petroleum products. Volume of gas oline and kerosene increased from 15,- 261,995 gallons in 1931 to 16,152,229 gallons in 1932; oils increased from 332,924 gallons in 1931 to 370,808 gal lons in 1932. Net income in 1932 was $80,519 and in 1931 $199,278. The net worth of this organization, according to the report of General Manager I. H. Hull, is $300,000 and the net worth of some 90 affiliated as sociations is $700,000, "nearly all of which was accumulated during the depression." During the last 7 years, the county associations have returned to farmers more than a million dollars in patronage dividends. "In times past," said Mr. Hull, "we have boasted of our large cash patron age dividends. We should be ashamed of the record. We have paid out about a million dollars in cash and built up a net worth of $300,000. If we could have realized the whole significance of the movement, and if we could have shown our people the relative value of accumulated assets as compared to cash dividends, the order would have been reversed. . . We have many demands at the present time for services which are not possible because of our limited finances. This much we know, in the long years of strife which are to come, as we go out to do battle with the forces of profit and greed, in the end our relative position will be determined not by a historical record of dividends paid but by our accumulated financial strength." The Indiana cooperators have their eye on the goal of a cooperative bank ing system. This year they secured a change in the state banking law per mitting a single, central cooperative bank through which all of the credit unions in the state may clear their re sources, this bank to be owned and controlled by the locals much as the C. W. S. Bank in England. COOPERATION 85 Roosevelt and the New Deal By J. P. Warbasse TJ VERYBODY is happy about our -t-J new President. He stepped into the breach left by his befuddled prede cessor, and promptly took action. He has spoken more like a forthright hu man being than like a politician. The atmosphere of Washington has less of the deadly pall of ineptitude and chi canery than since the days of Grover Cleveland. To be rid of Hoover is alone enough to sweeten the situation. If Mr. Roosevelt were going to do anything at all, there is only one direc tion in which he can move. His back is against the wall of reaction, capitalistic privileges, and the protected profit ob session. This wall has been built by such as Hoover. It is the barrier that has stopped economic progress and demoralized the world. The Hooverian policy of giving more of the taxpayers' money to the bankers, who were res ponsible for the economic collapse, could not be nursued further. Hoover had done all of the silly things. There was nothing left for Roosevelt to do but what he did. He frankly stated that our banking system is a great racketeering business and is more respectable than the strong-arm method only because the bankers have got their game protected by law. Of course, he did not use these words; he hopes for reelection. But he has spoken with strength, such as Washington has not heard these many years. President Roosevelt will have to take real measures to relieve unemployment. He will have to promote public control of public utilities. He will have to see to it that the privilege of the bankers to do their personal gambling with other people's money is a bit curtailed. He will have to curb Wall Street gamb ling. And he must do many other things that will be for the good of the pub lic, because the established powers have followed just the opposite course. Everything possible has been done by Roosevelt's predecessors to bleed the consumers. They have been laid so prostrate that they are not able to get up and go to the store with their bas kets to buy things. Kicking them in the ribs no longer can be continued. The only thing that remains to do, is to get them up and send them out to the mar ket. Mr. Roosevelt has no choice. He will have to use his office to help the people, or he will go down with them. And the immediate help they need is to have some of the weight of privilege taken off their backs. We shall see the new administration doing, within limits, what it can to this end. And this will all be for the public good. The farmers are to be helped by giving them some two billion dollars for producing less, so that they can pay off their debts incurred as a result of the Government's demand that they produce more. In the end the farmer's problem will remain unsolved so long as the middle-men stand between him and the consumer, and so long as his produce is thrown into the gambling game. What is to become of the De partment of Agriculture, which has developed a splendid machinery for showing farmers how to produce more, remains to be seen. Perhaps, it will set its research laboratories at work rais ing the boll weevil, wheat rust, grass hoppers, and Texas cattle fever germs for distribution to agriculture. So long as we try to live under the profit system, the doctrine of scarcity must be maintained. Things have to be kept scarce. The industry in which the people get full access to any necessity collapses under this system. Air, sun shine, and water can not successfully be sold for profit—such a procedure would make the death rate too high. But we are still trying to live under the anomaly of keeping food, housing and credit in the profit category and con trolled by the principle of scarcity. Mr. Roosevelt is committed to the task of trying to make this system work. The .86 COOPERATION interesting fact is that everybody hopes he will succeed. Nobody has a good word to say for the orgy that existed prior to the fall of 1929. It is looked back upon as the .insane period. Values were false. Gambling had demoralized rich and poor alike. It is thought of as the age of the loss of reason. But everybody is quietly hoping that we shall have those very times re stored. Everything is being done to bring back that wonderful lost pros perity. That very period is hoped for again. Its return is the common prayer of the whole country. This is the state of society upon which Mr. Roosevelt comes. The ne glect of the consumer precipitated the calamity. The continuous neglect of the consumer will make recovery dif ficult. But every weight of oppression that is lifted from the consumer will help toward the recovery. Credit Unions Come Through Depression THE credit union is cooperation ap plied to credit. Each credit union is organized within and limited to a given group of people, such as the em ployees of a company, a local Farm Bureau or a cooperative society. It is self-managed, operating under state supervision, completely cooperative, supplying its members with (1) a sys tem for pooling common funds, from which pool (2) loans are made to mem bers for provident and productive pur poses, at fair rates, with the earnings all reverting to the members as divi dends on their holdings in the pool and as surplus. A sample of what cooperative credit can do in times of great stress is to be found in the development of credit unions among postal employees in 1932. The following figures are from the United States Postoffice Depart ment: At the end of 1931, there were 275 postal credit unions, with 49,037 mem bers, and assets of $5,078,874. One year later there were 298 such credit unions, with 57,636 members, and as sets of $6,167,546. Total loans made in 1932 were $7,388,300. Total loans made from organization of the first postal credit union in 1923 to Dec. 31, 1932 were $29,030,732. The greatest advance in 1932 was registered in the rural field, where now the three major national farm organiza tions—'the Farmers' Union, the Na tional Grange and the American Farm Bureau Federation—are all cooper ating both in the enactment of credit union laws and in the organization of rural credit unions. There are now approximately 2000 credit unions, in over 50 varieties, with approximately 300,000 members and resources between fifty and fifty-five million dollars. 457 new credit unions were organized in 1932. Except in 5 States (where the supervision is just as strict, except that it is in another state department) credit unions operate un der the same supervision and subject to the same rules as banks. In 34 of the 35 States which have an adequate credit union law, no credit union has been closed by a state banking depart ment, and in no state has a credit union organized by the Credit Union National Extension Bureau, financed by Edward A. Filene, (85% of all credit unions) gone through a process of involuntary liquidation. Only'two credit unions (old, community groups doing a building and loan association business) have required help from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation; both of these had frozen real estate loans. "The credit unions have come through the depression with the finest record to date for honest and efficient management under conditions of extra ordinary difficulty," states Roy F. Ber- gengren, secretary of the Bureau. "They have proved both the worth and the durability of cooperative credit." COOPERATION 87 Consumers' Cooperation in the United States By Oscar Cooley A survey of present-day cooperatives. Chapters I and II appeared in the Feb ruary and March issues of COOPER ATION. ANOTHER outstanding organiza tion in the Northern States League group is located in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The Soo Cooperative Mercantile Association This society, founded in 1913, has about 650 members and did a business of $686,514 in 1929. Its dollar volume had shrunk to somewhat less than $400,000 in 1932. A chain of 10 stores was operated in 1929; 6 are run now. In 5 of these stores credit is extended; one, located in the downtown district, is strictly cash-and-carry, with a lower scale of prices. This gives the cooper- ators a good chance to compare the advantages of cash and credit trading. In 1930 not less than 73% of total sales were on credit. This society is one of the few store societies which' pay a bonus to employ ees. Of the total net earnings of $27,- 214 in 1931, $4,731 or 17.4% was paid to employees as bonus. Last year, member customers received a patron age dividend of 8% and non-members 4%. Employees who were also mem bers received 8% of their total wages as bonus and non-member employees received 4%. Owing largely to good management, this society has enjoyed conspicuous business success; indeed it is one of the few typically American groups operating stores which has succeeded. Its members follow a variety of trades, a number being government employ ees. As an educational and cultural force in the community, the society is not forward, nor does its membership show any marked increase. The Franklin The Franklin Cooperative Creamery Association of Minneapolis, Minn., arose in 1921 out of a situation in which both worker and consumer were being exploited by profit milk dis tributors. While the milk consumer got little for his money and knew it vaguely, the milk wagon driver got little for his work and knew it acutely. The driver struck and then asked the consumer to strike too. The result was the Franklin, a cooperative of 5000 members (now somewhat less), the largest milk distributor in Minneapo lis, doing business of $3,442,291 in 1929. This had dropped to $2,639,854 in 1931, due to the sharp fall in retail milk prices. Both consumer and worker have benefited since the Franklin has been in the field. Labor union condi tions prevail; in fact the society, like- many other consumers' cooperatives, is a bulwark for labor unionism in its community. The farmers, also, or ganized in the Twin City Milk Pro ducers Association and selling direclr to the consumer through the Franklin, have enjoyed better conditions. Two modern plants are operated. Ice cream and other dairy products are distributed. Besides retail deliveries direct to consumers, there is a con siderable wholesale trade through pri vate stores. Purchase rebates are not paid; instead the savings are passed on to consumers in the first price. For some time a majority of the board of directors has been employees. The latter appear to take a keener in terest in the institution than do the consumers. An active educational com mittee is constantly working to arouse more active participation by con sumers. One obstacle to this, the com mittee feels, is that shares are $100 each. This, it is claimed, prevents working-class consumers from becom ing members and prompts present members under stress of hard times to desire to redeem their shares. The Franklin is by far the largest milk dis tributing consumers' cooperative in North America. (Continued on page 92)= Statistics of Cooperatives Affiliated Name Cherry Farmers Coop, Assn. Iron Junction, Minn. Chisago Lakes Coop. Oil Assn. Chisago City, Minn. Cloquet Coop. Society Cloquet, Minn. Consumers Coop. Co. Hibbing Minn. Coop. Oil Assn. of Mille Lacs, Princeton, Minn. Coop. Oil Co. of Olmsted Co. Rochester, Minn. Duluth Coop. Society Duluth, Minn. Eagle Valley Coop. Oil Assn. Clarissa, Minn. Elanto Coop. Co. Nashwauk, Minn. Embarrass Coop. Assn. Embarrass, Minn. Farmers Coop, Co. Cromwell, Minn. Farmers Coop, Merc. Assn. Kettle River, Minn. *10 months figures. **8 months figures. —————————————————————— - ——————————————— 3—— Farmers Coop. Sampo Menahga, Minn. Farmers Coop. Society Little Swan, Minn. Farmers Coop, Trading Co. East Lake, Minn. Farmers Exchange Duluth, Minn. Finland Coop, Co. Finland, Minn. Floodwood Coop. Assn. Floodwood, Minn. Franklin Coop. Creamery Assn. Minneapolis, Minn. Freeborn Co. Coop. Oil Co. Albert Lea, Minn. Fulda Coop. Oil Co. Fulda, Minn. Lawler Farmers Coop, Assn. Lawler, Minn. Murray Co. Coop. Oil Co. Slayton, Minn. Orr Farmers Coop. Trading Co. Orr, Minn. Peoples Coop. Oil Assn. Plainview, Minn. Pine Coop. Oil Assn. Askov, Minn. *14 months report to July 30, Type Service Store Oil Store Store Oil Oil Store Oil Store Store Store Store Store & Oil Store Store Feed Store Store Store Milk Oil Oil Stores Oil Store Oil Oil 1932 No. Members 260 227 1737 292 143 733 363 467 620 502 324 304 438 68 127 450 108 302 4300 1285 200 300 410 389 196 342 Year 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1932 1931 1932 1932 1931 1932 Sales $37,952.28 30,837.64 39,384.50 44,289.15 495,382.95 468,780.27 57,931.73 54,606.15 20,842.28 44,020.52 136,438.99 174,651.95 42,272.89 36,058.28 66,099.11 102,448,87 62,562.95! 83,526.12 63,898.51 86,252.92 66,571.05 61,864.31 38,421.47 In a few cases it 119,794.36 102,467.50 24,412.31 21,454.09 28,805.95 22,740.01 44,896.13 36,744.75 29,641.16 25,729.75 72,751.47 69,920.55 2,639,853.87 1,990,338.51 223,365.65 197,959.14 30,706.95 22,688.55 59355.57 48,269.95 82,832.57 94,610.06 77,456.84 34,349.73 19,874.62 23,920.75 with the League Gross Gain Percentage 14.89% 14.71 30.0 29.0 15.02 15.37 17.99% 19.17 34.0 29.4 36.25 36.06 16.62 16.82 22.19 18.70 20.31 13.61 11.66 11.09 11.58 13.0 8,45 Expense Percentage 16.09% 16.02 13.07 21.5 12.34 11.79 17.05% 15.83 17.9 15.6 23.00 21.75 17.29 17.16 14.43 16.06 17.02 12.68 14.60 9.05 11.18 12.9 13.60 has been necessary to round 15.84 16.32 18.38 11.60 14.79 14.77 18.99 18.54 6.21 6.46 13.71% 16.02 2.07 -1.75 32.0 27.0 31.0 28.0 10.98 13.58 30.8 14.98 16.03 35.72 30.74 25.67 13.39 14.10 17.46 16.71 14.26 13.04 16.21 19.68 10.38 11.18 11.39% 11.32 50.31 58.07 18.0 19.0 17.2 17.1 13.97 14.13 29.0 13.28 14.24 22.90 16.72 13.29 Wage Percentage 9.10% 8.93 8.13 10.11 6.99 6.52 10.53% 9.58 14.0 11.0 16.0 16.0 10.88 10.83 7.58 9.31 9.02 6.87 7.65 5.40 6.15 8.0 6.4 Net Gam $480.12 -152.43 4,282.99* 2,737.56 14,036.66 15,570.07 531.86 1,400.77 3,624.16** 6,914.77 17,713.73 24,990.53 -637.61 -732.29 5,140.00 2,704.61 2,060.57 2,679.13 -966.74 3,512.75 1,787.74 1,987.32 -1,991.66 off or estimate figures. 7.72 8.60 10.11 9.21 7.15 6.52 18.99 18.54 5.61 5.70 6.91% 6.32 32.9 38.6 12.73 12.44 14.83 14.23 7.08 7.20 6.49 6.99 16.2 13.26 9.74 4,181.81 2,615.11 1,043.86 -681.77 2,499.63 836.88 756.80 -565.91 1,838.64 1,661.44 5,768.33 5,990.98 54,764.38 -34,935.59 30,442.10 16,685.88 4,231.11 2,474.39 186.26 565.45 2,251.07* 1,610.59 1,385.58 4,401.69 3,176.83 3,097.35 66 OO O O O t) to •S O O O O t) IS to •s 1-1 O * OO '•O Name Rush City Coop. Creamery Rush City, Minn. Scenic City Coop. Oil Redwood Falls, Minn. Tri County Coop. Oil Rushford, Minn. Union Mercantile Co. Isanti, Minn. Wawina, Coop. Society Wawina, Minn. Workers & Farmers Coop. Co. Two Harbors, Minn. Zim Farmers Merc. Assn. Zim, Minn. Biwabik Coop. Assn. Biwabik, Minn. Farmers Coop. Trading Co. Hancock, Mich. Farmers Coop. Trading Co. Pelkie, Mich. Northland Coop. Oil Co. Rock, Mich. Ontonagon Coop. Society Ontonagon, Mich. Republic Farmers Coop. Republic, Mich. * Report on Oil only. **5 months, Type Service Oil* Oil Oil Store Store Store Store Store Store Store Oil Store Store No. Members 300 297 72 209 175 95 45 837 152 2 societies 86 149 Year 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 Sales 15,301.31 77,742.17 74,176.11 18,069.00 35,282.58 29,348.62 46,249.35 42,819.09 69,758.00 47,306.95 26,909.73 22,589.73 28,775.65 30,124.84 168,243.90 139,746.29 73,319.91 55,243.17 19,285.47 20,175.07 20,379.13 27,827.41 38,486.95 31,864.31 Gross Gain Percentage 30.0 30.1 25.0 37.22 34.44 10.02 15.67 16.32 19.7 18.39 11.56 11.77 17.08 18.95 17.80% 17.66 10.51 12.0 18.92 18.33 16.27 13.22 13.79 15.03 Expense Percentage 17.36 17.0 16.5 19.75 22.54 21.04 13.31 13.39 17.4 20.89 12.18 13.25 14.75 14.45 14.60% 15.75 7.80 9.55 14.70 15.98 15.30 10.90 13.04 15.13 Wage Percentage 12.0 12.34 11.17 15.54 15.17 9.89 6.68 6.63 11.3 12.8 6.72 7.52 9.32 8.83 8.51% 8.53 4.43 6.05 9.98 10.75 8.62 5.98 7.60 9.30 Net Gain 2,029.87 8,650.74 3,472.61 3,182.64** 4,042.60 2,551.49 1,305.64 1,436.10 1,600.00 -1,200.00 669.38 33.82 7,400.00 13,300.00 4,803.35 2,690.95 2,720.88 2,837.90 734.91 1,074.24 307.75 675.01 777.07 -600.15 § O O o t*l to S ^ O ^ Rock Coop. Co. Rock, Mich. Rudyard Coop. Co. Rudyard, Mich. Settlers Coop. Trading Co. Bruce's Crossing, Mich. Trenary Farmers Coop. Store Trenary, Mich. Watton Coop. Store Watton 6 Covington, Mich. Brantwood Coop. Supply Co. Brantwood, Wis. Central Coop. Wholesale Superior, Wis. Farmers & Consumers Coop. Assn. Brule, Wis. Farmers Coop. Oil Co. Merrill, Wis. Farmers Coop. Merc. Assn. Iron River, Wis. Marengo Coop. Society Marengo, Wis. Peoples Coop. Society Superior, Wis. Polk Co. Coop. Oil Assn. Osceola, Wis. Prentice Coop. Supply Co. Prentice, Wis. Store Store Store Store Store Store Wholesale Store Oil Store Store Store Oil Store 575 204 386 223 150 271 98 232 309 445 335 431 300 229 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1932 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1932 1931 1932 114,291.46 125,690.60 55,770.26 45,907.45 88,492.18 64,209.22 42,518.52 29,472.80 31,601.89 26,367.54 59,253.28 50,957.47 1,509,751.87 1,310,149.08 60,555.30 65,241.62 71,449.05 57,637.79 18,741.45 12,795.20 77,996.95 72,652.24 31,060.99 52,652.93 46,400.78 17.17 16.44 16.05 17.75 13.67 14.40 16.95 16.39 15.86 12.54 12.73% 10.56 9.10 9.03 11.85 25.71 12.19 10.67 11.26 16.75 17.37 16.62 30.3 13.35 13.57 15.74 14.98 13.15 14.53 14.48 16.06 16.02 15.31 12.56 12.53 11.10% 10.64 8.30 8.34 10.15 17.77 13.13 13.49 23.38 21.17 14.00 14.67 15.8 13.99 16.86 8.28 7.00 6.41 7.52 7.07 7.63 7.53 5.33 6.62 6.62 5.95% 5.90 5.96 5.98 5.90 12.0 6.85 7.35 8.2 7.61 8.78 9.26 11.8 8.1 8.3 4,286.00 4,100.00 2 192.10 1,479.84 Loss Loss 540.91 3.26 1,042.11 1.39 1,522.42 27.71 12,035.39 9,090.57 1,000.31 4,635.50 85.09 1,149.85 2,640.00 1,735.00 2,965.00 1,430.86 4,688.03 255.78 503.44 O O O "a t*i tt>. S O 92 COOPERATION Consumers* Cooperation in the United States (Continued from page 87) The Franklin has become something of a social and educational force. Out of it have grown an active Cooperative Women's Guild, cooperative youth clubs, a band, a chorus and a thriving credit union. An auditorium seating 600 in the North Plant furnishes a cen ter for meetings, concerts, amateur dramatics, etc. Classes in cooperation are regularly held. The Midland A good example of the spread of cooperative oil distribution among the farmers in recent years is given by the Mildand Cooperative Oil Association of Minneapolis. This is a wholesale composed of 69 local oil associations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It was started in 1928 without a dollar of capital. The first purchases, four cars of gasoline, were made with advance checks from two local associations. Orders flowed in rapidly and capital has since been accumulated from net earnings. An oil storage and com pounding plant worth $40,000 was opened early in 1932. Total sales the first year were $269,862, the second year $417,956, the third $448,012 and the fourth $598,750. The increase in tonnage volume has been even more striking. In 1931 the gain in number of cars handled was 66%. Volume han dled increased 27J^% in 1932 and 18% in the first quarter of 1933. Tires and batteries are handled as well as gas oline, .kerosene and lubricating oils. Eighteen new local associations were organized in 1931 and month by month the "Co-op" sign appears over more and more gasoline pumps in this ter ritory. The Midland carries on active and continuous educational work. Four fieldmen are employed. Pamphlets on cooperation are published. An attempt to bring cooperative oil distribution "into town" was made in 1932 with the setting up of a cooperative oil associa tion in the university district of Min neapolis. The Midland leaders are typical of a new and growing class of American farmers who aspire to go "whole hog" with the cooperative pro gram. Both the Midland and the Central of Superior were among the mid-west ern regional wholesales that partici pated in forming a central cooperative purchasing agency during the winter of 1932-33. It is yet too early to predict the future of this organization, called the National Cooperatives, Inc., but through pool buying of petroleum products, it has already effected cer tain savings for its member whole sales. (To be continued.) • Cooperative Couplet Black or white, Yankee or Finn, We're all consumers under the skin Insurance Pointer No. 5— PUBLIC LIABILITY AND PROPERTY DAMAGE What does an Automobile Public Lia bility and Property Damage policy cover? Ordinarily it covers damages that the policyholder would be legally liable to pay himself if he were not insured—and it covers nothing else. Public Liability refers to damages to persons; Property Damage refers to damage to property. If the insured automobile is operated carelessly and hits someone who did not have a chance to get out of the way, then the injured persons would have a right to collect from the owner. By the same token, he can collect from the insurance company. If a man carelessly gets in front of an auto mobile that cannot avoid him and gets hit, he has nothing coming to him, either from the owner or from the insurance company. All policies contain certain exclusions, providing that the car is not covered when racing or when operated by someone under age. It is worth while to read your policy and see just when you are not covered. Most policies contain a clause extending the protection of the policv to people operating the car with the owner's consent. Public Liability insurance is the most im portant coverage for a motorist and Prop erty Damage is second. An uninsured fire loss of an automobile loses the car and that is all. An uninsured public liability loss may run into thousands of dollars and may break the man who has to pay it. A monthly insurance paragraph, con tributed by Clusa Service, Inc. The League's insurance service for cooperators. COOPERATION 93 Cooperative Insurance Society to Expand Field of Operations WHAT may prove to be a ihistory- making event too'k place recent ly when the Workmen's Furniture Fire Insurance Society, a workingmen's co operative institution affiliated with The Cooperative League, polled its 62,311 members on the question: Shall the So ciety be converted into a mutual fire insurance society, with power to insure homes as well as the contents thereof? The answer was, Yes. Of 28,865 voting, 25,070 voted yes, 3,722 voted no. Since it only required an affirmative vote of 75%, and the yes votes were 87% of all the votes cast, the proposition was adopted. It is ex pected that the Society will be reincor- porated under the name, "Workmen's Mutual Fire Insurance Society," Li censes will be applied for in all states. House insurance will not be under taken until general economic condi tions are better. Then separate ac counts will be kept and separate funds maintained for the house insurance. The members who have only their household goods insured in the Society will not have to bear any of the ex pense connected with the house in surance. This is the 61st year of the W. F. F.I.S. There probably is not a sounder corporation, cooperative or otherwise, in the country. Nor one that in its field is more helpful to the consumer. Its as sets total over $1,000,000 and insur ance in force $78,000,000. Quite dif ferent from private companies, it has one rate only, irrespective of locality or character of dwelling. The annual assessment is but 10 cents per $100 of insurance. Every policyholder is a member and Jias one vote. Membership is open to all. There is a branch in practically every large city in the East, 90 branches in all. With age some institutions get senile and unprogressive and cease to grow. This cannot be said of the Workmen's. During the depression year of 1932, it won 5,024 new members, a record number of new members for any one year. It is interesting that in 1932 total lapses for non-payment of assessments were 787, which is less than the av erage loss in so-called prosperity years. Insurance in force increased $3,500,000 in 1932. This increase would have been greater, states N. Marquer, executive secretary, were it not for the fact that an unusually large number of members have reduced their insurance, either through disposal of part of their house holds by removal to smaller apart ments, or because lack of employment compelled them to withdraw part of their deposits, thus reducing the amount of their insurance. (Each mem ber makes a deposit of $1 per $100 of insurance). Naturallv, the scope of service of the Society will be immensely widened by extension into the field of house insur ance. Mutualization will not mean any change in policy. "We will strictly ad here to the high ideals upon which the Society has been organized," says Mr. Marquer, "namely, a cooperative in surance institution offering protection against fires at the lowest possible rate and maintained for service instead of profit." This is a bold and forward step, ex hibiting real vision and zealousness for the workingmen's cause on the part of the leaders of the Workmen's Furni ture Fire Insurance Society. In 1931 there were 312 assessment life associations and fraternal orders providing insurance benefits, which collected $202,624,287 in assessments and dues, paid $141,876,226 to policy- holders and wrote $802,831,292 of new life insurance. On Dec. 31. 1931 they had total assets amounting to $917,612,299, with insurance in force totaling $7,618,708,779. 94 C O O P E R A TI O N What's New Eastern States Societies to Hold Convention in Lawrence Lawrence, scene of many a bitter struggle of oppressed workers against the exploitative system, will be the location of the 1933 convention of the Eastern States Cooperative League on May 21st. The Workers' Coopera tive Union, 112 Newbury Street, which has an excellent hall over its place of business, will be host to the conven tion. All member societies are expected to send delegates. Non-member societies, farmers' purchasing or marketing co operatives, labor unions, fraternal so cieties, credit unions and other non profit organizations are urged to send fraternal delegates. Methods of increased joint action to better the economic conditions of con sumers will be discussed. The Eastern States League is made up of 40 societies in the New England states, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, numbering 19,000 in dividuals. Turnover in 1932 was a little under $4,000,000. Farband Has Rent Relief Fund A "Rent Relief Fund" supplies at least a partial answer to unemployment distress in housing cooperatives. Such a fund is successfully handled by the Farband Housing Corporation, a co operative affiliated with the Eastern States Cooperative League. The Far- band has two modern apartment dwell ings, housing 128 families, in the Bronx, New York. Rents average $9.83 per room per month, which meets all carrying charges including amortiza tion on the mortgage. The houses cost about $600,000, one third of which sum was paid in by the tenants themselves in 1928 when the buildings were con structed. About a year ago a voluntary Rent Relief Fund was established. Now an additional sum of $1.00 monthly on each apartment will be set aside in the Rent Relief Fund to aid those of the cooperators unable to meet charges. Cooperators can apply to the Rent Re lief Fund for loans without being charged interest for the first several months, and a nominal interest there after. Most of the residents in these dwell ings are engaged in industry. Some few have small businesses. Others are following professional careers. It is a true cross-section of life in New York. "This enterprise shows what can be done by people of small means if they sincerely espouse the cooperative plans," states Harry Danziger, the manager. "We are able to maintain cultural, educational and social activi ties of a high order without any extra charge to the residents. We have re cently been able to install modern refrigerating units in most of the apart ments, and we expect in a short period of time, to so equip every apartment in the buildings. Some day we hope to be able to establish a cooperative laundry, grocery, butcher shop and other enter prises for the needs of our people." • Get Socialist Support The New York City convention of the Socialist Party on April 1st unani mously adopted a report by a Commit tee on Cooperatives, headed by W. T. Hade, calling for the establishment of a permanent committee on coopera tives, education of party members in the principles and practice of coopera tion, and an appeal to all members to support the cooperative movement. Co operative League speakers have been invited to appear before a number of Socialist branches in and about New York recently. • No Failures In Massachusetts building and loan associations are called "cooperative banks." William R. Landers, president of the Mass. Cooperative Bank League, states, "All of the 227 cooperative COOPERATION 95 banks which were doing business in March, 1929, are doing business to day." • In 1930 there were 11,777 building and loan associations in the United States, with 12,350,928 members and assets of $8,828.611,925 or $714.81 per member. Going In for Education Indiana is to have a series of 5 one- week summer schools, conducted un der the direction of the Central States Cooperative League and with the backing of the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, beginning May 21. The first three sessions, run ning from May 21 to June 10, will be held at McCormick's State Park, Spencer; and the last two will be at Lakewood Lodge, near Warsaw. The program, which is the same for each week, is similar to that of the C.S.C.L. Summer Institute which has been so successful in past years and which this year will be held near Cleveland, O., in July. The local Farm Bureau organiza tions will furnish students, and leaders in Indiana's flourishing farm coopera tive movement will assist A. W. War- inner and Edwin C. Palmer of the League in giving instruction. Every evening there will be a campfire ses sion accompanied by songs, stories and other entertainment. • Convention Dates Set The 1933 convention of the North ern States Cooperative League will be held at Cloquet, Minn., the home of the strong Cloquet Cooperative So ciety, Sept. 11-12. Preceding the con vention, on Sunday, Sept. 10, a co operative women's conference will be held. • Large Wholesale Joins League The Farmers Union Central Ex change of St. Paul, Minn., cooperative wholesale having about 100 member locals and 25 branches, was admitted to membership in the Northern States Cooperative League on April 15. Other new members joining the League at this time were the Farmers Union Oil Company of Froid, Mont., and the On- tonagon Valley Cooperative Creamery Association of Bruce's Crossing, Mich., the latter as a fraternal mem ber. • To Hold Advanced School In place of the Cooperative Youth Courses held at Brule, Wis., the last two summers. Cooperative Advanced Courses, three weeks in length, will be held this year at Superior, Wis., from June 12 to July 1. These courses are for students 20 to 27 years of age who have shown their interest in Con sumers' Cooperation and who wish to prepare themselves to accept respon sible work in the movement. Each stu dent who is accepted will be financed from the Joint Course Fund raised by the cooperatives in that region. The Courses will be sponsored by the Central Cooperative Wholesale of Superior, Northern States Women's Cooperative Guild and Cooperative Youth League. Hold Your Calendar Orders The Cooperative League is planning to publish an attractive 1934 Calendar. All societies are urged to hold up their calendar plans until they have had a chance to see a sketch of the League Calendar, which will appear soon. The price will be about as in the past-—$12 per 100, $55 per 500. $100 per 1000. A Cooperative Calendar should hang on every cooperator's wall. Fraternals Would Take Over Illinois Life It has been proposed that fraternal benefit societies ta'ke over the business of the defunct Illinois Life Insurance Company. A state insurance official states that five such societies operating in Illinois which are 100% solvent, have assets of $64,706,000, insurance in force of $336,843,000 and 408,000 96 COOPERATION SOAP dental cream, mouth wash, cold cream, etc. cannot work wonders, and may actually be use less, directly or potentially harmful, or need lessly expensive. How can you know? The Bphraim method enables you to have technical knowledge of what you buy and to judge it competently for usefulness, quality, and cost? Every E,phraim Specification Product bears a label stating its ingredients. "Write for free "Guide to Scientific Buying" which describes 37 useful products for personal and household needs. JEROME W. EPHRAIM, INC. (Dept. 18) 91 Warren Street, New York policyholders, could easily take over this company. These societies are co operative in form and non-profit in operation. There are many of them throughout the country, with large membership and huge assets. • This Kind of Bank Doesn't Fail The 1932 report of the Common wealth Mutual Savings Bank of Mil waukee, which is a member of The Co operative League, shows total savings deposits of $1,288,918, dividend to de positors (4%) of $49,975, total earn ings $70,959, and total loans $1,014,- 247. This bank is 21 years of age. In the interesting report of the Secretary, C. B. Whitnall, one reads ". . we have never foreclosed, nor have we lost a loan." This bank does not promise to pay any specific rate of interest to depos itors. Instead, the accumulated depos its are loaned to people on homes; every six months the receipts of in terest on these loans are computed, the expenses of operation for the period plus the amount credited to the guar anty fund is subtracted, and the re mainder is divided pro rata among de positors. At first these dividends were 3%, then 3^%, and now are 4%. Mutuals have over 40% of all de posits in American savings banks. The American Bankers' Association esti mates that in the year ending June 30, 1932, all banks handling savings lost $3,925,898,000 in deposits, but the mu tual banks gained about $8,000,000. In the same period savings depositors declined over 7 million, but depositors in mutual banks gained 192,357, reach ing a record number of 13,432,139 on June 30. That Something More The other day as I sat meditating in a cooperative restaurant, my eyes wandered over to the wall and to a sign I had seen hanging there for some years. The sign reads: The principles of consumers' co operation. One man, one vote. Rebates on patronage basis. Limited dividends. Several days later I explained consumers' cooperation as I read it on that wall poster to a group interested in economic problems. One of them remarked that it was some thing like a mutual life insurance society; another something like a building and loan society. None of them found anything to object to in these principles. Purposely I told them no more of the co operative movement. They understood the principles, found nothing to object to in them, and will soon forget them. What more need be told than the prin ciples of cooperation to interest consumers in the cooperative movement? Publicity and educational directors, what can you say? The Professor Sever! Petman, formerly general manager of the Republic Farmers Cooperative Association of Republic, Mich., has iust accepted the posi tion of General Manager of the Northern Farm ers' Coop. Society of Cook, Minnesota. • Waukegan News At the last educational meeting of the Men's Cooperative Guild, J. N. Hautala led a discus sion on "Should the part-time workers join the Cooperative Unemployed League?" A resolu tion was passed that there should be no reason why the part-time workers should not join the unemployed in joint effort to better the living conditions of all the workers in general. It was also suggested that the Cooperative Unem ployed League should be in close contact with the existing labor unions. The opinion of the meeting was that even if the individual mem bers of the Unemployed League are compelled to work for wages less than the union scale occasionally at these times, whenever they hap pen to get hold of some odd jobs, the general trend of the League should be to maintain the prevailing wage scale insofar as possible under the jurisdiction of the League, and whenever there is work to be had for the League mem bers. At the business meeting on April 13th, Jack Liukku led the discussion on "National Co operatives, Inc." the new national cooperative wholesale, just under organization and incor porated under the laws of Indiana. At the next educational meeting, May 25th, Swen Skog-- lund will lead the discussion on "What Possi bilities we have for Cooperative Movement in this country." Old and new members—keep the dates in mind. "Uncle." COOPERATION 97 Cooperative Youth Spring Stirring in Fitchburg Evidence of renewed interest in the club's activities was noticeable at the last general meeting held April 14th, when a motion was made that \ve have our meetings twice a month instead of once as at present. Since our annual meeting comes in June, the matter was left un til then. A twelve-member committee to spread the knowledge of cooperative principles and dis tribute cooperative literature was elected. Mem bers were urged to subscribe to COOPERA TION and also to "The Cooperative Builder." Something that we've never had and always missed, was our own club orchestra. This has been lamented for a long time, and when the matter was brought up at the last meeting it met with such approval that one of our musi cian-members was unanimously elected to get all the musicians together. As we have quite a few in the club that are musically inclined, it will be an easy matter to get a large orchestra from our midst. The Massachusetts Youth League is busy indeed these days. April 16th they put on a whole evening's entertainment at Hubbardston, and the following Sunday in Fitchburg. The program included a speaker, vocal numbers, three short plays, monologues, etc. They are already starting to arrange for the summer festival, too. As this will be the first Inter-Club Festival it is bound to be interesting. It is a two-day affa:r, to take place some time in August, at Fitchburg. The clubs taking part are Hubbardston, Maynard and Fitchburg. The program includes two dances, a play, athletic exhibitions, etc. The Fitchburg Cooperative Club will have its own ball team this summer. As has been evidenced at our outings we have some good baseball players among us and therefore a good team is assured. At the present time we are taking part in indoor sports such as ping pong, pool, card parties and entertainments in the club rooms. One night a week was allotted to the girls Students of 1932 Summer School, Central States District for the use of the club rooms. It has been sug gested to us by the Fitchburg Women's Guild that we form an English-speaking Guild, com posed of some of our members and some of theirs. This matter was left to the above com mittee. This was suggested because some wo men would like to join the cooperative move ment in town, but feel that they are too old for the Youth Club, and are unable to join the Women's Guild because their meetings are conducted in Finnish. Mr. Kenneth Pohlmann, who has been lecturing to us on Cooperation, completed his course the last week of April. The lectures have been very interesting and well attended. We are all very grateful to Mr. Pohlmann for the time and effort he has spent. Our library has increased. The Cooperative League was kind enough to send us a number of books, for which we are grateful, as our library needed replenishing. Hoping to see the young cooperators at Lawrence, May 21st, in a large body. A. M. L. • Chicago Club Plans Photo Exhibit A Cooperative banquet was held at our store (Workmen's Cooperative Mercantile As- soc., 2653 So. Crawford Ave.) on April 22nd, but we'll wager that very few of our readers have ever attended one like it. The fellows owed an entertainment to the girls because the girls won our last membership drive. The program consisted of a movie on how to re duce, a style show with the fellows as models, and refreshments a la limburger and garlic sandwiches. Just clean, sweet entertainmenti Our club is getting along in fine shape. We are distributing copies of Dr. Warbasse's "What is Consumers' Cooperation?" to the members, having them read it and then dis cussing it at our next meeting. This present membership drive of ours is in full swing and despite having two teams pitted against each other to get new members, we will also have, as an incentive for new members to join, a trip to the Cafe Idrott on May 7th with the club footing the bill for all of the eats. (No chicken dinners allowed). Our Executive Committee sure is a wow at thinking up new projects for the club to work on. One of these is the bringing about of a photographic exhibit to be displayed in our store. Exhibits like this tend to make our store more attractive and also advertise the coopera tive idea. You will receive your copy of "The Co- operationist" very soon. The publishing date is Sunday, May 16th. The big task that is confronting us at present is putting our Minstrel Show over in a big way. The proceeds from this are to go into a fund to send students to this year's Central States Cooperative League Summer School at Cleveland. F. P. 98 COOPERATION 'What Does Cooperation Mean to Women^ COOPERATION 99 A Letter from the National Committee To the Women's Guilds Dear Sister Cooperators: "What Does Cooperation Mean to Women?" This is the title of an article by our editor which appeared in the March issue of our na tional monthly, COOPERATION. We became a bit suspicious that within the article is hidden a polite challenge. Anyhow, it is very essential that we accept this challenge. For instance, we might take this question from the opposite angle and say: "What Do \Vomen Mean to Cooperation?" The purchases of women, the typical consumers, are the life- producing force without which cooperation is a failure. When we become thoroughly en lightened, first, of the purchasing power of women, and of the guilds as the means by which that purchasing power may be strongly united and organized, then the field is fertile to cultivation. Our guilds will become torch- bearers that eventually will lead us to the road of emancipation from the everyday drudgery and monotony characteristic of the lot of wo man. Then gradually we will attain an insight of what cooperation will mean to women. The national Committee suggests that a reply to the challenge will be the only means of making our guild work better understood and of concentrating our experiences for the mutual good of all. The national Committee suggests herewith that the guilds do so in the following manner: that the secretary (or other guilds- woman to be selected) of each district, section or local guild compose a short article on "What Value the Guild has proven to Cooperation in our District." The title may vary. It may be a direct reply to the following questions: "What does cooperation mean to women? What do women mean to cooperation? Why a co operative guild?" etc. This suggestion is not by any means a prize contest but an appeal that you present the guild movement in your own way and words. The contributions will be published in CO OPERATION in the order that they arrive and we hope to have one short article published in each COOPERATION, at least to tbe end of the year. Let us take into consideration that the Co operative League congress last September wholeheartedly endorsed our recommendation for the furthering of a national cooperative guild movement. Let us now prove that we are worthy of that trust. Guilds, elect your correspondent for the .above purpose at your very first meeting, if your secretary does not voluntarily accept it. We hope to receive all contributions during the month of May. Send them to the National Co operative Women's Guild Committee, 167 West 12th Street, New York City. N. C. W. G. C. New York District: The Brooklyn Guild celebrated its first anniversary on March 9th, with an elaborate program. The annual report testified to many achievements, the out standing one being that through the effort of the guild they now have two guildswomen on the board of directors of the Brooklyn Co operative Finco Bakery. The guild was or ganized with 13 members and at the present time boasts of 92. We wish you further prog ress. Virginia Hill • Minneapolis Guild Activities Every fall, about November, the Cooperative Women's Guild of Minneapolis holds a bazaar, starting at noon and lasting through the eve ning. The proceeds are often as high as $300.00. A large part of this is placed in the Milk Fund. Milk books are donated from this fund to the deserving poor. Financial assistance is also given to 10 of the most deserving families. The Guild also has a Flower Fund. Chances, costing 5c each are sold at the Guild meeting for a prize donated by one of the members. The winner of the prize buys one for the next meeting and the nickels collected are placed in the Flower Fund. Meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Refreshments are served after the meetings. The women take turns in bringing cake and sandwiches. The Guild is a Fraternal Member of the Northern States Cooperative League. It con tributes both to the N. S. C. L and the national League. The dues of the Guild are only lOc per month. The Guild has a legislative committee, which attends sessions of the legislature and reports back to the members. Jennie Sammeli BOOKS A GUIDE THROUGH WORLD CHAOS, by G. D. H. Cole. Alfred A. Knopf. $3.50. This is a thorough examination of all the economic and political factors that have brought us to the present pass. Mr. Cole is a reader in Economics at Oxford University and a member of the economic advisory council to the British Government. He gives special emphasis to conditions in tbis country and Great Britain, but does not overlook the inter relation of the whole world, economically speaking. The analysis is impartial and it is not until the very last chapter that Mr. Cole expresses his own preference for a Socialist State. He gives the Co-operative movement its due as a democratic organization and an alternative to Capitalism, but his own opinion is that while Cooperation has grown steadily it does not offer a serious threat to Capitalist dominance. The book is a real reference book on present economic conditions. Any one interested in economic conditions will 'Ind it useful and informative. Adolph Ikle. • Technocracy for the Consumers 100,000,000 GUINEA PIGS, by Ar;hur Kal- let and F. J. Schlink. Vanguard Press, $2.00. Technocracy has presented us certain valu able information as to the progress of tech nique, "100,000,000 Guinea Pigs" presents just as amazing facts about the distribution of man ufactured goods. This book is a valuable com panion book for "Your Money's Worth" and "The Tragedy of Waste." Every consumer should have these books and study them. They reveal the rottenness of the present system of distribution and pro duction. Everything is sold for the purpose of getting profit. Consumers' health is not taken into consideration. Manufacturers will pro duce poisoned goods and retailers will sell it— if there is a profit. This book gives us glaring examples. It is a revelation. But it is only the diagnosis of the situation. The last chapter is lacking. And that should have been entitled, "Consumers' Co-operative Movement." All co-operators should read it and then in practical work supply that lacking chapter. George Halone.i The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ at the Canadi-in Coopera tive Movement, owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York, N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, Wis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wis. NEW ERA LIFE ASSOCIATION Affiliated with The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. All standard forms of Legal Reserve life insurance contracts written. We can insure you by mail without medical examination. Cooperators. patronize your own insurance society. For full particulars clip this coupon. New Era Life Association Grand Rapids, Mich. Without obligation send me information concerning your different certificates: Name ___________________________ Address -Age: G, 116 COOPERATION STUDY CONSUMERS' COOPERATION The books and pamphlets listed below are available through The Cooperative League. Read them and pass them on to your friends HISTORICAL Per Copy Per 100 38. Consumers Cooperation in the United States (illus.), 1930.... .10 8.00 69. Story of Toad Lane (By Stuart Chase) ...................... .05 4.00 TECHNICAL 4. How to Start and Run a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... 6. Model By-Laws for a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... 39. Credit Union Primer (By Ham and Robinson) .............. 61. Model Lease for Cooperative Apartment House ............ .25 15.00 .60 .10 .10 06 .02 .05 .85 2.00 MISCELLANEOUS 16. Model Co-op State Law ........ 36, "When the Whistle Blew" (Story, by Bruce Calvert) .......... 67. How a Consumers' Cooperative Differs from Ordinary Business «2. Buttons (League emblem), % inch diameter ............... 63. Sign or Transparency of League Emblem. Green and gold, 8 in. diameter .................... .26 15.06 «1. Stock certificates, engraved, with League Emblem. Bound in books of 100, 200, or 250 S8. To Mothers ................... .02 1.00 10. Farmers' Cooperation, A Way Out: An address by L. S. Herron.. .05 4.00 72 "Little Lessons in Cooperation" 35 74. The Burden of Credit ......... .02 1.00 75. What is the Cooperative Store.. .03 2.00 76. What is Consumers' Cooperation .05 4.00 77. The Most Necessary Thing in Life ......................... -02 1.00 78. Are You Sure You Are Getting Your Money's Worth ........ .02 1.00 79. There Are Two Sides to Every Counter ...................... .02 1.00 30. Consumers', Credit, and Produc tive Societies, Bull. 631 of the Bureau of Labour Statistics.. .25 81. Cooperative Youth Songs ...... .25 82. "What Cooperation means to a de pression-sick America ........ .03 2.00 83. What is the Cooperative League 84. The Coop. Movement, J. H. Dietrich .OB 4.00 "What Consumers' Cooperation Means to a Depression-Sick America" Try it on your depression-pick friend A new leaflet, mostly pictures 3 cents per copy, $2 per 100 We also recommend "What Is Consumers' Cooperation?" by Dr. J. P. Warbasse. A clear, concise definition. 5 cents per copy, $4 per 100 Order from The Cooperative League Raivaaja Print—Fitchburg. Mass. MONTHLY PUBLICATIONS Cooperation—(In bundle lots, $7.60 per hundred). Subscription, per year (foreign, $1.25).... $1.00 REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (Pub. by the I. C. A.) ........ Per Year, $1.50 BOOKS The following books are recommended as con taining the best discussion of the mode) i Coopera tive Movement. They may be ordered through The League, postpaid as foliows: Ber^enprren. R. F.: CrPdit TTnion. A Cooper ative Banking Book 1931 .............. ?1.60 Blanc, Elsie T.: Cooperative Movement in Russia, 1924 _________________ 1.50 Brightwill, L. R.: Animal "Co-op" Book— For Children ........................ .16 Chase and Schlink: Your Money's Worth, A Book for Consumers ................ 1.10 Flanagan, J. A.: Wholesale Cooperation in Scotland, 1920 ........................ 2.10 Gide, C.: Consumers' Cooperative Societies, American edition and notes, 1&22, Cloth 1.&0 Hall, Prof. Fred: Handbook for Members of Cooperative Committees ............. 2.50 Holyoake: Rochdale Pioneers 1892 ....... 1.10 Hough, E. M.: Cooperation in India 1932.... 3.75 Indian Cooperation, Children's story ...... .15 Jessness, O. B.: Cooperative Marketing of Farm Products ....................... 2.10 Kress, A. J.:Capitalism, Cooperation, Com munism, 1932 .....I................... 2.00 Life As We Have Known It. Life stories of English guiidswomen, telling what the Guild has done for them.. 1.25 Madams, J. P.: The Story Retold ......... .85 Nicholson, Isa: Our. Story ................ .25 Odhe, Thorsten: Finland, A Nation of Co- operators ............................. 1.50 Oerne, Andres: Cooperative Ideals and Problems ............................. 1.35 Owen, Robert: Autobiography ........... .75 Poisson, E.: The Cooperative Republic.... 1.85 Potter, B.: Cooperative Movement in Great Britain 1891........................ ... 1.10 Redfern, Percy: The Story of the C. W. S. 1.26 Redfern, Percy: The Consumers' Place In Society, 1920 .......................... 1.00 Smith-Gordon & Staples: Rural Recon struction In Ireland, 1918 ............ 1.00 Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation in Denmark ............................. 1.10 Smith-Gordon and O"Brien: Cooperation In Many Lands, 1920 .................... l.SO Stolinsky, A.: The Cooperative Movement. (In Yiddish) ......................... 1.00 Warbasse, J. P.: Cooperative Democracy, (1927) ............................... 1.60 First edtlon 1923, paper bound ........ .60 Warbasse, J. P.: What Is Cooperation; 1927 .76 Warne, C. E.: Consumers' Cooperative Move ment In Illinois 1926.................. S.50 Webb, B. and S.: The Consumers* Coopera tive Movement, 1981 .................. 6.00 Webb, Catherine: Industrial Cooperation, 1917 .................................. l.§0 Woolf, Leonard: Cooperation and the Fu ture of Industry ..................... 1.66 Cooperation, Bound Volumes, 1915 to 1931 inclusive, each year ................ 1.25 The People's Year Book, 1933, English, paper .75, cloth 1.35 Year Book of The Cooperative League, 1932 .75 COOPERATION Y Organ of the Con- Movement in the JUfl II •L •, - sumers Cooperative United Vol. XIX. No. 6 JUNE, 1933 10 cents IN THIS ISSUE Cooperative Unemployed Leagues Central Wholesale Annual Meeting Cooperatives at "Continental Congress' Consumers' Cooperation in the U. S. (cont.) 102 COOPERATION COO PE RATIO N An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St.. New York City.