BOOK II. CH. IX. The ex of Messrs Crossley and Messrs Briggs. energy of the labourer who is now proverbially slow in his movements and apathetic in his work because he has no inducement, except when engaged in piece work, to exert himself more than he is absolutely obliged. Other plans of industrial partnership have been adopted which secure a more complete union between capital and labour. During the last few years the practice has been rapidly extending not only of allotting to workmen a share in profits, but also of allowing them to invest capital in the business in which they are employed. When the great carpet manuperiments factory of Messrs Crossley of Halifax was converted into a joint stock company, one-fourth of the shares were preferentially offered to the workmen engaged in the business. This arrangement, by enabling the workmen to become. part owners of the concern, gave them a far more direct interest in the prosperity of the business than if they had been employed as ordinary labourers. Another very interesting experiment was carried out by the Messrs Briggs, at their collieries at Methley, near Leeds. In this instance the workmen not only had an opportunity of purchasing shares in the company, but after a profit of 10 per cent. had been realised on capital, one half of the surplus profits was distributed amongst the labourers as a bonus. Every workman was thus given an immediate interest in the success of the business. For many years this experiment was carried out with admirable success. disputes, which had before been of frequent occurrence, altogether ceased, and the workmen were stimulated to increased exertions by the prospect of securing to themselves a share of the profits realised. The unprecedented rise in the price of coal, which took place in 1872, brought such sudden prosperity to coal-mining that it unhappily disturbed the harmonious relations between workmen and employers at Methley. A dispute arose upon the extent to which capital and labour should respectively participate in this extra profit, and the copartnership principle has unfortunately been abandoned. It is obvious from what has occurred at Methley that copartnership is likely to be carried out with the best chance of success in those branches of industry which are not liable to great and sudden fluctuations in prosperity. These considerations lead to the conclusion that the system could be very ad Trade vantageously applied in agriculture. A very interesting experiment of the kind was tried a few years since with marked success, by the late Lord George Manners, on a farm which he cultivated on his estate near Newmarket. The plan which he adopted was very simple, and resembled in all essentials the method which was carried out by M. Leclaire in Paris. The labourers on the farm received the ordinary wages which were current in the district; but it was agreed that if through extra exertion, or greater skill on their part, extra profits were realised, a portion of these profits should be distributed among them as a bonus on their labour. Lord George Manners unfortunately died before this experiment had been in operation for many years; but he spoke confidently of its permanent success, and affirmed that it would prove alike advantageous to employer and employed. BOOK II. CH. IX. copartner It may confidently be hoped that these copartnerships will so rapidly extend as to fundamentally change the economic relations now existing between employers and employed. There can be no doubt, as was remarked in the last chapter, that the movement will be powerfully promoted by national education; for all these schemes which have been described require men to repose a certain amount of trust in each other; distrust and suspicion are always prominent characteristics of a low state of education. intellectual development. Ultimately it may be hoped that there will be so much. moral and social advancement as to enable a perfect union between capital and labour to be established: this is secured when labourers supply all the capital which is required to sustain the industry in which they are engaged. When this is accomplished there is cooperation in its highest form; the subject of cooperation is of so much importance that it will be necessary to devote a separate chapter to its consideration. The progress of ships will be greatly promoted by national CHAPTER X. COOPERATION. BOOK II. сн. х. Coopera tion explained. Coopera tive stores are often cooperative only in name. E have had frequent occasion to refer to the fact that the capital and labour which industry requires are in this, and in most other countries, generally supplied by two distinct classes, who are termed capitalists and labourers, or sometimes employers and employed. Industry is said to be carried on upon the cooperative principle when these two classes are merged into one, and when the capital which is needed for the production and distribution of wealth is supplied by those who provide the requisite labour. Thus a cotton manufactory would be converted into a purely cooperative undertaking, if the operatives employed in it were able to subscribe a sufficient amount amongst them to purchase the manufactory and to carry on the business on their own account. Again, an ordinary retail shop would become cooperative if the premises and stock-in-trade were owned by those who served in the shop, by the porters, and by others who are engaged in carrying on the business. The great majority, however, of