16 CO-OPERATION IN DANISH AGEICULTURE 



societies were quite incapable of carrying out such far-reaching 

 reforms, the movement gradually died out ; of the 700 societies 

 represented at the Co-operative Congress in Liverpool in 1832, 

 there were, a few years later, only four left ! Robert Owen 

 died in 1858, working to the last for his idealistic and com- 

 munistic reforms. 



In spite of all their evident shortcomings these attempts 

 during the " twenties " and " thirties " of last century were 

 not without great influence, and many of their ideas have 

 survived. The modern co-operative movement is, therefore, 

 indebted to Robert Owen, and the British Co-operative Congress 

 in 1901 acknowledged this by voting £10,000 for a monument 

 in connection with a hostel with library and reading-rooms to 

 be built in Owen's native town of Newton. 



The older co-operative undertakings in England and the 

 first co-operative stores were used as a means for propagating 

 socialism. The surplus was employed for socialistic propa- 

 ganda or for Building Societies or similar purposes ; but most 

 of the undertakings died out. 



In the year 1844 a new and lasting impulse was given by 

 the celebrated Rochdale Pioneers, who formed a Co-operative 

 Distributive Society of such admirable organisation and 

 introduced such new business principles, that it became the 

 model for many similar societies, first in England and Scotland 

 and later on in most other countries, and among them in 

 Denmark. The millhands in Rochdale, hke many other 

 industrial workers, led a wretched existence, insufficiently 

 nourished and under constant dread of unemployment. In 

 November, 1843, twelve poor flannel weavers decided each to 

 contribute M. per week for a year, which would enable them 

 at the end of that time to buy a sack of flour. Later on sixteen 

 more joined, and they scraped together a sum of £28. They 

 sought advice from Owen's colony at Queenswood, and then 

 formed a small Co-operative Distributive Society which opened 

 a shop in a poor street in Rochdale, on the 21st December, 

 1844. At first the store kept only flour, sugar, and butter, 

 and was open only for two evenings a week. 



The aim of the Rochdale weavers was primarily to improve 

 the economical and social status of the members. For this 