___________________ OSCAR COOLEY, Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner L. S. Herron Herman Liebman V. S. Alanne__________George Jacobson Entered as Second Class matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., un der the Act of March 3, 18TO. Price $1.00 a year. Vol. XIX. No. 6 June, 1933 Steady Now In a time of confusion thrice con founded, both in what people are doing and in what they are thinking and say ing ought to be done, Consumers' Cooperation stands out crystal clear in its philosophy and method of action. As consumers we are down and out, and as consumers we must approach the job of getting back on our feet. Following the individualist road has caused us to get lost in the maze of this highly special ized society; to get out of the maze we must take the cooperative road. These things are clear and indisputable. Some despair of Cooperation, saying that it will take too long,that things are breaking up and quick relief is neces sary. The policy of these is to talk, talk, talk, and privately hope that when the break-up comes, they will be lucky enough to land on their feet. Mean while, the forecast break-up does not come, and one becomes convinced that all this talk about it is bosh. Two years ago, none less than Mon tagu Norman, governor of the Bank of England, said: "Unless drastic measures are taken to pre vent it, the capitalist system throughout the civilized world will be wrecked within a year. I should like this prediction to be filed for future reference." We did file it, Montagu, and now we are referring to it. The fear that a crash is near starts everybody hunting for a panacea. They don't find it. The crash does not come. The world continues to bump along sickeningly and unendingly on two cylinders, and three punctured tires. This yearning and searching for quick panaceas reminds one of Ponce De Leon seeking the Fountain of Youth. Wearily he trekked over many miles of rich and beautiful country looking for this mythical pond that was going to make him young again. He didn't find it. Meanwhile he might have carved out a fairly comfortable old age somewhere in that smiling land. Let those who seek a program accept the program that is here at hand, that has been fully tried and proven, that is simple, reasonable and acceptable to all, Consumers' Cooperation. Let no cooperator become impatient or be ashamed that his program works slowly. Let him throw out his chest and take courage in the fact that it works, it is just, rational, equitable, and that the panacea-hunters will have to turn to Cooperation sometime, come what may. • Straws Pointing Our Way When, at the recent "Continental Congress" in Washington, D. C., Townley pictured in glowing terms the ideal system under which the organ ized farmers would trade directly with the organized consumers in the cities, eliminating all waste and exploitation, he got a tremendous ovation. That was the picture that keyed the Congress to its high point of enthusiasm. And that, we would say, is the cooperative ideal. Utopian as it may sound, it is coming. It is the bright hope of the common people on farm and in city. We wish that every member of the working- class everywhere might have heard Townley's speech. We believe that if they had, they would have risen and cheered their heads off, as did the 4000 at this Congress. The minds of the people incline toward the very thing for which cooperators are planning and working. • The best minds verify the belief of cooperators that only through educa tion will our economic system be re- COOPERATION 103 made and our society revitalized. Prof. Harold Rugg, in "The Great Tech nology" (The John Day Co., pub lishers) sums up thus: "There is only the way of education—adult education, education of childhood and youth. The way of education is not sudden but slow; it is not revolutionary but evolutionary. It is possible, of course, that the tensions and fears of the present crisis may help us to precipitate an adult education movement that will sweep over the land with comparative suddenness. In deed, it appears that by no other method shall we be able to stave off arbitrary imposition of autocratic control either by an entrenched owning class or by an outraged and an equally intolerant proletariat. But it is clear that, in any event, the fundamental reconstruction will be achieved only by the development of a long time program of education reconstruction." • Another "straw pointing our way" is the type of utterance coming out of the churches. From many a pulpit the profit system is being savagely at tacked and a cooperative type of so ciety is being called for. In a resolu tion recently adopted by a conference of Methodists in New York, we read: "Our traditional philosophy of rugged indi vidualism must be modified to meet the demands of a cooperative age. \Ve refuse to recognize that unemployment and depression are inevita ble. Implicit in the Christian ideal of mutual aid are the possibilities of a planned society wherein production and consumption are prop erly related. This will involve also such a re distribution of wealth as to remedy the present gross inequity." There are over 11 million Metho dists in the world. We hope they all feel this way. Bargain-Hunters the Scourge Why does not the cooperative move ment forge ahead more rapidly? Be cause of the selfishness and short sightedness of cooperators. Many, many of them have not yet learned that to bring cooperation to, full fruition they must put their own personal, im mediate advantage in second place. They come to the cooperative place of business in the mood of bargain-hunt ers. If the bargain is not immediately forthcoming, across the street they go to the private trader, who may sell for a jot less, or give a little more credit, A penny saved today'—economic slavery tomorrow. But they don't see that. They live only in the present, as if there were no tomorrow. But there is a tomorrow, and there lies the Co operative Commonwealth. If today's cooperative movement is all we shall ever have, let us throw up the sponge. Especially, but not exclusively, in the farm cooperatives do we find the bargain-hunting attitude. Nine out of ten American farmers support their co operatives only if it nets them imme diate cash returns. They judge the co operative solely on a price basis. "Can I buy cheaper of the Co-op, or of Joe Profiteers?" It has not yet dawned upon the majority of American farmers that they will never get permanently better conditions until they build a co operative system to take the place of the profit system and that in order to build a cooperative system they must patronize their cooperatives religious ly, even at the sacrifice of a few cents of immediate gain. The goal is the thing; let us keep our eyes on it. There are a half dozen large farm consumers' cooperatives which, if a majority of their members could see co operation in this light, would put an entirely new complexion upon the movement. Similarly short-sighted is the co- operator who fails to specify the Co-op brand. Here it is simply a matter of taste. Co-op brands are as cheap or cheaper, as good or better (almost in variably better), than private brands. There is no reason for not buying Co op brands except that the buyer "is used to" a private brand, "thinks" it is better, "hates to change". Such per sons are allowing their petty whims to obstruct the progress of the greatest reconstructive movement of all time. Again, let us put first tilings first. We are playing for big stakes. We cannot afford to satisfy individual whims or to haggle over penny savings. A bill is passed forcing the security broker to tell the truth, but the broker of food, clothing and shelter may go on his merry falsifying way. 104 COOPERATION Central Wholesale May Buy New Bakery, Take Over Bank THAT supremacy in cooperative store development is still held by the Lake Superior region was again clearly proven by the attendance, spirit and accomplishments of the 16th an nual meeting of the Central Coopera tive Wholesale at Superior, Wis., April 10-11, 294 delegates, represent ing 70 store societies, having 26,844 members, were present. (The total membership of the Wholesale is 101 societies with over 30,000 members.) In addition were some 400 visitors. The financial position of the Whole sale was reported stronger than a year ago, with no debts on open accounts, a bank balance of over $12,000, current assets 2.63 times current liabilities, and accounts receivable appreciably re duced. The 1932 sales total of $1,310,- 149 is about 13% less than the 1931 to tal, but price drops being even greater, actually a larger volume of goods was handled. The Wholesale, which now operates a modern bakery in Superior, may purchase a still larger and more mod ern plant which a private baking com pany, following a strike and loss of trade, wants to sell. The purchase of a rural bank in Minnesota which could not make the grade under profit auspi ces is also being considered. Private banking has failed with such bad con sequences to all, a cooperative bank is needed, the delegates agreed. The ac tion of the Board in joining the recently organized National Cooperatives, Inc., an association of regional wholesales for joint purchasing, was approved. The incorporation of a .publishing asso ciation to publish "The Cooperative Builder" and "The Finnish Coopera tive Weekly" was authorized. Work to protect the cooperatives in legisla tive matters was voted. These were high points of the meeting. So great was the pressure of business at the meeting that an additional day was voted for next year's meeting. The showing of a film from abroad, "Coop eration in Sweden," was a feature of entertainment. Among the resolutions passed was one calling for the 30-hour week in in dustry, and the following which calls for income tax exemption for coopera tive associations of consumers who are not farmers: Ask Tax Exemption WHEREAS, certain types of Cooperative organizations are exempt from the filing of Federal Income Tax Returns under Section 231 (12) of the Revenue Act of 1926, and Section 103 of the Revenue Act of 1928, WHEREAS, the language of said acts and the interpretative regulations indicate that Congress intended to exempt cooperative asso ciations organized to act as marketing and, or purchasing agents for producers, WHEREAS, said act has been held not to exempt Consumers' Cooperative Associations from the filing of Income Tax Returns and the payment of Income Taxes, RESOLVED, that the stockholders of the Central Cooperative Wholesale, in annual meeting assembled this llth day of April, 1933, request the Senators and Congressmen of the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan to use their best efforts to secure an amend ment of the Revenue Acts of 1926 and 1928, so that Consumers' Cooperative Associations would be exempt under said Revenue Acts, RESOLVED, further, that this annual meet ing instruct its officers to forward copies of this resolution to the Senators and Congress men of the States of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, in the hope that they will use their good offices to secure exemptions for Con sumers' Cooperative Associations as heretofore stated. • How To Avoid Mistakes The Farmers Union of Nebraska has set up an Auditing Department for the use of its member cooperatives. The committee in charge is C. McCarthy, manager of the State Exchange, Wal ter Burgess for the grain and oil divi sions, and Chris Milius for the Union. Milius states: "If an auditing depart ment had been set up in the early days, we would have avoided many costly mistakes." COOPERATION 105 Consumers' Cooperation in the United States By Oscar Cooley Previous installments appeared in our February, March and May issues. IV WE SHOULD not leave the Northern States League terri tory without reference to the district federations of cooperatives. These embrace a county or other natural dis trict, and their object is to draw to gether all consumers' cooperatives such as stores, oil associations, and credit unions, and producers cooperatives such as creameries and shipping asso ciations, within the district for joint ac tion, both in educational work and business relations. For instance, there is the Carlton County Cooperative Federation and the Mesaba Range Cooperative Federation, both in north ern Minnesota. There are 7 such fed erations in the Lake Superior country. A recent addition to the Northern States League membership is the Farmers Union Central Exchange of St. Paul This is a regional wholesale fathered by the Farmers Union, fraternal and educational organization. It supplies farm necessities, chiefly gasoline and oil, but also twine, tires and feeds in considerable volume, to local Farmers Union cooperatives in No. Dakota, Montana and Wisconsin. It has 100 member cooperatives, and 25 branches run from the central office. Its total volume in 1932 was $1,678,345.65. It has aggressive leaders and a live mem bership. Much of the promotional work is done by the Farmers Union, not only for this purchasing cooperative but also for its sister marketing coopera tives such as the Farmers Union Live stock Commission Company of So, St. Paul. To get the full advantages of dealing through these business organ izations, the farmer must be a dues- paying member of the Farmers Union. Passing now outside of the Northern States League district, we find a similar set-up in Nebraska, where the Farmers Union promotes consumers' coopera tion through The Farmers Union State Exchange of Omaha, a cooperative wholesale for the state of Nebraska; and marketing coopera tion through a Farmers Union grain company, livestock commission house and creameries, A cooperative insur ance company, the third largest, con sidering amount of insurance in force, of mutual fire insurance companies in Nebraska, is also sponsored. The State Exchange, which has over 200 local member associations, handled a volume of $1,192,837.91 in 1932. The Exchange also operates a large retail store in its headquarters at Omaha, and several branch stores, and does some mail-order business. Groceries and general merchandise are handled, as well as farm supplies. An auditing service for local cooperatives has re cently been started. Cooperation is a genuine program of reconstruction to these Nebraska farm ers. Constant educational work is carried on, through a thoroughly coop erative twice-a-month paper, and from the platform. "It will take a long time to reach the cooperative common wealth, but meanwhile cooperation pays as we go," expresses the philoso phy of these cooperators. The Farmers Union State Exchange is affiliated di rectly with The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Another direct affiliate is the Grange Cooperative Wholesale of Seattle, Wash., which has 10 active member cooperatives amoncr the Grange stores in Washington. The Washington State Grange promotes cooperation as a part of its program in that state. Blasting powder is a leading item dis tributed. It is made in the Grange's 106 COOPERATION own plant. Oil distribution is also growing. Central States Cooperative League This League, with headquarters at Bloomington, 111., embraces Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and lower Michigan. It has 12 constituent member societies, which number 4500 individual mem bers. It furnishes its societies with legal, business and accounting service and advice, and operates a Joint Buy ing Department through which its member societies buy a variety of com modities, chiefly food products (about $20,000 yearly). Each year the League holds a Congress of cooperative so cieties and other non-profit, mutual aid organizations. A one-week summer •school is conducted annually to foster the knowledge of cooperative princi ples and methods. Six similar one-week schools are being instituted in Indiana in the summer of 1933. The League owns and operates its own printing plant where stationery is printed for member societies and where educational, publicity and propaganda matter is produced. Its official publi cation is "The Cooperative Builder," published at Superior, Wis. The largest society in this district is The Cooperative Trading Company of \Vaukegan, 111. This society has 2104 members, and nearly as many customers who are not members. It started in 1910 with milk distribution. Its first premises were a basement, and its first equip ment a horse and wagon, crude re frigerator and a few milk cans. It now has five meat and grocery stores, a bakery and a dairy with a large milk delivery system, and its volume in 1932 was $607,016.24. Although originally started by Finns, now only about 25% of its members are Finnish. Practically every element in the community is represented. The farmers who supply milk are members and in addition to rebates on their purchases at the end of the year, are paid an additional percentage oh their sales of milk to the society during the year. Thus the advantages of coopera tion are divided between consumer and producer. This practice has been no tably successful. This society is active educationally. It has a men's guild, women's guild, youth league, sports club and glee club; also a live credit union. Recently it has taken a leading part in the Cooperative Unemployed League of Waukegan. This League, with over 1200 enrolled members, is demonstrating to its mem bers how they can organize to protect their own consumer interests. The Co operative Trading Company has been affiliated with The Cooperative League since 1918. Other strong societies in the Central States district are the Waukegan-No. Chicago Cooperative Association, which has close and friendly relations with the Cooperative Trading Com pany, the Workmen's Cooperative Mercantile Association of Chicago, Workingmen's Cooperative Company and Slovenian Cooperative Company, both of Cleveland, and the New Coop erative Company of Dillonvale, O. A thriving society, not yet affiliated, is the North Star Cooperative Company of Fairport Harbor, O. All these are urban consumers' groups. A large farmers* group, not yet affiliated, is the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association. This is a state-wide wholesale serving some 90 local county cooperatives and carrying on an energetic educational program. Ohio and Michigan also have large farm bureau cooperatives, dealing together in many respects with the Indiana association. (To be continued) • What the Organized Consumers Produce The British cooperative movement has gone so far into production that any Briton can purchase cooperatively produced— Flour Wringers Tarn Wire Mattresses Soap Brushes Biscuits Galvanized Ware Tea Boots and Shoes Margarine Clothing Lard Drugs Furniture Cycles Pianos Prams COOPERATION 107 Cooperative Unemployed League Favored at Central States Congress A record attendance, plans for forming a district organization of women's guilds and also of youth leagues, the admission of two new members of the League and completion of plans for seven summer schools of one week each this summer were fea tures of the 7th Annual Congress of the Central States Cooperative League, held at Waukegan, 111., April 23-24. There were 94 delegates represent ing 10 member societies and 24 non- member organizations. Some 200 vis itors brought the total attendance the first day up to nearly 300. Plans were made to call a conference of cooperative women from all parts of the district in Waukegan some time in June, for the purpose of forming a dis trict federation of cooperative women and to encourage the formation of women's guilds in every society in the district. It was also planned to call a conference of the cooperative youth of the district to-meet at the same time for the purpose of forming a district fed eration of youth leagues and encourage the formation of youth leagues in con nection with every society in the dis trict. An entertainment and dance staged by the Cooperative Trading Company of Waukegan and the Waukegan- North Chicago Cooperative Associa tion at the Slovenian National Home brought out an audience of some 1,200 people. A splendid address was given by I. H. Hull, general manager of the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association. Cooperative Unemployed Leagues and their place in the Cooperative Movement were discussed. It was announced that the group of organiza tions that have developed in Wauke gan and vicinity during the past winter have been granted a charter by the State and have thus become permanent cooperative organizations. A resolu tion was adopted recommending that a committee be appointed to work out a plan for affiliating these organizations with the League and that the League take the responsibility of encouraging the organization of these Leagues in connection with every cooperative so ciety in the district. The four vacancies on the Board of Directors were filled by re-electing Ed ward Carlson and J. Liukku of Wau kegan, and R. J. Smith of Bloomington, to succeed themselves. J. C. Alien of Bloomington was elected to fill the unexpired term of Wm. G. Ross, de ceased. Edwin C. Palmer was elected president, Edward Carlson, vice- president, and R. J. Smith, treasurer. The Junior Cooperators of Chicago and the East St. Louis Cooperative Society of East St. Louis, 111., were ad mitted to membership. Unemployed League Assisted By Cooperative Society What an organization of the unem ployed can do to help themselves, when sponsored and assisted by a coopera tive society, is being proven by the Cooperative Unemployed League of Waukegan, 111., which was initiated last October by the Cooperative Trad ing Company of that city. This League now has over 1,200 members, doing many things for themselves coopera tively, from making sauerkraut to bar- bering. It has recently become in corporated. The Cooperative Trading Company donated the use of a building contain ing a hall, club rooms and basement for processing and storing foods. Others gave the fuel to heat the build ing. Meetings of the unemployed were called and the organization was started. Then the farmers around, as well as the city people, were canvassed for 108 COOPERATION what they would contribute. Over 60 tons of foodstuffs have thus far been secured and distributed. In addition, 3 cars of potatoes were bought in Wis consin, their transportation being do nated by the railroad. People are more ready to donate if they find that there is a responsible organization ready to see that the donations get to the people who need them. Funds are also raised by entertain ments, athletic games, dances and ba zaars, for which the use of halls has been given by local organizations. The cooperative Men's and Women's Guilds of the Trading Company have been especially active in such affairs. More than 100 families are obtaining free milk from a fund partly contrib uted by the employees of the Coopera tive Trading Company. The coopera tive bakery gives bread and rolls. Over 15 barrels of sauerkraut have been made and distributed by the League. Four hundred pairs of shoes have been repaired. Barbering is done on certain days at the clubhouse. Recently two dentists, four doctors and two lawyers have offered their services to the League. A special Grievance Committee hears complaints regarding the doling out of state relief and presents them weekly to the county authorities. The purpose of this is to see that the indi vidual has a group representation and thus is sure of getting a fairer deal. This Unemployed League carries on its affairs in a business manner, much as does any permanent cooperative so ciety. Each line of activity is governed by a separate committee, and the offi cers compose an Executive Committee. An Auditing Committee checks the books once every three months and submits a report to the members' meet ing. The use of 1,000 acres of farmland has lately been donated and plants have been started in local greenhouses, later to be transplanted to this land. This is one of the largest projects of the League. Educational meetings are frequently held where the how and why of co operation is expounded. News and Comment Gains in Depression "Our current assets in May, 1929. were $8,049.65," writes the Went- worth Farmers Co-op. Association of Wentworth, Wis., "and current liabil ities $14,095.15. In December of 1932 they were respectively, $9,286.01 and $9,633.67. This means that in 1929 our liabilities were $6,045.50 more than our current resources, and in Dec. 1932 the differential was only $347.66. Upon looking this over we find that our cur rent liabilities have decreased $5,697.84 during the last 3l/2 years of depression. Our sales have decreased slightly, but not in proportion to the per cent of de crease of the price of commodities, so that we can say that we have been able to hold our own in spite of all compe tition and attacks by all outside in fluences." Our Mission E. G. Cort, manager of the Midland Cooperative Oil Association, in a re cent address to employees hit the nail on the head, thus: "Service and merchandise without private profit, not imitating old-line capitalistic concerns, that is our mis sion. Let us use this distinctive feature of our cooperative enterprise with such emphasis, conviction and enthusiasm that every patron will know and feel that distinction. "You must get your members to see the significance, the social significance of cooperative business; emphasize quality and worth, not brands; sell lubrication and power, not empty ad vertising slogans; develop informed cooperators and discriminating con sumers, not blind, slavish victims for COOPERATION 109 the snares of capitalistic advertisements and profit taking. This cooperative movement will grow as fast as you men grow in leadership and cooperative vision. You will benefit with your neighbors and your community as con sumers' cooperation expands." • It May Grow A friend sends us an editorial from 'a recent issue of "Retailing." We read: American stores imagine that they have about all the troubles which can be showered upon them. But they are wrong. Either by good luck or bad they have missed one partic ular fly in their ointment which is in the un disputed possession of European stores. In England in particular the cooperative movement is a formidable competitor. W. Her man Kent, national secretary of the Federation of Grocers' Associations of England, recently asked for "a joint organization for common and immediate defensive action against the Coop erative Movement's definitely declared aim to eliminate private enterprise." He went on to give a number of methods by which the in dividual retailer can survive. The methods he suggests bear a striking resemblance to those urged here upon independent retailers in their battles with the chains, not the least of which is to be efficient in the conduct of their business. So far the cooperative movement has made little progress in America. But unless big store owners can get their overhead down to more reasonable proportions there is every possibil ity that it may grow. In fact, the hundreds of cooperative unemployment organizations throughout the country may be the nuclei from which these may grow. English department stores run and make a profit at an overhead of slightly over 20 per cent; American stores at over 35 per cent. Sooner or later this difference must be reduced. If not, there will be coopera- lives or some new form of competition. • Profits of the A. & P. The A. 6 P. grocery chain made net profits of $22,732,772 in 1932, as com pared with $29.792,974 in 1931. Total sales in 1932 were $864,048,257 as compared with $1,008,325,093 in 1931. There are now 15.427 stores in the chain, 143 less than a year ago. • Organize Educational Council The aim of the Twin City Cooper ative Council, which was recently or ganized, has 80 members now and hopes to have 5000, is "to carry on eductional activities relative to the Consumers' Cooperative Movement, Labor Economics and the Labor Union Movement." Its program is "to unite the consumers." Its goal is "Cooperation applied in every trade and industry, where the members shall produce and distribute for themselves, where all the earnings shall be distributed to the members ac cording to their patronage." Members pay dues of $1, and pledge themselves to give patronage to exist ing and future genuine cooperatives in the Twin Cities. Erich Wachter is president. Other cities should organize similar councils. Copies of the bylaws are available. • Seek $1 Members The 1933 campaign for Individual Members of the Northern States League has thus far netted 225. Dues are $1. To support the educational program of the League is especially important at this time, when the ears of the public are open as never before. Consequently individual supporters are earnestly desired. • Cooperative Library Chain A chain of "workers' cooperative libraries" is planned in Georgia, the aim being "to educate farmers and in dustrial workers for the cooperative commonwealth." Don West, co-di rector of the Highlander Folk School, is starting the first unit in Kenesaw, Ga. His father has given 20 acres of land. The neighbors will cut logs and build a cabin library. Later others will be built and books will be circulated from one to another. Meetings and lectures will be held at each library. • U. S. Sahlman, who was formerly manager of the Duluth Cooperative Society, has recently become general manager of the Republic Farmers Co operative Society of Republic, Michi gan. • The Co-op brand is spreading. Now you can buy Co-op chicks from the Washington Cooperative Chick Asso ciation. 110 COOPERATION Co-op Audits The average charge for 33 typical detailed audits performed by the Au diting Department of the Northern States Cooperative League was $101, while outside private audits, less de tailed, averaged $126. It pays to "buy cooperative," whether you are buying bread, milk, coffee, oil or audits. • At Maple Hill The Summer Institute of the North ern States Cooperative League will be held June 12-18 at Maple Hill Farm, on Lake Independence, 20 miles west of Minneapolis. The cost is $10 per stu dent. For one inexpensive w.eek of combined recreation and education, this can not be beat. • Hope This Committee Loafs The Board of the Northern States Cooperative League recently appointed a Grievance Committee of three to function in the event of any possible dispute between member societies. Hansen, Vandermyde and Nurmi were appointed. • Advertising Our Ideals The following is an advertisement of cooperative feed. It so well expresses the ideals of cooperative business that it might be applied to any goods or services distributed cooperatively. A COOPERATIVE FEED PRICE STRUCTURE FIRST, it should be predicated upon the market value of the merchandise, plus a service return that will guarantee the continuity of the business. SECONC. it should reflect the same basic price to all members, never should it grant a concession to one that could not be allotted to another. The granting of such concessions would eventually destroy the cooperative or unity idea. THIRD, the motive in arriving at a price basis should be to reflect the maximum in quality and quantity to the user, full measure pressed down and running over, and an absolute free dom from a resort to adulteration, substitution, or reduced quantity, in arrivinq at a price structure where multiple ingredients are in volved. It is readily apparent that such a policy brings about a linking of the economic and so cial problems of the day, that better conditions may manifest. To view economics from a pure ly commercial standpoint would be to leave the human equation entirely out of the scheme and would exalt the dollar at the expense of a com mon humanity. This would be the reverse of the Cooperative ideal. FEED DEPARTMENT WASHINGTON COOPERATIVE EGG 6 POULTRY ASSOCIATION • City Car Owners to Ride On Co-op Gas A Minneapolis Cooperative Oil As sociation is being organized, largely through the efforts of the Twin City Cooperative Council, A gas and service station has been opened at Fourth Ave. So. and 7th Street, with the help of the Midland Wholesale, and 500 gallons a day are being sold; 500 members have been signed up and 1000 is the goal. Shares are $10 each, with interest lim ited to 6%. Not more than 10 shares may be sold to any one person. The Central Labor Union and Farmer-La- borites are favorable. The toll of the profit oil concerns is enormous. The farm consumers long since rebelled and set up their coopera tives, which have been consistently successful. At last the city consumers are bestirring themselves, • This One Taxes the Temper Nothing could show up the absurdity of the sales tax more clearly than the recent ruling by New York State that the sales tax will be collected on barter deals as well as on exchanges involving the use of money. For instance, Shoe maker John seeks to barter with Farmer Bill—a pair of shoes for a pig, let us say. Neither have a penny of money. The first question to arise is: Who will pay the sales tax? Having settled that stumper, the next one is: In what coin will it be paid? The State wants neither shoes nor pig, to say nothing of 1 % of a pair of shoes or of a pig. If John and Bill are to be taxed somehow or other, (let the State figure that out) when they perform this bar ter, why not also tax them when they do not? Why not tax me when I put on my shirt, and you when you put out the cat? Sure, why not? COOPERATION 111 Cooperatives Represented in Continental Congress AN ATTEMPT to lay the founda tions of a unified workers' move ment, which may unite all common folk in "the building of a new economic sys tem of justice and freedom," was made when the "Continental Congress for Economic Reconstruction" met in Washington, D. C., May 6-7. Over 4000 attended representing socialist and other political groups, labor unions, farmers organizations, unem ployed leagues, fraternal societies, cooperatives and youth groups. Among the cooperative delegates present were Oscar Cooley, Coopera tive League of the U. S. A.; V. S. Alanne, Northern States Cooperative League; Arnold Ronn, Central Coop erative \Vholesale; Arne Halonen, New Era Life Association; Joseph Martinek, Workingmen's Cooperative Company of Cleveland; Frank Shil- ston, Sunnyside Cooperative Society of Long Island City; Sadie Rivkin and Sennie Katz of Brownsville Coopera tive Bakery, "Brooklyn; E. Brewster, Frank McCurdy and others from the Methodist Youth Cooperative Buying Club of Philadelphia; H. Winchester and R. Nugent of the New York State Credit Union League; Henry Puranen of United Cooperative Society of Fitchburq and J. J. Nylander of Coop erative Trading Association, Brooklyn. Each type of organization held a caucus. The Cooperatives and Edu cational Groups were thrown together into one caucus, with about 100 pres ent. This caucus elected a represen tative to each committee of the Con gress. Arnold Ronn was elected vice- chairman of the caucus. At the end of the Congress, Ronn was also chosen to represent the cooperatives on the per manent Committee of Correspondence and Action, of 26 members. A resolution of the Committee on Agriculture, on which Oscar Cooley served, favored encouragement of bona-fide cooperative marketing asso ciations and purchasing associations of farmers, and societies of consumers in town and city, which should purchase direct from farmer's associations inso far as possible, thus eliminating the waste and exploitation of the profit system. This was unanimously adopted by the committee and embodied in the report later adopted by the Congress. A Bond of Union Cooley held that Consumers' Coop eration should be strongly endorsed because "it is something which both city consumer %nd farmer practice and so forms a natural bond of union for all," and because "it is something which farmers practice to an even greater extent than city consumers, the consumers' movement being most fully developed among farmers in America, and so is a program the endorsement of which will tend to get the support of farmers." All agreed that one of the best things the Congress could bring about would be greater harmony and unanimity of action between workers and farmers. Other resolutions adopted by the Committee called for abolishing the in come tax on consumers' cooperatives, and for a cooperative educational pro gram by the Department of Agriculture and by the state universities and ex tension services. T. I. Smith, a farmer from New Hope, Pa., was chairman of the Committee on Agriculture. A stirring Declaration of Independ ence was adopted by the Congress, and a call was sent out for all to join in making this a permanent unification movement. State chairmen were ap pointed and each state was urged to hold a convention in the near future. It is planned to hold another Congress next vear. Emil Rieve, president of the American Federation of Full- Fashioned Hosiery Workers, was chosen permanent president. An Ex ecutive Committee of seven was ap pointed. 112 COOPERATION Make the Members Work A recent bulletin entitled "Selling by Em ployees" issued by the Policyholders Service Bureau of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., points out that in recent years an in creasing number of companies have been using "non-selling" employees to increase sales. This new method of selling has been an outgrowth of this line of reasoning. (1) "All employees have a certain number of rela tives, friends, and acquaintances;" (2) "If these employees can be converted into sales men and their friends into customers, the result will be profitable." One company es timated that even the humblest employee is acquainted with 50 or more possible cus tomers. Cooperative societies should use their em ployees in a similar way in bringing new customers into the cooperative store and in spreading the idea of consumers' coopera tion. But more than that, can't we make our members work? Can't we work out a plan of getting each member to bring a certain num ber of new customers or new members into the store or into the society? After all, mem bers are an asset which our private com petitors do not have. The Professor Cooperative Institute at Brookwood, July 9-15 The one-week Cooperative Institute of the Eastern States Cooperative League will be 'held at Brookwood La bor College, Katonah, N. Y., July 9 to 15. All cooperative societies and youth groups in the East are urged to send students. Dr. J. P. Warbasse is expected to give several lectures. The mornings will be occupied by. lectures and discussions. Sports, swim ming, tennis, hiking and just plain loaf ing will occupy the afternoon. An evening lecture will be followed by dancing, games, etc. A new feature of the program, it is expected, will be a bus tour of New York City, visiting the Amalgamated and other outstanding cooperatives in the vicinity. The cost is $16 per student, which includes room, board and tuition. Everyone who has ever been to Brookwood will testify that the Co-op Institute is a week profitably and pleasurably spent. There is no better way to spend a week of one's vacation. Brookwood is calling you! Two Good Bulletins On Farmers' Cooperation COOPERATIVE PURCHASING AND MARKETING ORGANIZATIONS IN NEW YORK STATE, by F. A. Harper. Bull, of Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station, Ith aca, N. Y. An excellent study of farmers' cooperation in New York State. Of the 181 cooperatives operating in this state in 1930, the major func tion of 97 was buying farm supplies. Total volume was $10,113,437 in 1929. The principal commodity handled was feed. The author states that the mortality among purchasing associations has been much less than among marketing associations. The figures on operating costs are especially interesting. Total expenses of purchasing asso ciations averaged 6.2% of net sales, as com pared with 12.2% for privately owned feed stores. Salary and wage costs in the privately owned stores were about 90% higher than in the cooperatives. In the latter they averaged 3-2%. As to credit policy, the author states that those cooperatives with a rate of increase in trade above average were much more conserva tive in credit policy than those whose rate of increase was below average. Comparative facts are given regarding the cooperatives that are centrally controlled (by the Grange League Federation) and those that are locally controlled. WHAT OHIO FARMERS THINK OF FARMER-OWNED BUSINESS ORGAN IZATIONS IN THAT STATE, by T. B. Manny. Bull, of the U. S. Dept. of Agricul ture. A personal interview with each of 1327 Ohio farmers to see what they think about their cooperatives, producer and consumer. Many interesting opinions are brought out. For example, 188 farmers testify that the great est accomplishment of the cooperatives has been that they have "compelled private agen cies to give the farmers better treatment"; that is, better prices and better goods; 1135 testify that the greatest accomplishment has been "financial advantage to users." There is strong testimony to the value of "meetings" as means of spreading information about cooperatives. The Farm Bureau News has been another important medium. We get the distinct impression that Ohio cooperatives—and this is probably true of farm co-ops in general—have fallen down in being too cold and "business-like" with members, and in not taking them into their confidence enough and seeking their participation and sense of proprietorship. COOPERATION 113 Cooperative Youth Plan Summer Festival A large gathering of Cooperative Youth will be seen in Fitchburg August 12th and 13th. At this time the Cooperative Youth League of Mass, will hold its first annual Summer Festival at the Saima Park. The two-day affair will start off with a dance Saturday evening, fun guaranteed. A special feature will amaze every one. During intermission, spot-light swimming and diving contests will take place. What could be greater than to see our famous swimmers stroke the glittering waters! Sunday will be devoted to educational and athletic activities. Everyone will be up bright and early to attend the inter-club baseball games and also inter-club horseshoe matches. By this time we will have worked up a good appetite and shall lunch until 1.30. The after noon's attraction will be an Educational Pro gram, where our leading cooperators will ad dress the Youth, followed by instrumental and vocal selections. Now for the athletic events. This will con sist of an inter-club tug-of-war and one-mile relay. Also a 3-event and five thousand meter race, open to all clubs, will be featured on the program. Something doing all day. Hope to see you all at the Festival. Bear the dates in mind. The League is also staging three one-act plays in Finnish, the first week in June, in Maynard and Fitchburg. Hubbardston, Maynard and Fitchburg will participate. In order to at tract our elders, they will be presented in the native tongue. The League has appointed delegates to at tend the E. S. C. L. convention at Lawrence, May 21st, and a large youth attendance is as sured. H. K. • Due To Go Ahead Every beginning is hard. We have made a beginning and we are holding our own. All signs point to a glorious future for Consumers' Cooperation. I feel that this movement is going to go ahead so fast that we will be hard pressed to keep up with it. A large number of supposedly "wise heads" in the "labor" movement have maintained that the U. S. A. will be the last stronghold of "entrenched capitalism." My humble but firm opinion—conviction, if you please—is that the U. S. A. will be the first Cooperative Nation in the world. Am I right? Let's have a discus sion! Emil J. Waaramaa, Fitchburg, Mass. • New Unit in Cleveland Another Co-op Youth League has been formed in Cleveland, among the youth of the Workingmen's Cooperative Company. Fifteen of the members of the thriving Slovenian Youth League, which has been carrying on a lively educational and social program for some time, attended the first meeting and helped organize. Among the speakers were Mamie Bokal, secre tary, and Rudolph Grosel, chairman of the Slovenian Youth League, and Joseph Martinek, president of the Workingmen's. The members of the new unit were invited to attend a meeting of the Slovenian Youth League the following week. The program in cluded a talk on the difference between a pri vate corporation and a cooperative, by An thony Nachtigal; a discussion assignment on the Cooperative League correspondence course "Principles and History of Consumers' Co operation"; and refreshments. The visitors took a real interest and plan to take up similar ac tivities. Margaret Elsner is secretary of the new Youth League. • To Hold Outdoor Meetings The Slovenian Cooperative Youth League plans to hold its meetings this summer outdoors, in Metropolitan Park, to avoid the heat. At a recent business meeting, Anton Bokal, Jr. reported on the Congress of the Central States Cooperative League at Waukegan, which he attended. Whether the boys or the girls will win the two months' Membership Contest, ending May 18, was not yet known when we went to press, but whoever loses will have to give the win ners a social. Last year the boys lost. Will the tables be turned this year? M. B. • Hubbardston Cooperative Club News We held another interesting meeting recently which consisted of the yearly election. The following were elected: President, V. Meri- kanto; Vice-President, A. Hannula; Secretary, O. Wagg; Treasurer, F. Rivinoja; Editor, K. Hannula; Chef, A. Hannula; Sports Mgr., K. Hannula; Sports Committee: O. Kujala, A. Hannula, V. Merikanto, K. Hannula. Educa tional Committee: V. Merikanto, O. Kujala. K. Hannula. Social Committee: L. Wagg, V. Ma- ja, F. Rivinoja, K. Hannula. Ninth member for the Board of Directors, C. Wanhala. Librarian, C. Wanhala. Auditors, G. Johnson, C. Wan hala. Three delegates, consisting of O. Wagg, R. Sutela, K. Hannula, represented the club in Lawrence at the convention. The first anniversary dance was held on Memorial Day. Prizes were awarded on ad mission tickets. The sports committee announces that all members wishing to form a horseshoe team will please report to E. Kauppinen, the captain. Al so those wishing to form a baseball team, re port to A. Ericson. The sports manager wishes to get in touch with other cooperative club managers to ar- 114 COOPERATION range games. In other words, we will challenge either Maynard or Fitchburg Cooperative Clubs, so let's go! We are sorry to say that our president, V. Merikanto, has been laid up in bed for two weeks because of water on the knee, but his doctor has reported that he will recover soon, so let's hope and wish he does. The Mayor • Waukegan Speaking First of all, lest someone forget, the joint picnic sponsored by the various auxiliary or ganizations of the Cooperative Trading Com pany will be held on June 25th. The Women's Guild, the Men's Guild, the Co-op. Youth League and the Co-op. Unemployed League have all cast in their full strength to make it a huge affair, and it is going to be just as big as we will and can make it, or—possibly still big ger. The entertainment held on April 23rd at the Slovenic hall in connection with the Central States Co-op. League Convention drew about a thousand people together. The Convention itself was quite well attended, but just imagine how these conventions would be if we had a cooperative society in every city, town and village in these states, as they have in many of the European countries. Let's all work to that end and apply a little more speed to it. A drive for subscriptions for the "The Co operative Builder" and other cooperative pub lications has been launched by the Educational Committee, ably assisted by the Youth League and Women's Guild, and the aim is to get at least one thousand subscribers during this drive. Waukegan and North Chicago have been divided into 16 sections and there is going to be a separate team working in each section to make the work more effective. The intentions are good and sincere—let's hear the results. • The Educational Committee is planning to get some more and new books for the library. The new books will be bought in the quantity the means warrant, and if there are some in dividuals among our members, customers and friends who can and are willing to donate us any books of value it will be greatly appre ciated. Any books pertaining to the cooperative movement, any science or art, labor movement, worthwhile fiction etc., will be gladly accepted. The Consumers' Mutual Aid Guild works in connection with the Central States Cooper ative League and provides life insurance at cost. Just drop into the office of the Cooperative Trading Company and acquire additional in formation on this matter of vital importance to everyone. Waukegan Cooperative Credit Union is gaining more members continuously, receiving the money from its members in form of shares and loaning the money to its members. We have 137 members at present. Fifty-seven mem bers have loans from the credit union at this writing. It may be noted that not one member so far has died from our credit union family since its organization so it really is a living or ganization. The members should remember the credit union not only when they need to bor row the money, but also when they have some to put in, because that is the only way the credit union keeps on growing. There are no funds except from the members. In this con nection we might mention, that the people of our neighboring town, Gurnee, may establish their own credit union in the near future. Wel come to the ranks and success be with you. "Uncle" An Appeal to Women In spite of the recurrent national and inter national crises, the Cooperative Movement of the world has made tremendous progress in recent years. This growth of the movement has roused its opponents to action, particularly those traders, manufacturers and combines who see their personal interests endangered. They, however, will not measure their strength in open competition against that of the Cooperative Societies. They call in the help of the State. They try to load the Cooperative Societies with heavy taxes so as to reduce the benefits they can offer to their members; in other countries they seek to subject the So cieties to laws which rob them of their free dom and self-government and place them in the power of their competitors; in some they have even gone so far as to attack the property of Cooperators. All reactionary parties and organ izations and those who are hostile to a new and juster order hate the cooperative societies for their constructive efforts to bring about a democratic economic system based on equality and common service in the interests of all. The times are grave; help and defence are needed. Only if women realize now that the future welfare and security of their children are at stake—that for their sakes we must replace the injustice and insecurity of the present order by one which opposes war and the exploitation of the many by the few and stands for the service of all—only then can we come out victorious in this world-wide struggle. Therefore we call upon all housewives and mothers to realize more clearly than ever how their daily activities, the fulfilling of their household tasks, can help to bring about this great transformation of society. More ardently than ever, too, must the cooperative message be preached. So we call upon you, Coopera tive women t who have already understood the signs of the' times, to see to it that the attack of the enemies of the Movement is broken by the resistance of the mothers. Redouble your efforts! Increase your mis sionary zeal! Call all your sisters together and tell them what you know! For the victors will be those, and only those, who can win the mass COOPERATION 115 of the people by showing them worthy aims. Let us then close up our ranks round the rain bow banner, and strive and labor for the triumph of the Cooperative ideal which unites the people of every land. In the name of the International Cooperative Women's Guild, Emmy Freundlich, President. A. Honora Enfield, Secretary. Notice A report of the annual convention of Eastern States Cooperative League, which was held in Lawrence, Mass., May 21, will appear in our next issue. Insurance Pointer No. 6— WHAT KIND OF LIFE IN SURANCE SUITS WHOM Of all the several hundred kinds of life insurance contract on the market, which one suits my needs? Nearly everyone has had to ask himself this question one time or an other. The first step toward finding the answer is to get the fact clearly in mind that there are only three things that a life insurance company can do with your money. First it can pay its own expenses.—commissions, clerk hire, office rent—that much is water over the dam, gone forever. Second it can pay current losses—this is insurance prop erly so called. Third it can put the money in the barik for the policyholder—this is in vestment or saving. The most important single difference in policies is in the relationship between the insurance part and the savings part of the policy. The common policy forms rank them selves about in this way, beginning with one that is almost pure insurance protection and ending with one that is almost pure saving: termed, "economic adjustment," ordinary life, long term endowment, short term endow ment, "income bond," retirement life income. Which 'kind suits an individual depends on his particular needs. A young man with small children needs protection first and foremost. Term or a combination of term and ordinary life is probably the best for him. An Unmarried woman with no dependents needs no protection beyond pravision for funeral expenses. Retirement income' is probably the best for her. Most of the rest of us fall be tween these extremes. A monthly ..insurance paragraph, con tributed by Clusa Service, Inc., the League's insurance service for Cooperators. t Pretty Raw British cooperative societies are dis tributing over 130,000,000 gallons of milk a year. 90% of this is bottled and pasteurized. The private dealers op pose pasteurization, saying that raw milk is better; but what they are really opposing is "cooperatization." The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ of the Canadian Coopera tive Movement, owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, Wis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wis. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COdPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St, New York, N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the II. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. 132 (OOPERATION business a cooperative society does not dictate to its members what they shall consume. They are at liberty to satisfy their desires elsewhere. Cooperative societies are as much interested in teaching consumers what they should consume as in being the means of satisfying their de mand for merchandise and services. In the early days of Cooperation, poor people had their tastes so vitiated by adulterated flour produced for profit that many of them revolted against the pure product supplied by a cooperative flour mill. Cooperators did not, however, revert to adulteration as the line of the least resistance. No cooperative society worthy of the name would, for example, operate a vicious picture show because a large percentage of vicious people called for that kind of "entertainment." I do not think any cooperative society in Canada sells beer. Distribution is under legal control in the various provinces, but the method followed differs to some extent in each. No co operative society handling beer could impose the legal restraint upon excessive consumption possible to a government. E. A. Rosenthal 1. Purely of business. It is only in the good old LI. S. A. that anyone could conceive the idea that the sale of beer raises a question of ethics, any more than the sale of bacon, blue- berries or bicarbonate of soda. 2. It is for the members to decide fwhat they shall consume. " 3. Within the limits of business possibilities, the cooperatives should follow strictly the prin ciples of supplying what their members as con sumers demand. 