A SURVEY OF TYPICAL COOPERATIVE STORES. 27 



The manager of one of the most successful of the stores inchided in 

 the survey expressed the conviction that the cooperative store is to 

 the business community what the governors are to the steam engine, 

 and that on account of its regulative influence there ought to be a 

 cooperative store in every town. The same manager was of the 

 opinion that it would be an equally undesirable condition to elimi- 

 nate privately owned business from any town. 



In addition to whatever salutary influence the cooperative store 

 may have upon the business community, the survey shows that there 

 are possibilities in the cooperative store, if properly organized and 

 managed, for the accomplishment of important savings to members, 

 thus opening the way for a reduction of the high cost of living. This 

 leads to a summary of the conditions of success and the causes of 

 failure. 



Briefly stated, the conditions of success may be summarized under 

 the headings ^ : (1) Leadership; (2) capable management ; (3) favor- 

 able environment; (4) adequate legal safeguards. 



(1) Leadership. — In every case where a store was foimd to be a 

 conspicuous success, that success could be traced to the influence of 

 some conspicuous leader. The part which leadership plays in hold- 

 ing the membership of the association loyal to their store is not con- 

 fined to the organizer. The outstanding leader who has the ability 

 to round up the community must be supported b}" others who have 

 some talent for leadership. The manager himself must be " a good 

 mixer." In fact, in the most successful stores every clerk has been 

 chosen with a view to adding more enthusiasm and support to the 

 business. Leadership, to be permanently successful, must build up 

 an organization which will be self-supporting and self-perpetuating. 

 A mistake frequently made by the leader responsible for the estab- 

 lishment of a successful association is that he does not provide the 

 necessary organization which will enable it to perpetuate itself after 

 he has severed his connection. Where such is the case, the society is 

 foredoomed to go to pieces as soon as the stigong leader is removed. 

 Cohesion must ultimately rest on education, on loyalty to an institu- 

 tion, and on principle rather than on the blind following of a leader. 



(2) Capable Tnanagement. — ^After all that has been said, little need 

 be added in support of capable management as an essential condition 

 for the success of the cooperative store. It should alwaj's be remem- 

 bered that business efficiency is as essential in the cooperative as in 

 any other type of business organization. Unfortunately for the 

 movement, the average enthusiast who feels a call to promote the 

 cooperative movement has in the past laid more stress on sentiment 



1 Compare with the rules adopted by the Rochdale pioneers in 1844 and the causes of 

 failure of cooperative stores as given in : Wisconsin State Board of Public Affairs. Report 

 upon Cooperation and Marketing, 1912, pp. 29, 34. 



