246 HISTORY OK THK WHEEL AND ALLIANCE. 



summer! You're a pretty (whack) fellow to be caught 

 with (whack) such small bait Now take that (whack, 

 whack, whack) and go and hide yourself for the rest of 

 the day, you born fool!" 



The farmers can hardly fail to see the importance of 

 establishing co-operative business enterprises. The sub- 

 ject of co-operation presents a wide field for the employment 

 of the talent and means of labor organizations. We fre- 

 quently hear it urged that co-operation is a failure and 

 the experience of the Grange is cited as an example. It 

 is unfortunately true that the history of co-operation in 

 the Grange abounds with failures, and but few of the 

 many enterprises which it established are still stemming 

 the tide. But these few are evidence that when properly 

 managed co-operation is a success. The history of the 

 failures of co-operative enterprises in the Grange should 

 furnish a lesson to the Wheel, Alliance and other organi- 

 zations that they will do well to profit by that of 

 learning and shunning the rocks which wrecked the 

 efforts of the Grange. The trouble with the Grange 

 and the same may be said of other organizations was 

 that is was born of the necessity of the hour and sprang up 

 like a mushroom, giving the people no time for preparation 

 to accept the new situation and educate themselves in 

 their new relation to trade. It was want of education and 

 experience. The Wheel, Alliance and other organiza- 

 tions have the lamp of past experience to guide their feet, 

 and are proceeding with a caution born of knowledge erf 

 past failure. We shall be surprised if their intelligence 

 does not conceive methods which will be crowned with 

 success. True, there will be failures, but each failure 

 will discover some new obstacle to overcome, and we 

 doubt not that the wisdom of the Order will be abundantly 

 able to apply the proper remedy. 