4. The percentage who demand something should be large enough to make the sale pay. 5. Not to any extent should cooperatives attempt to educate the demand of their con sumers; let cooperatives "educate" their mem bers in the thorough understanding of Con sumers Cooperation, and they will have a man- size job. 6. The cooperative with which I am con nected does not sell beer, to my knowledge. George S. Schuyler 1. It is neither entirely a question of ethics nor of business. While being business-like, we should have high ethical standards. 2. To a certain extent, cooperatives should take upon themselves the responsibility of say ing what their members shall, or shall not con sume, as in the case of artificially colored foods, injurious to the consumer. 3. They should not always give the con sumers what they demand. Some might want morphine! 4. In answer to No. 4 I would say, at least a majority, so as not to jeopardize the business of the concern. 5. Cooperatives should inform their mem bers as nearly as possible of the true value of articles, and whether or not they are injurious, physically. 6. I can see no reason why beer and wine should not be sold by co-ops. They sell white flour and sugar, and refined rice, which are far more physically injurious, and canned goods whose actual food value is no greater. They also sell ginger ale, which gets its bite from marble dust, and soda water sweetened with saccharine! So why quibble over good beer? The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ or the Canadian Coopera tive Movement, owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior. Wis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, V/is. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York, N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the LI. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. COOPERATION Organ of the Con- Movement in the sumers C operati United St-tes Vol. XIX. No. 7 JULY, 1933 10 cents To Adorn 1934 Cooperative Calendar ('"*''' &. A picture in color of this beautiful statue, located at Berne. Switzerland, and symbolic of the International Postal Union, an example of true cooperation between the nations, will adorn the 1934 Cooperative League Calendar. The airy figures encircling the globe, each handing la missive on its way, represent tihe human races. It is hoped that a large numlber of societies will buy these calendars for their members and patrons. A calendar is an all-year advertisement and this will be one v-ihhrh every oooperator will be pleased to hang on his wall. The picture, moreover, is of such a high-cla,ss nature that many will wish to have it framed 'and preserved. I'rices on request. 118 COOPERATION COD PERATID N An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St., New York City.____________________ OSCAR COOLEY, Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner L. S. Herron Herman Liebman V. S. Alanne___________George Jacobson Entered as Second Class matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. T., un der the Act of March 3, 1879. Price $1.00 a year. Vol. XIX. No. 7 July, 1933 EDITORIAL The Pick-up Things are looking up. The Ad ministration's morphine appears tc be taking effect. The patient is just as sick as ever, but the pain is easing up a bit, at least temporarily. The price level of farm products has risen 37% since March 4. This is enabling the farmer to come back into the buying market. Mr. McCarthy of the Farmers Union State Exchange of Omaha reports ma chinery sales doubled in May, over last year's May. One local cooperative, that of Mullen, Nebr., ordered 23 mowers and 8 windmills. The Ex change's advance sales of binder twine are the highest in 11 years. None of the farm states has been harder hit than Nebraska. Of all farm products, wool has jump ed in price most. The woolen mills of New England are humming at higher pitch. Hourly wages have been in creased slightly (12*/2% in Lawrence) but, more important, each worker is getting more hours of work per week. This should enable him to buy more from his cooperative society and to pay up his back bills. On the other hand, the rise in whole sale prices may embarrass coopera tives, it being difficult to pass these price rises on to consumers, especially to consumers whose paycuts have not yet been restored to them. As ever we are starting off tail-end foremost when we raise prices before raising wages. This is the usual plight of the wage- earning consumer on the upswing of the business cycle. However, passed on to the consumers these price rises must be, and this will be the pressing problem of every cooperative manager during the next six months. • When a Loss Is Not a Loss In our "Statistics of Cooperatives" (May, July COOPERATION), some societies show losses on operations of 1932. One society objected to our pub lishing its operating loss, and another did not wish us to publish the amount of its loss. This raises the question: What does a "net loss" by a coopera tive mean? Surely it does not mean the same that a net loss by a private business means. For a private business is run for profit, and if it does not make a profit, but a loss instead, it might as well shut up shop. While running at a loss, a private business may be serving the consumer well, as by low prices. In fact the loss may be incurred by virtue of the low prices. But this is no virtue to the private businessman; rather it is a calamity. In the case of a cooperative, however, the primary purpose is to serve the consumer, and a cooperative whose books show a loss may be serv ing its consumers just as well or better today than one that is running con sistently in the black. The obligation upon the cooperative manager is two-fold: First, the con sumer group must be served; second, he must, in the long run, break even or better in order to keep the cooperative going and in condition to serve con sumers. • Hitler and the Cooperatives It is very difficult to get any accurate information on the status of the cooper ative societies in Germany under the Hitler regime. However, The Co-oper ative News (Eng.) reports that Dr. Adam Remmele, editor of publications for the German Central Union of Con sumers' Societies (Hamburg) has been arrested and taken to a concentration camp at Kieslau. He and his fellow- prisoners were placed in an open auto- COOPERATION 119 mobile truck and driven slowly through the hooting crowds. Dr. Ley, a high official of the Hitler government, recently announced that the government "has taken command of the consumers' cooperative organiza tions. Both the wholesale at Hamburg and the one at Cologne have submitted to our orders, absolutely and without condition. . . No expansion of enter prises will be tolerated. . . The chiefs of the Nazi Party are requested to cease their hostile attitude toward the cooperatives, which under the control of the government will be managed in the interests of the people." The cooperatives are to be reorgan ized as follows, according to Dr. Ley: The two above-named wholesales, which have a combined yearly turn over of over 500 million marks, are to be merged to permit economies. There will be no more voting; instead, a gov ernment official will make appoint ments in both the central and local or ganizations. There will be a Small Council, presumably a sort of Execu tive Committee, and a Great Council, the latter having to do with relations between cooperatives and private busi nesses. The attitude of the German cooper- ators is hard to determine. It seems, however, that this attitude is not one of clear-cut opposition to the Hitler regime. There are apparently factors in the situation of which we in America are not fully informed. How Farmers' Marketing Cooperatives Differ from Trade Unions By L. S. Herron The following article is in answer to a letter we wrote to Mr, Herron sug gesting that there is considerable re semblance between marketing cooper atives of farmers and trade unions of workers. We invite other opinions on this subject.—The Editor. THE comparison of farmers' market ing co-operatives to trade-unions, so often made, has been greatly over worked. It is not a good comparison so far as marketing co-operatives of the Rochdale type are concerned. In fact, it does not hold at all. Trade-unions are wage-fixing or ganizations. At least they attempt to fix wages. The only thing in farmers' mar keting organizations comparable to that are the pools that attempt to fix prices. None of them have ever been successful in doing so. The defunct Sapiro movement and the Canadian Wheat Pools afford outstanding ex amples of the failure of farmers' price- fixing attempts. Various movements to withhold crops from market have been proposed and promoted. One of these is the present Farmers' Holiday Association.. This organization has agitated for a farmers' strike to withhold all farm products from the market. Such move ments might logically be compared with trade-union activities. But these farmers' withholding movements are not co-operative marketing. In Rochdale marketing co-opera tives, there is no attempt to fix prices. We could not fix prices if we tried. As far as we carry co-operation of this type, we simply take the private profit out of marketing operations. The re sult is to get for farmers the largest possible part of what consumers pay for farm products. Applying co-oper ative principles to marketing in this- way has no resemblance that we can see to trade-unionism. I am not trying to disparage trade- unions. While trade-union methods are of no use to farmers in marketing their products, I am willing to grant their usefulness to urban workers. However, I often wonder whether trade-unions have really been any more successful in fixing wages than farmers have been in their sporadic attempts to fix prices.. 120 COOPERATION The Forgotten Consumer and Who Has Forgotten Him By Dr. J. P. Warbasse WHEN something goes wrong, the guilty are sought. There is a tendency in this present crisis to place the blame upon the offending heads. But, as we examine the situation, we find no uniformity among the authori ties upon this question of guilt. I invite your attention to the proposi tion that there is no guilt. It is not so much a question of what has been done wrongly, as it is a question of what has been left undone. And when we seek to place the blame upon those who have failed to do the necessary duty, we find it difficult to point out the negli gent class. It is not the politician or the diplo mat who is to blame. They are but the servants of the owners of property and credit. It is not the owners of the property and credit, for they are the people whom the world envies and in whose places everyone would like to stand. No, the responsibility for our calamity must be placed upon that head whom everybody wrongfully pities and who is supposed to be the victim of the evils of the world. I point to the culprit—the FORGOTTEN MAN, who hides behind his anonymi ty to conceal his shame. And who is this forgotten man? He is the consumer, everybody, everybody who needs the things the world can yield. He is the neglected man. But the worst neglect he suffers is that of which he himself is guilty. A great machinery has been developed for doing the world's work. But that ma chinery has been created by the pro ducers of things, and for them it is run. So perfected is this mechanism that it is capable of producing all the world needs with one hour of labor a day from every able-bodied person. But *An address delivered at Lawrence, Mass., May 21, 1933. the neglect of the consumers has re sulted in the production of great wealth which never reaches the people who need it. The banking business illustrates what has happened to the neglected man, or rather what he has permitted to happen to himself. This most im portant business is not run in the in terest of depositors and borrowers. They play no figure. The control and the profit are in the hands, not even of the stockholders, but of a small band called the directors. Often the whole power lies with one official—captain of the wealth of other men. The neglect of the consumers of credit has been the largest of all factors in bringing the world into its present desperate predicament. The banking business is not run for them; it runs over them. But the greed of the captains of wealth has been carried so far that it threatens its own destruc tion. The farmer is in trouble because he is a worker, producing something use ful to sell to other people and wanting to own his own tools. The bankers will not let him have his wav. His industry is disorganized, because he has thought of himself as a producer, and has failed to unite with his fellow farmers as a consumer. He has cast his lot with the minority instead of with the majority, and the minoritv has played him false. He has made himself the forqotten man. Now he needs to be paid by the government to produce less, because the government helped him to produce more. The farmers sold so much that the sheriff is selling their farms. All Belong to Legion The worker, the baker, the shoe maker, the doctor—all playing the game of the competitive strugqle—find themselves members of the forgotten COOPERATION 121 legion. The people have not enough doctors. Thirty-eight per cent of the cases of incapacitating sickness in this country receive no treatment at all. The people's ills are not given the full benefit of all that science could do for them. Meanwhile, the doctors have difficulty in making a living. More doctors are needed; but we cannot have more doctors until the purchasing power of the people is expanded. The world is now trying to set itself on its feet and continue its way on the same old course. But this will lead to the same sort of trouble again. Now is the time to think about a way out that will lead where we want to go—where there are no armies of forgotten men. The cooperative method has been in operation more than three quarters of a century. Instead of making the mill, the mine, and the counting-house the centers of interest, it makes the home the center; it begins with the supply and distribution of the things people need. Starting with 28 members in Rochdale, it has continued to grow un til in several lands its membership is now close to half the population. This cooperative method of doing business is for service and not for profit. It makes short weight and adul teration impossible. It requires no smart salesmanship or advertising. The people, who are the consumers, own their own business. They are organ ized to do everything for themselves. The only mines, factories and shops in the world that can continuously pro vide the people with commodities at cost are those that are owned by the organized consumers. Up Tolls We need not be at the mercy of an economic system that does not work. It is not necessary that we ride in a cart that upsets us all at intervals into- the gutter. We need not be forgotten men and women. We can all find our selves, and be found by our neighbors, and run the affairs of the world for our own interest. But nobody is going to do this for us. Not Mr. Roosevelt. Not Mr. Hitler. We have to do it ourselves. By begin ning in a small way, learning how to- carry on small business, developing loyalty, watching our step, and then expanding into other fields, we may •win success. Cooperation would not upset our institutions; they are already upset. Cooperation would put our house in order, and make it possible for us to live together as friends and brothers. The time has come when we must pass from individualism in competition to- individualism in cooperation. And you and I, the forgotten men and women, must bring this blessing to pass. News and Comment Co-op Oil in St. Paul The cooperative gas and oil move ment appears to be moving into town. Last month we recorded the organiza tion of the Minneapolis Cooperative Oil Association and the opening of its station. Now we learn that in St. Paul the new station of the Park Coopera tive Oil Association is about com pleted. This was organized largely by faculty members of the Agricultural college. It has about 225 members. Private interests did their worst to frustrate this movement, buying up and leasing available sites, instigating the erection of a building on an adjoining lot in order to destroy the value of the cooperative site at Carter and Como Aves., and attempting to block the granting of a permit by the city; but none of these worked. The Associa tion recently held its first annual meet ing. W. E. Petersen was elected presi dent. A. J. McGuire, manager of Land O'Lakes Creameries, is a member of the Board. Another cooperative, the University Cooperative Oil Association, has leased a station at 2250 University Ave., Min neapolis. This makes 3 cooperative oil 122 COOPERATION stations in the Twin Cities. The three associations are planning to combine •on fuel oil distribution. • Launch Co-op Life Insurance Association Minnesota is to have a cooperative life insurance company. The Northern States Cooperative League has organ ized the "Cooperators Life Associa tion" and is in process of getting the 500 charter members required before the first policy can be issued. It is to be incorporated under the Minnesota law governing fraternal benefit socie ties. Each policyholder will have one vote only and no proxies will be al lowed. Four kinds of policies are to be issued: Ordinary life, 20-Payment Life, 20-Year Endowment and Modified Life Expectancy. Profits are to be re turned to the policyholders. No initia tion fees are charged. The only pay ment is regular premiums when due. The plan of organization is similar to that of the New Era Life Association of Grand Rapids, Mich. The two as sociations will work in close harmony. All cooperators in Minnesota are urged to become members. For in formation address 2100 Washington Ave. N., Minneapolis. • Feed Orders Increase The Eastern States Farmers Ex change received orders for 1007 car loads of feed and grain during April. This was not only larger than April of 1932, by 51 cars, but was the largest month's feed business in the Ex change's 15 years of operation. • The gross membership of American farm cooperatives, both producer and consumer, increased 500% between 1915 and 1930. In the six years pre ceding 1930, one farmer out of three was a member of one or more cooper atives. • Poultry commission agents in New York feed their birds an indigestible mixture of "flour and cement-like sub stance," the Federal Trade Commis sion-learned recently. This is one way to increase the poundage. Abroad The Big Fellow The London Cooperative Society has a membership of 481,665, capital £7,389,183, trade for year ending March 4, 1933 £9,898,248. Capital in creased nearly a million in the last year. Total wages paid increased £21,- 000. Interest on capital has been re duced to Premium On Increased Trade The Sunderland Cooperative So ciety (Eng.) uses an interesting method of encouraging increased trade by members. In addition to its normal dividend on purchases (at present 5%), it pays an additional dividend of a like percentage on the purchases of each member durinq the current quar ter over that member's- purcahses for the corresponding quarter of the pre vious year. Thus a premium is placed on increased trade. The scheme is said to work to satisfaction. Takinq Care of Old Age Relative to retirement insurance of coooerative employees in England, R. A. Palmer, secretary of The Coopera tive Union, writes us: "There are something like 120 societies covering the majority of cooperative employees, which have adopted superannuation schemes, and more and more attention is being given to this provision for the old age of cooperative servants." • Consumers' Co-ops Superior to Producers' In the last half century, over 100 producers' cooperatives, or so-called co-partnership concerns, have been formed in one English city, Birming ham. Today onlv one of these exists. Meanwhile, the Birmingham Coopera tive Society, a consumers' cooperative, has grown to a membership of 161,886, annual trade £3.821.986. capital £2.- 211.975, number of shops 289, em ployees 3,933. COOPERATION 123 Consumers' Cooperation in the United States By Oscar Cooley A bird's-eye view, including operating statistics for the years 1931 and 1932. V In the Eastern States THE Eastern States Cooperative League was formed in 1925 by 16 societies. It now has 40 member socie ties, with about 19,000 members. Total business in 1932 approximated $4,000,- 000. Of these societies 20 are located in Massachusetts, one in Connecticut, two in New Jersey and the balance in New York, chiefly in and around the metropolis. Thus there are two sec tions, the New England and the New York City sections. The Eastern Cooperative Wholesale was formed in 1929. It has its office in New York City and staff of three, doing no warehousing as yet but acting as a central purchasing agency. Its volume in 1932 was $223,000, which is about $23,000 less than in the year preceding. The Eastern League holds an annual convention, usually in New England, mainains a popular one-week Institute in July, and carries on other educa tional activities such as a weekly radio program on a New York station, lecture series, conferences, etc. Educa tional Committees function in both the New York and New England sections. The dire need of societies for credit prompted the Eastern League in the summer of 1932 to organize a Credit Pool. The plan is to accumulate funds by receiving deposits from societies, as •well as from individual cooperators, and to extend loans to societies upon recommendation of a Credit Commit tee. The Pool is too young yet to be able to report accomplishment. Type of Societies What is the make-up of the Eastern League? Housing, restaurants, food stores, bakeries, dairies and insurance are represented. Especially notable is the Amalgamated Housing Corpora tion of New York City. This is an off shoot of a labor union, Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. Housing •A cooperative apartment house com munity on the fringe of Van Cortlandt Park was started in 1927. Units have been added until it now houses over 600 families. Rentals are notably be low the market, and the quality of the apartments notably above. A store, milk and laundry service, school bus and other services within the community are operated coopera tively. Cooperative principles are closely adhered to. A social and educational director is employed, a paper "The Amalgamated Cooperator," is pub lished. Concerts, lectures, forums and other cultural and recreational activi ties are part of the community program. Nearly all of the Amalgamated cooper ators are Jewish, and a large majority are working-class. A second house, Amalgamated Dwellings, 231 families, has been es tablished in the lower East Side of New York. Rents here are slightly higher, and more of the cooperators are of the small business-man and profes sional class. The main obstacle to cooperative housing has been the difficulty of the cooperator supplying the capital re- guired, usually one-third of the total. This has been largely overcome in Eu ropean cities by loans from the muni cipality or state. A society that has been very suc cessful, from the standpoint of balance sheet and guality of goods provided, is Consumers' Cooperative Services, Inc., also of New York City. A chain of 9 cafeterias and foodshops is operated in centra] and lower Manhattan. The first cafeteria was opened in 1920. Great emphasis has always been placed on the quality of food offered, which is of the typically American, home-cooked Statistics of Cooperatives (Cont. from May COOPERATION) Gross Gain Name A. C. W. Services, Inc. New York, N. Y. Cooperativa Italiana Winchendon, Mass. Cooperative Bakery of Browns ville 6 E. New York Brooklyn, N. Y. Cooperative Trading Assn. Brooklyn, N. Y. Italian Colonial Coop. Co. Leominster, Mass. United Coop. Society Fitchburg, Mass. United Coop. Farmers Fitchburg, Mass. • United Coop. Society Maynard, Mass. United Coop. Society Quincy, Mass. Workers Coop. Union Lawrence, Mass. Workers Coop. Union Stafford Springs, Conn. Type Service Store, etc. Store Bakery Store Store Store Dairy, etc. Farm Supplies Store Store Dairy, Bakery Store No. Members 811 61 800 2500 130 600 9 assn's. 638 245 226 182 *Based on following departments^grocery, meat, restaurant, dairy **Based on following departments^grocery, meat, dairy, bakery, Year Sales Percentage 1931 $215,178 1932 232,701 1931 36.831 1932 34,038 1931 294,491 1932 240,531 1931 334,379 1932 216,583 1931 45,379 1932 41,461 1931 330,560 1932 311,242 1931 158,787 1932 141,028 1931 252,343 1932 245,257 1932 67,225 1931 71,840 1932 60,840 1931 110,402 1932 82,779 , coal, dry goods. coal, grain. 25.4% 24.3 17.1 15.4 26.2 24.4 48.9 46.9 21.4 22.5 31.5* 31.4* 11.9 10.8 28.4** 29.2** 28.2 49.0 47.6 16.8 18.3 Expense Percentage 22.9% 22.4 15.7 15.7 25.9 26.3 50.2 55.5 9.5 10.5 27.8* 30.5* 8.5 9.5 23.7** 25.4** 28.7 48.4 56.5 15.5 20.0 Wage Percentage 14.0% 15.1 7.8 8.2 49.1 47.5 30.2 32.5 7.5 8.5 16.6* 18.0* 4.6 4.5 13.7** 13.1** 14.4 20.4 17.6 8.3 10.0 Net Gain $5,517 4,369 615 476 -3,767 Loss Loss 5,400 4,985 11,005 3,847 2,515 1,760 12,126 9,024 -297 411 -5,330 1,507 -1,345 £ O O 0 "0 fa to •S 0 Name Amasa Coop. Society Amasa, Mich. Aurora Coop. Merc. Assn. Aurora, Minn. Brookston Farmers Coop. Trading Co., Brookston, Minn. Denham Coop. Assn. Denham, Minn. Ely Coop. Assn. Ely, Minn. Equity Farmers Coop. Prod. Assn. Ashland, Wis. Farmers Coop. Assn. Herman, Mich. Iron Belt Coop. Assn. Iron Belt, Wis. North Hurley Coop. Assn. Hurley, Wis. Toivola Coop. Merc. Co. Meadowlands, Minn. Van Buskirk Equity Coop. Supply Co., Van Buskirk, Minn. Workers Coop. Society Marquette, Mich. Range Coop. Oil Virginia, Minn. *10 months, Type Service Store Store Store Store Store Store Store Store Store Store Store Store Oil No. Members 73 79 228 214 130 131 108 133 136 138 304 304 66 69 41 43 92 88 101 99 248 274 12 ass'ns. 13 ass'ns. Year 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931* 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 1931 1932 Sales $39,172 22,535 65,058 35,640 25,205 27,213 Gross Gain Percentage 15.29% 7.87 22.72 25.92 15.06 12.18 (Was a branch of Kettle 15,145 59968 43,149 36,547 39,901 42,456 23,246 34,432 27,345 12,347 14,223 24,341 19,612 11,762 10,731 77,790 46,680 98,605 91,504 8.83 13.21 14.29 7.16 7.25 12.14 17.69 15.71 14.08 20.00 18.15 14.63 13.31 20.27 10.21 18.67 18.32 24.88 24.77 Expense Percentage 14.21% 15.93 17.74 25.30 15.73 13.41 River Store) 13.29 16.35 16.14 4.68 5.23 13.95 17.30 13.12 13.60 14.24 16.05 15.00 16.70 21.61 20.61 17.67 18.47 14.60 13.96 Wage Percentage 8.20% 8.68 7.70 12.20 8.15 6.48 8.38 9.00 9.04 Not known 3.51 8.13 8.15 7.47 8.37 8.50 8.44 7.32 8.23 12.28 8.78 9.47 10.32 11.03 6.48 Net Gain $386 -1,391 3,867 352 641 373 -286 -2,434 -1,644 1,216 1,060 -236 21 604 -2 736 302 674 -111 -58 -1,147 162 -506 10,853 10,265 O O O •fl fa &! •s O ^ NJ Ul 126 COOPERATION Variety. Prices are competitive, quality being the main appeal. This appeal plus the custom of paying a regular though small purchase rebate, accounts for the relatively large membership of about 4000, and the still larger non-member patronage. Membership is open and may be attained by purchase, on easy terms if desired, of two shares of stock at $5 each. Net earnings on non-mem bers' trade is put aside into a "reserve fund for the extension of the business as a consumers' cooperative," which at present is a little over $200,000. A 67- family cooperative apartment house has been built by this society and a credit union established. Union Plus Cooperative Typical of the bakeries established by the Workmen's Circle is the Co operative Bakery of Brownsville 6 East New York. It was started in 1918 with 1400 members, all union workers in the needle trades. Six stores were opened, but were found impracticable and closed in 1920, and the bread has been sold at wholesale through private stores ever since. Brownsville Bakery has always been a bulwark for the bakers' union. In 1926, at the time of a lock-out by the private bakers, Brownsville delivered bread to every part of New York City where these bakers had trade and in six weeks forced them to take the union men back. Brownsville has also served the bread consumer well. In 1918, bread sold at the wartime high of 12c; the co operative began selling at 7c. As late as 1930, the cooperative dropped the price Ic per pound, forcing the private bakers to do likewise. The Purity Cooperative Bakery of Paterson, N. J., is of similar type. It has withstood the depression best: of any of the cooperative bakeries. It also runs a butcher shop. The Cooperative Trading Associa tion of Brooklyn is a large Finnish store co-op. It also runs a restaurant, bakery and garage. It has suffered re cently from political struggle. In New England In eastern Massachusetts at least 8 societies were established by the Finns. Shortly after the war, these were amal gamated into one "United Cooperative Society" with headquarters in Boston. However, the volume was not sufficient for centralized operation, and the mer ger was soon split into its component parts. At present the only ones remain ing are the United Cooperative So cieties of Fitchburg, Maynard, Quincy and Norwood. The first two are e_spe- cially strong. The Gardner store has been run as a branch of Fitchburg since 1931. These societies are steadily gaining more and more native Ameri can trade and membership. This is largely due to the activity among the youth. The United Cooperative Farmers is a federation of 9 Finnish farmers sup ply associations in and around Fitch burg. In Fitchburg also is the Workers' Credit Union of 2400 members, share capital $200,000, deposits $530,000. The Workers Cooperative Union of Lawrence, of Italian origin but gaining steadily among other groups, has a bakery and a dairy that is a model for cleanliness and up-to-dateness. This society has been a great help to Law rence mill workers in time of strike. Other sturdy cooperatives of Italian origin are in Winchendon and Leom- inster, Mass., Stafford Springs, Conn., Union City and Paterson, N. J., and several in the Wyoming anthracite re gion of Pennsylvania. As in the West, many farmers' co operative stores and buying associa tions dot the East. Although doing much the same thing, and in much the same way as the League societies above described, these farmers' associations hardly know of the existence of the urban consumers' cooperatives, and when approached are not quick to join in federative activities. It is the farmer, however, who has been responsible for the greatest growth which Consumers' Cooperation as well as Producers' Cooperation has achieved among any group in America. The End. COOPERATION 127 Eastern League Divorces National, Marries Wholesale—Other Changes *->•* rl THE outstanding action of the an- •*• nual convention of the Eastern States Cooperative League was the decision to separate the offices of the Eastern States League and The Co operative League of the U. S. A. Leslie Woodcock, manager of the Eastern Cooperative Wholesale, was elected Executive Secretary of the Eastern States League, and henceforth the of fice of the Wholesale at 112 East 19th St., New York City, will also be the office of the Eastern States League. The national League remains at League House, 167 West 12th St. This is an important step. It has long been desired by both East and West. It has not been taken before for one reason: cost. The societies of the East ern States district felt that they could not maintain an office and staff of their own. The national felt the same. The natural decision was—to cooperate. One office and staff was maintained, the Eastern League paying one-third of the cost, the national two-thirds. At first thought, this might seem an ideal arrangement. It was not. "He that hath two masters, etc." The staff was constantly faced with the problem of dividing its services equitably. "Is this Eastern States? Or is it national?" The usual answer was "Oh, never mind, do it." "It," by the very factor of location, very often was a matter having to do with the cooperative movement in the Eastern States dis trict. This, naturally, did not set any too well with the West, where so much of the national League is located and so much of its support comes from. Con sequently, the recent decision, which sets the Eastern States and the na tional each on its own feet, should be welcomed. Thus the Eastern Wholesale, with out adding to its own expense, takes over the educational activities of the Eastern League. This means of course an extra burden on the staff of the Wholesale. But it means also a mar riage of the business of educating co- operators to the business of distributing goods to cooperators, a union which should have the blessing of all. Meanwhile, what of the national League? Cooley No Longer Secretary At a meeting on May 25th, the Ex ecutive Committee of the Cooperative League of the U. S. A., voted drastic reduction in the expense of the national office, which had already been pared to the bone by the Staff. The office of Executive Secretary was declared va cant as of June 15th, and Oscar Cooley was engaged to edit COOPERATION on a part-time basis. Dr. J. P. War- basse was made Acting Executive Secretary. Other economies were made, all pending the annual meeting of the Board of Directors which will be held, probably in Chicago, about Oct. 1st, when provision for the future will be made. In spite of this summer retrench ment, forced by economic conditions, the national League will carry on just so far as possible without interruption. Mrs. Julia Perkins, Financial Secreta ry, will be in the office at all times. Volunteer workers will assist. Dr. War^asse, busy professional man though he is—he lectures at two medi cal schools—will give more time to the work of the League. The national magazine will continue to hammer home the gospel of Cooperation. Other self-supporting activities, such as the popular League Calendar, will be con tinued. Needless to say, any additional sup port which cooperators or cooperative societies can give these activities, such as more readers for COOPERATION, and greater use of the Calendar, will assist the League, and at the same time help to keep the torch of Cooperation burning bright during these otherwise dark times. O. C. 128 COOPERATION Warinner Enthus astic Over Indiana Schools r I 'HE series of six summer schools of •*• Cooperation which the Central States Cooperative League is now en gaged in conducting for the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association is the first effort that has been made to carry on cooperative education on a formal, organized basis in this state since the days of Robert Owen and the New Harmony community. For the purpose of these schools the state has been divided into 5 districts, each district containing approximately 20 counties. A school of one week's duration is being conducted for each of these districts to which each county organization in the district is entitled to send two students. While all of the counties in each district have not avail ed themselves of this privilege so far, the attendance has been quite satis factory and the results have been such that one county (Noble) has decided to sponsor a school of its own, which will also be under the direction of the League and to which each township in the county will be expected to send three students. The course consists of regular daily classes in Organization and Admin istration of Cooperatives, another in Training for Cooperative Leadership, and lectures on such topics as Cooper ation in Many Lands; Cooperation in the United States; Our Economic Mo rality; Cooperation as a Philosophy of Life; The Economic Depression—'Its Cause and the Remedy; Cash vs. Cre dit Trading; Credit Unions and their Place in the Cooperative Movement, etc. The work is all being handled by a staff composed of officials of the Central States League and the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association. The first three of these schools was held at McCormick's Creek State Park, near Spencer, Indiana, starting May 21st and closing June 10th. The second series of three schools opened at Lake- wood Lodge, near Warsaw, June 18th and will close July 8th. There could be no more ideal loca tion for such an affair than at Camp Talahi (The Open Door) in McCor mick's Creek Park. The camp is sit uated in a beautifully wooded tract of several acres on the high bluffs above McCormicks' Creek Canyon and with in hearing distance of a beautiful wa ter-fall. It is equipped with a large lodge, one end of which we used for a mess hall and the other end is used for class room and auditorium. Attached to the building is a spacious kitchen fully equipped in every detail. Also large pantry and living quarters for the kitchen help. There are two large dor mitories accomodating about 40 stu dents each and the kitchen and dining room is equipped to care for 80 per sons. There is also an old pioneer log cabin, built in 1857, which serves as administration building and living quarters for the director of the school. This cabin has been the office of the Central States Cooperative League for the past three weeks, as well as the office of the school. All the buildings are equipped with electricity and run ning water and a perfectly appointed swimming pool is only a few hundred yards away. We feel that the work being done in these Indiana schools will mark the beginning of an epoch in the history of the development of the Cooperative Movement in this state, which is des tined to become one of the strongest divisions of the movement in this coun try. These Indiana farmers have done wonderful things in cooperation in the past few years, and if they continue the course they now have mapped out, there is no doubt that they will do much greater .things in the years to come. They have vision, courage and resourcefulness and the will to do. The spirit we have seen displayed here is the kind that knows no defeat. A. W. W. • The E. S. C. L. Convention THERE was a distinct note of cheer at the annual convention of the Eastern States Cooperative League in Lawrence, Mass., May 21st. In spite COOPERATION 129 of shrunken volume, no affiliated so cieties have failed during the year past. The textile industry of New England shows some pick-up and both employ ment and wages in the woolen mills are on the increase. More than one society, such as the Workers Cooperative Union of Lawrence, is happy because it is expanding outside of its original racial group. The Youth Clubs are teeming with energy and the desire to put Cooperation on the map, and the Women's Guilds are coming into the picture with vigor. Plans for the 1933 Summer Institute at Brookwood, to be conducted by the new E. S. C. L. Secretary, Leslie Woodcock, July 9- 15, are rapidly taking shape. The League is having its own money difficulties, true. However, the act of '"moving in" with the Whole sale, voted by the convention in ex ecutive session, means a closer work ing relationship between the business of educating cooperators and the busi ness of distributing goods to cooper ators, two things which never should be separated. At the session on Women's Guilds, Mrs. Virginia Hill of New York, of the National Women's Guild Commit tee, and Mrs. Lempi Rimpila of the Fitchburg Guild, spoke most eloquent ly of the place of woman in Coopera tion. Said Mrs. Hill, "Friend Husband does all the talking; but it is Friend Wife who does the buying." All agreed that these two proved that woman, also, can talk ably and that two new platform champians had been found for the cooperative movement. The Youth program was well pre sented by Helvi Kiuru and Aino Liika- nen of Fitchburg, Chas. Manty and Chas. Hekkala of Maynard. It was voted to give the Youth and Women's movements more orominent place on the program of the next convention. The keynote speech of the conven tion was made Dr. J. P. Warbasse. It appears on another page. Other speak ers were Carl Smith of the Manchester Dairy System, a marketing coopera tive. Quentin Reynolds of the Eastern States Farmers Exchange, and A. B. Lewis of the Socialist Party. Meyer Rubinson, manager of the Cooperative Bakery of Brownsville was elected President of the League. This honor comes to a man who has given years of devoted service to the cooperative and trade union movement, and who is one of the best-liked co operative executives in the East. The only new member elected to the Board was Arvo Rivers, manager of the United Cooperative Society of Maynard. The following were elected to succeed themselves for a term of two years: A. E. Kazan, Simon Farber, E. Giardini, W. Niemela. Niemela was elected president of the Eastern Cooperative Wholesale. The following were reelected to the Board: Mary Arnold, W. Niemela, M. Rubin son. Much credit is due the local Com mittee on Arrangements, consisting of Charlotte and Michael Marchese, Car mine Grande and Jos. Salerno, espe cially for the enjoyable dance the night before and for the equally enjoyable eats. The "bar" was a popular spot. Insurance Pointer No. 7—• WHEN IS AN ACCIDENT NOT AN ACCIDENT Why are there so many kinds of accident insurance policies? And which kind will give me the most for the money? There are many kinds largely because each company wants to have its own particular brand and to be able to claim that it is the best. Here are a few points to watch for. Does the policy cover all accidents or on ly a few kinds like train wrecks and auto wrecks? The man who falls off a step lad der needs protection as badly as the man who is struck by lightning. The fallacy in the limited accident policy is that it covers accidents that are spectacular but that sel dom happen. If there is a weekly indemnity how long is it payable?—six months, one year, for life? What provision is there for doctor bills and hospital fees? Are airplane accidents covered? Can the company cancel any time it wants to, leaving the policyholder without protection as to future accidents? There are only a few "non-cancellable and renewable" policies. They come high, but they are worth a lot. A monthly insurance paragraph, con tributed by Clusa Service, Inc., the League's insurance service for cooperators. 130 COOPERATION Cooperative Youth Hubbardston Will Send Two Students To Cooperative Institute On June 13th the Hubbardston Co-op Club held a regular meeting at the Farmers Hall. Because of the absence of our president, V. Merikanto, our vice-president, A. Hannula, con ducted the meeting. It was opened by Rev. A. Kukko, who chose as his subject, "Problem of Youth in Cooperation." This was not only edu cational but also enjoyable. It was agreed that the Club will send two members to the Cooperative Institute at Brook- wood Labor College. There was a long discussion about the youth summer festival which may be held in Saima Park. The club as a whole is for it, and we also want the annual outing. Miss Helvi Kiuru of the Fitchburg Club was at our meeting. She gave us a short summary of the activities of their club. Our next dance will be held on July 8th and we promise each and all of you who come a very good time. Our horseshoe team is in perfect shape and we are ready for any kind of competition. The Mayor • Getting Everyone to Help You probably will find any number of Co operative Youth Clubs that are just part-ways active. Ours was very much so until at one meeting we had a general "show-down," de cided that there were a few who were "hog ging" almost all of the work and the rest doing next to nothing because they thought that they were incapable of doing anything and that they weren't entitled to work. We first had to tell the hard workers to ease up a little and release some of the work they were doing, because the load was too heavy for them to carry. \Ve formed committees of many different types— into which we got most of the inactive mem bers and one or two of the active ones on each of the committees to act as the "spark plugs." Our educational program was sadly neglected before, but now we devote quite a bit of time at each meeting for this pumose. It is interesting to see how the youth that "doesn't care for anything but having good times" takes to co operative education. We didn't believe it pos sible but it's true. And, finally, to get genuine interest in Cooperation, we would advise every group to send several students to one of the Cooperative Summer Schools this year. They are the best means of learning and of putting active members into societies that need them very much. \Ve wish to invite any cooperators who may be attending the "World's Fair" here this sum mer to visit our store which is located at 2659 South Crawford Avenue and get acquainted. Frank Pesek Junior Cooperators of Chicago. Women's Guilds Guild Convention Outlines Work Over 50 delegates attended the annual con vention of the Northern States Cooperative Women's Guild at Superior, May 27-28. Many matters pertaining to the Guilds and the co operatives were discussed and the following resolutions were adopted: 1) That wall newspapers should be continued and established by all guilds because of their high educational value, that the monthly bul letins should appear on time and contain as much or more of cooperative theory as hereto fore and that educational affairs be arranged by guilds singly as well as sectionally. Speakers' outlines should be prepared by the Guild Executive Committee to help develop local speakers. 2) That the guilds should take more active part in subscription drives for the Cooperative press and that they enrich the Guild Sections of the papers with their writings. 3) That the guilds should carefully strive to increase their membership by membership drives and that the employees of cooperative organizations and wives of employees must be urged to take active part in all lines of cooper ative educational work. 4) That organizational tours be arranged at least once a year and during the summer months instead of in the winter, especially in the farming communities. What Cooperation Means to Women Cromwell, Minn. Dear Fellow Guildswomen: Wliat does Cooperation mean to women or what do women mean to the cooperative move ment? In this district, after women organized a Guild, we find new customers for the store and new members taking an active part in carrying out educational work among new members and especially among our youth. Through the efforts of the Guilds, during the past three years, many have already been educated into seeing this point of view, that Cooperation is more than just a word to be mis used and misapplied, that Cooperation is action, it is real; and most of all into realizing that the cooperative movement is truly a part of the labor movement. This district of which I write is practically all an agricultural section. Until about three years ago there were only pro ducers' cooperative organizations for the women to be interested in (and that only mild ly), but now, through the continuous educa tional work of the Guilds, women are waking up to the fact that first of all they are con sumers. Thus our first aim is to serve ourselves in the best possible way, through our coopera tive store, and always to demand cooperative brand goods and thus eliminate that great American sport, "Bargain Hunting!" We know COOPERATION 131 the cooperative store gives us honest, reliable service, and when our forces as consumers grow, the cooperative movement will become strong and able to serve us in a way which will, in time, do away with the present system of over-production, under-consumption, shoddy goods, adulterated foods and general low stan dards of living. In other words it will lift the downtrodden world to a new sphere. Women are interested naturally in bettering conditions, at home and in the community, and in this district many eyes have been opened through the Guild work to see that Cooperation paves the way for good things and better con ditions. But these things will come only through organized efforts. That is reason enough for a Guild. Aili Kastell Should Cooperatives Sell Beer? DURING the last few months, the country has been flooded with a tidal wave of brew, in alcoholic content varying from 3.2% all the way down to 0, but all non-intoxicating according to Act of Congress. And so everybody drinks it, and almost everybody sells it. The question now arises: Should beer be sold by consumers' cooperative societies? This question raises several others, e.g.: 1. Is this a question of ethics? Or purely of business? 2. Should cooperatives take upon them selves the responsibility of saying what their members shall, or shall not, consume? 3. On the other hand, should cooperatives follow strictly the principle of supplying what their members as consumers demand? 4. If the demand of a certain percentage of members of a society is to decide the question for a society as to whether or not it shall sell beer, how large should this percentage be? 5. To what extent, if at all, should coopera tives attempt to "educate" the demand of their consumers? 6. Has the cooperative organization with which you are associated taken up the selling of beer? If so, with what results? The Editor has put these questions to a num ber of well-known cooperators. They have given the following answers as their own per sonal opinions: Dr. J. P. Warbasse 1. It is both a question of ethics and of busi ness. Cooperation is a form of business in separable from ethics. 2. Cooperatives should take upon them selves the responsibility of saying what their members shall or shall not consume. This is for the reason that "Cooperatives" and "their mem bers" are one and the same thing. Naturally people should say what they shall or shall not consume. 3. Cooperatives should follow strictly the principle of supplying what their members as consumers demand. That is what a Cooperative society is for. The members supply to them selves what they want. 4. Parliamentary usage is the accepted prin ciple of cooperative societies throughout the world. That means that the society is governed by the will of the majority. The minority in a cooperative society has two recourses. One of these is to influence the majority to their opinion. The other is to resign from the society if they do not approve of its methods. These principles are simple, easily understood, and universally practiced. 5. Cooperatives should always attempt to educate the demand of their consumers. That means themselves. Please bear in mind that there is no difference between "cooperatives" and "consumer members." There is a tendency to confuse the management and the member ship. The management is simply the servant of the membership. The members are the Coopera tive. 6. I do not know whether the cooperative association with which I am connected sells beer or not. The only kind of beer it could sell would be the so-called legal beer, which is pool- stuff. I am in favor of adult beer for grown-ups and brew my own beer at home. One of the best things that has come out of the Volstead Act has been the home production of alcoholic drinks. That means that these beverages are produced for use and not for profit. It is a fine thing for the people to learn. If the political state would pass a law prohi biting the manufacture and sale of everything for profit, as the Volstead Act did for alcoholic drinks, we should soon have Cooperation. Then people would make things for their own use. We have learned a lesson with beer and wine. It needs to be applied to other commodities. George Keen I can give a personal opinion but not an of ficial one. Cooperation applies ethics to the transaction of business and must have regard thereto. In declining to handle some kinds of 132 COOPERATION business a cooperative society does not dictate to its members what they shall consume. They are at liberty to satisfy their desires elsewhere. Cooperative societies are as much interested in teaching consumers what they should consume as in being the means of satisfying their de mand for merchandise and services. In the early days of Cooperation, poor people had their tastes so vitiated by adulterated flour produced for profit that many of them revolted against the pure product supplied by a cooperative flour mill. Cooperators did not, however, revert to adulteration as the line of the least resistance. No cooperative society worthy of the name would, for example, operate a vicious picture show because a large percentage of vicious people called for that kind of "entertainment." I do not think any cooperative society in Canada sells beer. Distribution is under legal control in the various provinces, but the method followed differs to some extent in each. No co operative society handling beer could impose the legal restraint upon excessive consumption possible to a government. E. A. Rosenthal 1. Purely of business. It is only in the good old LI. S. A. that anyone could conceive the idea that the sale of beer raises a question of ethics, any more than the sale of bacon, blue- berries or bicarbonate of soda. 2. It is for the members to deci4efwhat they shall consume. :'" 3. Within the limits of business possibilities, the cooperatives should follow strictly the prin ciples of supplying what their members as con sumers demand. 4. The percentage who demand something should be large enough to make the sale pay. 5. Not to any extent should cooperatives attempt to educate the demand of their con sumers; let cooperatives "educate" their mem bers in the thorough understanding of Con sumers Cooperation, and thev will have a man- size job. 6. The cooperative with which I am con nected does not sell beer, to my knowledge. articles, and whether or not they are injurious, physically. 6. I can see no reason why beer and wine should not be sold by co-ops. They sell white flour and sugar, and refined rice, which are far more physically injurious, and canned goods whose actual food value is no greater. They also sell ginger ale, which gets its bite from marble dust, and soda water sweetened with saccharine! So why quibble over good beer? George S. Schuyler 1. It is neither entirely a question of ethics nor of business. While being business-like, we should have high ethical standards. 2. To a certain extent, cooperatives should take upon themselves the responsibility of say ing what their members shall, or shall not con sume, as in the case of artificially colored foods, injurious to the consumer. 3. They should not always give the con sumers what they demand. Some might want morphine! 4. In answer to No. 4 I would say, at least a majority, so as not to jeopardize the business of the concern. 5. Cooperatives should inform their mem- jbers as nearly as possible of the true value of The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ 01 the Canadian Coopera tive Movement, owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, Wis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wis. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York, N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the LI. