496 HISTORY OF THE GRANGE MOVEMENT; OR, 



purchases are not delivered carriage-free. The full 

 members become so by taking each a \. share, of 

 which, however, only 10s. has been called up. No one 

 is allowed to hold more than a single share, nor arc 

 shares saleable or transferable in any way. On a 

 member's death, his share is cancelled, and his deposit 

 returned to his family. Until about a month ago any 

 Civil Servant not below the rank of a clerk was eligible 

 as a shareholder ; but actual admission to the share- 

 holding body required the approval of the committee. 

 The number of shareholders, which has largely in- 

 creased during the last three or four years, is now about 

 4200. 



" By the rules of the Association, any profits which 

 may be made are to be spent in reducing the prices at 

 which the goods are sold. Even in the outset, prices 

 were not fixed higher than is deemed needful to cover 

 the working expenses, which now amount to only 6 or 

 7 per cent, on the wholesale purchase price ; but, of 

 course, 'the committee in its calculations has always 

 taken good care to be well on the safe side. It is, 

 perhaps, owing to extreme prudence in this matter, 

 though, probably, still more to the need felt for a con- 

 siderable working capital, that the Association has 

 gradually accumulated the sum of about 75,000. 

 The very magnitude of this capital has, however, pro- 

 ved a source of danger; for, without question, some 

 persons have at different times obtained shares simply 

 in the hope of breaking up the Association and getting 

 a share of the spoil. Happily these unjustifiable 

 attempts have hitherto always met with signal defeat, 

 an overwhelming majority of the shareholders being 

 determined to maintain the Association in honest and 



