APPENDIX. C07 



much all-around ability that just before his death ho was elected a trustee of the 

 great Manchester Ship Canal, which, however, he declined. Salaries in large 

 concerns are quite as liberal in England as in this country. He could, no 

 doubt, have obtained twenty-five thousand a year, had he been willing to 

 resign' his more attractive work and dutiful life at the head of the cooperative 

 business. , . ,. t 



In this country, the chief cooperative stores arc the Arlington, at Lawrence, 

 Mass., with thirty -five hundred members, three hundred thousand dollars sales, 

 seven and one-half per cent regular dividends on purchases, besides the interest 

 on capital, and liberal additions to the surplus fund ; the Johnson County 

 Cooperative Association at Olathe, Kansas, which is confined to Patrons of 

 Husbandry, but sells to the general public. It is twenty-two years old, has a 

 business of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year, has two branches, and 

 from it have sprung the leading bank of the town and a good insurance com- 

 pany. I have been^at both of these places and found them unusually vigorous 

 and progressive. There are well-established and important stores at Lyons, 

 Iowa, Trenton, N. J., and Galveston, Texas. There are a great many smaller 

 and younger ones in the East and in the Mississippi Valley. The West is full of 

 cooperative creameries, small flour mills and canneries. Of cooperative colonies, 

 the ones at Kuskin, Tenn., Commonwealth, Ga., and Belfast, "Wash., are the 

 more important. They are doing tolerably well. I have visited the former 

 two at different times. I have concluded that there is not much outcome 

 to the colonies when not inspired by anything but economic motives. I 

 exceedingly regret that I can give j'ou so very little information, but, as you 

 say, it is hardier to get at in this country than in foreign lands. Yours very 

 truly, N. 0. Nelson. 



In Great Britain cooperation has developed mainly on the lines of mer- 

 chandising and production. It has had a normal, although surprising develop- 

 ment. Beginning with a capital of a few pounds, contributed by workmen, 

 in sums of a few shillings each, for the establishment of a retail store, the 

 movement has grown to the proportions about to be described. The faithful- 

 ness of the Kochdale pioneers assured success for their enterprise, and their 

 success led to the establishment of similar stores elsewhere. The opposition of 

 private traders in some cases prevented the cooperative stores from obtaining 

 supplies from wholesale merchants, and this led to the establishment of the 

 great English and Scottish wholesale stores. The capital of these great societies 

 is mainly contributed by the retail stores, to which, only, the wholesale societies 

 sell. As trade has increased, the wholesale societies have engaged in the manu- 

 facture of some of the merchandise most in demand. They have branch estab- 

 lishments for buying in all countries in whose produce they deal, and own a 

 fleet of several steamers. Being constantly charged with the custody of the 

 surplus funds of the societies, they were led to open banking departments. 

 They bid fair to, in the end, cover the entire field of manufacturing articles 

 most in demand by the retail trade. 



The greater part of the capital of the cooperative societies of Great Britain 

 has been derived from the profits of the business. Goods are invariably sold at 

 the retail prices charged by private firms. The profits go, first, to the payment 

 of a small dividend on the share capital, next to the creation of a surplus fund, 

 as security against losses, and the remainder as rebates to purchasers. In some 

 cases the salesmen and other employees, als such, receive a portion of the profits, 

 and in other cases they do not. In most cases regular provision is made from 

 the profits for carrying on educational work, and many of the more prosperous 