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. COOPERATION Organ of the Con- Movement in the sumers Cooperative United States Vol. XIX. No. 8 AUGUST, 1933 10 cents Dr. Warbasse on Consumers Advisory Committee "Not Merely a Scenery Committee," Says Gen. Johnson DR. J. P. WARBASSE, president ol the Cooperative League, has been asked to serve on the Consumers Ad visory Committee of the National Re covery Administration and has accept ed^ "It is not merely a scenery com mittee," wired Gen. Hugh Johnson in his invitation to Dr.Warbasse to serve. At first it appeared that no repre sentative of the organized consumers would be appointed to this committee. It was stated, however, that others would be added to the first five who were named, and this recognition, though tardy, of the significance of the consumers' cooperative movement and of Dr. Warbasse as a veteran fighter for the consumer is encouraging. Dr. Warbasse twenty years ago be came convinced that the consumer stood at the apex of the economic tri angle, and that he must become organ ized, and that the Rochdale Pioneers had found the way to do it. Dr. War basse founded The Cooperative League in 1915 and has been its president ever since. He has traveled extensively and made himself an authority, not only in the field of consumers' cooperation but of general economics. The Doctor's eye never wavers; it is always on the consumer. In any ques tion, one may be sure, he stands for the J. P. Warbasse consumer's interest. At last it can be said that the consumers have a repre sentative at Washington. This Committee is headed by Mrs. Mary Rumsey, a woman who has both wealth and intelligence. Mrs. Rumsey professes firm belief in the co operative movement. Precisely what the cooperative movement means to her we do not know. It was she who brought George Russell (the poet A. E.) to this country two years ago to lecture on Rural Cooperation in Ireland 134 COOP E RAT/OA COO PERAT1O N An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St.. New York City.____________________ OSCAR COOLEY, Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner L. S. Herron Herman Liebman V. S. Alanne George Jacobson Entered as Second Class matter. December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. T., un der the Act of March 3, 187S. Price $1.00 a year. Vol. XIX. No. 8 August, 1933 EDITORIAL and other matters, and her name has been connected v/ith rural colonization experiments. She evidently has a de sire to see a cooperative rural culture develop in America, a desire supported not only by her v/ords but by her money. She is also the chief benefac tress of the Community Councils of New York City. Oddly enough, as it seems to us, she represents the cooperative ideal rather more than she does the consumer. It v/ill do no harm to have this ideal represented on Gen. Hugh Johnson's Recovery Staff, loaded to the gunv/ales as it is v/ith "practical" people. The other "representatives of the consumers" are Frank Graham, pres ident of the Univ. of No. Carolina; William Ogburn, professor of econom ics at Univ. of Chicago; Miss Belle Sherv/in, president of the National League of Women Voters; and Mrs. Joseph J. Daniels, president of the In diana League of Women Voters. Mr. Ogburn, as we recollect, did a good job as head of Hoover's Council which in vestigated Recent Social Trends. As for Miss Sherv/in and Mrs. Dan iels, it is to be hoped that their partici pation may cause the ladies to come to the realization that they vote, occasion ally, v/ith the family purchasing dollar as well as v/ith the ballot. We hope that Mrs. Rumsey's com mittee gives a good accounting of itself. We hope that it throv/s the spotlight on the Forgotten Consumer and pleads his case in v/ords that are distinctly heard, if not—^as v/e fear—entirely heeded. o The Cart before the Horse Again Out of the present confusion of codes, agreements, bulletins, confer ences, etc., stands one central fact, v/hich is that the cost of living is rising faster than the price of labor. Gen. Hugh Johnson is concerned about this fact, as well he may be. He is making strenuous efforts to get em ployers to raise v/ages and reemploy men. He admits that it is a race v/ith time. Already the v/arehouses are fill ing up v/ith goods. A buyers' strike is threatened, if not already going on. Consumers are now expected to pay inflated prices v/ith deflated dollars, that is, dollars v/hich they earned v/hen dollars v/ere scarce and dear. A buy ers' strike is inevitable, prior to the time v/hen the inflated dollars are put into circulation. 3 Are Rebates Threatened? The question has arisen: W^ill co operative patronage rebates be threat ened by the rules of "fair" competition now being promulgated? No one knov/s, as yet. They may be. The concept of v/hat the patronage rebate really is—namely, a giving back to the consumer of the profit which he him self furnished and v/hich no one under the heavens has any rightful claim to but himself.—is a hard one to get through the average noddle. If rebates are outlav/ed, happy v/ill be the cooperative management that has trained its cooperators not to ex pect rebates but to be willing to leave the money in the pool as extension capital v/ith v/hich to thrust the co operative arm forv/ard into every phase of our economic life. o Join the Consumers' Union and Strike! When the individual worker, bar gaining alone, is not able to secure a living v/age, he or his fellows organize a union and refuse to v/ork until a liv- COOPERATION 135 ing v/age is forthcoming—that is, they go on strike. This is direct action by the people as producers. Correspondingly, • a nation of con sumers v/ho are starving for v/ant of goods at fair prices can only secure redress, in the long run, by organizing a "union" of consumers—that is, a con sumers' cooperative—and going on strike—that is, ceasing to buy from the profit store and buying through their ov/n cooperative store instead. This is direct action by the people as con sumers. The Consumers' Cooperative move ment is a permanent and continuous strike by av/akened and determined consumers. There are many v/ays by which an employer may circumvent a strike by v/orkers. The consumers' strike is a more serious matter, for it dries up the life-blood of the profit system, con sumer demand. The consumers who hesitate to join this strike are playing with their best trump card hid up their sleeve. 0 "Improving" on the Pioneers American cooperators have alv/ays been prone to improve, if possible, on the Rochdale system. The history of these "improvements" has not been happy. Our "improving" zeal has been perhaps most persistently directed at the principle of CASH TRADING. It v/as not practicable, v/e said. Our people demand credit, they need credit, they must have credit. And so co operative stores that prided themselves on being lineal descendants of Roc'h- dale have closed their eyes and granted credit, many to the point of dividing the store up and giving it av/ay, little by little, to the customers. Lately v/e find oil associations letting dov/n the bars in the same manner. There is reason to believe that CASH TRADING to ithe Rochdale Pioneers v/as not merely a practicable device. It v/as an ethical principle, one might say a part of their religion. They v/ere only too familiar with the hell into which credit v/as capable of lead ing the ordinary man. Thus they v/ere not content with merely saying, v/e v/ill sell for cash, but they v/rote CASH TRADING into their very Magna Charta of liberty. Time has never prov en them v/rong; on the contrary it has vindicated them to the letter. Have They Got the Jump on Us? If v/e are honest v/ith ourselves v/e v/ill confess that profit businessmen have been more faithful to one Roch dale principle than v/e have. It v/as profit chain stores, not cooperative chain stores, that introduced the cash- and-carry plan in this country, and reaped the advantages therefrom. It is a profit department store, the largest in the v/orld, R. H. Macy's of New York, not a cooperative department store, v/hich made itself the largest by following a cash policy. Macy's goes cash one better. It does a large business in "D.A's" or "deposit ors accounts," whereby the customer pays in advance, that is, keeps a sum on deposit, and drav/s goods against that sum. Such a plan gives the store capital with v/hich to buy (for cash). Such a store becomes, not a selling agency but a purchasing agency, v/hich is what a cooperative is or should be. The co operatives might v/ell take this device over in toto and make it a part of the cooperative technique. That would be improving on the Rochdalians, in truth. To pay in advance is as easy as to pay in arrears—and much easier on the mind, of both payer and payee. To educate consumers to pay in advance would be as valuable an educational job as the cooperative movement could conceive of. We have .heard criticism directed at a large farmers' purchasing coopera tive like the Eastern States Farmers Exchange for being "capitalistic" in outlook and for various and sundry reasons, but the fact is that this organi zation has been built on a strictly cash policy and is today one of the most thriving cooperatives in the United States. The same can be said of others v/hich have taken their Rochdale seri ously. 136 COOPERATION How Are Cooperative Marketing Associations Like Trade Unions? C*'T 7ERY little fundamental similari- » ty," says Robin Hood. "In prin ciple . . . the same," says George Halonen. Robin Hood is secretary of the Na tional Cooperative Council, Washing ton, D. C., which is a conference body of farmers' cooperatives, chiefly mar keting associations; and George Halo nen is educational director of the Cen tral Wholesale, Superior, Wis, The Editor hastens to say that this is not a debate. He "interviewed" these men by mail, and their answers were given quite independently, Mr. Herron's article in July COOPERA TION was the first opinion published on this question. Now for the inter views: Question: In your opinion, to what extent, if at all, are the trade unions and the farmers' marketing cooperatives akin, in principle and in tactics? Mr. Hood's answer: I can see very little fundamental similarity between trade unions and cooperative market ing organizations. There is, however, a considerable degree of similarity be tween trade unions and cooperative bargaining organizations, as may be il lustrated by such organizations as beet growers associations and those metro politan fluid milk cooperatives which are essentially collective bargaining or ganizations in that they negotiate with the buyers of their members' products with respect to prices, terms, grades, surplus and other conditions of the sales by members to distributors or other buyers. Tactics of the farmers cooperative bargaining organizations are com parable with the tactics of trade unions in several respects. Their weapons chiefly are public opinion and, on rare occasions, the withholding of supplies from recalcitrant dealers. The tactics fof marketing organizations, however, are simply the beating of private deal- ers at their own game by more efficient merchandizing and distribution of bet ter quality -products. Mr. Halonen's answer: In principle farmers' cooperative marketing associ ations and trade unions are the same. Wage workers are selling their labor power directly. In order to get not only bigger wages but also to improve the working conditions, they need their unions. Farmers are selling their labor power indirectly, in the form of farm products. Thus, they need their own "unions", cooperative marketing as sociations. Perhaps it is a misnomer to call these cooperatives. The tactics depend upon the strength of the respective organizations. In case the strength of a trade union is the same as the strength of a farmers' mar keting association, their tactics are the same. Price fixing is not the only mo tive. Question: Can you give instances where marketing cooperatives have withheld their product from the mar ket, that is, "gone on strike?" Mr. Hood: There have been very few illustrations of strikes by coopera tives in recent years, although milk strikes have been prosecuted by bar gaining organizations with more or less success in three or four areas within the past year. Mr. Halonen: In Wisconsin, farm ers tried the "strike" weapon. Question: In your opinion, should they, or should they not, do so? Mr. Hood: Strikes by cooperatives are never desirable and can be justi fied only upon the basis of last resort. They are always expensive and usually are as expensive to the producer as to the buyer. Mr. Halonen: Strike brings results in accordance with the strength of the organization. Most of the farmers' strikes have been of the same nature as the so-called "out-law" strikes of un- COOPERATION 137 organized wage workers. When work ers are not organized their strikes are very weak. W^hen farmers have not strong marketing organizations, their strikes are of little value. Question: Can you give instances where the fact that farm produce is sold through marketing cooperatives has caused higher prices to the con sumers? Mr. Hood: Experience is replete with instances where prices have been im proved by cooperation. Higher prices to consumers undoubtedly have re sulted in a large number of cases, al though I dare say in an even larger number of cases the effect has been more to reduce the spread between the producer price and the consumer price. Sales promotion work and im proved merchandizing methods have been the most permanent means, as best illustrated by the marketing of citrus fruits, nuts, butter and numerous perishable products. Mr. Halonen: I don't know of any. Question: The Consumers' Coopera tive movement is, in general, friendly to Trade Unionism, that is, strike tac tics by workers. In your opinion, should the Cooperative movement, or should it not, endorse "the Holiday movement, that is strike tactics by farmers? Mr. Hood: The farm cooperative movement most assuredly does not en dorse any program of withholding all farm products from market. Mr. Halonen: The consumers' co operative movement should not ad vocate "out-law" strikes. Instead the movement should support genuine co operative marketing associations to the same extent as we support the trade unions. Strikes as such will not bring results without organizations. Coopera tion between consumers' cooperatives and farmers' marketing associations will not increase the prices paid by the consumers. Today about two-thirds of what the consumer pays is going to the speculators and unnecessary middle men. Through co-ordination and co operation much of this waste could be eliminated. The Holiday movement advocates mostly "out-law" strikes instead of em phasizing the organizations as the first pre-requisite. Therefore, the con sumers' cooperatives should endorse the organizational work among the farmers rather than the strike tactics. However, in case a strike is proclaimed by the farmers, consumers cooperatives should not act as strike breakers. Question: Consumers' Cooperatives in general try to buy the products of union labor, for example, printing. Should they also try, in so far as pos sible, to buy the products of farmers' marketing associations? Mr. Hood: We don't ask consumers' cooperatives to buy the products of farmers' marketing cooperatives for any reason of sentiment. We expect to render consumers and producers a better service than proprietary interests and we expect to be patronized where- ever we are rendering a better service. Of course, other things being equal, we feel that consumers' cooperatives will for sentimental reasons "give us the edge." We are concentrating on immediate problems and are dealing with them step by step as we advance. Mr. Halonen: As far as possible and practicable, consumers' cooperatives should buy the products of farmers' marketing cooperatives. (In an early issue, we expect to publish the views of others, among them I. H. Hull, man ager of the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Quentin Reynolds, manager of the Eastern States Farmers Exchange, and Prof. Colston E. Warne of Amherst College, on this subject. We welcome other opinions. — The Editor). • Death of Mr. McDole It is sad to report the death, on June 20th, of D. S. McDole, comptroller of the Washington Cooperative Egg & Poultry Association. Mr. McDole was & searching thinker and one of the ablest leaders of the cooperative move ment in the Pacific Northwest. • The rate of interest on capital has been reduced by 270 British societies with no appreciable effect on the flow of capital or trade, according to the cashier of the Cooperative Union. 138 COOPERATION I .§ 88 8 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 88 U .rn vo^ rn b9 ^ -^ i-n -^ 06 06 vr5 ooo tx. 01 O ^ T-< o *—< "^ *—< t^. \Q o 01 oo gj . i""* if} V} oo ^n 01 en CD ON o°\ 01*~< ^* t^. CD '—< *~< oo oo rn 5^ oovocTv^ -^ t^. 06" ON of T-^THt^r^ir^ T-H f^T ^ 69- 01 ^H^ ^ S1 (U »^J § ^ rn <^jo ^ oq o in in • . ^ ^j-* CNrn inNlt^ OOCN ON oi iri 06 m* m" fe —^ ^^ __ oooo t - ^ ^J CU f Oi c * t;"C t|r) "^^ ^ ^.Q ^O °9t^. ^JO ^°O N; ^f1 T~llO T-|^N &«&; .in u~itXi ^ in ^7 OO OO O OO 00-^1 OO 0)t^ OO OO OO OO _J ^ OC5 00 o 00 Otv. OCD oq VO Op Op pp pp »** >< «,'^1cNi^vooN ooo4cr\o6t^ t^T m t^ t^T 06 in vo o o^ in >— «H E S °°2; "^S ^» voo\ 010 mvo in^H mm ^oo ^o 0104 flj r~* --^ '"I'-i ~^.<-i o ^"*1 °i^. ^lo °l^3, ^'-i "^,00 01 o ovo 2J >^ r«oo^-<^i^T-< cr\oo m of ino ino •^'•Q oo^ oioC in"o fj Qi t^oo *-op m 04^0 O^H •^•'^ min Chm vo-^1 OITH ON-^ Ms g {^-t^vo ^^N ^^ " ;.,„ O cu O O >, re ^^ mm m ^}^C? SSS2 ^^^ ^5C? 5^^ ^ST1 E?£C? 5S o a ^ — S2 2 ..;y u 4-> ~- cd •f J§ o TS r/3 O s o U 6 0, U z4 o U l o 3 U s cr > be r i U S.-S u O U o c u aj C r^ uU 8& u r c 05 w < -f u o y> o. . 8§ o w o w w J3 ^1 ?r> 0-2 g^ 1°. t; -rj u O o" ra - e e fe^i E^ o 5 C M M < D. 8 u CO L- W r3 . ^B ^ c I* COOPERATION 139 News and Comment Savings of Co-op. Fire Insurance The members of the Associated Co operative Fire Insurance Companies of Woodridge, N.Y.,save from 20 to 50% over what they would have to pay to profit, stock companies. These cooper ative companies, which operate on the assessment plan, have over 10 million dollars of insurance in force, largely on boarding-houses, hotels, farm and vil lage properties. Fire losses paid dur ing the past year amounted to $136,- 340.78. • Says the Worker to the Shareholder At the annual meeting of Consumers Cooperative Services, New York City cooperative cafeteria chain, a number of the workers—colored chefs, bus boys, salad girls, cashiers, etc.— part icipated, each taking the floor and tell ing the consumer-shareholders what he or she was doing to improve service, lower cost and in general help the so ciety to weather the depression. The applause showed that this was enjoy able, as well as educational, for the shareholders. Another speaker at the meeting was ex-Senator Smith Brookhart of Iowa, -who pictured the decay of the profit system and the necessity of our eco nomic world being reorganized along the lines of the cooperative movement. Total income of C. C. S. was $447,- 425.99 in the calendar year 1932 as compared with $550,554.23 in 1931. Net gain dropped from $32,858.32 in 1931 to $17,249.49 in 1932. The ap proximate number of workers is 109 and the labor percentage based on total income, 32.3. The number of share holders is about 3974. e Cloquet (Minn.) Cooperative So ciety has embarked on a new service, the mixing of feed for farmers. These feeds are mixed according to the best formula obtainable, but farmers who have their own pet formulas may bring their ingredients to the co-op, mill and have them mixed to order. Cooperation among Teachers The Industrial Arts Cooperative Service of New York is a unique co operative society having 400 members, mostly teachers, throughout the count ry. Each pays a $3 membership fee. It furnishes supplies to teachers, such as studies and outlines, pictures, books and special materials, and a monthly news sheet. Total income in the six months of the last school year was $11,117.98 and net qain was $256.90. e Summer School Tops Last Year The second Summer School of the Northern States Cooperative League, held the week of June 12, had 27 stu dents as compared with 19 last year, an encouraging gain in the face of the depression. There were 15 men and 12 women. The largest number of stu dents was sent by the Farmers Union Central Exchange of St. Paul, which sent nine branch managers and one oil station attendant. Two students came on scholarships granted by trade unions in Minneapolis. The school was held at Maple Hill Farm, 20 miles west of Minneapolis. A feature was a trip to cooperative establishments in Minneapolis. • "Hard Work and Hard Play" at Co-op. School Thirty-three students, both boys and girls, attended the Cooperative Ad vanced Courses at Superior, June 12 to 30. They were selected from the co operatives of the vicinity and given in tensive training to enable them to take places as leaders in the movement. "Three weeks of hard work and hard play", is the way the school was de scribed in an appreciative resolution by the students. One feature of the school was a day spent in actual house-to-house canvass ing for local cooperatives. A. J. Hayes was director of the school. He was assisted by H. O. San- kari and T, A. Tenhune. HO COOPERATION Clusa Picks Winners The 1933 edition of Best's Insurance Guide, just issued, rates all the larger fire and casualty insurance companies in the country, according to their strength and stability, on a ten-point scale. Clusa Service, Inc., the League's In surance service for cooperators, has checked the standing of all the com panies with which it has business in force. Only two are outside the top three of the ten rating classes. One of these carries a single policy and the other carries two or three small policies placed for special reasons. Best's is the recognized authority. Three years ago, when the service was established, the policy of dealing only with the strongest companies was adopted. The events of the depression have amply proven the wisdom of this. • John Henrickson, formerly manager of the Farmers' Cooperative Company of Squaw Lake, Minn., has recently taken the position of manager of the Zim Farmers' Mercantile Association of Zim, Minnesota. George Stenlund, formerly manager of the Northern Farmers' Cooperative Society at Cook, Minn., has taken Mr. Henrickson's place at Squaw Lake. • May Solve Milk Problem That the eventual solution of the milk distribution problem may lie in Consumers' Cooperation is suggested by the progress which the cooperative societies in England are making in the handling of this product. In 1919 the cooperative societies distributed only 2j/2% of the total liquid milk in Eng land and Wales, but by 1931 this had been increased to 14%. The total quantity of milk distributed by 352 so cieties in the latter year was over 100,- 000,000 gallons. A recent report of the Reorganiza tion Commission for Milk, appointed by the British government, states: "Co operative societies have played a part of increasing importance in the dis tribution of milk. They are, indeed, the largest retail distributors of milk in England and Wales, and though a part of their business has no doubt been secured by the elimination of smaller retailers, we have reason to be lieve that the service and the active educational work for which they are responsible have had salutary results in maintaining the consumption of liquid milk in a period of falling pur chasing power. "The fact that this great distributive organization is in essence a consumers' movement has also assisted to keep down the margin between wholesale and retail prices." o I. C. A. Presents Cooperators' De mands to World Economic Conference The International Cooperative Al liance, of which the Coop. League is a member and which represents 120 national cooperative organizations and some 70 million cooperators, held a special emergency conference at Basle recently. (The Congress of the I. C. A., which is normally held once in three years, is not to be held this year because of need for economy). A delegation to represent the I. C. A. at the World Economic Conference in London was appointed. Following is a part of the declaration drawn up to be presented to that Conference: The International Cooperative Alliance de- . mands-^ 1. Stabilization of currency with the ulti mate object of establishing a world currency placed under international control. 2. Final and definite settlement of all inter governmental debts. 3. The establishment of prices which cover the cost of production without unduly burden ing consumption. 4. The conclusion of an international con-> vention for the abolition of all direct and in direct protections, and the substitution of inter national solidarity for competition. 5. It is also necessary that the International Economic Conference should not lose sight of the necessity of the simultaneous application of the solutions adopted. Amongst the various phenomena revealed by the economic depression there emerges an in terdependence which calls for a concomitanci of efforts and for simultaneous action. 6. Finally, the International Cooperative Al- 1 liance recalls that by its nature, its aims, prin ciples, and institutions, the international co operative movement holds the full and definite solution to the problem of economic chaos and of the world disequilibrium between consump tion and production, COOPERATION HI Virginia Co-op Does Good Work " Farmers Cooperative Fertilizer Pur chasers," of southern Virginia started in the spring of 1932 and handled about 1200 tons of mixed fertilizer and ma terials, with a saving of over $2 a ton, as compared with the current prices charged by the Old Line companies. This year, groups in adjoining counties became interested and the membership increased to approximately 800 farm ers. Each local community group of in terested farmers elect a representative to the Board of Directors, The direc tors elect an executive committee to have charge of the actual management of the business; the secretary-treasurer serves as manager. The organization made a contract with a local fertilizer mixer to mix the fertilizer according to the experiment station formulas for tobacco and other crops, at a charge of $1.75 a ton for 1500 tons on a sliding scale dropping down to $1.25 a ton for a volume of 3000 tons or over. The operator of the mixing plant also used his contacts with the companies selling fertilizer in gredients to help the cooperative in ob taining its supplies at minimum prices. The cooperative established a price of $17 a ton on 3-8-3 tobacco fertilizer, made according to the V. P. I. Ex periment Station formulas for produc ing the highest quality tobacco. The farmers had to pay cash before they could get the fertilizer delivered from the plant. At the close of the mix ing season the coooerative had enough fertilizer on hand to pay the members a patronage refund of $2.00 per ton in fertilizer. The members were encour aged to apply this as a side dressing to their growing tobacco to supplement the rather meager applications of ferti lizer that were put under the tobacco when it was planted. The organiza tion has enough fertilizer in cash on hand to pay an additional dollar patronage refund. The result of the operations of this pool is that the members have obtained the highest quality fertilizer at about $14 a ton, and the whole charge to get it to the farm will probably not exceed a dollar a ton when hauled by hired truck. G. H. W. Convention at Cloquet The 12th annual convention of the Northern States Cooperative League will be held at the Workmen's Hall, Cloquet, Minn., Sept, 11 and 12. All affiliated societies should elect dele gates at once. A cooperative woman's conference will be held the afternoon of Sept. 10. Visitors are welcome at both meetings. Co-op Mgr. Turns Poet Mr . McCarthy, manager of the Farmers Union State Exchange of Omaha, believes that good coffee breeds a good temper, thus— "The working man, tho' boss or hired, to stimulate his system tired, in weather cold or weather hot, turns to the good old coffeepot. Poor coffee leaves his blood stream flat: of bootleg juice he takes a bat, which clouds his brain and dulls his sense, and adds a lot to the expense. But good Co-Op, the housewife's treat, will start his day with temper sweet; no poison leaves, his brain to tax. His mind is clear; his nerves relax. He'll never lonp for 'three point two' if you'll just make good Co- Op brew." Sitting in the recent "Continental Congress," our ear-drums were pounded and beaten and buffeted by the torrent of WORDS—eloquent words, trite, over-used words, des perate, pleading words, bombastic words, words that stung with truth, words that tumbled and rumbled over one another like a long roll of thunder, words, words, \vords. Words to be rejected and words to be approved. Those that were finally approved were so many that we fear they will weary rather than win the many other ear drums and eye-balls to whom they will be addressed. It caused us to thank our stars again that the program of the cooperative movement can be stated in two mean ingful words—Consumers' Coopera tion. O. C, 142 COOPERATION COOPERATION 143 Beer or No Beer? LAST month we opened the question: Should cooperative societies sell beer? This ques tion brings up several others, more fundamental in nature, for example: Should cooperatives at tempt to "educate" the demand of their con sumers? In July COOPERATION Dr. War- basse and others gave us their opinions; here we publish the personal opinions of other co- operators on this subject. L. S. Herron Personally I detest the confounded slop and bellywash, and wouldn't care to sell it in a pig sty. However, I am not philosophically a pro hibitionist, and would not object to a coopera tive society selling beer if the majority of the members favored it and to do so did not cause disruptive friction. This question must be settled by each so ciety for itself. In some societies it would cause a disruptive row and a hopeless split. In others it would not have that effect. Where- ever selling beer would cause division and friction it should not be sold. V/e certainly do not want our cooperative movement to go bust on beer. Our Farmers' Union Stores in Nebraska have no notion of handling beer. J. Liukku The cooperatives should consider this from a business point of view. I am afraid many co- operators are not well enough grounded in co operative ethics to be satisfied in case the co- perative store refused to handle beer even if the trade warrants paying licenses. Our organization (Cooperative Trading Co., Waukegan) has decided not to handle beer just for the reason that the licenses are pro hibitive for the amount the average grocery store would be able to sell. A cooperative should always carry on an educational program among its members in forming them what are healthful and economic al foods. A program something like the Con sumers Research is conducting would be a great benefit to the cooperators if it could be made available to them. Jacques Ozanne Has it ever been suggested that cooperative societies should not sell ham for fear of of fending the religious principles of orthodox Jewish members? There is no more question of ethics involved in selling beer than there is in selling pork. Should the prejudices of teeto talers receive greater consideration than those of vegetarians? A cooperative society being an organized body of consumers, and a democratic institu tion, it has to supply its members with what they demand and while a majority of the mem bers of a single society can prevent a certain item from going on the shelves, it would seem both fairer and better business judgment to cater to minority tastes so long as the item de manded by the minority can be carried without financial loss to the society. A cooperative society should not attempt to "educate" the demand of its members unless there is no question of the scientific accuracy of the information it attempts to disseminate. The question of beer as a food and a beverage is so controversial that it does not fall in the class of educational subjects. Of course, a co operative should do all in its power to see that the beer it serves is riood beer and should not misrepresent its alcoholic content. The cooperative society of which I am a member is not selling beer. The latest report of its general manager is that it is losing patron age. This way not be a related phenomenon but there is no question but that certain patrons who used to buy there regularly are now going where they can obtain the legal brew. Consumers' cooperation is an economic move ment. Its aim is, or should be, to reach the widest audience in this country. In state after state the American people are now demon strating with overwhelming majorities that they are opposed to prohibition. Does the cooper ative movement desire the adherence of the masses or doesn't it? Harold P. Winchester Everything under the sun has its good and bad uses and so, whether it is good or bad for us depends upon its use. If we eat too much food or too rich food we are harmed. If we drink too much water or milk or beer, bad re sults can occur. Some things like beer, or dyna mite, or love have a higher potentiality for danger and one must be more careful in their use. The choice is up to the individual, par ticularly in cases like beer where no one but himself may be injured bv the abuse. Let the co-ops sell beer if their members want it. The individual must choose his own poison. Sunnyside Consumers* Cooperative, Inc. (Long Island City, N. Y.) Should beer be sold by consumers? We have no objection. Is this a question of ethics? Or purely of business? Pure business. Should cooperatives take upon themselves the responsibility of saying what their members shall, or shall not, consume? They should not recommend articles known to be harmful. On the other hand, should cooperatives fol low strictly the principle of supplying what their members as consumers demand? Yes. If the demand of a certain percentage of members of a society is to decide the question for a society as to whether or not it shall sell beer, how large should this percentage be? Majority. — To what extent, if at all, should cooperatives attempt to "educate" the demand of their con sumers? To fullest extent. Has the cooperative organization with which r you are associated taken up the selling of beer? No. Herman Liebman 1. Beer is not only good "Business" but good "Ethics." 2. When every known brand of third-rate stuff is being sold in every known cooperative because most members have been raised on "profit-making" trash, why suddenly stop at beer and question its "morals?" Most co-ops don't even make an effort to push Co-op-made goods. 3. There is no choice in the matter. We have as yet no substitute for Capitalist-made goods. And even there, membership still dictates to the society rather than the other way around. Is it desirable so? No. But cooperative stores are more interested in staying out of the "red," than in reforming the tastes of humanity. 4. It is not a moral issue. If enough mem bers warrant the license fee and regular over head in handling beer, have it. It's up to the management, not up to the general membership. 5. To the extent of their pocketbooks and cooperatively branded goods, the co-op should attempt to "educate" its membership. 6. Yes, we sell beer. Results—disastrous to the brew and the moral mongers. Joseph Gilbert This question does not appear to me to be one of ethics but purely a business matter. There is no responsibility on the part of co operatives to say what their members shall, or shall not consume. It is the part of coopera tives to supply what their members as con sumers demand, providing, of course, that they act within the law. If any percentage of the members of a co operative society is to decide the question of what shall, or shall not, be sold, it should be decided entirely as a business proposition, and then by a majority. Cooperatives have no right to attempt to "educate" the demand of their consumers, for to admit such a right is entirely outside the proper domain of cooperative business and if permitted might lead to endless controversy detrimental to the organization. Cooperative Institute at Brookwood When the Fifth Annual Institute of the Eastern States Cooperative League closed on July 15th, twenty-five students started home with unanimous agreement on two points. The week had been one of genuine good time for , everybody. More than that, the in spiration engendered and the practical suggestions for cooperative activities that grew out of the meetings gave promise of new impetus among the youth groups in numerous societies this fall and winter. As in previous years, the Institute -was held at Brookwood Labor Col lege, Katonah, N. Y. The campus-gave place for classes and discussion groups out-of-doors as well as lively sports between study sessions. Volley ball and tennis courts vied with the swim ming pool for popularity while the hills of Westchester County provided ample room for hiking enthusiasts and for a memorable "weiner roast" held as one of the evening "stunts" arranged by the entertainment committee under the chairmanship of Helvi Kiuru of the Fitchburg Club. An amateur home talent night, in which the magician's tricks went mostly wrong, the soloists were generously applauded, and the actors of brief play actually delighted their audience, shared honors for en joyment with the final night's party with its "popularity contests" and old time dances. A special feature of the Institute was a trip by automobile on Thursday after noon and evening to New York City where several cooperative societies were visited. A brief stop was made at the League House, headquarters of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., and the day was fittingly closed with a dinner given by the Cooperative Trading Association of Brooklyn at the society's restaurant. But the Institute held much more than recreation. Three times daily the whole group assembled for the real purpose of instruction. In the morning and again in the evening students listened to talks by leaders in coopera tion and every afternoon, under the trees of the campus, for an hour and a half lively discussions were held on topics of current interest to the young cooperators. Kenneth Pohlmann, chair man of the current events committee, led these sessions. Among the speakers were cooper ative managers M. Rubinson, A. E. 144 COOPERATION Kazan, Mary E. Arnold and W. Nie- mela, who talked on various practical problems of cooperative business. W. Regli, of the League office, gave an in structive lecture on bookkeeping and auditing. W. Hyde presented insurance problems and G. Meakin outlined the growth of cooperative wholesale so cieties. Professors Bowman, Albrecht and Stein, from Columbia University, College of the City of New York, and New York University, respectively, were heartily received. The high point of the Institute was reached Friday when Dr. Warbasse joined the students for a two-days' stay. Not only did he speak twice and join in the discussion groups, but he de lighted the students by his technique on the volley ball court and his skill in water tag in the pool. Leslie E. Woodcock, Manager of the Eastern Cooperative Wholesale, who was elected Secretary of the E. S. C. L. at its May convention, was director of the Institute. He was as sisted by Julia Perkins, of the League office, well known to all former stu dents of the annual Brookwood gather^ ings of young cooperators of the East ern States. J. A. J. The Women's Guilds What the Guild Work Means to a Fitchburg Guild Woman Although the cooperative guild and its work is quite well known in Fitchburg, one may ask, what is guild work and what are the guild women doing? As yet, very few—women as well as men—have thoroughly acquainted themselves with the work and program of our guild. \Ve may briefly answer to the above: Our work is to spread knowledge and educa tion, to destroy all prejudice and misunderstand ing. We strive to develop mutual understanding and solidarity among the working-class women. In what manner may we most advantageous ly proceed? Every guild woman fulfills her duty as a cooperator and attempts to convince her neighbor to do likewise. Nor does our pro gram confine our work solely to cooperation, for it expands to all branches of activity, which aim to better the conditions and life of the working-class, and that is why we must en deavor to understand political and economic issues together with the principles of co operation. We try to show our fellows, that the reason for the numerous factional divisions among similar ideas, is caused by lack of understand ing and narrow-mindedness, and that our strength lies in our co-operation and in knowl edge. Let our guild be an organization wherein women educate themselves, develop their abilities, and obtain courage and vitality to per form for their own benefit as well as for that of mankind. Mrs. Lempi Rimpila, Fitchburg, Ma"S. Progress of Women's Guilds in Northern Minnesota In Barnum, Minn., a group of six women started a Guild and now they have 14. They have an educational committee, with plans and outlines of studying early history of the co operative movement in America. They also have a social committee who will have charge of entertainments. A Guild was organized in Wright with the help of the N. S. C. L. They have 14 members. Have conducted a very successful cooperative educational entertainment and silver tea, to raise funds to subscribe for the Cooperative Builder for members. Cromwell has another Guild organized the latter part of March with 10 members. Co operative History both in England and Ameri ca will be studied during the coming months. The field is big for spreading the message of Consumers' Cooperation and these women will be good instruments in advancing it, but we must educate our membership to wake up to the facts of what cooperation is doing every day, what it is doing in our own locality, how important our loyalty is, not only on buying from the co-op, but always demanding co-op brand goods. To date there are three English Guilds and two Finnish Guilds in this section. The work of securing subs for cooperative publications con tinues every month, especially in Cromwell. Also here the Guild has taken an active part in the individual membership drive of the N. S. C. L. The plans for a cooperative summer camp for Junior boys and girls from 8 to 16 years of age are in formation and we are prepared to accommodate 50 students. On June 4th all the consumers' cooperatives in this section will hold their joint summer COOPERATION 145 festival. It will be held in Cromwell this year. Some 8 or 9 societies will take part. The Guilds are active in this. Joseph Gilbert of the N. S. C. L. will be one of the speakers. Aili Kastel will be the woman speaker in behalf of the Guild work. The women of all the Guilds in this section are taking part in writing articles, on what co operation means to women. Thus, slow but sure, folks are waking up to the possibilities which may be gained through the working-class cooperative movement. But educational work must be done, first, last and all the time. The Guilds are out to do that. A. K. Cooperative Youth Want to Correspond? Some folks like to write letters, but almost everybody likes to get letters. It is likely that there are members of Coop. Youth Leagues in some sections who would like to corres pond with members of the Youth Leagues in other sections. Why not connect up through the medium of COOPERATION? (No, we don't plan to start a matrimonial bureau). Just write to the Editor of COOPERATION, stat ing what Youth League you would like to cor respond with a member of. For example: Dear Editor: I should like to get a letter from a member of the Cooperative Youth League of Maynard, Mass. I am a member of the Cooperative Youth League of ....................... Name Address We will publish your letter on this page, and it will be up to Mavnard to answer you. Here are some of the Cooperative Youth Leagues you have to choose from: In \Visconsin: Superior Iron River Brantwood Iron Belt Hurley Maple Highbridge. In Minnesota: Minneapolis Angora Brookston Iron East Lake Ely Gheen Lawler Menahga Nashwauk Orr Aurora Cloquet Jacobson Meadowlands Virginia Wawina Zim In Michigan: Pequaming Bruces Crossing Chatham Green Herman Mass Marquette Rock So. Range Trout Creek Trenary In Illinois: Waukegan Chicago In Ohio: Cleveland (Slovenian) Cleveland (Bohemian) In Massachusetts: Fitchburg Mavnard Quincy Hubbardston Gardner In New York: Brooklyn New York City (Amalgamated) Study Questions Used by Junior Co- operators of Chicago 1. What is Cooperation? 2. Who can join a Cooperative Society? 3. Who controls a Cooperative Society? 4. What is done with the profit accumu lated in a Cooperative Society? 5. In comparison to profit business, what does Cooperation demonstrate? 6. In what way is Cooperation a big factor in the movement for world peace? 7. How is the insurance of democracy in the Cooperative Societies maintained? 8. Who is the author of the booklet "What is Consumers' Cooperation?" and what position does he hold in the Cooperative Movement? 9. What services do Cooperative Societies perform? 10. Name one Cooperative Principle. • Hubbardston Cooperative Club The lucky ones to attend the Brookwood Labor College were Carl Wanhala and Ilmari Salminen, two of our most active members. We want to thank Frank Pesek of the Chi cago Club for giving us the idea to use one active member in every committee as a "spark plug"—thanks, Frank. On July 15 we held another dance which certainly was a big success. The music was fur nished by Bob Mack and his Band. Personally I wonder what has happened to Maynard and Fitchburg clubs, just why haven't we seen any reports in this column. We certainly are glad to have our president Veikko Merikanto and Esther Salminen, who underwent an operation the middle part of July, back again at our club meeting. The club as a whole is looking forward to the outing to be held in August, and at that time you cooperators will see our flashy base ball and horse-shoe teams. The Mayor. Useful Work The Junior Cooperators of Chicago act as well as talk. One Sunday not long ago, they all pitched in and gave the co-op store and of fice a spring house-cleaning, lowering shelves and rearranging where necessary to make the store more inviting. The private chains are creating more and more attractive stores. The cooperatives can do as well, especially when youth with its desire for modernity steps in to help. 146 C O O P E R A TI O N Books THE AWAKENING COMMUNITY, by Mary Mims and Georgia Moritz. Macmillan, New York. $2.00. This book tells how some 300 rural com munities in Louisiana have been "organized," through the aid of the Extension Service. A state community worker goes into a com munity and calls a meeting of all who are in terested in working together to improve things. A Committee on Objectives is appointed. This Committee reports back eight desirable objec tives, that is, projects. Four are selected and a committee on each is appointed. Among the objectives chosen are such as cooperative buy ing and marketing, improvement of the school or church grounds and buildings, nutrition class es, baby clinics, community fairs, etc. In some places, folk schools of a week or more have been organized. The aim is to get the people to act together to improve their community and make it a better place to live in. One may criticize the writers for being Polly- Annas; certainly they give little attention to the inevitable snags which this work must have run into. However, if It has accomplished one-half what is claimed, they have a right to be optimis tic. An especially good book for Women's Guilds to study. o IS DEMOCRACY DOOMED? by W. C. Good. 10 cents. A thoughtful pamphlet published by the Co operative Union of Canada and written by its president. He takes up chiefly political de mocracy, which he analyzes ably and pes simistically. With logic and lucidity, he shows how political democracy has failed because of economic exploitation. "The Cooperative Move ment in the economic field, definitely abolish ing all Special Privilege within its reach, is a fact of extraordinary significance in working out the problems of political democracy." He calls attention to the fact that "where this Movement has attained greatest proportions (as in Britain and Denmark), there political de mocracy has attained its best realization." If this pamphlet could be introduced into every public school, what a quietus it would put on the high-falutin' talk about democracy which is commonly indulged in there! o PUBLICATIONS RELATING TO FARM POPULATION AND RURAL LIFE. By the Bureau of Agri. Economics, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. This is a rather full list of bulletins and pamphlets put out by the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture and by the many State Universities and Agricultural Experiment Stations. Most of them can be had without cost. Here is a service which we as taxpayers pay for and which we as students should take advantage of. Recommended for Youth Clubs that' are building up a library. DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS, by Harold J. Laski. The University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill. 1933. Cooperators who are interested in the theo retical aspects of cooperation as a revolution ary movement striving to effect certain sub stantial changes in the politico-economic society of our times ought to be very much interested in Professor Laski's thought-provoking series of lectures which have been printed under the above title. The book is a characteristic Laski product. Its points are made with a quick, in cisive, and brilliant style which adds lustre to a keen analysis of the ills of modern democracy. The author's belief that democracy as a way of government and of living has ceased to be, and that substantial changes will be necessary, changes which may be brought about by civil war, is perhaps best illustrated in the following passage: "We built a powerful society without ade quate thought for the purposes to which its power was to be devoted. We built a wealthy society without adequate concern about the ob- Insurancc Pointer No. 8 WHAT IS AN INSURANCE AGENT FOR An insurance policy is a contract between a company that knows the meaning of the thing down to the last comma and a buyer who seldom reads it and might not under stand it if he did. Someone should stand between the two parties to be sure that the buyer gets the kind and amount of protection he needs and that he understands at least the essentials of his policies. This person may be a represent ative of one or more companies, in which case he is an insurance agent. In large cities he is apt to be a representative of the buyer and is called an insurance broker. The soundness of your insurance program de pends very largely on your choice of an agent or broker. There are just two es sentials to consider in making the choice: first, ability, and second integrity. As to the first point.—the safe insurance representative knows his business backward and forward. His advice as to the complete ness of an insurance contract or the sound ness of an insurance company can be relied on. As to the second point.—bear in mind that all brokers and agents live by the commis sions on the policies that go through their hands. The safe one has the kind of in tegrity that will make him advise against the purchase of unnecessary insurance, and that will make him place insurance in com panies that pay low commissions if that is to the advantage of the assured. A monthly insurance paragraph, con tributed by Clusa Service, tic., the League's insurance service for cooperators. COOPERATION 147 jects upon which its wealth should be expended. We thought that justice would be the inherent consequence of our acquisition of power and wealth. What we forgot is that societies are not bound together by material conquests; their unity is found in equal devotion to a common idea. Fellowship does not endure in states disfigured by such sharp contrasts as those which have deprived us of an equal interest in their operation . . . We should have dis covered in the last hundred years that an emphasis only upon material acquisition can not produce a united society once the capacity to acquire is threatened to its foundations; that it fails to make response to those spiritual springs of discontent which, when they are neglected, in the end always overwhelm our fragile material constructions. That kind of society produces peace and the temper of ex hilaration only when it is successful; once its foundations are called into question it produces only anger and dumb despair." Emanuel Stein. • "The back-to-the-land movement promises to become a major social problem," writes a worried rural so ciologist, "with nowhere any adequate machinery to deal with it." It appears to us to be the one "problem" of the day which promises to deal with it self. The Canadian Cooperafor Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ or the Canadian Coopera tive Movement, owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, Wis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wis. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York, N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. NEW ERA LIFE ASSOCIATION Affiliated with The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. All standard forms of Legal Reserve life insurance contracts written. We can insure you by mail without medical examination. Cooperators. patronize your own insurance society. For full particulars clip this coupon. New Era Life Association Grand Rapids, Midi. Without obligation send me infoiMiation certificates: Name _____________________________ concerning your different Address .Age: 148 O (yf o COOPERATION u> I- LJ O O tfi H U K _j CHANGE COOP WHOLESALE ( UMh.l O X X' #J?2 7.5V COOPERATION Organ of the Con- Movement in the sumers Cooperative United States Vol. XIX. No. 9 SEPTEMBER. 1933 10 cents ®®@®®®®««®®®®®® <®®®®G IN THIS ISSUE Cooperation vs. Coercion The Consumers and the National Recovery Act by J. P. Warbasse What Cooperatives Are Doing to Give the Consumer his Money's Worth a Survey by the Editor 150 COOPERATION An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St.. New York City.______________ OSCAR COOLEY, Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner L. S. Herron Herman Liebman V. S. Alanne___________George Jacobson Entered as Second Class matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. T., un- der the Act of March S, 18TS. Price Jl.OO a. year. Vol. XIX. No. 9 September. 