the societies which are known in this country as cooperative, differ essentially both from the cooperative manufactory and the cooperative retail shop which have been just described. Cooperation has hitherto been seldom applied to the production of wealth. Probably at least nine-tenths of the existing cooperative societies carry on those ordinary retail businesses the function of which is to distribute rather than produce wealth. These distributive societies, which are now generally known as cooperative stores, are wanting in the most essential characteristic of cooperation, for they do not necessarily establish an union, or, as we have described it, a merging of capital and labour. The capital in these stores is owned by, and the profits realised upon it are distributed amongst, the customers and the shareholders, and not amongst the employés of the establishment. In thus pointing out that the title cooperative is now given to many trading concerns which are not conducted upon strictly cooperative principles, it must not be supposed that we underrate the great benefit which cooperation, even applied in this modified form, has conferred not only upon the working classes, but also upon the general community. The cooperative movement is no doubt, as yet, only in its infancy, but in tracing its rapid development during the last few years, we shall not only endeavour to describe the great advantages which have already resulted from it, but we shall also attempt to explain why cooperation may probably be more confidently relied upon than any other economic agency, to effect a marked and permanent improvement in the social and industrial condition of the country. One of the earliest and most successful of the cooperative stores in this country was established about 30 years since, and it had an origin so humble as at the time scarcely to attract any notice. It appears that in the year 1844, there was great depression in the flannel trade at Rochdale, and as the wages of the weavers were much reduced, the fact seems to have impressed itself upon some of them, that their scanty earnings did not go so far as they might, because the articles sold to them in the ordinary retail shops were dear and often much adulterated. Twenty-eight of these poor weavers accordingly agreed to club together a small sum in order to purchase some tea and sugar from a wholesale shop. After they had done so, each one of their number was supplied with tea and sugar from this common stock, paying ready money for it, and giving the same price for it as they had been charged at the shops. They did not expect to secure any considerable profit; the object they had in view was not so much to obtain a good investment as to avoid purchasing dear and adulterated articles. But they found, not a little to their surprise, that a very large profit had been realised. The great advantage of the plan became self-evident, for not only were they provided with a F. M. R BOOK II. CH. X. The origin of the Pioneers' BOOK II. Development of the Society. lucrative investment for their savings, but they obtained unadulterated tea and sugar at the same price as they had been previously obliged to pay for these same articles when their quality was deteriorated by all kinds of adulteration. A fresh stock of tea and sugar was of course purchased. Other labourers were quickly attracted to join. in the undertaking, and subscribe their savings. In 1856 this society, now become famous as the Rochdale Pioneers, possessed a capital of about £12,900. The business was not long restricted to articles of grocery; bread, meat, and clothing were all sold on the same plan. Their capital so rapidly increased, that they were soon enabled to erect expensive steam flour-mills; and a supply of pure bread was thus insured. During the last few years, this Pioneers' Society has attracted frequent public attention; for it has gradually grown into a vast commercial institution, embracing a great variety of trades'. The share capital of the Pioneers' Society has so rapidly increased that it possesses now far more than sufficient to carry on the business at the store. With a capital of £25,000 which is employed in this store, a business of not less than £250,000 a year is carried on. The remarkable success achieved at Rochdale naturally led to the establishment of similar stores throughout the country. In many of the manufacturing towns in the north of England, the working classes deal almost entirely at these stores; but they have not been established in the large towns only, for they are now frequently to be found in agricultural Its method villages. As previously remarked, the profits realised in these stores are distributed not amongst the employés, but amongst the customers and the shareholders. The particular method of distributing the profits which has been adopted at nearly all the stores is extremely simple, and is the one originally agreed upon at Rochdale, which we will now describe. Each customer, when he makes a purchase, receives certain tin tickets or tallies which record the amount of his purchases. The accounts are made up at the end of each quarter, and after a fixed dividend at of doing business described. 1 Many of the figures about to be quoted have been kindly furnished to me by my friend Mr Walter Morrison, late M.P. for Plymouth, who, from the great interest he has long taken in the cooperative movement, may be justly regarded as one of the leading authorities on the subject. |