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A Chain of Successful Cooperatives By GEORGE NALONEN. rightly handled, can be commercially successful when they are rooted in the every day struggle of the workers and farmers. These hundred co-opera- tives referred to have been able to unite workers and farmers of dif- ' ferent political and religious opinions, A formidable united front is the result and the common activity is teaching ‘valuable lessons why and how the workers should fight thelr common enemy—the profit system. STREET CLEANER By Herschel! Bek. Whisper it into the ear of God, He know how you fel about, O cleaner of streets! O: handler of broom and shovel! going up and down the streets, sweeping up the dust And the dirt and the dung, day after day after day, And nobody giving you a tumble, Window Display of the Co-operators’ Best Brands—Virginia People’s Trad- ing Co., Virginia, Minn. - <ounhidaisere rts > N the Northwest we find a success- ful consumers’ co-operative move- ment. Over a hundred co-operative stores, altho independent and locally controlled, are federated thru their own co-operative wholesale, the Co- Operative Central Exchange, for com- mereial and educational purposes. Many a story could be told, how isolated, purely local co-operative stores were helped out of chaos and bankruptcy thru the efforts of the wholesale. And now the situation is such that all the stores which are in direct contact with the Co-operative Central Exchange are standing on their own feet and are continually reaping benefits from the experiences gained in common, Sales and Other Figures. At the present complete data have been compiled from about 40 co-opera- tive stores affiliated with the Co- operative Central Exchange. The fig- ures are for the year 1925. Net sales ‘were $2,856,284.11; gross profit, $444,- 923.38; total expenses, $347,336.63; total met gain, $119,121.24. Resources and Liabilities, These same co-operative stores showed the following resources: Cash on hand and im bank, $76,- 222.72; accounts and notes receivable, $288,758.97; merchandise inventory, $425,625; real estate, $428,754.78; fix- tures and equipment, $134,938.37; other resources, $51,481.36; total re- sources, $1,405,682.11. Liabilities: Borrowed capital, $374,- 771.38; accounts payable, $185,661.85; other liabilities, $56,411.35; share cap- ital (paid in), $412,504.72; reserve funds, $281,905.22; undivided profits, $94,426.59; total liabilities and net worth, $1,405,682.11. Expenses as Compared with Private Stores, For the first time in the history of the American co-operative movement, we have available comparative statis- tics ag to the expenses of co-operative stores. The data on the cost of pri- vate grocers are compiled by the bu- reau of research of Harvard Univer- sity and comprises the average of 545 retail grocers in 1924. The statisti- cal department of the Co-operative Central Exchange compiled data on cost of 42 co-operative stores affiliated with the C. C, E. The total of various expense items is: Private grocers, 18 per cent, and co-operative stores, 12.16 per cent. The corresponding gross margins were 19.8 per cent and 15.58 per cent These figures prove that co-opera- tive stores can be successful and 0! benefit to the consumers, even ir America. Co-operative centralization tells the same story. Last year the gross profi of the Co-operative Central Exchang: was 7.31 per cent and the expenses were 6.26 per cent. The correspond ing figures of privately owned whole- sales of the same size were 11.5 per cent and 11 per cent, Educational Activities, These co-operative stores do not limit their activities to commercial matters. This summer the stores have shown great activities on the ed- ucational field. Every Sunday there has been some kind of co-operative Picnic or mass meeting. The masses have shown lively“ interest, One of these picnics, held at Chisholm, Minn., was attended by a crowd of about 3,000 people. The program at these picnics, as well as at the indoor entertainments, was comprised of speeches, music, etc, In addition the Co-operative Central Exchange helps the local stores in their educational activities by furnish- ing leaflets, a monthly magazine, the Co-operative Pyramid Builder, and ad- vices on various subjects. During last year the exchange issued 76,000 leaf- lets on seven different subjects. About 8,000 circulars, dealing with educa- tional questions, were mailed to the educational committees, employes and boards of directors of the societies. The main task in the educational work has been to connect the isolated co-operatives with each other for com- mon purposes, and to get the masses to understand that the co-operative movement is a working-class move- ment and thereby a part of the gen- eral labor movement. A United Front. Altho small in comparison to this big country, this movement in the Northwest has proved that the co- operative movement in America has possibilities. The co-operative stores, A Typical Farmers’ Co-operative Store—Brule, Ws. And nobody giving a damn,— Whisper it into the ear of God, He knows how you feel about it, trying to keep the streets clean of the dirt and the dust, and, always, the dirt and the dust coming back again,— Hasn’t He held down your job For a time too long to remember? TO THE PASSAIC STRIKERS. Hail to you, Passaic strikers, Hail to you, you iron band, Know that your courage shall live forever, In the minds of workers all through the fand. Poverty, hunger, starvation, your lot, And yet you did not bend Under the strain of tired body and mind, Your fight has won many a friend, Strikers heated to rebellion, Women and children helping, too, They have come for a mass demonstration, There we see some coats of blue. Ahi “is Blows are raining on the strikers, Men are beaten, women fall, And now the screams of terrified childrea Can be heard over all. You've done your work well, you damned sluggers, You've beaten and brulsed our women and men, But the Day of Freedom’s before us, And we’ll be the masters then. A Weekly Vol. 1. By Rose Cohen. THE TINY WORKER Edited by Mathew Sprajcar, Verona, Pa, Johnny Red, Assistant. Saturday, August 28, 1926 No, 14 t A LONESOME LITTLE CAPITALIST JOHNNY RED—THE WISE OWL By D. Shvelenko By Rose Horowitz, Chicago, i Rochester, N. Y. A_ lonesome little eapi- Johnny Red was a lit- talist tle wise old owl, He Sitting on the moon. knew he could learn a He said the world revolu- tion Came too soon. Oh, how he hates thase Communists They are his lifelong foe all the wortd is full of them Where else is he to go? So there he os. oo. ahaa on a chilly m Praying for ‘the Commu- nists’ ruin, REAL HISTORY lot b; ow to oth- ers. he let Rosie Red, his sister, tell him this “Oh, I dread those h, I just ” ola ugly caterpillars, the da ter of a weal- thy banker one day, and saying so, she stepped on every one that she saw. By the time she was ~ dress again so she threw it off and went into the house. MATTY IS J8 EDITOR Mathew Spraj 13hot Voronar ‘Pais Sat OF Of issue. H us this nice little on We're sure you will like, —_— THE SAETIAt ier One day a a Capitalist was very tired so he told his servants that he was going to take a nap and that nobody was to both. er him. Presently he fell asleep and was dreaming. He dreamed that a worker walked toward him with a quarter which was burnt red-hot looked like a gold ‘Piece of of rt The worker told Se too poor to a that the Capltailos’ enna have it, whanisnin® ib Sr | aout, ve, ter | OitejGaptais ae, ‘ and drank like a a owe feit a ra pain in ye th A of the house in all cue ke a saw a beautiful yellow | Palm hand. stole land like or | butterfly. she. tri would that a Gentle: catch it’ but the butter- | [9 wou have Wh, Pane: man, t fly proudly dodged her | 4, | het quar a em Do any of our little | am pretty you fove me, | | TRO Next. moment he Reds know more real his- | but before I spun my co- that nent and found out wr: Col it | coon, you aan ae _ ohted bit 4 spi me. You would and vthe the Noldar ha id burnt