1933 EDITORIAL COOPERATION How NRA and Cooperation Differ At first thought it would seem that Cooperation could not exist in the same country with NRA, which even at this early date is reaching into every neigh borhood and hamlet with its regulatory hand. Cooperation is based on the idea that it is best for the people of the com munity, acting together, to work out their own economic and social salva tion. Not only is it best, but cooperators believe that this is the only road by which salvation will ever come. But NRA is the very acme of top-down authority, stemming from one man and his small group of advisers at Wash ington, and exerted over an entire na tion. Cooperation stands for plenty; NRA stands for scarcity. NRA taxes the ragged consumer to pay people for plowing under cotton. Cooperation tackles the economic problem from the starting-point of the common man and his needs as con sumer; while NRA thinks first of ma chines and how to start them turning. Cooperation seeks to organize the smaller, distributive units first; NRA begins with textile and steel mills, wheat and cotton production, and all the rest, with one grand swoop. Cooperation starts small, learning to do the little jobs first before tackling the big ones, believing that the road to the equitable society is a long and rocky one, involving the education of youth and even of those now unborn; but NRA swashbuckles onto the scene with every confidence that the giant, Mass Production, which has been developing for 150 years, can be brought under control within a few months, human greed for profit can be curbed, millions of dollars now con centrated can be distributed without disturbing anybody's peace of mind, and the habits of generations can be controlled, altered or entirely wiped out, by a two-year drive. Indeed it would seem that the lion and the lamb shall lie down together before these two will get into the same bed. Cooperation vs Coercion A powerful force has been unloosed in the land. It is called, for short, NRA. We use the word "force" advisedly, for it seems to us that this movement, authorized by Congress, sponsored by the President and led by a Brigadier- General, is a coercive movement. True, they tell us from Washington, that all of these codes and things are to be drawn up, signed and carried out voluntarily, but they make it perfectly plain that if we don't get a move on and do these "voluntarily," we shall do them compulsorily. To contend that this is not coercion is to claim that a man who is asked to resign is not, in reality, fired. Now coercion may be a good thing, may be what the country needs. We won't argue that. But the fact remains that coercion is not cooperation. How then is NRA likely to affect Cooperation, which is the antithesis of coercion? In the first place, NRA is a force many times more powerful than the co operative movement in America. If it comes to a clash between the two, there i-3 little question which will have to give in. But such a clash is not inevitable, and needless to say cooperators should do all in their power to avoid it. COOPERATION 151 How They Agree And yet—let us see what they have in common. The first efforts of NRA have been to bring about wage increases and re- employment, and to increase the farm er's income. These are moves toward the redistribution of wealth among those who need it, and all cooperators applaud. NRA has recognized the need and the right of workers to unionize and has given a tremendous impetus to unioni zation. Again, good. At least one farm spokesman of NRA, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., has stated that the government approves cooperative marketing, and govern ment money will be loaned not only to marketing but to purchasing asso ciations of farmers if desired. The value of cooperative organization is recognized by the fact that county co operative credit associations of farmers are to be encouraged. Finally, when Dr Warbasse as one of the Consumers' Advisory Board proposed that the Consumers' Cooper atives work out their own code under which they should be governed, the idea was warmly welcomed at Wash ington. (This code is being drawn up but is not complete at this writing). NRA may be fascist in its coercive aspect, but it is not fascist in the sense of being against the cooperatives. On the contrary, it is thus far friendly to the cooperatives and disposed to help rather than injure them. This is as it should be. For the State and the Co operative Movement should be allies. The proper function of the State is to work for all the people, not for par ticular groups, and this is precisely the aim of the Cooperative Movement. NRA is an attempt to tame In dustrialism, to bring it under control so that it will feed the people rather than starve them. It seems to us that it is attempting the impossible, but we may be wrong. At any rate, we as co- operators have been trying for a hun dred years to do this very thing, and without actually bringing the giant to his knees. Can we object if now others take a try, on a different tack? Certain ly not, providing Cooperation is not in terfered with. As usual, all that the cooperative consumers ask of the government is to be let alone. (For this, we fear, they are in danger of being jailed as od dities). Thus far, we in America have been comparatively unmolested. In Europe hardly a government is not seeking to lay burdensome and unjust taxes on the cooperatives. To conclude, Cooperation is not in immediate danger from NRA. How ever, should NRA follow to the end the path it has chosen, the path of coercion and regimentation, the growth of the cooperative societies might be arrested, the weapon of competition with profit business taken away from them, and their whole course of progress halted or deflected. • Morgenthau Says Government Aims to Help Co-ops Henry Morgenthau, Jr., governor of the Farm Credit Administration, in an address at the American Institute of Cpoperation tells how the government aims to assist cooperatives: "We intend to assist cooperative enterprises and, to promote cooperation. The Land Bank division gives preference in interest rates to loans made through farm loan associations. The Intermediate Credit Banks are prepared to make direct loans to cooperative marketing and purchasing associations on their ware- housable products and to rediscount the loans of cooperative credit associa tions of farmers. -The Production Cre dit division will encourage the forma tion of cooperative credit associations, so that the farmer need no longer de pend on private sources of credit for production needs. . . A very significant change in the law has been made which enables us to finance purchasing co operatives as well as marketing co operatives. This alone is pretty ade quate evidence that the new laws were not written by foes of the cooperative movement." 152 COOPERATION The Consumers and the National Recovery Act By J. P. Warbasse Member, Consumers Advisory Committee, NRA LAST March, when the banks were all closed, the industrial system of this country was upon the verge of col lapse. I have been surprised to find that the captains of capitalistic industry believed that the end of capitalism was nearer than the most radical students of economic affairs themselves be lieved. Capitalism was scared more than ever in the history of the United States, and saw revolution and funda mental change ahead. This is the reason for the National Recovery Act; and that the command ing powers were scared, is evidenced by the fact that consideration is given to the consumers in the administration of this act. This is the first time in American history that the Government has provided a machinery for protect ing in an economic emergency the rights of the forgotten people—the hundred and twenty million consumers. Heretofore when schemes for rehabili tating business have been set on foot, the consumers have always been re garded as the common sea in which every one was to fish and take out all he could get. Of course, although this means something, it does not mean very much. In the National Recovery Administra tion (NRA), are three committees: the Industrial Advisory Committee, the Labor Advisory Committee, and the Consumers Advisory Committee. The first contains the important industrial magnates such as Gerard Swope, presi dent of the General Electric Corpora tion. The second is composed of the leaders of labor, and labor's best in telligence, such as Leo Wolman and Sidney Hillman. The Consumers Board, by a curious chance of politics is headed by a woman, Mrs. Mary Harriman Rumsey, who by another happening of circumstances knows about consumers' cooperation and looks upon it as the economic hope of the world. On the Consumers Board are other members who know coopera tion and desire its promotion. All of the members are sympathetic to the co operative economic system. But this Consumers Advisory Board has by far the least influence of any of the boards. When the industries have consented to certain concessions in or der to prevent the Government taking complete control, and when labor has gotten all that it can get, the matter is pretty generally regarded as closed, and there is not much left for the con sumers to do about it. But in every code are things that vitally concern the consumers. Among these are the ques tions of (1) the amount of profit that may be taken; (2) the overhead costs as found in salaries, payments to sub sidiaries, etc.; (3) efficiency methods in the interest of economy; (4) elimina tion of middlemen; (5) statistical re search into costs; (6) unhealthful factors in foods, etc.; (7) spurious materials, fraud, and the whole matter of quality; (8) promotion of coopera tive education; (9) the use of existing cooperative consumers' societies; (10) the formulation of a consumers' code; and (11) violations of consumers' in terests in the many codes adopted. Oil Code Forbade Rebates The oil code may be taken as an ex ample of what happens in the codes proposed by industry. This code con tained clauses that forbade the pay ment of rebates of any kind to anybody that would reduce the net cost lower than the posted price. This was for two purposes: (1) to prevent "unfair com petition," and (2) to put the coopera tive oil societies out of business. Ob jection was made to this provision. We had the help of Mr. Cowden, of the Union Oil Co., Mr. Ogg, of the Farm COOPERATION 153 . Bureau; Mr. Goss, Land Bank Com missioner; and Secretary of Agriculture Wallace. As a result, the oil people had to modify their code. The farmers can no longer be flouted in Washington, even though the other consumers may. So they made an exception for farmers. As the code now stands it permits co operative oil societies, "membership in which is restricted to persons whose chief source of livelihood is farming and which distribute their patronage dividends to such persons only." This is utterly vicious. Many farmers no longer find farming their chief source of livelihood; many people who are not farmers live in farming communities; this code would prevent everybody else from having cooperative oil socie ties; it would serve as a precedent for other industries to discriminate against people of other occupations; and the laws of many states provide for the payment of patronage rebates to non- members. This provision would inflict serious damage to the cooperative movement. The farmers desire that "farming" should be stricken out of this code. They do not desire to be treated as a privileged class. They want people of all occupations to enjoy with them the advantage of the cooperative method. The more who telegraph to General Hugh Johnson, Administrator, protest ing against this provision of the Oil Code, the better it will be for farmers and everybody else. Rule 29, of Article V, of the Oil Code should be eliminated entirely and Rule 28 should be modi fied accordingly. This is but one of the many things that require the attention of the Con sumers Advisory Board. The same pro visions against paying rebates are being put in the retail grocers' code and others, and presently cooperation may be seriously hampered. Coopera tive societies cannot sell at cost. When ever it has been tried, it has failed. There are a hundred years of practical experience to prove this. Societies be fore the Rochdale period failed, be cause they sold at cost. The Rochdale Pioneers established the "dividend" method. Societies that have violated it since then have met disaster. Cooperatives Should Have Own Code Many industries are writing into their codes provisions that vitally af fect cooperative societies. The best hope for cooperation is to have its own code. The code of the cooperative so cieties should define cooperation. It should assert that there is no intention to hamper other forms of industry ex cept by the natural methods of legiti mate competition. And it should stipu late that "nothing in the code of any other industry shall abrogate or nullify the provisions of this code." Such a code introduced by the cooperatives should go a long way toward protect ing them from the industries desiring their destruction. The best minds in Washington who are sympathetic to the interests of the consumers are helping in the framing of a ^cooperative consumers code. It will have to make some concessions. It will suffer modification in its progress through the NIRA mill. But in the end, if the provision above quoted is pre served, the cooperative societies may be saved. What will come out of the NIRA nobody can predict. It is a sincere ef fort to rehabilitate the profit system, and keep it going for a while longer. Since the world is not yet ready for Cooperation, we should desire the suc cess of this effort. Chaos would not be to the advantage of Cooperation. We need still more time and education to lay the foundation upon which an equitable economic system can be built. • Granges Still Alive and Alert At a meeting of Marcellus Grange (in Adams Co., Washington) on July 14, it was voted to put in a cooperative gasoline plant; work on the plant started July 17, and gasoline was flow ing from a temporary tap on July 24. And yet some say the Grange is dead. This is only one of several new co operative oil ventures by Granges in the State of Washington. 154 COOPERATION What Cooperatives Are Doing To Insure That The Consumer Gets His Money's Worth A Survey by the Editor IT is the proud claim of consumers' cooperatives that they trade up quality and down prices, in the interest of the consumers of which they con sist and for •whom they function. This is the direct opposite of the tendency in profit business, which is to debase quality and elevate prices. The average individual consumer, buying his living from a profit store of one kind or another, is a helpless babe so far as getting quality is concerned. An organization of many consumers, however, is able to hire a chemist, or even set up a laboratory of its own, to analyze and report back to the con sumers just what they are getting for their money. To what extent is this actually being done? We do not pretend to have a com plete answer to this question. To find out what every cooperative store and buying agency in the country is doing to insure honest goods to its members would be impossible. It can be said that to the extent the consumers of a so ciety are alive to their responsilibity and active in demanding of their man agement that only honest goods be stocked, to that extent the above theory will be turned into practice. Information has been secured, how ever, from 12 of the largest wholesale cooperatives in the United States and Canada. These are largely farmers' as sociations, and so the goods handled are largely farm supplies. In no other field, perhaps, has the debasement of quality by profit business been so great. Consequently the job of such cooperatives as these is clearly cut out. Let us see how well they are doing it. The following questions were asked: Do you test products, or hire such test ing done by outside laboratories? Please describe your laboratory testing facilities, if you have same. If you have tests made outside, send us two or more sample reports of such tests. Do you communicate the results of such tests to your patrons? Of the 12 cooperatives, 5 were found to have laboratories of their own, while 7 employ outside laboratories or chem ist, either private or State. All com municate the results of this quality work to their consumers to a greater or less degree. A few appear to be more active than others in teaching the con sumer the meaning of specifications and standards. Three reported ex periences in which they were able to raise the quality, not only of what they bought, but of the entire output of a given source. The information from each coopera tive is digested as follows: Central Cooperative Wholesale, Superior Has tests made on all items not covered by Federal Pure Food law and on which there are no government standards; e. g. catsup, peanut butter, cereals, flour. Tests made by outside laboratories. To quote, "Our ex perience with the manufacturers has been that as a result of our test they go to great length to maintain uniformity, knowing that we are likely to check up on them at any time." Consumers are informed of results of tests through publications; confidence has been built up in items bearing Co op label. Farmers Union State Exchange, Omaha Field seeds tested by Missouri Dept. of Agriculture; very dependable. Re fined petroleum products tested by re finery from whom purchased; found reliable. Lubricating oils tested by Quaker Petroleum Co. "In the testing of oils we have found some of the COOPERATION 155 highly recognized laboratories very un- dependable." Results of tests are passed on to consumers. No laboratory tests on general merchandise. Midland Cooperative Oil Association, Minneapolis Lubricating oils tested regularly by outside chemist. Qualities as revealed by the test are guaranteed to customers. Farmers Union Central Exchange, St. Paul Tests practically all products hand led: gasoline, kerosene, oil, grease, twine, flour and feed. These are sold under Farmers' Union Brand. No tests on tires, sold under manufacturer's brand. "The State Inspection Dept. of the states to which we ship, tests every car of gasoline shipped to that state. We supplement these tests quite frequently by more exhaustive tests (e. g., anti knock). No. Dakota has what is re garded as best gasoline and light oil laboratory of any state." Uses commercial testing labora tories also. Flour tested both by chemical anal ysis and by having sample loaves baked. Binder twine tested for break ing strength. "We were instrumental in improving quality of twine made in No. Dakota state plant through anal ysis of his twine." Results of all general tests communi cated to entire list of patrons. Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association Has own oil laboratory in connec tion with compounding plant. Educates consumers constantly on specifications. "As a result our members often em barrass private oil salesmen by asking questions they can't answer." Has own seed cleaning and inspec tion plant. Handles "open formula" feeds. For mulas worked out by Experiment Sta tions of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia are used in uniform feed distributed by Farm Bureaus in all four states. Helped get fertilizer tag law passed, requiring the amount of nitrogen, phos phorus, potassium, etc., be stated on tag. Now cooperating with state in chick disease control. "There are in Indiana about 600 hatcheries. Our Livestock Sanitary Board had outlined a pro gram of disease control, and in 1932 they were able to secure the coopera tion of only 6 out of the 600 hatcheries. We let it be known last summer that we were entering this field. At present we have 4 Farm Bureau hatcheries operating. As a result other hatcheries have joined the program, until now 32 are cooperating. "In meantime, Fall Paralysis is be coming prevalent. Only control is through inspection of flocks from which eggs are taken. As yet no official effort has been made to control this disease, which threatens to destroy poultry industry in Indiana. However, our Farm Bureau Hatcheries have taken the advance step, making care ful inspections of all flocks from which eggs are taken and refusing eggs from flocks that they suspect are infected." Union Oil Company (Cooperative), Kansas City, Mo. Has employed an oil chemist for last four years. He samples and tests raw materials when received at compound ing plant before they are allowed to be unloaded. After compounding, oils are tested before barrelling. Own labora tory has facilities for making all tests of oils and greases, and all tests of gasoline, kerosene, etc. except octane test. "We have a specification sheet, copy of which is furnished to all customers. We send our chemist to many meet ings of managers, directors and stock holders. He takes with him some of laboratory equipment and puts on actual testing demonstration. He gives these demonstrations at many rural high schools also to educate our people to buy petroleum products entirely on specification." Eastern States Farmers Exchange, Springfield, Mass. Started distributing feed on "open 156 COOPERATION COOPERATION 157 formula" basis in 1922. "We believe that the chief advantage of the open formula is an educational one. We think that it is an extremely good thing for our members to know what we are putting in the mixture for them and what the proportions of the ingredients are. It makes them more intelligent co- operators—more intelligent and alert buyers." Has own feed and fertilizer labora tory, also seed analyst. Also sends samples to impartial agencies for check ing. Operates own mill at Buffalo where all feed ingredients are analyzed before unloading. Laboratory is in complete charge of proportions that go into mixing line. Improved alfalfa seed. "The seed trade persuaded associations of alfalfa seed producers to lower standards governing various classes of seed. They held that this would increase the amount of seed qualifying in the top grades. We succeeded in changing this situation by pointing out to the pro ducers that it did not give discriminat ing consumers the type of seed they wished. It actually gave seed buyers a chance to depress the prices in the country on the ground that the supply was plentiful, and then sell the seed at a premium in consuming areas on the ground that it was top-grade seed. "Cooperative purchasing is only partly effective when it fails to take advantage of control over quality which collective bargaining gives to consumers." Cooperative Grange League Federa tion Exchange, Ithaca, N. Y. (No reply to questionnaire. Follow ing information from other sources). Maintains own laboratories for check ing quality of feeds, seeds, fertilizers, spray materials, paint, etc. Farm Bureau Services, Lansing, Mich. "With minor exceptions we put out no merchandise except that which meets the requirements of Michigan State College for quality and adapta tion." Illinois Farm Supply Co., Chicago Has employed commercial chemical laboratory on oil and other products since 1927. Laboratory expense is one of main items in budget. "Copies of the laboratory reports are furnished to sources of supply, to managers of our associated companies, and on a few occasions these reports go direct to the consumer when merchandise may be in question. In general we assume that the consumer can not readily understand and furthermore has very little interest in laboratory reports. He wants to know what our merchandise will do and what it will cost." Washington Cooperative Egg & Poultry Ass'n, Seattle Has own chemical laboratory which tests raw feed ingredients. Uses out side tests only on rare occasions. Manitoba Cooperative Wholesale, Ltd., Winnipeg All petroleum products are pur chased on specification. Occasional samples are analyzed by outside chem ist. Coal price lists show analysis of coal offered. Same applies to flour. "In case of complaints, samples are ana lyzed and if quality is found not up to standard, the customer is protected by our 'money-back' guarantee. This is the case with all goods bearing our 'M. C. W. Brand' trade-mark." Again let us emphasize that this line by no means represents all the quality maintenance work that is being done by cooperatives. Many others, retail as well as wholesale, impelled by the de sire of organized consumers for better goods out of which to weave the fabric of better lives, are engaged in the am bitious job of trading up standards which have been beaten down for dec ades by the half-truths, camouflage and misrepresentation of profit-seek ers. • Employees Vote for Cash "All business strictly for cash," is the suggestion made by the employees of the Cooperative Trading Company, Waukegan, to the Board of Directors recently. Waukegan's total sales for the first six months were $254,527.81 and net gain $6,743.72. Trade Unions and Marketing Cooperatives—How They Are Alike and How Different (Continued from August COOPERATION) I Last month we presented the rather divergent views of Robin Hood of the National Cooperative Council and George Halonen of the Central Co operative Wholesale on this question; also on the matter of farmers' "strikes" and the attitude which organized con sumers should take toward them. Now we give other opinions, which it should be understood are purely personal ones, in this discussion, which becomes all the more timely because of the encour agement which the New Deal is of fering to both marketing cooperatives and trade unions. Of those whose opinions follow, all are connected with the consumers' movement. TRADE UNIONS and farmers' mar keting cooperatives are fundamen tally the same, says A. W. Warinner, secretary of the Central States Cooper ative League. Both use collective bar gaining as producers. The motive is practically identical, says I. H. Hull, manager of the In diana Farm Bureau Cooperative Asso ciation. Each is a class movement, for protecting the class interests of the spe cial group around which the organiza tion is built. Each uses the method which seems most practical. The fact that one uses a different method than the other does not in any way change the fundamental principle. Quentin Reynolds, manager of the Eastern States Farmers' Exchange, thinks that about all these two types of organizations have in common is that both recognize that "collectively, individuals can accomplish more than they can going it alone." He says further, "The members of farmers' marketing associations are capitalists. They instinctively seek to protect their property as well as improve their labor income. Labor unions have shown a woeful lack of appreciation of their stake in the capital side of the busi nesses in which their members are en gaged." Should Marketing Associations "Strike?" "They should, provided they have sufficient control of any one commodity to make their effort successful," says Mr. Warinner. In answer to this question, Prof. Colston Warne of Amherst, author of "The Consumers' Cooperative Move ment in Illinois," says: "Any militancy should be encouraged, to postpone the inevitable peonage to which farmers under capitalism are bound to be sub jected in coming years." But neither Mr. Reynolds nor Mr. Hull look favorably on farmers' strikes. Says Mr. Reynolds: "Since it is the business of marketing cooperatives to distribute to the best advantage the products consigned to them by the members, and since sound merchan dising demands that the products move to market before the next shipment or next season's output comes in, with holding goods from the market is more apt to hurt than help cooperatives. Oc casionally a strike may serve to bring public opinion aggressively to the sup port of a marketing association, but personally I believe that market asso ciation strikes cost more than they are worth and are an indication of weak ness rather than a show of strength." Mr. Hull states: "The farm market ing associations have abandoned the idea of strikes, and of market control, merely because they have proved, through their own experience, that it was not a practical thing to carry out effectively, when some 6,000,000 farm ers are involved, and would be re quired to act in unison. Their ex perience in this regard has not been 158 C O O P E R A T I O N greatly different from that of the labor organizations. "In Indiana the coal miners have had a very effective labor union movement, and have quite effectively controlled the wage scale until very recently, but in doing so they have nearly destroyed the Indiana coal mining industry. Now most of them are out of work, and cer tainly have not greatly benefited by the fact that they were able to hold their own wage scale higher than those in the Virginia fields." All of our witnesses agree that mar keting cooperation may cause higher prices to the consumer. For instance, Mr. Reynolds states: "Milk in almost any organized market costs consumers more because of cooperative activities. In the main, however, consumers tend to gain through producer control of marketing facilities. "Producers are, or should be, eager to market as large a volume as pos sible, and to do this their prices tend to be low. On the other hand, marketing agencies securing their profits solely through serving as distributors tend to prefer to increase earnings by handling less product at higher margins. "The marketing cooperative which succeeds temporarily in raising prices to consumers beyond reasonable bounds automatically reduces con sumption of the product which it is selling and so performs badly for its members." Cooperative marketing associations, thinks Waino Pernaa, manager of the United Cooperative Farmers of Fitch- burg, should get from the commission merchants, not the consumers, the extra with which to increase the return to the farmers. And Now—-the Consumers' Coopera tive Attitude Should the consumers' cooperative movement favor farmers' strikes or "holidays?" Mr. Warinner believes that "the Holiday movement is silly from the standpoint that they do not control a sufficient percentage of the products of the farmers to make these tactics ef fective. If all or a large percentage of the farmers would join this movement, it no doubt would be effective. As a consumer, I am not in favor of it." "Strikes are utterly repugnant to the cooperative movement," says Mr. Rey nolds. "Antagonisms and cooperation are not good bedfellows." But the militant Professor Warne believes that "The consumers' coopera tive movement should consider itself a branch of the labor movement and should participate in all activities fur thering the class struggle. If farmers are militant, they should be encour aged." Mutual Trade Relations Should consumers' co-ops try, inso far as possible, to buy the products of farmers' marketing cooperatives? "Yes," says Mr. Warinner. "Pos sibly," says Professor Warne, although "no financial sacrifices should be en couraged in order to buy cooperatively marketed products." They should, thinks Mr. Pernaa, "but it is a general rule that they try to do business where the opportunity pro vides. There is no harmony (between producers' and consumers' co-ops) as yet." They should buy the products "which will give their members the best values," says Mr. Reynolds, "re gardless of whether they are the prod uct of union labor or whether they are sold by marketing associations." How ever, they "must look beyond the im mediate advantage. By and large, the consumer cooperative stands to gain by encouraging, through purchase of their commodities, the development of soundly operated marketing associa tions of producers, because such asso ciations seeking profits from produc tion rather than from distribution tend to improve quality and reduce the cost through lower distribution spreads." And Mr. Hull: "Certainly it would seem that the consumers' movement should work, so far as possible, both with the great union movement, to as sist in elevating the standards of living COOPERATION 159 of the laboring people, and also with the farmers' marketing cooperatives. Get Together on Rochdale Plan We conclude with the following fit ting paragraph, also by Mr. Hull: "It seems to me that we should all recognize the limitations of both of these movements, or of any other class movement, and should recognize that after all is said and done, our great part in this program is to adopt the genuine Rochdale plan, which has no limitations, in which all classes may unite. So long as we continue to carry on class warfare, pitting one group against another, and to develop our limited class psychology, we may ex pect great difficulty in carrying out our program; but when, as has been done in Waukegan and in some other places, producer and consumer can unite to gether to carry out a single program, a spirit of fair play will soon prevail, and after all, that is about the only hope we have." News and Comment More Co-op Oil Flowing "Up to July 1st. we had an increase of 18% in the number of tank cars handled this year as compared to the same period of last year," writes E. G. Cort, manager of the Midland Co operative Oil Association. The Midland is a member of the Na tional Cooperatives Inc., joint pur chasing agency recently organized. "We recently bought eight cars of al cohol through the National at a saving of l^c per gallon over any other price we could get," states Mr. Cort. The Midland now has a new paper of its own, "The Midland Cooperator," which is mailed to all members, • Welcome, Fellow-Cooperators The H. O. B. Cooperative Oil As sociation of Bruces Crossing, Midi., has recently become a constituent member of the Northern States Co operative League. • Nebraska Picking Up A net saving of $15,098.31 was made by the Farmers' Union State Exchange of Omaha in the second quarter of 1933. This sum does not include $7,- 697.99 placed in reserve for oil asso ciations, which brings the actual earn ings for the quarter up to $22.79630. This compares with a net of $15,551.01 in the corresponding quarter of 1932. Increased sales in the machinery and grocery departments are largely responsible for the increased earnings of the second quarter. • Report from Madera, Calif. The Madera Consumers Coopera tive Association of Madera, Calif., which deals in groceries and general merchandise, had total sales last year of $49,941, of which $32,179 were to members and $17,761 to non-members. Net profit was $3,001. A purchase re bate of 5% was paid. • Call for Cooperative Employees' Union "Immediate organization of the em ployees of cooperative establishments into a Cooperative Employees Indus trial Union," is called for by a resolu tion of the Summer School of Cooper ation held near Cleveland in July. The resolution follows: WHEREAS, the National Industrial Re covery Act has given impetus to the organiza tion of industrial unions among the wage work ers of the country; and WHEREAS, the American Federation of Labor recently abandoned its policy of craft organization and has endorsed the industrial form of unionism, thus eliminating any possible jurisdictional conflict: and WHEREAS, the employees of the Con sumers' Cooperative establishments of the coun try should be a part of the organized labor movement, therefore, be it RESOLVED that the student body and fa culty of the Centra) States Fourth Annual Sum mer School of Cooperation emphatically urge The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., and the affiliated district leagues to take steps to ward the immediate organization of the em- 160 COOPERATION ployees of cooperative establishments into a Cooperative Employees Industrial Union. A beginning has been made by co operative employees in the Lake Su perior country, who in the last two years have enrolled upwards of 300 members in the Cooperative Workers Union. This has been endorsed by the Congress of the Cooperative League, and all employees of cooperative so cieties are urged to join. • Donovan Secretary of Congress Dan R. Donovan has been appointed field secretary by the Executive Com mittee of the Continental Congress of Workers and Farmers, which consists of trade unions, unemployed organiza tions, cooperatives, fraternal and pol itical organizations. The immediate aim of the Congress is to press the drive for union organization under the encouragement of the NIRA. Donovan is a veteran union organizer. He has recently been connected with Columbia Conserve Company, producers' co operative cannery of Indianapolis. • G. L. F. Owned by 35,000 Farmers The Cooperative Grange League Federation Exchange of Ithaca, N. Y., is owned by 35,000 member farmers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsyl vania and does a business of $20,000,- 000 a year. This is chiefly purchasing. Some marketing, as of eggs and beans, is done. It operates 118 local service stores, and has its own feed mills. Nominations for its board of directors are made by the directors of the N. Y. State Grange, the Dairymen's League and the N. Y. State Farm Bureau Federation. • Cooperators Are Their Own Electricians In 1922, 50 farmers in Stark County, Ohio, built their own electric line and made a bargain to buy current of a local electric railway. Current is sold only to members, who pay according to amount used. At first this ranged from 8 cents per kwh. to 3 cents. Now 3 cents is the highest rate and 1.7 cents the lowest, plus a flat service charge of 75 cents per month. There are now 140 members. The original members paid $231 each to construct the line, each paying for his own transformer and connec tions. Each new member pays this same amount. A surplus of $11,000 has been built up. All the work of installation and up keep is done by the members them selves. They pay themselves 50 cents an hour for pole work and 40 cents for ground work. • Study Cooperation Staff members of the Ohio Farm Bureau in Columbus are all enrolled in a course in the study of Coopera tion. The group meets monthly for a discussion of the various phases of the cooperative movement. The British, Danish, Irish, Canadian and United States movements are to be studied. • One Way Not To Grant Credit Sales of Cloquet (Minn.) society were over $52,000 in June, exceeding by well over $5000 the sales in June 1932. May sales also exceeded those in May of last year. This is in spite of the fact that prices were still about 10% under last year's prices. Cloquet maintains a strictly cash basis. The manager must have authori zation from the Board of Directors be fore he can extend credit to anyone, and such authorization is just not made. Cloquet has added 80 new members this year and now has over 1800. • Co-op Grain As Per Formula United Cooperative Society of May- nard, Mass., is planning to handle grain under the Cooperative label, and it is to be manufactured according to formulas made for the society by the State Experiment Station. Maynard will begin the distribution of fuel oil, also, this month. Total sales for the first six months were $120,501.58, and net gain $3,~ 948.72. COOPERATION 161 Cooperative Youth Form New District Youth League A Cooperative Youth League of the Central States was formed at the Cleveland Summer School, held the week of July 24th. The Di rectors were to meet in Chicago August 20th to elect officers and to plan the publication of a pamphlet dealing with Cooperation and Youth. With the forging ahead in cooperative ranks of Indiana, where six one-week summer schools were held this year, with a total of 150 stu dents; with the rapid progress of Gary, where the Negro Cooperative Store is considering ex panding to a new location; and with the ever- increasing pep and go of the old-timers such as Cleveland, Chicago and Waukegan, this new district youth league should have a bright future. Everyone had a swell time and a profitable one at the Cleveland school, held at D. T. J. Farm as usual, according to all reports. There were 27 students, 17 male and 10 female. The instructors, in addition to A. W. ("Pop") Warinner and Mrs. Warinner, were Ed Carl- son from Waukegan, Rev. Palmer of Blooming- ton, and Joe Martinek. School Teachers Attend Co-op School We hand the palm to the school teachers of Noble County, Indiana. There is hope for them yet, for they are still willing to go to school. Nine of them, plus the county superintendent, were students at the Noble County Summer School of Cooperation. The Kind of Proqram Chicago Puts On It was a Pep meeting of the Co-op Juniors a few weeks ago. Tom Kysela presided and did a swell job. There were talks by six students from the Summer School. Molly Ulovac spoke of the growth of the Cooperative movement elsewhere and said we must get busy. Anne Rous spoke on advertising and how we shouldn't believe all the advertisers tell us. She had been reading "100,000,000 Guinea Pigs." Ed. Nedved gave an enthusiastic picture of the D. T. J. Farm, where the school was held, and everybody wished they had a cooper ative farm in Chi cago. Johnny Rendl gave an informa tive talk on the early history of Cooperation, and James Roula spoke on the principles of Cooperation. Then Mr. Konecny, man ager of the associa tion, gave a talk on its past history. Mr. De Ramus of the Illinois Credit Union movement spoke on his spe cialty and plans Messrs. Albrecht, Woodcock and Niemela, of "The Faculty" At Brookwood for organizing a credit union were made. The program was spiced up with music, featuring "The Tunesmen," and there were several songs by the whole group. Must Make Room for Pigs Know any good cabinet makers? writes Wau kegan. Our Educational Committee needs one to enlarge our library case. The reason is we just acquired "100,000,000 Guinea Pigs," by F. J. Schlink. Can't you get 'em into circulation? East Is Mum News from the east is scarce this month. Guess those New Englanders are hurrying to get in all the swims they can before frost. Hubbardston, however, is heard from with a message from "The Mayor" saying that they are still holding their meetings twice a month, hot weather or cool, and that the report from the Brookwood students made one of the most interesting meetings of the summer. "We will all be at the Co-op Youth League outing in New Hampshire August 20th " The cooperative 'movement should be leading the people out of the vale of the shadow of credit. Is it? 162 COOPERATION Our Neighbors Old-timer Going Strong The British Canadian Cooperative Society of Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, had total sales in 1932 of $1,022,316.29 and paid a purchase dividend of $90,- 521.77, or 8%. This society is 26 years old and has 3267 members. • Increases Sales The Manitoba Cooperative Whole sale, Ltd., of Winnipeg had total sales of $325,504 in 1932, which was an in crease of $51,183. • New Mexican Cooperative Law Has Good Features The League is in receipt of a copy of the cooperative law of Mexico, for which thanks are due to Dr. Carlos Leon, general secretary of the So- ciedad Inter-Americana de Estudios Cooperativistas, with office in Mexico City. This law went into effect on June 1, 1933 and should result in encour aging the growth of cooperation in our neighbor country. It defines three kinds of coopera tives: Consumers', Producers', and Mixed. Its provisions are broad and embody the Rochdale principles. It specifies that dealings with mem bers shall be, as a general rule, in cash. It permits proxy voting but no mem ber may represent more than two other members. And at last we find enunciated, al though not so strongly as we might wish, the principle that a Credit So ciety is a Consumers' Cooperative in which the borrowers are the con sumers, for we read, "In the Savings and Credit sections, the distribution of orofits shall be in proportion to the credits or loans granted to each mem ber, and paid up by him." We believe that the Mexican cooperators are on the right track by deciding at the start that their cooperative banks are to be run in the interest of the borrowers, that is, the consumers of credit, and not, as many credit unionists would 'have it, in the interests of both bor rowers and depositors, which interests are, obviously, opposed; and not, either, as the mutual savings banks are run, (supposedly) in the interest of the depositors alone, which puts them (the mutuals) in the producers' cooperative class. • They Know Who Does the Buying The Swedish Cooperative Whole sale holds "Housewives' Meetings," at which experts give instructions on eco nomical housekeeping and information on the cooperative movement and its products. The total . number of cooperative families in Sweden is 513.000, which is about 30% of the population. • Beer or No Beer —From a woman's point of view. To the Editor: I have followed with interest the various comments on the above question and am, to say the least, amazed and disappointed with the majority of the answers. I am of the opinion that the cooperator who pats himself on the back and says he is an idealist, should not even consider the introduction of this question in the movement. But alas, it appears that King Busi ness predominates through-cut the controversy. It is a well-known fact that we reserve the right to educate our wholesale buyers to de mand from the market the purest of foods for the consumption of the consumers, with which policy I heartily agree. If we admit the right to educate our wholesale buyers in this way, and if we sincerely believe the introduction of Beer would be to the detriment of our movement, then I believe we have the right and are duty bound to educate the rank and file of our mem bers to the possibilities of abuse. I have spent many years of my life in the cooperative movement in Scotland and I assure you the question of Beer would not even be tolerated there. Notwithstanding, the movement grows rapidly from year to year. Take a leaf from the Rochdale Pioneers book and leave the question where it belongs—to the Capitalist System. It is one of their strongest props which the idealism of Cooperation has set out to break down. I am not a dry propa gandist, but I believe in use and not abuse, and I sincerely hope that the day will never dawn in America when we who claim to represent the honoured names of the Rochdale Pioneers will be held up for ridicule because of our incon sistency. Cooperatively, Mrs. Alex. Cordiner Minneapolis, Minn. COOPERATION 163 Insurance Pointer No. 9 WHAT IS YOUR FURNITURE WORTH? If your household goods went up in smoke tonight how much would you claim from the insurance company? How would you make a skeptical adjuster believe you? The most important evidence in adjusting a claim for furniture and household goods is an inventory made before a loss has oc curred. Sit down now, while you think of it, and list each item in the living room with its 'approximate value, and the date of purchase if you remember it. Do the same for each other room in the house. Don't bother to make a separate entry for each ten-cent souvenir, or fifteen-cent magazine. Small items can be lumped together, for instance: Silverware, $50; approximately 150 books at 50c, $75, etc. If you have saved the bills for the more valuable items, pin them to the inventory. Now get the list out of the house. It is no use if it goes up in the same fire that takes the things it describes. Keep it in your locker at the factory or your desk at the office; ask the neighbor down the road to keep it for you—anywhere just so it is some distance away. A monthly insurance paragraph, con tributed by Clusa Service, Inc., the League's insurance service for cooperators. Books A MANUAL FOR SOCIALIST SPEAK ERS, by August Claessens. Rand School Press, New York. 32 pages. 2^ cents. Or for cooperative speakers, or any other kind of speakers, we would add. Every winter August Claessens gives a course in Public Speaking at Rand School. The class is jammed. Some usually have to be turned away. Others turn away of their own accord when they find out that the course is about 99% practice. Claessens is a dynamo on the platform. With out the effort that tires or the oratory that bores, his face becomes a movie scenario of the emotions useful to the speaker. He is an artist with words. And yet his technique is so simple and so learnable that he is an ideal man to write a manual of this sort. This little book is the most practical thing imaginable. It tells how to avoid nervousness, why not to stand on one leg, what to do when people start throwing cabbages, and many, many other useful things. It even contains a drawing for an outdoor speaking platform, which looks strong enough to support even a cooperative speaker, if his knees did not shake too violently. Cooperative Youth Leagues which are plan ning a program for the coming winter, should consider having a course in Public Speaking. Each of their members should have this little book as a basis. It can be ordered through the Cooperative League at a bulk rate. O. C. • Consumers' Cooperation is cooper ative production by consumers for their own use. The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ or the Canadian Coopera- tive Movement, owned by and con- dueled under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, Wis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wis. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York. N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the LJ. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. 164 COOPERATION STUDY CONSUMERS' COOPERATION The books and pamphlets listed below are available through The Cooperative League. Read them and pass them on to your friends HISTORICAL Per Copy Per 100 38. Consumers Cooperation In the United States (lllus.), 1930.... .10 8.00 69. Story of Toad Lane (By Stuart Chase) ...................... .05 4.00 TECHNICAL 4. How to Start and Run a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... .25 6. Modtl By-Laws for a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... 05 M. Credit Union Primer (By Ham and Robinson) .............. .60 51. Model Lease for Cooperative Apartment House ............ .10 MISCELLANEOUS 16. Model Co-op State Law ........ .10 3'). "When the Whistle Blew" (Story. by Bruce Calvert) .......... 06 57. How a Consumers' Cooperative Differs from Ordinary Business .02 62. Buttons (League emblem). % Inch diameter ............... .OB 63 Sign or Transparency of League Emblem. Green and gold, 8 In. diameter .................... .26 16.0« 67. Stock certificates, engraved, with League Emblem. Bound In books of 100. 200, or 250 68. To Mothers ................... .02 Hi. tarmc-rs' Cooperation, A Way Out: An address by L. S. Herron. . .05 72. "Little Lessons in Cooperation" 74. The Burden of Credit ......... .02 75. What Is the Cooperative Store.. .03 76. What is Consumers* Cooperation .05 77. The Most Necessary Thing in Life ......................... .02 78. Are You Sure You Are Getting Your Money's Worth ........ .02 79. Tlu re Are Two Sides to -Every Counter ...................... .02 86. Consumers', Credit, and Produc tive Societies, Bull. 531 of the Bureau of Labour Statistics.. .25 81. Cooperative Youth Songs ...... .25 82. What Cooperation means to a de- prpssion-siek America ........ .03 83 "What is the Cooperative League 84. The Coop. Movement, J. H. Dletrlch .05 So. Cooperation Here and Abroad, H. T. Hughes ................ .10 .86 2.00 1.00 4.00 35 1.00 2.00 4.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 4.00 7.00 "What Consumers' Cooperation Means to a Depression-Sick America" Try it on your depression-sick friend A new leaflet, mostly pictures 3 cents per copy, $2 per 100 We also recommend "What Is Consumers' Cooperation?" by Dr. J. P. Warbasse. A clear, concise definition. 5 cents per copy, $4 per 100 Order from The Cooperative League MONTHLY PUBLICATIONS Cooperation—(In bundle lots, J7.50 per hundred). Subscription, per year (foreign, $1.15).... J1.00 REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (Pub. by the I. C. A.) ........ Per Year, J1.50- Ralvaaja Print—Fitchburg, Mass. rKensTp-n. R F.: Cr-flit nnion. A Cooper ative Banking Book 1931 .............. J1.50 Blanc, Elsie T.: Cooperative Movement In Russia, 1924 _______ ____ ___ 1.50 Brightwlll, L. R.: Animal "Co-op" Book— For Children ........................ .16 Chase and Schllnk: Your Money's Worth, A Book for Consumers ................ 1.10 Flanagan, J. A.: Wholesale Cooperation in Scotland, 1920 ........................ 2.10 Gide, C.: Consumers' Cooperative Societies, American edition and notes, 1622, Cloth l.oO Hall, Prof. Fred: Handbook for Members of Cooperative Committees ............. 2.50 Holyoake: Rochdale Pioneers 1892 ....... 1.10 Hough, E. M.: Cooperation in India 1932.... 3.75 Indian Cooperation. Children's story ...... .15 Jessness, O. B.: Cooperative Marketing of Farm Products ....................... S.10 Kress, A. J.:Capitalism. Cooperation, Com munism, 1932 ......................... 2.00 Life As We Have Known It. Life stories of English guildswomen. telling what the Guild has done for them.. 1.25 Madams, J. P.: The Story Retold ......... .85 Nlcholson, Isa: Our Story ................ .25 Odhe, Thorsten: Finland, A Nation of Co- operators ............................. 1.50 Oerne, Andres: Cooperative Ideals and Problems ............................. 1.S5 Owen, Robert: Autobiography ........... .75 Polsson, E.: The Cooperative Republic.... 1.85 Potter, B.: Cooperative Movement in Great Britain 1891........................ ... 1.10 Redfern. Percy: The Story of the C. W. S. 1.26 Redfern, Percy: The Consumers* Place In Society, 1920 .......................... 1.00 Smith-Gordon & Staples: Rural Recon struction in Ireland, 1918 ............ 1.00 Smith-Gordon and O'Birien: Cooperation In Denmark ............................. 1.10 Smith-Gordon and O'Brlen: Cooperation in Many Lands, 1920 .................... l.SO Stollnsky, A.: The Cooperative Movement. (In Yiddish) ......................... 1.0« Warbasse, J. P.: Cooperative Democracy, <1927) ............................... 1.50 First edtion 1923, paper bound ........ .50 Warbasse, J. P.: What Is Cooperation, 1927 .76 Warne, C. B.: Consumers' Cooperative Move ment In Illinois 1926.................. S.50 Webb, B. and S.: The Consumers' Coopera tive Movement, 1921 .................. E.OO Webb, Catherine: Industrial Cooperation, 1917 .................................. 1.10 Woolf. Leonard: Cooperation and the Fu ture of Industry ..................... 1.6E Cooperation, Bound Volumes. 1915 to 1931 inclusive, each year ................ 1.25 The People's Year Book, 1933, English, paper .75, cloth 1.35 Year Book of The Cooperative League, 1932 .76 a. COOPERATION Organ of the Con- Movement in the sumers Coopef.it've--, '-.', „ United States ^ '^ Vol. XIX. No. 10 OCTOBER, 1933 10 cents o, CONSUMERS, AWAKE! WHEN President Roosevelt sat down to form his Recovery Ad ministration, we can picture him taking a pencil and saying, "Now the Producers, that is the Manufacturers and Proprietors, must be repre sented of course. And Labor, Labor is important. We'll have a Labor Advisory Board." He jots down a few names, sticks the pencil behind his ear and leans back as if to call it a day. "Who-op, hold on, there are the Consumers. After all, the Consumers must be served, or what is Produc tion for?" (This sentence, if Mr. Roosevelt said it, or even if he only thought it, should go down in history among the wise utterances of Presi dents. ) Then Mr. Roosevelt scratches his head in a quandary and turns to the nearest member of the Brain Trust. "Who are these Consumers any way? And who shall we have represent them?" That is a poser, for even a Brain Trusty. After some digging in the telephone book.—not after all an inappropriate source—some names are brought forward and the Con sumers' Advisory Board is duly formed. This being off the President* s» mind, all attention is turned to furthering the interests of Producers. We are not ungrateful for the President's recognition of the con sumers. We are thankful for such friendliness as the NRA has shown toward consumers in general and the cooperatives in particular. It is not surprising that Washington was stumped by the question, "Who represents the consumers?" Who does, indeed? The Cooperative League represents 160,000 consumers. These 160,- 000 organized consumers have an able representative on the Consumers' Advisory Board in Dr. J. P. Warbasse, but what of the other 126, 840,- 000 or so? They are not articulate enough even to protest at their lack of representation. The fact is that the consumers in these United States are asleep, and even the blare of the NRA parade has not awakened them. Their in terests are tentatively recognized by an intelligent Administration as paramount, but still they do not wake up to protect them. A great up- 166 COOPERATION COO PERATIO N An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A.. 167 West 12th St.. New York City.___________________ OSCAR COOLEY. Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner V. S. Alanne George Jacobson ___________L. S. Herron______ _____ Entered as Second Class matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. T., un der the Act of March 3, 187S'. Price $1.00 a. year. Vol. XIX. No. 10 October, 1933 CONSUMERS, AWAKE! (Continued from page 1) heaval and reorganization of industry, in which the consumers at last have a chance to get a hearing, is going on, but still they snore! Consumers, Awake! Join the nearest cooperative that can serve you. Persuade that cooperative to join the League, if it has not already done so. Join the League yourself, as an individual member, and get your neighbor to do likewise. Your voice can be heard only through organiza tion. The League is the national union of consumers. As a federation of con sumers' societies which produce and distribute goods and services to their members, it is peculiarly fitted to repre sent consumers' interests in their en tirety and it is endeavoring to fulfil that function, but instead of having but one representative on the Consumers' Board it should have a majority, and could have if the consumers were awake! The League is now working to get all Consumers' Cooperatives and Co operative Purchasing Associations to join together to increase the power of the united cooperative voice at Wash ington. The time is ripe, and the cry should ring from coast to coast. CONSUMERS, AWAKE! ORGAN IZE, FEDERATE! LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! What Is Sauce for the Farmer Is Sauce for the Worker G TRIKINGLY have the events of the *-J past few weeks illustrated the bond of union between all consumers' cooperatives whether they be com posed of town or farm folk and whether they deal in cars of feed, bar rels of oil, pounds of coffee, plate lunches, insurance policies, credit, cas kets or cake. The oil barons got together to write a code. In the fair name of "fair com petition," they sought to put an end to all rebates, refunds, patronage divi dends and the like. Rebates, they said, are an "unfair" way to cut prices. They thought they could put that over at Washington. But they didn't; Dr. Warbasse in his article this month tells why. However, the Oil Code does make it difficult, if not impossible, for new oil associations to be formed among consumers who are not farmers. This is obviously absurd. If the farm ers are allowed to pay themselves pat ronage dividends on what they buy, in the name of common sense why should not the miners, the mill workers, the school teachers, the office help be al lowed to do the same? Shall the farmer be permitted to pro duce for use, not for profit, through his consumers' cooperatives, and the city man be forced to buy only the products made and distributed by profit organi zations? Will the NRA be put in the ridicu lous position of permitting the farmer to hoe his kitchen garden while de creeing that the butcher, the baker and the candlestick-maker buy their carrots from the green grocer? This would be regimentation with a vengeance. Why this eternal pigeon-holing ac cording to occupation? Its ridiculous ness was never so fully revealed as by this incident. Cooperation Bridges Gulf Between Occupational Classes All over this country, and in fact all over the world, consumers' coopera tives composed of every class and oc cupation of people use the patronage COOPERATION 167 This Is "Cooperative Month" — A good time to "take inventory" of your society and ask these questions: Has the society gained in membership during the past year? Do all the members purchase through the society? What percentage of the business is with members, and what percentage with non-members? Has it gained in volume of goods and services handled? Has it added any new types of service? Is the society meeting the prices and value offered by competitors? Does it sell strictly for cash? If not, have the accounts receivable increased or decreased during the year, and how much? Have there been losses from bad debts during the year, and if so, how much? What percentage of the goods does it purchase through a cooperative wholesale? Has this percentage increased or de creased during the year, and how much? Does it make use of a coopera tive auditing service? A cooperative insurance service? Does the society sponsor a credit union? What has it done for the unemployed? How much money has it spent on educational work? How has this money been spent? Does it have a Cooperative Youth League? A Cooperative Women's Guild? Does it subscribe to a cooperative pub lication for its directors? Does it have COOPERATION and other co operative literature in the place of business where members and cus tomers may pick them up? Has it carried on a house-to-house canvass during the year? Has it sent delegates to cooperative congresses or con ventions during the year? How many students has it sent to cooperative schools? Is it a member of the Cooperative League? dividend device made famous by the Rochdale Pioneers. By farmers and town folk alike, it has been found the simplest and most successful method of eliminating the element of profit, doing business at cost, refunding to the patron that sum over and above the cost of the goods and the cost of handling them. It is symbolic of the bond of union which exists between all consumers' co operatives, namely, that they are doing the same kind of thing in the same kind of way. It is symbolic of the fact, which needs to be repeated and repeated again, that Consumers' Cooperation is a ban ner under which all people, re gardless of occupation, can unite and work together in a common purpose. This should be a fact of some import to a world that is being torn from end to end by strife and struggle. There is a division between country and city, a war between farmer and townsman. Some claim that this is the really serious economic and social struggle. Without a doubt, it exists. Consumers' Cooperation is the ideal solvent for this conflict. It bridges the gulf. It brings the farmer and the work er together and puts a tool in their hands that both can use. If the NRA now were to make the patronage dividend and the coopera tive method legal for the farmer and illegal for the worker, it would be com mitting an outrage intolerable to any free people. • This can be said for the NRA: It is making a determined effort to get more wealth into the hands of the impover ished workers and farmers, that is, to bring about a better distribution of wealth, which is, after all, the funda mental necessity. We shall be happier about chances 168 COOPERATION for success when we see the NRA turn its scrutiny upon corporate profits, in terest rates, salaries and bonuses, for these are the rat-holes through which the wealth of the nation is being lugged away for concentration. George Peek, Farm Administrator, promises that this is to be done in the milk distributing in dustry. A study is to be made of the milk dealers' business in each city to see if the dairymen are right in their •contention that the dealers are "skim ming off" big profits. Good! Why Mr. McCarthy Hired An Accountant Here's a good one to tell over the coffee cups, or to that Cooperative Month audience: The Farmers Union State Exchange of Omaha had to hire an assistant ac countant lately. The reason was a lot of extra work due to figuring the pro cessing tax on cotton goods, which Manager McCarthy describes as "end less in detail." This tax has to be fig ured on about 700 items, "ranging from sausage casings and ear muffs to every item of wearing apparel containing cot ton." Each item must be listed, the cot ton content determined by weight and the tax figured. At the end of 30 days, the same job is repeated for each of the Exchange's 12 branch stores. The re ports must then be consolidated, made in duplicate and kept for four years. Thus the farmers of Nebraska had to hire an extra accountant to figure up how much they owe the farmers of the South. Talk about robbing Peter to pay Paul. Incidentally, the work of figuring the processing tax on wheat products was no small job for the Exchange ac countants. This is startling evidence of the extent to which specialization has gone. The farmer buys many products of the farm. A tax on consumption, like the so-called processing tax, is a tax on everybody. • Raising wheat to mill, or cotton to gin, We're all consumers under the skin. Cooperation and the Codes By J. P. Warbasse A S the Oil Code was first presented. •*• *• it contained provisions that would put out of business the 1500 coopera tive oil societies now in operation. This was by its prohibition of the payment of savings returns. But the oil people have not had things all their own way. The'oil document was first changed to permit the existence of cooperative oil societies, "membership in which is restricted to persons whose chief source of livelihood is farming." Then a woman constituted herself the cham pion of justice for the cooperative con sumers. She had little help, but she per sistently kept in mind the purpose of saving the oil cooperatives. She was practically alone against the unani mous opposition of all the oil interests big and little. And they were in Wash ington in full force. The woman to whom the cooperative movement owes a great debt of gratitude is Mrs. Mary H. Rumsey, Chairman of the Consumers' Advisory Board of the NRA. She worked with committees, conferences, and hearings. She went to every Department of the Government that could possibly be of service. She saw personally the Secre taries of Agriculture and of the In terior. She elicited opinions, decisions, and assistance from experts in law, in code framing, and in plain old fashion ed political action. She presented the case of cooperation to the Deputy Ad ministrators. She reached General Johnson and elicited his interest in co operative problems. Then she took the matter to President Roosevelt. No dis couragement stopped her efforts. And in the end she got results. In this procedure the oil code en joyed many changes. The cooperatives COOPERATION 169 were accused by the oil interests of being guilty of "unfair competition." This had been drummed into General Johnson. He asked Mrs. Rumsey for a definition. She got one for him that ex empted the cooperatives from this practice. General Johnson himself then proceeded to write a part of the word- inq that protected the cooperatives. As the code now stands, interpreted by Herman Oliphant, General Counsel of the Farm Credit Bureau, it is satis factory to the consumers. The oil code, signed by the President on August 19, permits the payment of savings returns to members, but to members only. It is easy enough to make a patron a member before he be comes a stockholder. The code does prevent the formation of new oil so cieties among non-agriculturists. This matter can be taken care of by the or ganization of branches of existing so cieties. Societies cannot do more than 15% of their business with non-mem bers. Since the non-member business among the oil societies at present is about 7%, the matter is not serious. Co-ops Call for Higher Wages It was interesting in the early part of September to see the Restaurant Code, which provided 28 cents an hour for part-time workers, disturbed by tele- §rams from Consumers Cooperative ervices, of New York, asking that the minimum rate be made 40 cents an hour. The cooperatives all along the line are disturbing profit business by showing that they stand for shorter hours and larger pay. The cooperatives have come to Washington with a de mand for minimum pay for bakers that is more than twice that which was pro vided in the Bakery Code and which was accepted by the Labor Board of the NRA. The code of The Cooperative League is now in process of going through the mill. An expert on codes in the NRA has said, "It is the best code that has been presented." But it still has a long way to go. By the time it is accepted, it may be the worst. This code is drawn so as to protect the cooperatives from other codes. Its success depends upon the amount of backing it can show. The Cooperative League, which sponsors this code, has 594 member societies out of the 45001 consumers' societies in the United States. H all of these were united in The League, nothing could prevent the cooperatives from getting what they want. But 594 societies do not make a showing big enough to make much im pression on Washington. The 4000 cooperative societies that are staying outside of The League may be held responsible for the beating that the co operative movement has to take at the hands of united profit business, which uses every opportunity to damage co operative societies. If the cooperative movement should be destroyed by the NRA, these 4000 non-federated socie ties will go down with the rest. When the codes are all in and Labor and Industry have gotten all they can get, then the codes will go into opera tion. If the NRA survives, the Con sumers' Board will then become the most important branch of the Recovery Administration. But many things will happen before that transpires. Prob ably before the first of January, and surely before the winter is over, we shall see inflation of the dollar, with all the train of economic changes that such an event creates. The NRA is learning that there is such a thing as a cooperative move ment, that it is a different kind of busi ness from that which writes most of the codes, and that, of all forms of business, it is in the best position to conform to the requirements of the NRA. The cooperative societies carry on their business in direct line with the President's purposes in the Recovery Act. The President has announced four main industrial aims: 1. The elimination of unfair com petitive practices, Such practices do not occur in the cooperative form of business, the units of which do not compete with each other, and which does not aim to make profits but is con ducted to serve its members. 2. Reduction and relief of unem ployment. These are best accomplished by the cooperative societies, in which 170 COOPERATION employment is more stable than in pri vate businesses. 3. Improvement of the standard of labor. This can best be entrusted to the system of business which in its his tory of ninety years has always been sympathetic to labor and has desired always that its employees should be or ganized in their own trade unions. 4. The rehabilitation of industry. The kind of industry which itself is least in need of rehabilitation is the kind that can best be entrusted with this task. The cooperative societies in the United States, in proportion to the capital invested and the number of per sons employed, have suffered fewer failures, lost less money, dismissed fewer employees, and at the present time pay higher wages to labor than is the case with similar competitive busi nesses. How much use the NRA will make of these qualities of cooperation re mains to be seen. The thing called the people acts slowly in its own behalf; it needs to be shown; and it goes where it is led.—or driven. What Is Happening Among European Cooperatives By Colston Estey Warne ONE of the amazing features of the cooperative movement has been its ability to weather depression'—in fact often to expand its membership during a period in which capitalist or ganization is being shaken to its foun dations. This fact was forcefully brought home this summer in a visit to the Fin nish, Russian, Austrian, French, and British cooperative movements. The attempt to contact German cooperators was not very successful for the Nazis had taken control of the organizations and had ousted or silenced the leader ship. Figures are perhaps a bit deadly; still it may be well at the outset to present the recent statistics for a number of representative organizations. Without exception, the societies visited have gained in membership dur ing the depression. Though some have lost in sales, much of this is to be ex plained by the decline in price level, rather than by a falling off of volume. Generally speaking, cooperation in Eu rope is vigorous and thriving. Unquestionably the societies of the Soviet Union have made the greatest gains in recent years. Stimulated by governmental assistance their trade volume is the greatest of any coopera tive movement in the world. Fifty thou sand societies have been organized and now conduct 60% of the trade of the nation. Membership is nominally vol untary, however, but few Russians qualified to join can afford the luxury of non-affiliation. The shortage of com- MOVEMENT Austrian (All societies in the Zentralverband) Finnish (O.T.K.-Wholesale society) Paris (Union of Cooperators^ District of Paris) London Cooperative Society Centrosoyus, USSR (1928) (All affiliated societies) *Schilling ^Francs **Finnish Marks ^Roubles MEMBERSHIP 1931 1929 259,932 239,000 336,366 25,000,000 TURNOVER (in millions) 1932 1929 1931 1932 267,665 241,633 268,210 160m* 147m* 248,562 771m** 565m** 139m* 575m** 155m:J: £9.8m 416,279 450,015 £7.9m £9.7m 73,000,000 3,OOOm$J 21,000mtt COOPERATION 171 modities is met by apportioning the supplies through the cooperatives. Many of the cooperatives are limited in their membership to employees of a given factory. An expansion of the productive ac tivities of the consumers' cooperative movement has featured Russian devel opment. Truck gardens owned by re tail cooperatives now include an area of 1,264,000 hectares. Poultry and stock raising have to some extent come into the cooperative sphere. Canning enterprises, bakeries, factory kitchens and restaurants complete the list of principal cooperative activities. Prices to be charged at the stores are set by the Gosplan in conference with Centrosoyus, the Russian cooperative wholesale. Profits are largely allocated to cooperative expansion and educa tion. Little advertising is employed as competition is absent and the problem is that of procuring supplies'—not that of selling them. In shoes, for example, Centrosoyus officials state that before the Revolution their sales aggregated 7 million pairs, enough for 8% of the population. The present annual output is 78 million pairs which is still insuf ficient, though it supplies 98% of the population. The spirit of the Russian cooperative movement is definitely that of unity under communist leadership to create a socialist and cooperative com monwealth. An official of Centrosoyus held cooperation to be a working class weapon in the class struggle. Finnish cooperation has also made an excellent showing. The systematic, intelligent planning of the Finns stands in share contrast to the hurried expan sion of the Russian movement. Clean liness is also a differentiating factor. Though one is impressed with the tidi ness of the Finnish shops and the solid manner in which they have built their enterprises, one wonders whether the Russians with their chaotic sales sys tem and crowded quarters are not like ly to gain in the long run a much higher living standard for the people. The Finnish movement is badly handicap ped by the breakdown of the capitalist industry in that nation. It cannot prog ress far beyond the limits of the eco nomic structure which surrounds it. Austria presents a case similar in many ways to Finland. Its industry has faded leaving the cooperatives to share in ever-diminishing national income. The Austrian movement is definitely tied to the Social Democratic move ment of Austria, though of late cooper ators have entered some complaint that their counsel has not been sufficiently sought in the framing of party policy. The French movement has a somewhat similar status; its leadership being largely social democratic. Many of its members are, however, communists. The French federation has as a result proclaimed a nominal neutrality, though its force has been definitely for working class movements. A return to the British movement after ten years of absence brought mix ed feelings. The movement has grown rapidly. The C. W. S.. the retail stores, the insurance work, and the educa tional activity have all expanded. The movement seems much more hopeful than it was at the last visit. Certain elements have nevertheless crept into' the British movement which sharply differentiate it from the other cooper atives of the world. (1) The British movement has gone definitely into politics on its own and finances the Cooperative Party. This party is of course affiliated with the Labor Party. Its policies are to a degree socialistic, though close scrutiny of its platform- indicates a considerable nationalistic prejudice—-"Buy British," etc. (2) To a considerable degree, bureaucracy has penetrated British cooperative leader ship. It would be unfair to say that democracy had disappeared or that the present leaders are inefficient. Still, the complaint is often heard that membership meetings are not being as well attended as formerly and that the managers are not always responsive to working class needs. One small il lustration comes to mind: The new C.W.S. building has fully a half-dozen "dream rooms" for the directors and committees of directors which with their elaborate furniture and decora tions would do credit to an American 172 COOPERATION COOPERATION 173 advertising agency. The expenditure is justified on the ground that it furnished employment in its construction and now acts as an inspiration to workers in a drab area! Problems Of the problems now faced by the European cooperatives, probably these are the most important: (1) Taxation. In Austria, in England, and in a cum ber of other countries, the reactionary governments have sought to appease small traders and balance budgets by capturing cooperative surpluses. The tax in Britain has thus far been small tut it may be a forerunner of a greater burden. In Salzburg, Austria, the Doll- luss government has followed a unique taxation policy in counteracting the re duction of cooperative prices which fol lowed the taxation of their profits. Tax authorities estimated that the reduction had been 5% and hence levied a tax on this amount of profit which had not been collected by the cooperatives. This amounts to paying a tax on what cooperatives save the people from spending. (2) Regulation by governmental 'edict. In Austria the government has •sought to cure unemployment and as sist private traders by prescribing the •number of clerks and qualified man agers to a store. In Britain, the cooper atives have been limited in some places from entering, for example, the dairy 'business. Everywhere economic restric tions are appearing. Probably with the growth of capitalist planning these will increase. '(3) Politics. In general there exists a consciousness on the part of cooper- ators of the necessity of aggressive •political action. This spirit is fostered considerably by the German experience for it is now seen that no working class movement can survive a dictatorship established in the interests of petty traders and industrialists. Cooperation must enter politics and does. The neutrality myth is rapidly vanishing. • Direct Exchange Is the Aim 'The Saskatchewan Cooperative Council, "which represents the consum ers and producers organizations of that province, is negotiating for the direct exchange of goods with the English and Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Societies. It is proposed to begin with a shipment of wheat. • Many Cooperative Movies The International Cooperative Al liance publishes a Catalogue of Na tional Cooperative Films, 193 in num ber, of various types. The Austrian Wholesale, for example, has two films of 2000 metres each picturing the whole consumers' movement in that country. Roumania has three, depicting every phase of cooperation there. Beautiful scenery characterize the Finnish and Norwegian films. The operations of a large society have been filmed in Ar gentina (El Hogar ObreroJ.Czechoslo vakia (Pilsen), and Finland (Elanto). France has a film of the Cooperative Bank, as well as one of a workers' pro ductive society (L'Avenir, of Lyons). The French, German and Swiss Unions have filmed their holiday col onies, including the children's homes. The English C. W. S. has a picture of its employees' welfare and sports insti tutions, entitled "Work and Play." The Dutch Wholesale Society has filmed its newly built premises. Germany has an historical film in which the Roch dale Pioneers appear. Operations in the cooperative elec tric lamp factory, Luma, at Stockholm, are shown by a film. There are more films showing wheels turning in co operative factories than any other one kind. In this type the English C. W. S. leads. • Swastika Uber Alles The Cooperative League is in re ceipt of an announcement from Ger many of the "merger" of the large central cooperative organizations there, under Nazi control. A swastika adorns the top of the paqe. H. J. May, secretary of the I. C. A., in a recent address stated that in effect two-thirds of the share capital of the German cooperative movement has been confiscated. .1 How Cooperation Might Contribute to the Back- to-the-Land Movement By Oscar Cooley WHEN the city fails to provide, people go back to the land. This is not a matter of sentiment or ro mance, but of self-preservation. Over two million have gone back in the last three years, more than replacing the number •who went cityward in the pre vious twenty years. This is a sizeable shift in population. They are still going. Whether it is wise or not for them to go is not the question here; their going is a fact. This fact has been recognized by the ad ministration and $25,000,000 has been appropriated to aid "subsistence" farming. M. L. Wilson of Montana has been appointed to look after this mat ter. The Consumers' Cooperative Move ment arose out of the early Industrial Revolution and the desperate needs of the people brought on by their exile from the land and by the rapid intro duction of machinery in the towns. Profit-production failing them, the Rochdale Pioneers turned to use-pro duction. The back-to-the-land movement to day arises from the failure of machines, producing for profit, to take care of anywhere near all of the people. Many are turning to use-production on the land. And many already on the land, finding that too great specialization for the market does not pay, are producing more and more for their own use. It seems that when profit-production fails them, people turn, as best they can, to use-production. They may do this cooperatively, as did the Pioneers or they may do it individually, as the American farmer (to some extent) and the new-time "homesteader" are doing. The question we wish to discuss in this article is: In what ways can those who have followed the cooperative method the<:e many years assist those who are following the individual method? (Among the latter we include both those who are moving from the city out to the land, and those present farm ers who are resolving that in future there will be fewer tin cans in their backyards). Here are some of the ways which occur to the writer: How Cooperators Can Assist 1. Encourage the farmer and "homesteader" to produce for his own use just so far as possible; not for profit, that is for the market, which at present gobbles up more than it gives back. The farmer can not produce 100% of his own needs, but he can come much nearer that mark than at oresent. The question of "efficiency" should not be allowed to obstruct this use-pro duction program, for it is evident to day that to produce "efficiently'.' and to live abundantly are not one and the same thing. 2. Suggest that he diversify to the limit, that is, raise many kinds of crops and animals instead of a few, for this is essential to farm production for use, whereas the opposite, specialization, goes along with production for profit, 3. Teach him to cooperate with his neighbors in the simple ways, such as "changing work," joint use of tools, horses and breeding stock, joint pas turage, direct exchange of seeds and produce, etc. These things are in valuable to the small farm producer. 4. Teach him to buy what he must buy, cooperatively, and to sell what he must sell, cooperatively. He will find farmers' cooperatives for these pur poses in almost every community. But do not lead him into thinking that such associations for buying and selling are the road to eternal security, for they 174 C O O P E R A TIO N are purely secondary in his way of living. They are merely the best way of doing two things, buying and selling of which he will do as little as possible. 5. Show him how to form a coopera tive credit union to satisfy his small- . loan needs. All of his loan needs should • be small-loan needs, for he is going to steer sharply away from speculative production on credit. Large-scale oper- . ations make large-scale credit neces sary. That is why we are today in the grip of a handful of bankers. 6. Where the will to cooperate is strong in a group of homesteaders or farmers, causing them to desire to own and till all or a part of their land in common, teach them the Rochdale plan of organization, for because of its sim- • plicity and equity this method can be made to apply equally well to any form of production for use, whether it be production in a cornfield or production over a retail counter. Such an organi zation will have one man—one vote, limited return on capital, and do busi ness at cost. Work will be paid for in money, or in credits, or both, and the product will be purchasable at the mar ket price. Cooperative Land Purchase 7. Where it is not desired to own and till land cooperatively—and there is little successful experience to war rant this, probably because of the in dividualistic requirements of agricul ture—a cooperative development cor poration may be formed and tracts of land bought, sub-divided and sold to members at cost. Before sub-dividing, improvements such as drainage, or ir rigation, may be done by this corpora tion. Also, building materials and fencing may be purchased jointly. Such joint purchase of land is ad vantageous because large farms or tracts may be obtained at lower cost •per acre than small farms. The use- producer does not need a large farm; 20 to 50 acres should suffice. Nor does he require the very best land. We hear much talk of "marginal" land. Such land is "marginal" from the viewpoint of the man who farms primarily for the market, that is, the profit-producer. It may not be so from the standpoint of the use-producer; to him it may yield a fair living. And he may be able to obtain it, whereas the cost and taxes on better land would be prohibitive. The "abandoned" farm has been aban doned largely because the farmer could not make money on it, not because he couldn't make a living, which he prob ably never tried to do. 8. A cooperative society might well form a group of homesteaders from those among its unemployed members who are not utterly without capital, and some of whom, preferably, have had their feet in the earth. A farmers' cooperative might essay such a project among those of its mem bers who are sick of feeding produce into the insatiable maw of the market and are ready to pay attention to feed ing themselves. We predict that in be coming use-producers, and cooperating with their fellows for use-production—• cutting their cash needs to a minimum and putting on the market only the small surplus required to satisfy those cash needs—they would find that they could make a better living and be more independent on one-third of the land they are now using. In the state of New York—probably in other states also—scores of farms of excellent quality, many of 100 acres or over, are being sold from under the farmer for the amount of the taxes. Seldom does this amount exceed $1.50 an acre. The reason, put briefly, is that too many farmers are farming for prof it and there isn't enough profit to go around. These tax sales signify the failure of many farmers to make a go of it under the mass production sys tem. These tax-ridden farmers should form, in each county, a cooperative as sociation for the purpose of dividing these farms and selling parcels to town folks and others who want to move there. As fast as cash is realized from such sale, the taxes can be met— mort gage interest as well—and the farmer COOPERATION 175 given a fresh start on a smaller hold ing, less stock, and, let us hope, the use-production viewpoint. If he does not do something like this soon, he will have utterly nothing. Farmers faced with foreclosure should also join this association. Such an organized group could hire an agent to seek out buyers, whereas the indi vidual farmer can only resort to the profiteering realtor. Our Philosophy the Main Thing If there be those who say that this landward movement is of no signi ficance to cooperators, we reply that it is in the direct line of consumers' co operation, providing that to cooperate means to embrace a principle and a philosophy, rather than to marry a traditional technique. The landward migration is likely to continue, because industry under the NIRA is fast being put into a cast-iron shirt. The taking on of new employees will soon be practically impossible. Al so, it will soon become apparent that many of the present employees in in dustry are quite superfluous and wastefully occupied, and measures will likely be taken to accelerate their transference to the land. Thus far this migration has been largely a movement of individual families. It would be interesting to see what could be done along this line by groups cooperating together in some of the ways suggested above and in other ways that would suggest them selves. Buying and Selling Cooperatively The Mott Equity Exchange of Mott, N. Dak., is typical of a Western farm ers' cooperative which combines both producer and consumer functions. Mott operates two grain elevators, a lumber and machinery business and a bulk gasoline station. The grain (producer) made them a net profit of $4601.82 in the year ending May 31st, while the lumber, gasoline, etc. (consumer) yielded a net saving of $4692.86, ac cording to a report in "The Equity Union Exchange." This exchange is old and successful. It has capital stock of $55,000 and sur plus of $42,698.99. • Goss to Washington, King In His Shoes Ervin E. King was recently installed as Master of the Washington State Grange, to take the place of A. S. Goss, who is now Land Bank Commissioner in Washington. Mr. King has been especially active in pushing the cooper ative oil movement in his county, it is said. • They Pay in Advance Milwaukee unemployed have organ ized the "Square Deal" cooperative store at 2831 N. Third St., where they can spend to best advantage the relief money given them by the city. Each pays a membership fee and draws goods to the amount of this fee, then pays another. Thus they pay for their goods in advance, going cash one bet ter. At the end of each three months, if any savings have accumulated, they are distributed according to purchases. There is one paid clerk. • 1 Recommends Cowden The Board of Directors of the Na tional Cooperatives, Inc., central pur chasing agency for cooperative whole sales in the middle and northwest, meeting in Chicago Aug. 28 wired President Roosevelt recommending the appointment of Howard A. Cowden, secretary-treasurer, to the Planning and Coordination Committee of the Petroleum Industry. • "When you get right down to it. Cooperation is just Common Sense—• bounded on the north by Understand ing, on the east by Loyalty, on the south by Confidence, and on the west by Unselfishness." — Equity Union Grain Co., Kansas City, Mo. • Arthur Sampson recently became manager of the Union Mercantile Company of Isanti, Minn., taking the place of C. F. Dunder. 176 COOPERATION Cooperative Slogans for Posters, Advertise ments, etc. We have more than groceries for sale. We have an Idea, the biggest Idea in the world, Consumers' Cooperation. The price is $0.00, terms cash-and-car ry. It will carry a long way if you will come and cash in on it. • Food is the most necessary thing in life—will you let the profit store use it as a tool for exploitation? Buy Coopera tive! • Why do you plant a garden? To produce for your own use. Why do consumers organize a cooperative store? For the same purpose. Come and help hoe the garden! • Some say Cooperation is "radical." If plain, ordinary horse-sense is ra dical, so is Cooperation. • Every well-run corporation has a purchasing agent. The cooperative store is the consumers' purchasing agent. • The cooperative stores of England pay $100,000,000 back to consumers every year. If these were private stores, these millions would be profits, forever lost to consumers. Buy cooperative and save the profits! • Credit costs the storekeeper plenty, but he charges every cent to you! Don't ask your co-op for credit. • The consumers do not get rich by joining cooperatives, but somebody in Wall Street does if they do not! • In the private store, increased vol ume means increased profits in the pocket of the owner. In the coopera tive store, increased volume means in creased savings in the pockets of the consumers. Buy Cooperative and swell the volume! While waiting for Congress to help, let us help ourselves through Cooper ation. • Do you want fair weight, Pressed down and running o'er? Then patronize Your Cooperative Store. • "If you want a thing done, do it yourself!" Self-help is an American tradition. Cooperation is self-help by consumers. Buy Cooperative and help yourself! • To ask for credit is to beg to be en slaved. To pay cash is to maintain your freedom! • $1000 Reward to anyone who can prove that the cooperative stores make a profit on consumers! Buy Coopera tive and save the profits! • Credit does not help the consumer; it enslaves him. This is why the Roch dale Pioneers wrote "cash trading" in to their famous principles. • Fun with a Purpose "When you haven't the dough, go out and earn it," appears to be the slo gan of the Northern States Women's Guild. In order to pay its pledge to the budget of the Cooperative Leaaue, the Guild organized a troupe consisting of Helen Lanto and Martha Hayes, and Youth League members Bill Hill and George Lee, which went on the road in the cause of cooperation this summer. The program as described in a most interesting story in "The Cooperative Builder" of Sept. 2, contained opening remarks, orchestra, quartet, reading, skit, songs, vaudeville team, song and dance, speech, more song and dance. Ten showings were made, in five week-end trips among cooperative towns of the north country—'and the dough was earned. COOPERATION 177 Cooperative Youth New Youth League Gets Going A nine-member Board of Directors was elected by the newly formed Central States Co operative Youth League as follows: Ted Schwartz, Elmer Platz, Mamie Bokal and Ru dolph Grosel of Cleveland; Joseph Schubert, Olga Beranek and Frank Pesek of Chicago, Roy Hall of Waukegan and Raymon Harris of Gary, Indiana. On August 20, the first meeting of the Board of Directors was held in Chicago. Seven were present. Joseph Schubert was elected President; Elmer Platz, Vice-President and Olga Beranek, Secretary-Treasurer. An extensive program was laid out for Co operative Month, and each affiliated organiza tion is expected to do its part in carrying out that program. As the League grows it hopes to be able to furnish speakers, literature, pamph lets, and assist in organizing new Youth Leagues in its district. The official organ of the new organization is the "Cooperationist," which was formerly is sued by the Junior Cooperators of Chicago. There are five affiliated youth leagues, with a combined membership of not quite 200. That is—now; what will the figures be six months from now, young cooperators of the Central States? • The Mayor Sends Us the News of Hubbardston Club spirit has certainly picked up. At our last dance we 'had one of the largest crowds we have ever had. On the last Saturday of October we will hold a barn dance, with prizes for the male and fe male who represent the farm best. We certainly walked away with the sports at the joint outing with the Fitchburg dub held in New Hampshire. We give credit to Fitchburg for having such a fine baseball team, we have a good team, but Fitchburg's was a little bit better. As far as horse shoes and volley balls are concerned Fitchburg didn't stand a chance. On Sept. 12th we held a corn roast on Mt. Jefferson. About thirty-five attended. Games were played and corn, cider, hot dogs, donuts, and marshmallows consumed. Prizes were awarded as follows: (Three legged race—Ebb Avery and Mary Andrews,) (Gander race.— Onni Kujala,) (Talking race—Hilma Haltu- nen.) (Egg, Spoon, and Cigarette race—Irja Rivinoja.) At our next meeting six different members will give five minute talks on how to educate non-members, how to cooperate and such. The first meeting in October will certainly be interesting as we have a chance to listen to a debate on the well known subject, "Should a Cooperative sell beer or not?" October is Cooperative Month and we will celebrate it by having a membership drive. We have been thinking pretty hard about having club pins made..—The Mayor. • Convention at Maynard, Oct. 28-29 Fall is here and with it a keen interest by every young cooperator to get into action. The Executive Committee of the Massa chusetts Cooperative Youth League held the first fall meeting at Maynard last week. Plans were made to hold the annual convention at Maynard, October 28th and 29th. On Saturday evening the Fitchburg Cooperative Club will present a play in Finnish and the Young Co- operator's Club of Maynard in English, to be followed by dancing. The convention will open Sunday at 1.30 p.m. _ The revival of 'Cooperator's Comer', a section set apart in the Finnish daily, 'Raivaa- ja', for our use, was brought about at this meet ing. The section will appear in the Thursday edition each week. Members! Give all your support to the 'Corner'. Articles on cooperation and present day problems are welcomed. Hand them to your club editor, who will in turn ad dress them direct to the 'Raivaaja', Fitchburg, Mass. Let's all cooperate to the fullest extent to bring about a closer contact amongst the clubs through the 'Corner'. Remember, October, is Cooperative month. Let us all be at the Convention to advance the Youth movement in Massachusetts. • Fitchburg Newsie What a jolly good vacation and did we all have one grand time? You bet. It just gives us all down here in Fitchburg the proper push to commence our fall functions. The last general meeting, held last Friday, was mighty peppy. Both social and educational committee reports proved real interesting. Especially educational activities are well taken care of. A Speakers Bureau is being formed, which will consist of members interested in getting before the public to talk on Cooperation. When occasion arises, the bureau will be right on hand to supply the more difficult end of the program. The Bureau has also outlined for its immediate work, an extensive drive to sell Cooperation in the local church organizations, clubs, and other societies outside the Finnish groups, by presenting pro grams with refreshments furnished by the local cooperatives, gratis. The above will act as valuable propaganda for the local Co-ops. A forum, is also included in the educational program to be held during the coming season. The dub will also begin a series of Co-op Kites to be held each month, with light pro grams, possibly pep talks by members, followed by dancing. Plans were completed for the for warding of circular letters to various authors requesting a donation for our library, which will enlarge our collection of books. The organizing of a Glee Club will also be attempted during the coming season. Possibili- 178 COOPERATION ties of an all night play performance was also referred to the Social Committee. We are all set for the League Convention, and headed towards Maynard to join our fellow cooperators. See you all there. Helvi. • Unbeaten? Gary has a Cooperators Soft Ball Team which has won 20 games in a row. "Lets have some competition," is their refrain. A Cooperative Home, containing a library, lounge and clubrooms, is the ambitious project which Gary has in mind. Go to it, Gary. This may put a bee in the bonnet of other youth leagues. • A Distinguished Visitor Dr. Frantisek Soukup, president of the Czechoslovak Senate, recently visited here and gave us a detailed report of conditions in his country, writes Chicago. His talk on consumers' and producers' cooperation in Czechoslovakia was more informative and more inspiring than reading many books on the subject would have been. Live Convention at Cloquet Cloquet, "cooperative town," was the scene of the convention of the Northern States Cooperative League, Sept. 11 and 12. Eighty-eight dele gates, representing the Central Whole sale, Midland Oil, and Farmers Union Central Exchange groups, as well as individual societies, were present. A strong determination to take advantage of the times to extend the consumers' movement was evidenced. The relation of the movement and the NRA was one of the main subjects of discussion, and a telegram was sent to Gen. Hugh Johnson demanding that "the right of citizens and consumers to voluntarily associate in consumers' co operative enterprises and to distribute the savings or net earnings to the pat rons on the basis of patronage" be pre served. A resolution reaffirming support of organized labor, called on the labor | movement to give unqualified support ! to cooperatives and stated that "the labor movement-^protecting the work ers' labor power, and the Cooperative movement.—protecting the consumers' purchasing power, must work together in a program of mutual support." Directors were elected as follows: H. V. Nurmi (chairman), George Halo- nen and Helen Lanto of Superior; Arthur Isaacson of Embarrass, Minn.; Gideon Edberg, Mrs. John A. Mattson, T. A. Eide and George Jacobson of Minneapolis; Ralph Ingerson and E. A. Syftestad of St. Paul; John Vander- myde of Mora, Minn.; Gaylord Nelson of Grand Rapids; and Martin A. Nel son of Cloquet, Minn. Next year the convention will meet in St. Paul, on the invitation of the Farmers Union Central Exchange. Mr. Hughes Writes a Book COOPERATION HERE AND ABROAD, by Hugh J. Hughes. Published by Midland Co operative Oil Assoc., Minneapolis. 48 pps. lOc. The flame of a crusading spirit burns through these pages. It is sub-titled "A brief survey of cooperative achievement," and from this one might expect iierely a dry-as-dust recital of things past and present. But not so. A survey it is, but one capable of lifting the reader to a pitch of ex citement similar to that which you feel when listening to your favorite orator drive home your favorite belief. If this is a "survey," so is a roller coaster a rubber-tired buggy. Mr. Hughes is well fitted to write on Ameri can cooperation. He has spent years in con nection with the farmers' marketing movement in different states. He has edited a farm paper sn the Northwest. He has been Director of Markets in Minnesota. He believes in coopera tion and has studied the movement in all its aspects. His book—for although published as a pamph let, it seems to us to have the scope and value of a book—is a picture of the struggle of the common man in America to help himself through cooperation. It is an epic of the groping upward for the ideal thing, a groping which more often than not results in failure and tragedy, but which still goes on, with ever lasting persistence, and with, in the long run, development. One-third of the book concerns itself with farmers' cooperation, chiefly producer, which is as it should be. No student of cooperation in America has made more than a beginning un til he has become familiar with the checkered past and the bright present of cooperation COOPERATION 179 among farmers. Consumers' cooperation in America gets shorter space, but that is a story which is covered in a well-known League pam phlet (and serially in these pages in recent issues), to which Mr. Hughes' chapter is an excellent supplement. The story of Rochdale, which at the hands of some writers becomes exceedingly trite, is eloquently told. Dr. King comes in for deserved and skilled treatment, and the accomplishments in Denmark and Finland get just due. The author ends with an impas sioned plea for cooperation as a way of life. One might criticize Mr. Hughes for being too "subjective," that is, for bringing his own opinions so frequently into what is supposed to be a "survey." This, however, plus his brilliant style of writing, explains why this little book is that rare object, a piece of cooperative litera ture that has color, pep and readability. And after all, why cavil at the introduction of opinions that are so obviously sound? We found little to question—unless it be the use, on page 12, of cooperation among the milk pro ducers of New England as "Success Example No. 1." What this "success" consists of, up to date, one old Vermont cow stripper wishes the author had been more explicit about. We understand that Mr. Hughes in his spare moments is a short story writer. \Ve can well believe it, as this book is full of yarns and Insurance Pointer No. 10— WHAT IS AN ANNUITY John and Mary Smith have run a Minne sota farm for, let. us say 45 years. Now that they are 65 they think that it is time to move in to the County Seat and leave farm ing to younger people. They sell the farm for $10,000 cash. The $5,000 in the savings bank brings their total resources up to $15,- 000. If this is invested in the safest kind of securities it will bring them about $50 per month which is not enough to live on. They can't afford to speculate for a higher return because they might lose everything. They don't dare use up the principal because they might outlive it and have nothing. Here is where the insurance company comes in. For a trifle under $14,000 it will agree to pay $90 a month as long as either one remains alive. They can live on this. The remaining $1000 stays in the bank for emergencies. If they die in a few years the insurance company retains what it has not returned. If they live long, the insurance company may pay several times what it took in. Over thousands of policyholders, this averages out. Other forms of annuities fit other situa tions. In general they a're useful when any one wants a sure income and does not care about leaving a large estate. A monthly insurance paragraph, con tributed by Clusa Service, Inc., the League's insurance service for cooperators. anecdotes, absorbing and sharply illustrative of his points. Every cooperative society should circulate this book among its members. Study groups,' Youth Clubs and Women's Guilds will find it valuable for class use. And it would be a boon to the nation if every individual cooperator would buy a copy and tuck it into his public school library when the librarian isn't looking. Finally we recommend it to those old moss- backs who exist under the impression that all that can be written about cooperation has been written, and they have learned it by heart. The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ or the Canadian Coopera tive Movement, owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, \Vis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. . CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wis. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York, N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. 180 COOPERATION STUDY CONSUMERS' COOPERATION The books and pamphlets listed below are available through The Cooperative League. Read them and pass them on to your friends HISTORICAL Per Copy Per 100 38. Consumers Cooperation In the United States (Illus.), 1930.... .10 (.00 «9. Storv of Toad Lane (By Stuart Chase) ...................... .06 4.00 TECHNICAL •4. How to Start and Run a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... •6. Model By-Laws for a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... 89. Credit Union Primer (By Ham and Robinson) .............. 51. Model Lease for Cooperative Apartment House ............ .*6 .05 -GO .10 .!• 0« .01 .05 1B.OO 2.EO MISCELLANEOUS 16. Model Co-op State Law ........ 3«. "When the Whistle Blew" (Story. by Bruce Calvert) .......... 67. How a Consumers' Cooperative Differs from Ordinary Buslnes* 61. Buttons (League emblem), % Inch diameter ............... 6S Sign or Transparency of League Emblem. Green and gold, 8 In. diameter .................... .« 1B.O« «7. Stock certificates, engraved, with League Emblem. Bound In books of 100. 200, or 250 «8. To Mothers ................... -0* 10. Farmers' Cooperation, A Way Out: An addiress by L. S. Herron.. .05 72 "Little Lessons In Cooperation" 74. The Burden of Credit ......... .02 7B What Is the Cooperative Store.. .03 76. What is Consumers' Cooperation .06 77 The Most Necessary Thing in Life ......................... -02 73. Are You Sure You Are Getting Your Money's Worth ........ .02 79 Thtre Are Two Sides to Every Counter ................•••••• -02 86 Consumers', Credit, and Produc tive Societies, Ball. E31 of the Bureau of Labour Statistics. . .25 81. Cooperative Youth Songs ...... -2B 82. What Cooperation means to a de- • pression-sick America ........ -03 83. What Is the Cooperative League 84. The Coop. Movement, J. H. DIetrlch .05 85. Coonemtion Here and Abroad, H. T Hughes ................ -1° .75 S.O* 1.00 4.00 35 1.00 2.00 4.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 4.00 7.00 "What Consumers' Cooperation Means to a Depression-Sick America" Try It on your depression-sick friend A new leaflet, mostly pictures 3 cents per copy, $2 per 100 We also recommend "What Is Consumers' Cooperation?" by Dr. J. P. Warbasse. A clear, concise definition. 5 cents per copy, $4 per 100 Order from The Cooperative League Ralvaaja Print—Fitchburg, Ifasm. MONTHLY PUBLICATIONS Cooperation—(In bundle lots, 17.60 per hundred). Subscription, per year (foreign, $1.15).... 11.00 REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (Pub. by the I. C. A.) ........ Per Ysar, I1.BO BOOKS The following books are recommended as con taining the best discussion of the model i Coopera tive Movement. They may be ordered through The League, postpaid as follows: Blanc, Elsie T.: Cooperative Movement In Russia, 1924 ________________________ Brlghtwill, L. R.: Animal "Co-op" Book— For Children ........................ Chase and Schlink: Your Money's Worth, A Book for Consumers ................ Flanagan, J. A.: Wholesale Cooperation in Scotland, 19SO ........................ GIde, C.: Consumers' Cooperative Societiea, American edition and notes, 1S22, Cloth Hall, Prof. Fred: Handbook for Members of Cooperative Committees ............. Holyoake: Rochdale Pioneers 1S92 ....... Hough, E. M.: Cooperation in India 1932.... Indian Cooperation, Children's story ...... Jessness, O. B.: Cooperative Marketing of Farm Producta ....................... Kress, A. J.:Capitalism, Cooperation, Com munism, 1932 ......................... Life As We Have Known It. Life stories of English guildswomen. telling what the Guild has done for them.. Madams, J. P.: The Story Retold ......... Nicholson, Isa: Our Story ................ Odhe, Thorsten: Finland, A Nation of Co- operators ............................. Oerne, Andres: Cooperative Ideals and Problems ............................. Owen, Robert: Autobiography ........... Polsson, E.: The Cooperative Republic.... Potter, B.: Cooperative Movement in Great Britain 1891........................ ... Redfern, Percy: The Story of the C. W. S. Redfern, Percy: The Consumers* Place In Society, 1920 .......................... Smith-Gordon & Staples: Rural Recon struction in Ireland, 1918 ............ Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation in Denmark ............................. Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation in Many Lands, 1910 .................... Stollnsky, A.: The Cooperative Movement. (In Yiddish) ......................... Wairbasse, J. P.: Cooperative Democracy. (1927ft ............................... Warbasse, J. P.: What Is Cooperation, 1927 Warne, C. E.: Conaumers" Cooperative Move ment in Illinois 1926.................. Webb, B. and S.: The Consumers' Coopera tive Movement, 1911 .................. Webb, Catherine: Industrial Cooperation. 1917 .................••••••••••••••••• Woolf, Leonard: Cooperation and the Fu ture of Industry ..................... Cooperation, Bound Volumes, 1915 to 1931 Inclusive, each year ................ The People's Year Book, 1933, English, paper .75, cloth Year Book of The Cooperative League, 1932 1.50 1.10 1.bO 2.EO 1.10 3.75 .16 8.10 2.00 1.25 .35 .15 1.5* 1.85 .76 1.85 1.10 1.1 B 1.0* 1.1* !.*• 1.E* S.E* 1.25 1.35 .76 171933 eFF_JTY T rCQRfclft ©OPERATION Organ of the Con- Movement in the sumers Cooperative United States Vol. XIX. No. 11 NOVEMBER, 1933 10 cents The Parentage of Credit By Esopus The first of a series of tales to be read especially by all who grant credit, and also by all to •whom credit is granted. I. MANY years ago, in the land called Exchange, which was then a new land and relatively unexploited, there lived a man of substance, named Dol lar, and a woman named Profit who was very beautiful and alluring to Dol lar, so much so that he gave up all else to seek and obtain her. To them was born an offspring, whom they named Credit, and it came about in this wise. Dollar was a trader, and his success in winning Profit, he found, depended entirely upon the amount of goods which he could sell. But the amount of goods which he could sell depended, in turn, upon the amount of money which the people of Exchange had with which to buy goods, and this money was limited. Never did there seem to be enough. This was a restriction under which Dollar chafed sorely. Sitting, brooding over this difficulty, in the halls of Exchange one day. he was addressed by a peasent, a would- be buyer, in this manner: "Dollar, you have goods here to sell, woolen goods which my family, shiver ing with the cold, badly need, but I A Letter from Esopus Dear Cooperator Cooley: Glad to learn that you are plan ning to publish my little homilies on Credit. This despot has lorded it over the economic world so long now that I haven't much expectation we can dethrone him with a series of satiric pokes in COOPERA TION. But at least we will give the boys and girls some stories they won't find in the reading books. I suppose I am an academic old fogy, but I got my cooperation from Holyoake, and I took it for granted thatt "No Credit" meant "No Cre dit," but from a little recent bum ming around the states among co-op societies—I wonder. I got restless, and so I quit whittling long enough to compose these tales, or fables, or whatever you call "em. Sorry you don't pay for contribu tions, but beginning next Monday I get paid by the govt. for refraining from doing anything (but whittle) so it's OK. Yours, Esopus have no money with which to buy." To which Dollar replied crisply: "My woolens are unexcelled, and the price is low." And the poor peasant said again: (Continued on page 193) 182 COOPERATION COO PERATIO N An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A., 167 West 12th St.. New York City.___________ OSCAR COOLEY, Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner V. S. Alanne George Jacobson __________L. S. Herron______ ____ Entered as Second Class matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. T.. un- der the Act of March 8. 187S. Price jl.OO a year. Vol. XIX. No. 11 November, 1933 The farmer is finding his voice in re gard to the "spread" between what he receives for his products and what the consumer pays. The Executive Com mittee of the Ohio Farm Bureau is the latest to call on the NRA for "a re duction of the costs between producer and consumer." Keep on calling, Mr. Farmer: and add your voice to his, Mrs. Consumer. For this is the rotten spot in the profit structure, this is the Achilles' heel. Here in the betwixt-and-between land of Distribution are the dark back al leys where the plunderers meet and divide up the swag. But don't expect the NRA to do much about it. It will take the combined armies of the cooperative consumers and the cooperative producers to rout out that gang and put a final end to the plundering. • Mr. Peek Takes a Peek at Advertising It was George Peek who in a recent speech hinted that distribution (and he mentioned advertising in particular) costs too much. He mentioned cigarette advertising as costing more money than the tobacco raisers get for their entire crop. We were flabbergasted to see this statement make the nation's press—and not at all surprised to see Mr. Peek ap pear to take back his words, at least partially, a few days later. This re cantation bore every sign of having been inspired. Naturally the precious press couldn't stand for any such rash revelations as that of Mr. Peek. Several of the high priests of adver tising rushed forward with the old, old platitude that advertising is necessary to stimulate wants and create demand and so keep the wheels of industry turning. Why hasn't it kept them turn ing during the last four years? No one has ever proven that adver tising "creates" demand. Advertising is mainly competitive. It switches de mand from one seller to another. If I stop buying one brand of cigarettes, I start buying another, or I switch to a pipe/ but this does not mean that I smoke more tobacco. The advertising gentry point to the great increase in use of cigarettes since the War and say, "See, advertising did that." Rot! The War and the Y. M. C. A. made cigarette smoking moral. Society women took it up and made it fashionable. As it increased, the ciga rette manufacturers made a lot of money and, persuaded by the mealy- mouthed ad agents, they spent more and more of it for advertising. Adver tising was the result, not the cause. This is true also in respect to other commodities. The proof can be seen in the fact that the most money for adver tising was spent in the year when there were the most profits to spend, 1929, and since then the volume of adver tising has steadily declined as profits have declined—although the need to "create demand" has, goodness knows, steadily increased. The leeches who depend on adver tising for a living can not draw blood out of a stone any more than other species of leeches can. It is high time this bubble was pricked. We should like to see Mr. Peek do it. • Cooperation as an Educational Force The cooperative movement is a great school for the working people. Here we tackle the actual problems of business; service business, not profit business. We learn to group together, incorpo rate, secure a plant and machinery and choose a manager. Then we learn to do business—'learn by doing it. An en- COOPERATION 183 tire school of educational philosophy, called Progressive Education, has of late years been founded on this phrase —learning by doing. With due regard to trade unionism, it should be pointed out that in unions workers get no such education. The business they do is their employer's business. Their work is his work. In stead of learning to do the best and most efficient job possible, they are tempted to do a shoddy job, to soldier, to waste time and materials. Why wor ry, it isn't their time or materials. R. H. Tawney points out in his ex cellent book, "The Acquisitive Socie ty" that capitalism fails because it fails to get the worker to work efficiently, to do an honest job, to take what is known as the professional attitude to ward his work. He produces inefficient ly because he knows that the things he produces are not to be used for his good, or for anybody's good, but for his employer's profit, and why should he break his back in that cause? It is not too much to say that this is a typical attitude of trade unionists un- der capitalism. Cooperation puts an entirely dif ferent complexion on this thing, work. The old maxim "What is worth doing, is worth doing well," suddenly takes on meaning. The cooperator works to the utmost to run his business well be cause it is his business. This is the great superiority which Cooperation has over Capitalism—it utilizes labor power, both manual and mental, to the utmost efficiency. But this is not all. Cooperators not only learn the methods of doing busi ness but their cooperative is an excel lent laboratory for learning the prin ciples of eguity and fairness and just dealing with fellow-men. They learn self-reliance also, how to stand on their own feet and act, not crawl and beg. No subsidies, no grants in aid, no legis lation favorable to them but unfavor able to everybody else do they seek. A cooperative society is truly a strange institution in this "gimme" era. • A welfare worker in New York was recently asked by an investigating committee if she had found that efforts at self-help worked against the unem ployed. She replied, "Absolutely; it is to their disadvantage to try to help themselves." This would seem to be the nadir. But there will be a swing back from this insanity. There are still clear-headed men and women who do not care to sec this world remodelled on the plan of an almshouse. Self-help, and Cooperation as the school of self-help, will yet come into its own. • An Unwritten Code for Consumers 1. Ye shall buy only at shops over which the wings of the blue eagle are spread. 2. Ye shall not be tempted by the bargain hunting instinct. Pay higher prices even if it hurts. 3. Ye shall not hoard your money in savings accounts. Though industry is providing no unemployment reserves or old age pensions, ye must spend all your earnings and be undisturbed about your future security. 4. Ye shall trust each industry to decide what portion of your con sumer's dollar it shall be privileged to appropriate. Perish the thought that a collective wisdom, which relates prices to purchasing power, is superior to the free play of price fixing by each in dustry. 5. Be ye not frightened by the inno cent device of a sales tax and other nuisance taxes, which are based on a simple and hallowed principle: To him that hath shall be given, and from him that hath not, shall be taken away. 6. Stand ye not aghast at the mil lions who must subsist on charity; they also serve who stand and wait. 7. Be not misled by the increased' governmental expenditures for arma ments, since 85% goeth into payments for wages and only 100% toward the increase of the national debt. 8. Strive ye for the re-distribution of the national wealth, but yield not to the whisperings of those who speak of capital levies and increased taxation on incomes in the higher brackets. Pur chasing power can be widely devel oped without hindering the continued' 184 COOPERATION concentration of wealth through cor poration surpluses, tax exempt securi ties and dividend payments on private ly owned stocks.—Estelle Sternberger, in an address in Chicago at the forma tion of the Farmer Labor Political Federation. • Consumers Awakening? An "Emergency Conference of Con-. • sumer Organizations" has been formed in New York City and has made ag gressive demands on the NRA for more consideration of the consumer. Typical of these demands is one ask ing that there be a genuine consumer representative on every code ad ministrative authority. A definite pro gram for strengthening the arm of the consumer has been suggested to the Consumers Advisory Board. Among the organizations who have officials taking part in this Conference are the Cooperative League, and some of its New York member societies, Con sumers Research, Inc., Community Councils of New York, Consolidated Home Owners Committee, National Council of Women and others. More about this in the next issue. Northern States District Makes Gains Due to Depression Awakening T)EOPLE are waking up, due to the *- depression and its dire conse quences, and are turning to Con sumers' Cooperation as one way out, thinks V. S. Alanne, secretary of the Northern States Cooperative League. Thus he explains the fact that during the year past, the League has gained 10 new member organizations, 7 of them constituent members. By far the largest of these is the Farmers Union Central Exchange of St. Paul. The total number of constituent member societies in the League is now 29, of which 12 are in Minnesota, 7 in Wisconsin, 4 in Michigan, 4 in North Dakota and 2 in Montana. The Central Cooperative Wholesale of Superior, which has over a hundred member re tail societies, is considered as one mem ber. Another is the Midland Coopera tive Oil Association, with 55 local so cieties. Labor unions, producers coopera tives and other organizations of farm ers and workers are invited into fra ternal membership in the League. There are 16 such members. The League also has 327 individual mem bers. Legislative Activities One of the important achievements of the League during the year has been the securing of legislation favorable to consumers' cooperatives. This was ac complished with the active assistance of several of affiliated societies in Min nesota. The general cooperative law of Minnesota has been amended so that it is now probably the best cooperative law of any State in the Union from the viewpoint of consumers' cooperatives, thinks Mr. Alanne. Protection is now gained against spurious cooperatives which formerly violated the spirit of the old law whilst complying with the letter. It will no more be possible, for instance, for the cement block manu facturers of St. Paul to organize a wholesale of their own under the co operative laws of Minnesota, as was the case under the original cooperative law. Under the amended law coopera tive central organizations now have the power to accept deposits of money or securities from affiliated cooperatives, to loan or borrow upon such security as they may consider sufficient in deal ing with their member cooperatives and to exercise any and all fiduciary acts in their relations with such cooper atives as constitute their membership in each case. Another piece of legislation exempts those cooperative stores which operate branches from the provisions of an act taxing chain stores. This saves con siderable money to a number of cooper ative store organizations affiliated to the League. COOPERATION 185 t t On the March! Is your society expanding? Or is it content to remain stuck in the mud of inertia? We either go forward or we die. Every cooperative society and group should have a definite plan of expansion or extension. Write to the Editor of COOPERA TION describing the plan or project of expansion which your society has under way or planned. Here are some of the bold forward steps which are now being made by societies, along with other items signi fying real progress by the cooperative movement at the present time: Cloquet is about to open a clothing store, probably on the main business street. It now has four stores, including two meat departments, a coal depart ment and automobile service station. Net sales of the Central Cooperative Wholesale in August totaled $119,443, an increase of $6,797 over August, 1932. A Cooperative Publishing Associa tion, to take charge of issuing the co operative press in that locality, is being launched by the Head-of-the-Lakes group of societies. The Women's Co-op. Guilds have set themselves the quota of five new members each before Jan. 1st. Menahga has just opened a garage and service station, also a branch store. In the period from Nov. 1, 1932 to July 31, 1933, the trade of the Farmers Union Central Exchange increased from 9.4% on oils to 40.37% on greases. These are only a few, we know; let us have more "On the March" news. • New Stores Planned in Superior A drive is being made by the Peoples Cooperative Society in Superior, Wis., for the establishment of two branches. The society's present store, in the downtown district, is said to be incon venient for many patrons and would- be patrons. The many cooperative groups in the city are putting all their energies into getting patronage pledges and selling shares. The labor unions especially are being asked for support. Several free entertainments are being given, admission being only by cards which are distributed free by house-to- house canvassers. One program will be all in Finnish, another entirely in English. Arnold Ronn is chairman of the Superior Cooperative Extension Committee. • Car-Door vs. Store The Eastern States Farmers Ex change follows the "car-door" method of distribution of feeds, fertilizers, etc., to a great extent. Within the last tew years, however, five stores have been established. Commenting on the two - methods, Quentin Reynolds, manager, says, "Such stores should be situated at points where local usage is substantial, where regular weekly car-door deliv eries of feed can be maintained, and where a large distribution by local rep resentatives exists within a radius of some 20 to 30 miles. The location preferably should be in or near a nat ural shopping or marketing center to which local members go freguently. The program should feature car-door service because of its real economies, the store being used only to supplement car-door service by taking care of the between-car needs of the membership." The Exchange enrolled 6605 new members in the first six months of 1933. • Fitchburg Holds Cultural Institute The United Cooperative Society of Fitchburg is holding an institute of fering a series of courses of a general cultural interest. The institute began Oct. 9th and is to be held on Monday and Friday nights for ten consecutive weeks. The following courses are of fered: Appreciation and technique of poetry; the contemporary novel; pres ent-day psychologies; introduction to sociology; the cooperative movement in theory and practice; the rise of the labor movement; origins and develop ment of the American Constitution; and recent economic thought. Eino Friberg and Kenneth Pohlmann are directors. They are assisted by supple- - mentary lecturers. 186 COOPERATION How the Cooperative Consumers May Interpret the Codes By J. P. Warbasse IN many of the NRA codes are rules and articles that do damage to co- - operative societies. If all of these provi- , sions should go into effect, the cooper ative movement in the United States \vould be destroyed. Some of these rules have been purposely drawn with the view of stopping cooperative busi ness. These injurious provisions are found in the Oil, Tire, Coal, Feed, Re tail Grocery, and other codes. The friends of Cooperation have labored to have them changed. In some instances they have succeeded, in others not. One of the features of these codes that hits Cooperation is the forbidding of payment of savings-returns or patronage rebates. In some codes it has been possible to insert a rule exempt ing cooperative societies from this pro vision. Where this has not been accom plished, there remain still several ex pedients: Cooperative societies may sell at cost and thus have no surplus saving. This is so unsatisfactory that it should not be attempted. The Administrative Committee or Board that is set up for each code may interpret the savings return paid by co operative societies as not coming under this ruling. They may declare that it is not a rebate. Cooperation has always made a mistake by calling it rebate or dividend. Such words as profit and dividend got Cooperation into trouble in Great Britain and they will get it into trouble here. Savings return or loan return is the better name. itself may i do this, the the philos- cooperative .society a group or peopie pool their • capital to buy commodities. Let us say The cooperative society make the interpretation. To members must understand ophy of cooperation. In a .society a group of people oil. When a farmer drives up to his oil station, some of the oil that is there belongs to him; he has already bought and paid for it before the station was opened for business. He has some of his oil put in his car. He paid for it when he paid for his share in the co operative, for a part of his share capital went into the purchase of a stock of goods. The transaction might end with this. Farmers some times do put up money to buy a carload of coal, drive up and take away their share, and the business is closed. But the farmer wants his oil business to keep going and to have oil for him when he comes again, so he leaves with the agent of the society enough money to replace what he takes away. This is not a payment for the oil he takes, but a payment for some more oil for the future, in order that his cooperative so ciety may supply his needs. By doing this, he keeps up the supply of oil. If the members did not do this, the supply of oil would be exhausted and the busi ness closed. Then the farmer does another thing that is peculiarly cooperative; he leaves some more money. He adds to the cost of the oil that he takes, an amount of money equal to the difference between the cost and the retail selling price. This in profit business is called profit. In cooperation it is nothing of the kind because cooperative business is run for service. What the farmer really does is to leave with his society a loan that represents his saving. This is the saving that he makes by carrying on his business for service. Otherwise he would lose this amount of money. The accumulation of many of these amounts in the treasury of the cooperative con stitutes what may be called the surplus saving, or loan-accumulation. The proof that this surplus amount is a loan appears in the fact that it is returned to the lender, at the end of a COOPERATION 187 I fixed fiscal period, as his surplus sav ing or loan-return. Now if the worst should come, the cooperatives may carry on business and use cooperative language instead of capitalistic language. The farmer drives up to the oil station. Gasoline lias cost his society 10 cents a gallon. The retail price at that time is 17 cents. He takes ten gallons of his own gas. He says to the attendant, whom he em-r plovs to run his station. "Here is $1.00; I want you to get some more gasoline and have it ready when I come aqain. And here is a loan of 70 cents; keep this in the treasury for me until the end of the year." And he drives away with his ten gallons of gasoline. This is what every member of every cooperative society should understand. It should be so clear to him that he can explain it to others, and, if necessary, go into court and fight for it. The Eu ropean cooperators have done this; American cooperators must learn to dd the same. With this understanding, the capitalistic rebate disappears. Cooper ators do not use it. Of course the business done with non-members is profit business. It is not cooperation. People who want to enjoy the advantages of cooperative societies should become members. Where it is forbidden to pay rebates to non-members, the problem is not dif ficult if the society wishes to induce the non-member to become a shareholder. The non-member who has been patronizing the cooperative is notified that, as a result of his purchases, he has accumulated a credit of a certain amount; he is informed that this credit may be applied to the purchase of the necessary shares to make him a mem ber, after which he will receive such credits back in the form of cash. He joins the society, purchases the neces sary stock, makes such payment as he can, and then as a member he is given his savings returns in cash, or they are applied to the payment of his shares. Thus no rebate is paid to a non-mem ber. The non-member becomes a mem ber, and as a member he receives his saving return and no law is violated. Where cooperatives are forbidden to form new societies, there is nothing to prevent existing societies from hav ing branches in any locality where a new society might develop. Branches are not as satisfactory as independent societies, but the NRA probably has only eighteen months more to run, and a branch is better than nothing. As a result of the presence in Wash ington of people who are interested in protecting the cooperatives from the codes, Cooperation has been brought to the attention of many people, from the President down to office clerks. People are talking and reading about it. It is gratifying to find that Govern ment and NRA officials are sympathet ic toward it. Whatever may happen to the cooperative movement as a result of the NRA, there are today more peo ple in Washington with a sympathetic knowledge of Cooperation than ever before. Britons Consider Bold Press Move The movement in England is con sidering a bold move to put "Rey nold's," its weekly newspaper, on a par with the best Sunday papers of the realm. Many of the societies now give their members insurance benefits, the premiums on which are paid, painless- Iv. out of a part of the member's pur chase dividend. The proposal, which was made by Alfred Barnes at a recent cooperative conference, is that the so cieties pay this money to the National Cooperative Publishing Society, which pets out "Revnold's." and that the N. C. P. S. pay the benef't in case of death of a member, but only of a member who is a registered reader of "Rey nold's." Meanwhile societies would not have to pay for advertising. This plan, if adopted, would provide the Publish ing Society with funds to build a new plant and to greatly increase the propa ganda value of the cooperative news paper. British cooperators, probably because they have been so oft and savagely attacked by the capitalist newspapers, are determined to gain control of the press. 188 COOPERATION Let the Forgotten Consumer Organize and Act By H. V. Nurmi, President, Northern States Cooperative League THE profit system is passing through a critical period. While the vast masses of people have been attempting to adapt themselves to the profit mo tive, they have found out that the pres ent system of society is doomed to go. The failure of the much heralded busi ness prosperity to return has convinced even the most skeptical ones that the prevailing order of society cannot en dure a great deal longer. That is the reason why we find our governmental agencies so anxious to remedy the sit uation by artificial relief programs. The recovery steps of our political ad ministration, however, do not aim to eliminate the system which is respon sible for our economic ills, but rather to protect it from a complete collapse. The fallacy of capitalistic business trying to lift itself by its boot straps is obvious to anyone who has studied economics. When the recovery meas ures are applied to certain groups of people, a heavy burden is placed on the forgotten consumer. He is never taken into the picture when any revival schemes of prosperity are being plan ned by the lawmakers or the officials at Washington. This can be best il lustrated by the recent attempt of the Recovery Administration to help the grain growers. When the grain prices were boosted, the dairy farmers were mostly the victims—the feed prices went up, and butterfat prices fell down to a new low level. Again, when the dairy farmers receive their so-called "bonus," some other classes of people will be penalized in the form of -higher prices, and so on. These examples offer ample proof that artificial recovery plans do not permanently solve our economic problems. Something else must be done: The buying power of the consumer, as well as the security of the people to make a living, must be in creased and protected. From an address opening- the N. S. C. L. con vention at Cloquet, Mirm. It does not make much difference if the good times return with their higher scale of wages. It has been found in the past that the cost of living always climbs ahead of any possible increase in wage earnings. The only remedy, therefore, is in the organization of the great masses of forgotten consumers in every field of human endeavor. Thereby, profiteer ing may be eventually eliminated. The so-called "new deals" are just a pack of old promises by the slick spokesmen of the profit system. It is our duty to make a complete change in the present economic order before it destroys civi lization from the earth. When the peo ple band themselves together as con sumers, the representatives of the capi talistic system must listen to their de mands. Under the NRA program, an at tempt has been made to deny the right of consumers' cooperative associa tions to declare patronage rebates, which naturally would kill the incentive to organize cooperative societies in the future. The members of the various boards in charge of drafting the codes apparently see a danger in the growth of the consumers' cooperative move ment. Therefore, they are doing their utmost to block it with all kinds of dis criminative rulings. And naturally so, because in a cooperative system of so ciety we would expect everyone to work and enjoy the fruits of his own labor—which arrangement is the only permanent guarantee of economic se curity. It is up to the cooperators themselves tc take advantage of the existing situa tion. By putting our cooperative faith into practice, we shall be making a con tribution toward solving the economic complexities of mankind. It is a great work. We are the pioneers of a new day. People need not starve in the midst of plenty. Our work is undramatic; very seldom, if ever, are COOPERATION 189 the names of our faithful cooperators flashed on the front pages of the news papers. But the thrill comes from the fact that we know that we are working for an everlasting cooperative new deal to all classes of people, regardless of their social standing. We do not need to labor under the usual misapprehension that in order to gain economic advantages, we should first acquire political power. Quite contrary, when we use our economic consumer influence, the political priv ileges will be granted without much resistance. The exponents of the profit system now control our political gov ernment on account of their economic powers. The attainments in the cooperative field during the last year are most grat ifying. Our cooperative organizations have strengthened their financial posi tion, while the mortality rate among private business institutions has been appalling. The cooperative enterprises have been able to adjust their affairs so that the ratio of expenses has not grown beyond a reasonable limit, even when the sales have been on a down ward trend. This explains partly the secret of our success. The other im portant factor has been the loyalty of our cooperators who belong to our co operative organizations. Consumers, awaiken to the fact that the present period demands action! Only through united effort can our voice be heard throughout the world. Farmers Turn to Credit Unions Farm Bureau members in six Ohio counties have organized county-wide credit unions. Each has twenty to thirty members. Deposits are being received and loans made from $25 to $170. Loans from banks are mighty hard to pry loose these days. The people must build their own banks. But you can't dip water out of a pool until there is water in the pool. Credit must be accumulated before it can be loaned. In every community there is some money to be deposited in a credit union or credit pool. In fact, the com mon people are not aware of what enormous credit power they have if they will put it together. Rural communities should be ideal ground for credit unions because everybody knows everybody else, and a pretty good quess can be made as to one's ability to repay loans. Consumers Should Be Heard On New Food and Drugs Act An act affecting the Food and Drugs Administration will come before Congress in January. There is an op portunity to have provisions inserted in this act which will protect the consumer by making the vendors of drugs, patent medicines, cosmetics, foods, etc., tell the truth about their products. But don't worry; the lobby of the business interests will be on hand and this law will do the consumers no good unless they put pressure upon the lawmakers. Consumers Research, Inc., which now has 44,000 consumer members, has published an article on this act and has also drawn up some resolutions for consumer groups to sign and send to their congressmen. These will be sent to anyone who sends an addressed, stamped envelope to Consumers Re search, Washington, N. J. Every cooperative society, youth league and women's guild should study this act and make a demand upon Con gress that it be made a truly con sumers' protective act. Write Con sumers Research and bring the matter up at your next meeting. • NRA and Co-op Cafeterias NRA and C.C.S., were the combi nation of initials which formed the subject of the members' meeting of Consumers' Cooperative Services, New York City, on Oct. 18th. Ques tions discussed were: How does the Restaurant Code affect me as a con sumer? What does it offer to workers in our restaurants? How does C. C. S. stand in relation to the Code? 190 COOPERATION Cooley at Commonwealth Gives Course in Cooperation at Labor College Mena, Ark. Oct. 15, 1933. I came here Oct. 1st to give a course in Cooperation at Commonwealth College. The course is now under way. It is entitled "The Role of Coopera tion." This is a labor college. It is designed to educate the worker, and potential leaders of the worker, in methods of overcoming the capitalist tyranny and establishing a cooperative common wealth. It is planned to be an efficient manufactory of radicals, without align ing itself with any group or party. This is the aim of Commonwealth; it makes no bones about it. One rejoices to find a school which knows what it wants to do and is doing it. What is Cooperation doing in such an environment—nice, conservative little Cooperation that runs an unob trusive grocery store in a side street.—• just another grocery store? It isn't; it isn't here—that kind of Cooperation. It would be out of place. If I bore that concept of Cooperation I would not have come here. If I looked upon Cooperation as a mere plaster on the capitalist cancer, I would not be teaching Cooperation at Common wealth or any other place. I would prefer to be pounding stone into small rat-holes. Cooperation is revolutionary. All co- operators are revolutionists. To the ex tent that they act through their con sumers' cooperative svstem, they have rebelled and seceded from the capitalist system and are setting up their own system whi^h differs from capitalism as black differs from white. They have rebelled, not with words, or with guns, but with their economic power, which is more potent than either. We say that this is a revolution of consumers, but it is in reality a revolu tion of the worker-consumers. The rich consumers do not form cooperatives, nor do the comfortable middle-class. The movement depends upon the needy consumers, the ipoor rats that are being starved by capitalism, and these are the workers, of whatever oc cupation—workers perforce, because they are needy. It will always be so. The well-to-do will not cooperate so long as they are well-to-do. The cooperative movement then, in theory not a "class" movement, in reality is a working-class move ment. It would be fatuous to conclude that Cooperation is the only movement for the working-class, or that the worker has not won any ground by other meth ods. The Cooperator resents having the Socialist, for example, hint that Co operation is of little account, and the Socialist is not happy to have his method derided. It is such^ intolerance which divides the peoples' cause into dozens of scrapping factions and ren ders it impotent, consumed with petty civil war. in the face of the foreign foe, Capitalism. This Course An Experiment It is thinking along these lines which led me to accept Commonwealth's in vitation to come here and teach Co operation. The course is an experi ment. No such course has been pre viously given here or in any other American labor college so far as I know. To what extent can the radical young laborite who comes here be in terested in the consumers' movement? More important still, can the radical viewpoint, which is typically a produc tion viewpoint, be reconciled with the consumption viewpoint? Will young folks from the Coopera tive societies, youth whose main in terest is the cooperative movement but who have a considerable interest also in the general labor and farm move ment, come to Commonwealth, pri marily perhaps to study Cooperation, but Cooperation in relation to and in COOPERATION 191 conjunction with the entire movement? if they should do so, in any number, this course might be continued and ex panded. Not only should such a course be at home in Commonwealth, because it is a radical school, because it is free, because it is open-minded; but also be cause the institution itself is a sort of "cooperative society." Its members, both students and instructors, cooper ate together to make a living, to feed the body as v/ell as feed the mind. Each student does a minimum of 20 hours of work per week on the col lege's 320-acre farm or about the plant. Instructors do 15 hours each, or 10 hours if they give more than one course. For this one receives board in the College Commons, simple but sub stantial; lodging in one of the many cottages or dormitories scattered over the wooded campus; and laundry. In addition the student pays $40 per quar ter which goes mainly to purchase materials which the community can not produce at home. Instructors receive no money salary, except a small allow ance for sundries. The community is about 80% self-supporting. The place is run by the Common wealth College Association, incor porated under the laws of Arkansas. Those eligible to election to the asso ciation are members of the faculty who have been here one school year and students that have been here ten months or over; in other words those who are well acquainted with the insti tution, its aim and spirit, and who may be considered fit to run it. In practice little discipline has to be exerted. The students exert self-discipline where needed through a Student Council and Discipline Committee. One is impressed that the students, largely in their twenties, average more mature than students in ordinary col leges. One reason probably is that they have worked for their living, and are working for it here, instead of leaning on a monthly "allowance" from Dad. Also, each is taking an intimate part in all Commonwealth affairs, helping to run the show and taking responsibility for it. No degree is given; no previous courses required. The only prerequisite is a genuine interest in the cause of the workers and farmers. Your word is your entrance certificate, and you car ry away your diploma in your head. There are 30 students enrolled for the Fall quarter. 24 men and 6 women. They come from 17 different states. The classes are small—the largest being Working-Class History, with 17 •—and the instruction largely indi vidual, in contrast to the mass educa tion methods prevailing in the public schools and universities. One course, Orientation, is required of all new stu dents. It is largely history and is given by all the faculty in turn. All other courses are elective. A course in Farm Problems is given, and other courses in this field will undoubtedly be given when more young farmers arrive on the campus. The library is excellent, giving lots of chance for independent study. Rising bell and breakfast is at six. We go to classes and study in the fore noon, work on the farm and campus in the afternoon, and play volley ball, sing, discuss, etc., in the evening. Night in the sparkling air of these Ar kansas mountains, all agree, is a grand time to sleep. Thus one leads a rather balanced ex istence in this "commonwealth." I have been to several educational institutions but I have never seen one which gave a person such a good opportunity to get educated, and to have such a good time doing it, as here. I should be glad to hear from any young cooperators who '-light consider coming here for the Winter quarter, which begins Jan. 2nd. Oscar Cooley • Beer Tabled In view of the recent discussion of "beer, or no beer" in these columns, it is of interest that the directors of Co op. Park Association, of Brule, Wis., recently discussed the question jf opening a beer tavern, and tabled the motion until the annual meeting next spring. 192 COOPERATION Pointers on Propaganda Meetings MEETINGS have always been a favorite propaganda medium of cooperators. Like mustard they are all right if you don't get too much. Con vinced cooperators will listen to hours of oratory, but the person who is just finding his way into cooperative circles may easily be blown away by the tor rid blast. People should not have to be coaxed or driven to meetings. The program should be so attractive that they will want to come. They should want to at tend business meetings because vital business, having to do with the forward movement of the society, is coming up. For example: They are considering going into a new line, say fuel oil. The question is, how many will buy it? They should want to go to a social meeting because a good play, featuring many local thespians, is on the boards. And they should want to attend a lec ture and forum discussion because the speaker promises to have some thing besides hot air to offer. Perhaps he is a cooperator from a distance who will tell them many new things, and besides there is a dance afterward, with music by that peppy Cooperators' Band. Combine the light and the serious in your programs whenever possible. Re member, you are out after everybody, not just the heavy thinkers, nor just the frivolous young fry, on the other hand. Suggested program: 1. Music. 2. Lecture on Progress of Cooper ation in America. 3. Refreshments. 4. Open discussion of lecture. 5. Music. 6. Dancing. This might be called the "Sandwich Type" of program, for it is composed partly of bread and partly of spicy filling. The following is the "Salad Type": Entire program: Movie entitled, per haps, "Cooperatives at Home and Abroad," or A full-length play having to do with Cooperation. We call this the Salad Type because here the serious is inextricably blended with the light. People want not only to witness and hear; they want also to participate or see their youngsters participate. For that reason dancing, singing and mass games are good; so are pageants, tab leaux, parades, etc., which require many actors. One type of pageant, in a so ciety which has a history, might be one which pictures the founding and early trials, tribulations and triumphs of the society. The place where meetings and func tions are held is important. A Cooper ative Hall, centrally located, is ideal. But whatever hall is used, it should be comfortable, and the kind of place where all classes of people feel at home and able to have a good time. Needles to say, no part of the meet ing should be held in a foreign lan guage if an attendance of all classes in the community is desired. Nor should a racial custom, such as serving coffee and cake late at night be idulged, un less other refreshments more suited to American taste are provided. If we are to gain American members, we must court American tastes. Meetings should be well advertised all over town, as by window cards, posters, co-op store handbills and in co op store ads in the local paper, on de livery trucks, on public bulletin boards such as post-office, library, schools, by announcement in churches, lodge meet ings, Grange and labor union meetings, and by word of mouth. Take ad vantage of the occasion to get general publicity for the cooperative. If admission is charged, it should be low, so as to give no impression of money-making. You are dealing with the psychology of the public. Spare no pains to create a good impression. A bad one, like gum on the trousers, is easy to get but hard to get rid of. COOPERATION 193 Parentage of Credit (Cent, from front page) "Alas, I have no money, but let me have the woolens, ere my children freeze, and I will pay you Monday after next, when my corn is sold." And Dollar said: "How do I know that you will pay on Monday after next?" "I will pledge my house," the peasant said, "in writing, that I shall surely pay." Dollar reflected and an idea began to germinate in his crafty brain. With this written pledge, perhaps he could go into the wholesale market and buy more woolens. This would increase the amount of goods passing through his hands and so bring the lovely Profit nearer to him where he might clasp her in his arms. If he did not do this, he might sit here all day long, with his goods piled about him, and no buyers with money would come, and no Profit would be his. Indeed, if he did not do this, the peasant might pass on and propose this plan to other traders, those hated rival suitors of his, and they might do it and so win Profit away from him. And the thought caused his stomach to turn over within him and made him grind his teeth. "It is agreed," he said to the peas ant," providing you will say naught of this about the market place." The peasant, whose wife and chil dren were freezing and who himself was in rags, was ready to agree to anything. And so it was done and all came about as Dollar anticipated, and the beautiful Profit became his, for better or for worse. And thus Credit came into the world, conceived and born of the desire of the trader, Dollar, for Profit. Of the growth and coming of age of this youngster, Credit, who might be called Credit the Great, inasmuch as he came to hold the whole world, as it were, in the palm of his hand, we shall learn in future tales. But in our next tale we will learn of his christening and why he was given the name of Credit. Trade Unions and Farmers Marketing Co-ops. (The following arrived too late to be included in our symposium on this subject..—Ed.) The motive of both organizations is to bar gain within the capitalistic structure for a greater share of the wealth produced, without attempting to make fundamental and necessary changes essential to obtain this adequate re distribution of produced wealth. Both institu tions are essential to: (a) Educate the masses as producers to con duct their own affairs, and (b) To maintain a standard of living. Similarity Both unions and producers' cooperatives bar gain for as high a return as the traffic will bear with a few exceptions. They base their demands on what the worker or farmer ought to have (i.e. labor—American standard of living; farmer —cost of production) rather than on what the consumer can or will pay. In practice, of course, it works out that they take what they get, as both groups are usually marketing sur pluses, surpluses in the sense that other groups of producers cannot make enough income under a planless capitalistic society to buy (as con sumers) these surpluses which they need and desire. Both use like tactics in the sense that they tend to limit output to increase price (i. e. union—apprenticeship and closed shop; farmers —limited acreage, agricultural tariffs). Both al so resort to ironclad contracts backed by spe cial legislation, and often strike, esoecially workmen, to enforce these contracts. Both are dependent on the capitalist system to exist, and hence tend to become conservative, too often champions of capitalist methods and advice, perpetuating the system. Differences Marketing cooperatives must raise capital and achieve business experience (both essential in consumers cooperatives) to acquire and main tain the machinery of marketing farm products, as witness the Land OTLakes Creameries, In corporated. These essentials make them a splendid base in an agricultural region around which to build a buying or consumers cooper ative. This was the genesis of the Midland Co operative and the Nebraska Farmers Union Ex change. Labor unions on the other hand need not acquire the tools of production, and hence do not learn business routine, needed in con sumers' cooperatives, nor do they acquire capi tal which is so essential. Lacking the tools of production (factories) and the marketing facili ties, the unions must necessarily and justly re sort to strikes and pickets to enforce their contracts. George Jacobson, Minneapolis, Minn. 194 COOPERATION Cooperative Youth—Womens' Guilds Co-op. Youth Convene in Superior The Cooperative Youth League of the No. Central States held its annual convention in Superior, Sept. 24th. Sixteen Youth League units were represented by 25 delegates. Total membership now is about 800. Two units, \Vaukegan and Cleveland, recently withdrew to join the new Central States district youth league. A definite program of activity, including minimums in educational work, cultural work, etc., by each unit was adopted. The convention went on record in favor of holding the Cooper ative Youth Courses in 1934 as in 1931 and 1932. These courses were not conducted in 1933. The following District Committee was elect ed: Henry Koski,' Jr., Jack Alho, Jack Heino, Hulda Lyly, Esther Hintikka, Hugo Maki, Geo. Halonen, Jr., Walfred Ylinen, and H. O. San- kari of Superior, who will compose the district office working force, and Bertha Niemi of Trout Creek, Unto Mickelson of Marquette, Walter Riutta of South Range, Edwin Wiita of Brim- son, Saima Koski of Floodwood, and Miriam Sandabacka of Lawler. • Waukegan Unemployed Study Cooperation Beginning Monday, October 16th, a one- week course in "Cooperative Organization and Administration" will be conducted at the Wau kegan Club Rooms by A. W. Warinner, Secretary of the Central States Cooperative League. This course is especially for the mem bers of the Cooperative Unemployed League, but others interested may attend also. The tui tion is free. The classes will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day during that week. • Maynard Guild Is Up and Coming The women cooperators of Maynard are still just as enthusiastic about their Guild work as they were a year ago when they organized. At the present time they have a membership of about eighty and hold their meetings every two weeks with a good crowd attending. Dur ing the summer they held a picnic in the farm ing district in order to get the women on the farms interested in cooperation. Then also they sent a student to the Cooperative Institute at Brookwood. They have decorated one of the rooms in the United Cooperative Building for their club room and here hold their business as well as social meetings. On October 22nd the Guild celebrated its first birthday with an Anniversary Program night. Also the Guild women arranged to hold a demonstration of Cooperators Best bakery goods, coffee, milk and cream at the main store of our coopera tive society on October 27-28th. From this can be seen that the Maynard Women's Coopera tive Guild is very much alive indeed. A. L. S. Convicted or Acquitted? Hubbardston Co-op Club had a mock trial on October 25th, which was "Cooperative Nile" in Hubbardston. The cast was as fol lows: Judge—Kenneth Hannula, Clerk—Toivo Tammi, Interpreter—V. Merikanto; Victims— Olavi Wagg, Gertrude Johnson, Onni Kujala, Irja Rivinoja, Eino Oily, Arne Turja, Levi Hakkila; Jury—Ilmari Salminen, Andrew Han nula, Reino Sutela, Arne Raisinen, Wilho Sal minen, Paul Blaisdell. There were also two short talks by Rev. A. Kukko and Ilmari Sal minen, and music by Paul Blaisdell and Miss Irja Rivinoja. After the program was an old- fashioned dance. October being Cooperative Month, we cel ebrated in many ways. We had a membership drive and also distributed tags to paste on automobiles. The tags read, "We trade at the Cooperative, do you?" On November 4th we will hold a turkey raffle and harvest dance. We will have a real hot band to furnish noise for those restless feet. V. Merikanto, O. Wagg and K. Hannula were chosen to represent the Club at the an nual meeting of the Cooperative Youth League of Massachusetts at Maynard, Oct. 29th. All members of the club are invited to attend the cooperative classes at Fitchburg club rooms. The Mayor. • Fitchburg is carrying on a cooperative forum. The first session was Oct. 20th, at which the guest speaker was Allan C. Inman on "The American Dream." This is a joint project of the educational committees of the United Coopera tive Society and the Youth League. • At a recent meeting of the Waukegan Youth League, Mrs. Georgia Albright spoke on the Continental Congress movement. The Youth League decided it should be a part of this movement and so voted to affiliate. • "Women's Guild Conference Has Attendance of 127 The Women's Cooperative Guild conference held Sept. 10th at Cloquet, Minn., under the auspices of the Northern States Cooperative League and N. S. Women's Guilds was a very successful affair; 35 Guilds were represented with an attendance of 127, from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. V. S. Alanne, secretary of the League, called the meeting to order. Mrs. C. R. Nelson of Minneapolis was elected chairman, Miss Vivian Vickberg, secretary; Hulda Lyly and Mrs. R. Mattson, Registration committee; Helen Lanto, Maiju Nurmi and Mrs. Mattson, Resolutions committee; Maiju Nurmi, Aili Kastell and K. Aine, Press committee. Greetings and a report from secretary of Na tional Women's Guild committee, Virginia Hill, COOPERATION 195 who could not be present were read by Helen Lanto. The conference went on record pledging its whole-hearted support to the National Guild committee. The English Guild Sextette of Superior pleased the audience with several delightful vocal selections. Closer relations between Guilds and N. S. C. L. was discussed under four heads; the dis cussion on memberships was opened by Aili Kastell; Summer Institute by Mrs. Gerald Ber- geson of Minneapolis; Literature by Edith Ha lonen of Superior and organizational work by Esther Benson of Superior. The conference went on record pledging the guilds to work unitedly with the League in all these undertakings. The discussion of Cooperative Month was opened by Helen Lanto, who pointed out the work before the Guilds during October. She was also elected to present a report of the con ference, together with recommendations, to the N. S. League convention on the following days. Children's Summer Camp work was reviewed by Martha Hayes and the conference went on record urging all Guilds to arrange for such camps in future. The appeal of the International Guild for disarmament and assurance of peace was pre sented by Mrs. C. R. Nelson. The Cloquet Guildswomen were hostesses, and served lunch to the delegates. ____________________A. D. K. Statement of the ownership, management, circu lation, etc., required by the act of Congress of August 24, 1912, Of COOPERATION, published monthly at New York, is. v:., for October 1, 1933. State of New York, County of New York. Before me, a Notary Public, in and for the State and county aforesaid, personally appeared J. N. Perkins, who, having been duly sworn according to law, deposes and says that she is the Business Manager of the Cooperation, and that the following is, to the best of her know ledge and belief, a true statement of the owner ship, management (and if a daily paper, the circulation), etc., of the aforesaid publication far the date shown in the above caption, re quired by the Act of August 24, 1912, embodied in section 411, Postal Laws and Regulations, printed on the reverse of this form, to wit: 1. That the names and addresses of the publisher, editor, managing editor, and busi ness managers are: Publisher, The Cooperative League of U. S. A., 167 West 12 St., N. Y. C. Editor, Oscar Cooley, 167 West 12 St., N. Y. C. Managing Editor, none. Business Manager, J. N. Perkins, 167 West 12 St., N .Y. C. 2. That the owner is: The Cooperative League of TJ. S. A., 167 West 12 St., N. Y. C. Pres., J. P. Warbasse, 167 West 12 St., N. Y. C. Vice-Pres., H. V. Nurmi, Superior, Wis. Treas., M. E. Arnold, 433 West 21 St., N. Y. C. 3. That the known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 per cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities are: None. 4. That the two paragraphs next above, giv ing the names of the owners, stockholders, and security holders, if any, contain not only the list of stockholders and security holders as they appear upon the books of the company but also, in cases where the stockholder or security holder appears upon the books of the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary relation, the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting is given; also that the said two paragraphs contain state ments embracing affiant's full knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under which stockholders and security holders who do not appear upon the books of the com pany as trustees, hold stock and securities In a capacity other than that ol a bona fide owner; and this affiant has no reason to believe that any other person, association, or corporation has any interest direct or Indirect in the said stock, bonds, or other securities than as so stated by her. J. N. Perkins, Business Manager. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 23rd day of September, 1933. PETER K. HAWLEY, Notary Public, Kings County No. 280. Reg. Nio. 4421. My commission expires March 30, 1984. The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ of the Canadian Coopera tive Movement, owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, Wis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE WHOLESALE Superior, Wis. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St., New York. N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department. 196 COOPERATION STUDY CONSUMERS' COOPERATION The books and pamphlets listed below are available through The Cooperative League, 167 W. 12, N. Y. C. Read them and pass them on to your friends HISTORICAL Per Copy Per 100 38. Consumers Cooperation in the United States Ullus.), 1930.... .10 8.00 •S9. Story of Toad Lane (Bv Stuart Chase) ...................... .06 4.00 •84. The Coop. Movement, J. H. Dletrleh .06 4.00 ^.... (.-coperauon Here and Abroad, H. T. Hughes ................ .10 7.00 TECHNICAL 4. How to Start and Run a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... .26 16.00 6. Model By-Laws fdr a Rochdale Cooperative Society .......... .05 2.50 8S. Credit Union Primer (By Ham and Robinson) .............. .60 51. Model Lease for Cooperative Auartment House ............ .10 MISCELLANEOUS 16. Model Co-op State Law ........ .10 3«. "When the Whistle Blew" (Story, by Bruce Calvert) .......... 06 67. How a Consumers' Cooperative Differs from Ordinary Business .01 .75 6!. Buttons (League emblem), % inch diameter ............... .06 2.00 63. Sign or Transparency of League Emblem. Green and gold, 8 in. diameter .................... .26 16.0« 67. Stock certificates, engraved, with League Emblem. Bound in books of 100, 200, or 2EO 68. To Mothers ................... .02 1.00 70. Farmers' Cooperation, A Way Out: An address by L. S. Herron.. .05 4.00 72 "Little Lessons in Cooperation" 35 74. The Burden of Credit ......... .02 1.00 75. What is the Cooperative Store.. .OS 2.00 76. What is Consumers' Cooperation .06 4.00 77. The Most Necessary Thing' in Life ......................... .02 1.00 •78. Are You Sure You Are Getting Your Money's Worth ........ .02 1.00 79 Thtre Are Two Sides to Every Counter ...................... .02 1.00 «0. Consumers'. Credit, and Produc tive Societies, Bull. 531 of the Bureau of Labour Statistics.. .25 81. Cooperative Youth Songs ...... .25 82. What Cooperation means to a de pression-sick America ........ .03 2.00 83. What Is the Cooperative League "What Consumers' Cooperation Means to a Depression-Sick America" Try it on your depression-sick friend A new leaflet, mostly pictures 3 cents per copy, $2 per 100 We also recommend "What Is Consumers' Cooperation?" by Dr. J. P. Warbasse. A clear, concise definition. 5 cents per copy, $4 per 100 Order from The Cooperative League Ralvaaja Print—Fitchburg, Mas*. MONTHLY PUBLICATIONS Cooperation—(In bundle lots, $7.60 per hundred). Subscription, per year (foreign, $1.16).... $1.00 REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (Pub. by the I. C. A.) ........ Per Tear, $1.60 BOOKS The following books are recommended as con taining the best discussion of the model l Coopera tive Movement. They may be ordered through The League, postpaid as follows: Blanc, Elsie T.: Cooperative Movement In Russia, 1924 _________________ 1.50 Brightwlll, L. R.: Animal "Co-op" Book— For Children ........................ .IB Chase and Schlink: Tour Money's Worth, A Book for Consumers ................ 1.10 Flanagan, J. A.: Wholesale Cooperation in Scotland, 1920 ........................ 2.10 Glde, C.: Consumers' Cooperative Societies, American edition and notes, 1522, Cloth l.b« Hall, Prof. Fred: Handbook for Members of Cooperative Committees ............. 2.50 Holyoake: Rochdale Pioneers 1(92 ....... 1.10 Hough, E. M.: Cooperation in India 1932.... 3.75 Indian Cooperation, Children's story ...... .16 Jessness, O. B.: Cooperative Marketing of Farm Products ....................... S.10 Kress, A. J. :CapltaIism, Cooperation, Com munism, 1932 ......................... 2.00 Life As We Have Known It. Life stories of English guildswomen. telling what the Guild has done for them.. 1.25 Madams, J. P.: The Story Retold ......... .85 Nicholson, Isa: Our Story ................ .25 Odhe, Thorsten: Finland, A Nation of Co- operators ............................. 1.5* Oerne, Andres: Cooperative Ideals and Problems ............................. 1.S6 Owen, Robert: Autobiography ........... .75 Poisson, E.: The Cooperative Republic.... 1.86 Potter, B.: Cooperative Movement in Great Britain 1891....................... ... 1.10 Redfern, Percy: The Story of the C. W. S. 1.26 Redfern. Percy: The Consumers' Place In Society, 1920 .......................... LOO Smith-Gordon & Staples: Rural Recon struction In Ireland, 1918 ............ 1.00 Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation In Denmark ............................. 1.10 Smith-Gordon and O'Brien: Cooperation In Many Lands, 1920 .................... !.*• Stollnsky, A.: The Cooperative Movement. (In Tlddlsh) ......................... !.«• Warbasse, J. P.: Cooperative Democracy, (1927J) ............................... 1.M Warbasse, J. P.: What Is Cooperation, 1927 .7» Warne, C. K.: Consumers* Cooperative Move ment In Illinois 1926.................. (.60 Webb, B. and S.: The Consumers* Coopera tive Movement, 1921 .................. 6.0» Webb Catherine: Industrial Cooperation. 1917 .................................. !••• Woolf, Leonard: Cooperation and the Fu ture of Industry ..................... LM Cooperation, Bound Volumes, 1915 to 1932 Inclusive, each year ................ 1-26 The People's Year Book, 1933, English, paper .75, cloth 1.35 Year Book of The Cooperative League, 1932 .76 COOPERATION Organ of the Con- Movement in the fGENERAL LIBRARY! sumers Cooperative United States j .ZC 18 1933 I i f - iiTY QF C Vol. XIX. No. 12 DECEMBER, 1933 10 cents Cooperation in Noble County, Indiana By Carlos C. Palmer IN the spring of 1929 the directors of the Noble County Farm Bureau in corporated a cooperative bulk oil plant under the name of the Noble County Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Inc. This venture succeeded from the beginning, thus instilling confidence in this group of cooperators that they could take charge of other lines of their own business and conduct them suc- (Cont. on cessfully. The two years following saw this group successfully conducting a feed store, a farm implement and tractor business, and a fireproof grain elevator. In June 1931 a credit union was or- ' ganized with 16 members and $75 in assets. During these distressing times the membership has grown to 198 and the assets to over $5,000. This page 200) 1 K A *m. W |» NOBLE CO. CREDIT UNION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Back row, left to right: C. M. Davis, Roy Rice, H. L. Butz, Geo. StuMz, H. G." Favinger. Front now, left to right: Willis R. Clouse, sec.-treas., Harry Worman, C. Worker, Harold Cole, Howard HeroW, Carlos C. Palmer, Guy Harderibrook. 198 C O O P E R A TI O A C DO PERATIO N An organ to spread the knowledge of the Cooperative Movement, whereby the people, in voluntary association, produce and dis tribute for their own use the things they need. Published monthly by The Cooperative League of the U. S. A.. 167 West 12th St.. New York City. OSCAR COOLEY, Editor Contributing Editors George Halonen A. W. Warinner V. S. Alanne George Jacobson __________L. S. Herron__________ Entered as Second Class matter, December 19, 1917, at the Post Office at New York, N. T., un- der the Act of March 3, 187*. Price 11.00 a year. Vol. XIX. No. 12 December, 1933 The Roosevelt Order IN one sweeping statement, Roose velt's Executive Order of Oct. 23, exempts all true cooperatives, con sumer and producer, from rebate pro hibiting clauses in codes of the NRA, as well as in licenses and marketing agreements of the AAA, insofar as such clauses might be construed as prohibiting the payment of savings re turns. Although this act merely re moves a danger that ought never to have threatened, it seems to us never theless a most important event, for the following reasons: 1. It gives publicity to the non-profit nature of cooperatives. 2. It is an act of official recognition and approval, by the nation's execu tive, of the cooperative way of doing business. An Administration which has freely used the word "cooperation" (with a small "c") is now definitely lined up as the defender of Coopera tion. 3. By recognizing the return of profits to the cooperating consumers and producers, thus eliminating profits, the Administration has in fact taken its stand as opposed to the profit sys tem, which Cooperation seeks to re place. It will be observed that the Presi dent's order applies only to coopera tives; profit concerns are still restrict ed from returning their profits even if they wanted to. 4. Most important of all, this is more than a friendly gesture; it amounts to an offer of assistance. Cooperators will only have themselves to blame if they fail to utilize this offer. Other Favorable Factors What else has the Administration done in our favor? 1. It has done away with the Fed eral Farm Board, which with its top- down "cooperatives," and its disas trous stabilization operations, did the marketing movement more harm than good. 2. It has created a Farm Credit Ad ministration which in its policy toward Cooperation is at least a whoop and a holler ahead of the Farm Board. 3. It has appointed the outstanding representative of the Consumers' Co operative movement to the Consumers' Advisory Board. Although consumers, as compared with capital and labor, have had little to say in the NRA pro gram in general, it seems to us, the government has sought to give con sumers all the recognition they were ready and willing to accept. •4. It has called to Washington and placed in responsible position men and women who know and are favorable to Cooperation. To name a few: A. S. Goss, Land Bank Commissioner; Hen ry Bruere, adviser on credit policies; Frederic C. Howe, Consumers Coun sel of the AAA; Harry Hopkins, Fed eral Relief Administrator; Mrs. Mary Rumsey, chairman of Consumers Ad visory Board. What Kind of Help How can the government help co operatives? By easy credit? This is dubious help. Credit carries control, as the Farm Board loans have shown. Where government control goes, co operation is blighted. Cooperators do well to finance their own undertakings. Credit is already being offered the farm co-ops, both producer and con sumer, through a "Central Bank for Cooperatives." Loans are to bear 4 and 4^% in terest. This bank, states Chairman F. W. Pedk, "will not dictate the man agement policies of cooperatives, but we reserve the right to insist upon ade quate protection to government loans." COOPERATION 199 Text of Roosevelt's Executive Order Protecting Savings Return "TN a number of Codes of Fair Competition which have heretofore been approved or -I submitted for approval pursuant to Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act, approved June 16, 1933, there have been included provisions designed to limit or prohibit the payment or allowance of rebates, refunds or unearned discounts, whether in the form of money or in any other form, and the extension to certain purchasers of services or privileges not extended to all purchasers under similar terms and conditions. Question has arisen as to whether provisions of such tenor do not preclude the payment of patronage dividends to members by bona fide and legitimate cooperative organizations, including farmers' cooperative associations, corporations or societies, hereinafter des ignated farmers' cooperatives. "Pursuant to the authority vested in me by Title I of the National Industrial Re covery Act, upon due consideration of the facts, and upon the report and recommenda tion of the Administrator, "I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, do hereby order that no provision in any code of Fair Competition, agreement or license which has heretofore been or may hereafter be approved, prescribed or issued pursuant to Tide I of the Na tional Industrial Recovery Act, shall be so construed or applied as to prohibit the pay ment of patronage dividends in accordance with law to any member by any bona fide and legitimate cooperative organization, including any farmers' cooperative, duly or ganized under the laws of any state, territory or the District of Columbia or of the United States, if such patronage dividends are paid out of actual earnings of such cooperative organization and are not paid at the time when such member makes a purchase from such cooperative organization. (Signed) Franklin D. Roosevelt" "Approval Recommended: (Signed) Hugh S. Johnson, Administrator The White House, Oct. 23, 1933" (Naturally). "Business policies and merchandising methods of borrowing cooperatives will be subject to review and recommendation during the jieriod of their indebtedness..." This states the case admirably. A loan carries a measure of control; it could not be otherwise. A cooperative that wants to remain a cooperative will use this bank sparingly. What else might the government do? 1. It might remove the income tax on consumers' cooperative societies in which the members do not happen to be farmers. This discriminatory tax is a rank injustice, as pointed out before in these columns. We believe that with pressure from organized urban con sumers, this tax might be repealed dur ing the coming session of Congress. 2. It might give educational help. Al ready in the farm field (let's all of us cooperators turn farmers!) certain edu cational work is done by the Extension Service, and the cooperative division of the Farm Credit Administration promises further educational assist ance. Why can not this be extended to: urban consumers' cooperation? If it must be cloaked under the guise of service to the farmer, surely the gov ernment could do him no better service than to encourage consumers' cooper atives, which reach out to meet the farmer halfway and help him put the- kibosh forever on the wasteful, ex ploiting middleman. Such an educa tional program should be directed by experienced cooperators, not by gov ernment officials, too many of whom are cooperative illiterates saturated with the top-down, paternalistic idea. Don't mistake us; we are not falling- on Roosevelt's neck. We do not ex pect the Rochdale principles to be added to the Constitution tomorrow. But let's get support while the gettincp is good, we say. If the cooperative movement represented a "special in terest," like oil or hair tonic or babies'" cribs, ere now it would have been in- Washington with a platoon of lobby- -200 COOPERATION lists, seeking to take advantage of the Administration's overtures. But the movement represents the interest of the mass of consumers, and it need feel no • qualms at demanding and taking all that it can get. Mr. Herron's Opinion L. S. Herron in a letter to the Editor, mentions the codes "that give a com plete monopoly to those now in the in dustry." "For example," he says, "the proposed millers' code -would forbid any increase whatsoever in milling capacity. How could cooperatives ever have their own mills under that kind . of a code? Interference with coopera tive methods of operation is a serious matter, but not half so serious as clos ing whole fields of industry to cooper ative expansion." Agreed. Are Mr. Herron and the Nebraska Farmers Union doing all in their power to get this millers' code amended to permit cooperatives to go into milling freely? Now, as ever, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." Solidarity Through the League The Roosevelt order came very 'largely as a result of the patient and insistent •work of J. P. Warbasse, presi dent of the Cooperative League and member of the Consumers' Advisory Board, and the pressure of the League and its affiliated societies. This "The Cooperative Builder" terms "a striking example of the value of federation." The trend of the times is toward cen tralization of power. The Federal Gov ernment is taking more and more power unto itself. The single local, or even state-wide, cooperative is helpless before the Washington steam roller. As a member of a national League, however, it has a chance, as this event has proven. Only through a national League, in fact, can the local coopera tive protect its local independence and autonomy. Far from giving up its in dependence when it joins the national League, a cooperative cements and in sures that independence, and by strengthening the arm of the League makes more secure the independence • of its neighbor societies. This is what the League has been saying these 20 years. Now that the snort of the steam roller is heard, perhaps more will heed. o. c. • In Noble County (Cont. from page 197) cooperative financial institution has emancipated a number of its members from the clutches of the 42% loan sharks and aided others in purchasing farm supplies. The office of the association •was at first housed in one corner of an old frame •warehouse. A fire-proof office to protect the records •was a necessity. The opportunity presented itself in September 1932 to purchase a three- story bank building -which originally in 1927, cost $18,000. A burgler-proof vault, with a time-lock door had been added at a cost of $7,500. All this was purchased for $5,000. To secure the money, the members purchased $25 shares of preferred stock in the co operative association. This •was no small sacrifice when the members were receiving 15 cents per bushel for corn, 35 cents for wheat and 3 cents per pound for hogs. Last winter a study club in cooper ation was organized among directors, employees and members with an aver age attendance of 65. The directors •were so much impressed with the re sults that they voted to finance a co operative summer school conducted under the auspices of the Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association and the Central States Cooperative League. Three students from each township and two others were en rolled. Among the 38 students were the County Superintendent of Schools, two high school teachers and seven grade teachers. This group organized the "Noble County Cooperative Path finders," a cooperative educational or ganization which •will conduct study clubs among young folks 16 to 25 years of age in each of the townships. Since the summer school the cooper ative association has sold several hun dred pounds of cooperative tea and coffee secured through the C. S. C. L. COOPERATION 201 and •will add other lines. Noble County is given credit for having the largest rural Credit Union in the State, and the most successful cooperative distribution of farm imple ments and tractors; for being the first county to pay patronage dividends only in stock, and the first to finance and conduct a cooperative summer school. This group knows the move ment cannot stand still. It must ad vance or disintegrate. Hence each year some new venture is undertaken to render additional service and create new interest among the members. Noble County has had its troubles, too. The first fourteen months were on a credit basis. Nearly $10,000 in ac counts receivable accumulated. But since 1930 all commodities have sold for cash, and thus one of the certain causes of failure among cooperatives has been avoided. The directors feel in time to come the people of Noble County can take- charge of all their business affairs: food, clothing, fuel, building materials, medicine and even burial arrange ments. They are confident that when consumers' cooperation serves the- needs of man from birth to death, booms and depressions will cease; sur pluses and hunger •will be no more. These leaders also realize that the- movement can grow no faster than an educational program can prepare the psychology of the people to accept mutual aid as a way out. Hence the "Noble County Cooperative Path finders" have assumed a stupendous responsibility, but they are confident of discharging it satisfactorily. Government Finances Co-op Education THOUSANDS of teachers are un employed. Tens of thousands of young men and •women have neither job nor the money to continue school. The Federal Relief Administration is attacking this situation by providing the money to bring teacher and stu dent together and so enable the one to get a living and the other to get an education. Classes are being organized; a variety of subjects is being taught. In at least one state, Minnesota, the cooperators mean to see that Coopera tion is taught. Writes George Jacobson, Midland Co-op fieldman, "Our cooperatives in Minnesota are going to take full ad vantage of this opportunity to encour age groups of idle youth in rural com munities to study economic coopera tion, at Government expense, under unemployed teachers •whom we select as qualified. We also hope to set up a school in Minneapolis to be attended by 15 to 30 selected unemployed young men, •who have a basic education, •with a view of training them to become leaders and •workers in the cooperative movement." That the State authorities are •willing to aid in this work is shown by the fol lowing statement of Oscar Behrens, of the State Dept. of Education, and a former director of the Northern States Cooperative League: "Overtures have been made to the cooperative organi zations of Minnesota to take advantage of this project, and we have started to- develop our state program to this ef fect." Teachers are to be employed part- time and paid $50 a month. In addition it is expected that students will receive $15 a month toward maintenance. The Minnesota program aims to employ 250 teachers, providing instruction for 9000 students for eight months. Harold Benjamin is in charge. Mr, Jacobson urges the cooperative- leaders in every state "to organize to- take advantage of this Federal money and carry on cooperative and cultural education among the unemployed' youth in your community, particularly of course among those interested in Cooperation. Take immediate steps be fore the conservative factions beat you to it. Get in touch with your state de-- partments of agriculture and educa tion." 202 COOPERATION Cooperation Impresses Washington By J. P. Warbasse SOON after the National Recovery Administration went into action last summer, the codes and their spon sors came pouring into Washington. Among the first was the Oil Code. Its .backers were the first to write into their code rules that did harm to co operation. They did not stop at that. They spread anti-cooperative propa ganda. They made deputy administra tors in the NRA believe that coopera tion was a sort of racket, and that it was exploiting the poor farmers with its fraud and humbug. This sort of thing was carried even to General Johnson, the administrator. Before co operation could make much headway with the NRA, this prejudice had to be broken down. But it was done. It is a long story. A strange fatality seems to have pursued the cooperative movement in Washington and pro tected and promoted its fortunes at every critical juncture. It was a for tunate circumstance that the NRA created a Consumers' Board; and still more fortunate that the chairman and most influential person on this board not only understands cooperation but looks upon it with sympathy and ap proval, and desires its promotion. This circumstance is purely fortuitous. Sev eral years ago a member of the staff •of The Cooperative League gave a course on consumers' cooperation at Columbia University. Some people .said it was a waste of time. But among those upon whom this course made an impression was a young instructor in the University who later became the .secretary of the now chairman of the •Consumers' Board. No one can work very long with this young man without absorbing the idea of cooperation. Several years of contact did its work. And that is why the Consumers' Board are now all getting an education in this subject. And that is why the NRA is being shot full of interest in cooper ation. Another strange fatality is that the experts in the various departments of the NRA are liberals and radicals. Most of the 'key men know about co operation. If they do not, they become sympathetic as soon as they get the idea. This can be said, not only of the NRA but of more than one Secretary in the President's Cabinet. Cooperation has friends at every station on its way. Here is an example: My long-time friend, Dr. Frederick C. Howe, is a there-going radical. He has been ap pointed Cooperative Adviser in the Department of Agriculture and Con sumers' Counsel of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration. It gave me pleasure to propose his name for mem bership on the Consumers' Advisory Board of the NRA and to see him be come a member of that Board. He publishes a biweekly bulletin called The Consumers' Guide. This bulletin shows what becomes of the consumers' money, who gets it, and how he may make it go farthest. A recent number gives retail milk prices in fifty-one American cities. Minneapolis stands out most conspicuously because its re tail price averages less than half the price of other cities. That means some thing. The fact that the biggest milk business in Minneapolis is carried on by the Franklin Cooperative Creamery Association which distributes milk to more than half of the population, will ir. due time be given publicity through this bulletin. The agencies of the Gov ernment are teaching the lessons of co operation. Now a movement is set on foot by the NRA to create a consumers' com mittee in every county in every state, to be called "county councils." These councils are to be non-political and or ganized to protect the consumers' in terests. The first step has been to ask The Cooperative League for a list of cooperative consumers* societies in the United States, with the view of using COOPERATION 203 these organizations as nuclei around which to develop groups of consumers. The cooperative banks (credit unions) will be included in this movement. It is an opportunity for the 4500 coopera tive societies to impress themselves upon their communities. Among the codes in which are writ ten rules which do harm to cooperative societies are the codes of retail coal, Farm equipment, tires, building supplies and lumber, the wholesale coal, salt, iron and steel codes, and the hous ing code. Most of these objections were removed when the President signed the Executive Order of October 23rd. But still a number of codes are adversely affecting cooperative socie ties. The Indiana Farm Bureau Co operative Association, for example, is refused farm fencing by the Bethlehem Steel Company. A number of farmers' societies cannot buy salt from the pro ducers. Manufacturers are refusing, under the codes, to regard cooperative wholesales as jobbers. Under the oil code farmers' cooperative oil societies seem to be prevented from distributing petroleum products to their individual members from tank wagons. The coal code hits copperatives who buy at wholesale but have no coal yards. The apartment house code gives power to realtors, landlords and real estate speculators to do about what they wish to cooperative housing societies. But much more serious difficulties than these have been overcome. I have so little doubt that these obstacles will be surmounted that I should say that cooperative societies may go on with their business the same as before the NRA went into effect. President Roosevelt, in the face of the united protest and opposition of the whole oil industry, issued his Executive Order exempting cooperative societies from the rule against paying patronage savings returns or rebates. This caused the industries to take notice. The hands of the cooperatives are clean. They have no plans to get something from the public, but only to help the public get more. To the credit of this political administration, the cooperatives are treated with consideration. For four months cooperation has been presented to all sections of the NRA and many departments of the Government. It has made its impres sion, and any cooperator may now go to Washington with his case and get a hearing—and results, if he has a case. A representative of The Cooperative League took up the problem of the In diana farmers' inability to get wire fencing. The pursuit began in the Legal Department of the NRA in Washing ton; then to the Steel Code expert; and ended in the offices of the American Iron and Steel Institute in New York. The Institute is the Code Authority of the steel industry. It has interpretive authority over the code. The friends of the cooperators in the NRA had re ferred the matter to a key official high in the councils of the Institute. He came out of a board meeting. He greeted the League representative with an acknowledgment of obligation of the League representative. Wherever co operation goes it finds friends, usually because of the inherent reasonableness of its appeal. This steel question is not yet decided, but in the end, the cooper ators will probably get what they want. I used to believe that cooperation was able to get consideration because it was weak and did not seriously threaten profit business. That is no longer the case. Cooperation in the United States now carries on big busi ness. It comes into direct and intensive competition with the profit system and it is getting better consideration at the hands of government than ever be fore. The reason for this is obviously because it is proving itself practically useful to the people and because it now has the strength of numbers in its support. The more numbers it can show in a united national movement, the better for cooperation. The best strength of cooperation now lies among the farmers. And no govern ment dares to flout an element of its citizenry which is so nearly on the verge of revolt. 204 COOPERATION There was never before a govern ment in Washington that was so will ing to help the cooperative movement. Cooperation now has friends in every department. Now is the time to build, unite, and strengthen co-op, societies. The best hope for this country and for the cooperative movement is the success of the NRA. Criticising and sabotaging it only plays into the hands of the big business, the bankers, and Wall Street, that are. now fearful of what the NRA and the Roosevelt Ad ministration are going to do to them. They would rather face the possibilities of chaos than the immediate investiga tions and losses of privilege that are threatened. The Present Danger £O£S/V T A T/V/A/G SO —Prom Locomotive Engineers Journal. COOPERATION 205 League Admits National Cooperatives, Inc. VOTING National Cooperatives, Inc. into membership in the Co operative League of the U. S. A. was the outstanding action of the League Board in annual meeting at Chicago, Oct. 22-23. National Cooperatives is a federation of regional cooperative wholesales, mainly farmers' oil asso ciations. It was formed early in 1933 by five regional wholesales: Indiana Farm Bureau Cooperative Association, Union Oil Company (Cooperative), Midland Cooperative Oil Association, Farmers Union Central Exchange, and Central Cooperative Wholesale. I. H. Hull of Indiana is president and Howard Cowden of Union Oil is secretary. A few changes in the by laws of the National were requested by the League Board before affiliation is complete. L. S. Herron voted against affiliation because the National is in corporated under the general corpora tions act of Indiana, rather than a co operative act. No decision was reached as to a Secretary for the League. The names of L. S. Herron, Joseph Gilbert and A. J. Hayes were considered. The code for cooperatives was read and discussed. H. V. Nurmi and I. H. Hull were appointed a committee to study the code in detail and make criticisms. Dr. Warbasse stated that in order to get the code approved, at least half the cooperatives must endorse it. All agreed that an appeal should be made to all cooperatives to come un der the code, inasmuch as it was evi dent that this code would give cooper atives freedom to function without restriction. Approval of Arnold Ronn, young Superior cooperator, as representative of the Cooperative League on the Ex ecutive of the Continental Congress was asked, but refused. Ronn had been chosen by the cooperative caucus at the Continental Congress in Washing ton last May. The Board had no ob jections to Ronn serving on this Execu tive but did not wish such action to be construed as meaning the Cooperative League is affiliated with the Congress. Members of the Board present were: Pres. Warbasse, Herron, Liukku, Warinner, Arnold, Kazan, Rubinson, Alanne, Halonen, Nurmi and Edberg. Warinner served as secretary. Those absent were: Blaha, Goss, Grandahl, Martinek, Niemela, Nordby and Ny- lander. Visitors were: N. Marquer, Leslie Woodcock, W. A. Hyde, E. G. Cort, Jos. Gilbert, Hudson Dailey, Anthony Lehner, C. C. Palmer and Paul Lam bert. Conference on NRA Held A conference with non-member co operatives, on the coordination of acti vities under the NRA, was held on the second day. In addition to those named, the following were present: E. L. Kre- ger of the Farmers Elevator Service Company of Ralston, la.; M. G. Dun- nom and E. C. Aaby of Community Oil Co. of Watertown, S. Dak.; Howard Cowden of Union Oil Company and Edward Carlson of Cooperative Trading Company of Waukegan, 111. E. L. Kreger stated that from his re cent observations in Washington, the movement has plenty of friends there and we only had to make our wants and opinions known. He had been told repeatedly that Washington wanted to hear from people and know what they wanted, and not merely what the pol iticians wanted. Resolutions were passed asking the Federal Government to do educational work in Consumers' Cooperation. The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture was asked to issue a bulletin on How to Start and Run a Cooperative Oil Association. The sessions were held at the Co operative Cafe Idrott, 3206 Wilton Ave. The delicious meals and warm hospitality of the Idrott, long a ren dezvous for cooperators in Chicago, were fully enjoyed by the Board mem bers. • The Cooperative movement has established the fact that unselfishness pays—The Cooperationist. 206 COOPERATION Our Cooperative Emblem By Gideon Edberg '"TODAY we find the Cooperative •*- movement and cooperative under standing significant factors in the change taking place in organized so ciety. The word cooperation is uttered by men in high governmental circles. It is held out among the farmers as their only salvation. It is talked of in Labor Union assemblies, among men unem ployed and whenever men get together. This new interest in cooperation is not because it has been given a new meaning. The Cooperative funda mentals are as firmly established as the Rock of Gibraltar and as sound as they were ninety years ago. The test of time has proven them worthy of what they represent: a world-wide or ganization for the protection of the in terests of the consumer. The Cooperative principles as set up by the pioneers are still the same but have been elaborated upon by our friend and fellow-Cooperator T. W. Mercer of England, so as to be more easily understood and accepted by the average consumer. He has revised the cardinal principles or reclassified them, so as to better conform to modern times. This revision distinguishes seven Cooperative principles. This gives to our Cooperative Pine-Tree Emblem, new meanings and so a new interpre tation is hereby humbly offered. TWO: Two or more, working to gether for a common cause. The symbol of consumers, organized under the Rochdale Cooperative principles, for mutual self-help, where all share in the benefits but share also in the responsi bilities. The principle of DE MOCRACY. PINE: Ever green, ever alive. Symbol of perpetuation of life. Out of life grows justice, the heart of true democracy and the harmo ny of all the Cooperative prin ciples. In this lies the entire philosophy of Cooperation. The principle of EQUITY. TREES: Two, alike, tall giants of the forest weathering all storms; symbols of the Cooperative movement, commanding es- • teem of cooperative people, who work together in unity to make it grow in quality and quantity. The principle of UNITY. CIRCLE: The Cooperative Movement encircling the world, build ing a new economic policy for the whole world, without economic barriers or national boundaries; building for the International Cooperative Commonwealth. The prin ciple of UNIVERSALITY. GOLD: The symbol of the rising sun, spreading light after the dark of night. Awakening people to the realization that the Cooperative movement is rising in the golden glow of a glorious future, an nouncing to the world that a new era is dawning. The principle of PUBLICITY and EDUCATION. GROUND: Symbol of a common ground for Humanity, with the program of Cooperation acceptable to all. When the class struggle has ceased and when the human family in common understanding enjoys in the fullest measure the fruits of its toil. The principle of LIBERTY. THE SKY: The sky and the air are symbols of a new economy, when all things on the earth and in the earth are made available to man, to use for his own welfare and not for profit. An economic system that forbids unnecessary pri vate wealth but forbids pov erty as well. The principle of ECONOMY. COOPERATION 207 On the March! New York Boards Meet to Discuss Strategy of Expansion The first steps of a forward push by the cooperative movement in New York City was taken on Oct. 11 by a joint meeting of boards of directors of ten metropolitan societies. It was voted to appoint one member from each board to a city-wide committee for ex pansion. The first action will probably be a store for the Sunnyside society, where a canvass among 300 milk cus tomers indicated a real demand for such a store. It was agreed to place at the use of the new committee the services of present managers, veterans in their respective fields, to assist the expan sion movement. What kind of business is best suited to a large program of expansion in a big city, was the main question dis cussed. W. Niemela believed that a chain of grocery stores had good pos sibilities of success. M. Rubinson urged milk distribution, suggesting that it might function through the Eastern Cooperative Wholesale. A. E. Kazan stated the need of doing thorough or ganization work, whatever the venture. E. A. Rosenthal seconded him, and pointed to Sunnyside as one case in which he believed a good job of or ganization and preparation had been done. • 25 Years Old and Still Hasn't "Got Its Growth" This year marks the 25th anniver sary of The New Cooperative Com pany of Dillonvale, O. In celebration an illustrated booklet giving the his tory of the society will be published. Dillonvale is by no means decrepit with age; it has established two new branches within the last two years. Located in a depressed coal region, be set by chain and company stores, with no co-op wholesale within trading dis tance, Dillonvale forges steadily ahead. Score 44 for Frank and Tom In the campaign to establish two new branch stores in Superior, Frank Finckler, truck driver, and Tom Walsh, order clerk, of the Central Cooperative Wholesale, proved themselves a great canvassing team. Together they sold 44 shares. Both are quite new in the movement, but somehow they got in spired by this expansion plan and "worked like fools." Soon we hope to announce the first branch open for business, in the very heart of the city's shopping section. • Not Just a Gesture Consumers Cooperative Services has asked NRA to boost wages in the res taurant code. That this is not just a big-hearted gesture is proven by the fact that the co-op cafeterias have for ten years paid their workers more than the NRA now calls for. C. C. S. proposes: 1. A maximum 48-hour week for all employees, instead of the 54-hour week for men and 48- hour week for women now provided in the temporary code. 2. A minimum of $18 for 48 hours (with deduction for meals up to $3), instead of the lack of any such provision whatever in the code. 3. A minimum of 40 cents per hour for all who work less than 48 hours (to which C. C. S. would like to have meals added), instead of the 28 cents, with deduction up to $3 for meals, as now provided in the code. • Welcome, Cooperators! The Giuseppe Garibaldi Coopera tive Association, located at 426 E. Mishawaka Ave., MishawaOsa, Ind., has joined the Central States Cooper ative League. This society was formed by a group of Italian workers a year ago. It aims to spread among all na tionalities. • A cooperative electric power society in Argentina supplies "juice" at 2/5 of the price charged by the private com pany. There are 12 such societies there and they are on the increase. 208 COOPERATION How Credit Received His Fair Name By Esopus The second of a series of fanciful tales, which the writer hopes are not all fancy. II WE saw how the cloth trader, Dol lar, yearning for the maiden, Profit, was enabled to win her by the scheme of the poor peasant who, de siring cloth but having no money, pro posed that he be allowed to take the cloth and pay Dollar on the Monday after next. And thus we saw how a child came into the world of Exchange, born of the love of Dollar for Profit. Like all children, this child must have a name, and so Dollar consulted with Profit as to what they should name him, and their conversation was along this wise: Dollar: "Behold, the child is hand some and of good promise, and besides he has enabled me to obtain my heart's desire, thou, beauteous Profit, and has forever, I hope, bound thee to me; and so I would that he have a good name and one that will have a good sound to the ears of men." Profit: "I, too, my noble lord, would give him a fair name and one that would send him forth above suspicion. I have therefore searched that noble language, the Latin, and have selected the name Credit, which, being trans lated literally, means, 'He believes', or 'he trusts'." Dollar (reflecting): "It is a good name. It is beyond reproach. But may I ask you, dear Profit, why you select ed this name? And who is the HE re ferred to?" Profit: "The HE is yourself, my lord. You believe that on Monday after next the peasant who took the cloth will pay therefor. And tomorrow you will sell to others who will promise to pay in this manner, that is in Future, and you will believe them also. And all the people, witnessing, will say to one another, 'The great merchant, Dollar, believes us', he trusts us. He is a good man. We will buy of him. And when ever they hear the name of your son, Credit, they will be reminded of your goodness." Dollar: "Capital! And as for our friend, the peasant, it will be seen that 'he believes' also. He believes that he will be able to pay his bill on Monday after next." Profit: "He believes more than that, my lord. He believes that if by any chance he is not able to pay his bill on that date, you will be lenient with him and will not take away his house, as the mortgage states that you may." Dollar: "Ho, ho, ho. How witty you are, my dear, as well as beautiful. This peasant, being a credulous fellow, un doubtedly believes that. And maybe he believes even more, namely, that when the clothing which he has received wears out, I will give him another shirt to his back and accept his promise to pay—on 'Monday after next'. Ho, ho, ho." Profit: "Indeed, our peasant, I trow, believes and at this moment is patting himself on his well-shirted back that henceforth he will be clothed, and not only clothed but fed, by these mar- velous promises to pay. He believes that you, my lord, are in business for your health. He believes that he is a sharp fellow. He believes—•" Dollar: "Hold, hold. I am splitting my sides! What a lot of merry beliefs are dancing about here. See, the little fellow himself is laughing with glee. Son, I dub thee CREDIT, and may thee do credit to thy clever parents." And so the boy was christened. And as his parents hoped, the name stood him in good stead, casting a halo of benevolence about his otherwise vi perous nature. Of his first deed we shall hear in the next tale, and of his war with the tribe of Cooperators, opening with the Bat tle of Rochdale in the year 1844, we shall learn in good time. COOPERATION 209 New Year's Resolutions of the Good Cooperator Resolved, that in this New Year 1934: I will purchase every ounce of gro ceries, every stitch of clothing, every loaf, lunch, sack of. feed or gallon of gas from the co-op; going around the block, over extra miles of road, or through hell and high water, if neces sary, to get there. I will pay cash if I have to pawn my shirt to do so. I will get at least one new member, dead or alive, for the co-op. I will make myself a general nuisance around town singing the praises of Cooperation. I will try hard to control my natural "CONSUMERS' GUIDE TO SCIENTIFIC BUYING AND SAVING " tinent, Informative advice on consumers' prob lems. It also describes 62 useful products for personal and household needs now being manu factured and distributed in accordance with recommendations of the Bureau of Standards, Food and Drug Administration and consumer organization's. The GUIDE will be sent free to any address on request. Wirite today. JEROME W. EPHRAIM, INC. (Dept. -21) 91 Warren Street, New York. impulse to talk politics in cooperative meeting. I will put less faith in lawmakers, and more faith in the ability of the working people to help themselves through Cooperation than I have done in 1933. Cooperative Youth Waukegan Guild Discusses Live Topics The Men's Cooperative Guild of Waukegan and No. Chicago discussed "Our Attitude Toward the Municipal Ownership Plan" at its Nov. 23rd meeting. Their topic at the December meeting will be "Different Political Parties and Their Relation to Cooperation." The Educational Committee of Cooperative Trading Company is helping to get new mem bers for the Guilds and Youth League. Both employees and consumer-members who do not already belong to the auxiliary organizations are being urged to join and take active part. Drop "Youth" from Name What used to be "The Cooperative Youth League of Massachusetts" is now "The Massa chusetts League of Cooperative Clubs." The change was made at the annual convention in Maynard, Oct. 29. The following were elected as Executive Committee: For Maynard, Chas. Manty, Chairman, Helen Mark, Sec-Treas. and Herbert Ruotsala; for Fitchburg, Emil Waara- maa and Kenneth Pohlmann; for Hubbardston, V. Merikanto and Kenneth Hannula. Among the Resolutions adopted were: That the Executive Committee promote a closer rela tionship between the cooperative clubs and other clubs or organizations in Massachusetts; that the word "Youth" be taken out of the name and that the above name be adopted; that Hubbardston be given two Exec. Committee members; and that the Exec. Committee make an earnest effort to organize co-op clubs where none are at present. Leslie Woodcock, secretary of the Eastern States Cooperative League, was the guest speaker. He brought out the fact that the NRA is playing an important part in our movement and must be checked, code by code, in order to preserve our cooperative aims. Ralph Weckstrom presided at the conven tion. Helen Mark and Sirkka Lehtinen were secretaries. On the night before, two one-act plays were given, "Kihlaus" by the Fitchburg club, and "Business and So Forth" by the Maynard club. Dancing followed, with the music furnished by the Black 6 White Inn Orchestra. • Hubbardston Co-op Club Boy, oh boy, did our harvest dance and tur key raffle go off big? I'll say. The turkey was won by Mr. Kiuru, Sr., of Fitchburg and the fruit basket by Hubbardston's own Art Collins. Interest galore was shown at the recent con vention held in Maynard. It appears to us that it won't be long before every town will have its own Cooperative Club. On November 15th the club held a social at the Farmers Hall, friends were invited and everybody had a swell time dancing, playing cards, and drinking Java with cakes and sand wiches. The club as a whole wants to thank Miss Gertrude Johnson, Miss Hilda Neuvonen and Kenneth Hannula for producing the Java and cakes. The music of course was furnished by none other than that great playrite—Pagan. It is rumored in the club that its member Ilmari Salminen will be in the running in the town's coming election for selectman; if so, let's all cooperate and try to push him thru. In December we will hold cooperative nite again. Mr. Arne Turja has consented to give 210 COOPERATION his able assistance to Leo Wagg and produce a one act Finnish play, to be given on this oc casion. Members of the club are attending the co operative classes at Fitchburg Cooperative Club rooms and are finding it very helpful and edu cational. People do not realize how really dumb they are upon the subject Cooperation until they attend the above classes. —The Mayor. • The Cultural Program in Fitchburg The Fitchburg Cooperative dub has an ex tensive educational program for the winter sea son. The Cooperative Institute, with Kenneth Pohlman and Eino Friberg instructing, offers courses in almost every .phase of the present day curriculum, such as, the labor movement, recent economic thought, sociology, psychology, etc. Classes are being conducted each Monday evening from seven until ten. All are welcome. The Cooperative Forum, sponsored by the United Coop. Society, has proven very suc cessful. On Friday, Nov. 17, the subject "The Attack on Education" was handled by Harold Kaber of Boston. Over 100 listeners were present, among them several teachers of the public and high schools and the city Supt of Schools. The speaker was introduced by Dr. Luigi DeCicco of the School Committee. A lively discussion period followed which brought out questions of extreme importance. These forums are being arranged each month through out the season. Co-op Entertainment and Eats for Sick A group of Fitchburg Club members paid a visit to the Tubercular Ward of the city hos pital and gave an entertainment consisting of piano selections by Wm. Handley, saxophone selections by Theodore Rajala, monologs by Sarah Parker and Emil Waaramaa, short skits by Miriam Honkanen, Veikko Lehto and Eero Leppanen, and vocal offerings by Jack Kelly. The smiles of the patients proved their appre ciation. Our president, Hugo Erickson, acted as master of ceremonies and addressed them on the purpose of our club. Food, typically Fin nish, donated by the local stores and indi viduals, was left to the patients. A raffle held on November 12th proved very successful. Mrs. Hugo Erickson turned out the lucky one, winning the $15 prize. Games and entertainment, with refreshments, were enjoyed by all. A new pool table cover will adorn our table as the result of this raffle. December brings the Club's presentation of a great dramatic play, "The Enemy," depict ing war. The cast is eagerly rehearsing and ex pects to bring it into the limelight sometime in December. Seasonal Greetings Cooperatively To You All! Helvi Chicago co-op youth have turned potato salesmen. The Workmens Cooperative Mer cantile Assn. bought a carload of spuds and the youth helped in getting orders, house-to- house, for 100-lb. sacks. When the spuds were sold out, the salesmen kept on going, selling cooperation to new members and reselling it to old members gone stale. An essay contest was held in October. Some of the essayists showed that they knew the fundamentals of cooperation; others not. This "THE POWER OF THE MARKET BASKET" The Northern States* Women's Cooperative Guild has just printed a new revision of the leaflets entitled "The Power of the Market Basket." The set consists of_ 3_ separate pamphlets, namely, "What the Cooperative Movement Means to Women," "The Im portance of Women for the Cooperative Movement," "The International Work of Co operative Women." These pamphlets are written by A. Honora Enfield, Secretary of the International Women's Guild, and are invaluable for distribution to American house wives. An ideal leaflet to distribute when doing house-to-house canvassing, at meetings, etc. No guild woman can afford to be without the knowledge these pamphlets gives her about women's work in the cooperative movement, both nationally and internationally. Guilds and clubs should always have a supply on hand for distribution. (Order Blank) Northern States' Women's Co-op. Guild, Box 557, c/o Esther Benson, Superior, Wis. Please send us: ——————copies "What the Cooperative Movement Means to Women" Ic each _T————copies "The Importance of Women for the Cooperative Movement" Ic each ——————copies "The International Work of Cooperative Women" Ic each Name Address COOPERATION 211 is a good way of checking up, now and then, to see if your members are really "getting the; idea" or whether their minds are as foggy as a London night. • North Chicago now has a Youth League. At the first meeting, 75 were present Let us hear from you, No. Chicago. • Has Dillonvale a youth organization? Chicago recently sent the southeastern Ohio society 25 copies of The Cooperationist. Now they have a library started, anyway! • "The equipment put into the hands of the young reminds one of the nut in the crazy house who had a spoon to empty a barrel of water into which more water continually kept pouring.".—The Cooperationist. • . Every Community Could Do This Those who rail at profit banks should read the record of the Omaha Farmers Union Cooperative Credit Association. It closed its third year \vith 134 members, both employees of the Farmers Union and neighboring farmers, and shares and deposits to taling $10,551.66. In the 3-year period 205 loans were made, totaling $25,- 537.99, and averaging $124.58 each. The loans are for many purposes, such as buying feed, machinery, furniture, seed, taxes, payments on homes, start ing a dairy route, doctor bills and funeral expenses. Interest on loans is 7.2% per year; on deposits 4% and shares 4^£%. But the margin between these interest rates was cut down last year by a sav ings return of 14.66%, paid to both borrower and depositor. This cut the loan rate to 6.14% and raised the rate on deposits to 4.63%, on shares to 5.16%. • A Good Man Gone A. J. McGuire, general manager of the Land O'Lakes Creameries, died on Oct. 26th. Although associated with a producers' cooperative, which he helped make one of the finest in the world, A. J. McGuire was also a friend and frequent counselor to the con sumers' movement. To him Coopera tion was too important a cause to be split up and tucked away in separate pigeon-holes. Bread-and-Butter Note to Readers Dear Reader: Is COOPERATION worth $1 a year to you? If not, we wouldn't blame you for discontinuing your subscrip tion. If it is, won't you write us en closing a dollar bill and the address of a friend whose gray matter you would like to have agitated once a month for the next twelve months? The Editor. The Canadian Cooperator Brantford, Ontario, Canada The organ of the Canadian Coopera tive Movement, owned by and con ducted under the auspices of The Cooperative Union of Canada. Published monthly 75c per annum The Cooperative Builder The official organ of Northern States Cooperative League Central States Cooperative League Central Cooperative Wholesale Midland Cooperative Oil Association An interesting and lively cooperative journal published semi-monthly at Superior, Wis. Subscription rate $1.00 per year. CENTRAL COOPERATIVE I WHOLESALE Superior, Wis. FIRE INSURANCE ON YOUR FURNITURE SAFE-ECONOMICAL-COOPERATIVE WORKMEN'S FURNITURE FIRE INSURANCE SOCIETY 227 East 84th St.. New York. N. Y. Member of The Cooperative League of the U. S. A. Under supervision of N. Y. State Insurance Department