COOPER 139 CO-OPERATION 14, 1851. Besides his novels he wrote a history of the United States navy, and some volumes descriptive of his travels. COOPER, PETER, an American inven- tor, manufacturer, and philanthropist; born in New York, Feb. 12, 1791. A coachmaker by trade, he became a suc- cessful inventor and glue manufacturer, and acquired a large fortune. He built, after his own designs, the first locomo- tive engine constructed on this continent (1830) ; was one of the original pro- moters of the electric telegraph, actively interested in the construction of the New York State canals, etc. He was the can- didate of the "Greenback" party for President in 1876. He is best known by the institution that was dearest to his own heart, the "Cooper Union" of New York, founded for the instruction of the industrial classes (1854-1859) . He wrote: "Political and Financial Opinions, with an Autobiography" (1877) ; "Ideas for a Science of Good Government" (1883). He died in New York City, April 4, 1883. CO-OPERATION, when signif jdng so- cial organization, and in its widest appli- cation, is the voluntary association of a number of persons for the attainment of certain economic advantages, as in the combination of farmers for the sale of their produce in such large volume as to eliminate parasitic middlemen. Spe- cifically, however, the word signifies co- operation of the consumers, for the pur- pose of production and distribution of commodities for use, with the element of private profit eliminated. The modern co - operative movement had its beginning in the now famous Rochdale co-operative society, founded by twenty-eight fiannel weavers, in 1844, for the purpose of operating a food- stuff store on this principle. In the con- stitution of their society they first en- nunciated those fundamental principles which are to-day the basis of the modern movement; one man, one vote; member- ship open to all comers; invested capital to receive no other reward than the cur- rent rate of interest; and the profits of the enterprise to be retained as collective capital, or returned to the purchasing members, to each in proportion to the vol- ume of his trade with the society's store. Beginning as small distributive enter- prises,^ Rochdale co-operation attracted very little attention for over a genera- tion. It was not till the numerous local food supply societies federated (1861 in England) and formed what was called a wholesale society, that the economic power of the movement began to attract public attention and aroused the alarm of the merchant class. Through these central, or national, purchasing agen- cies, the local societies were enabled to pool their purchases and to trade in such a volume as to make their influence felt on the general market. This influ- ence was further enhanced when the federations, with their organized market behind them, began to manufacture to supply the needs of their own constitu- ents. This entry into the field of pro- duction marked their economic independ- ence of private industry, especially when large tracts of land were acquired for the production of raw material needed in manufacture. As an instance, the English Co-operative Wholesale Society now owns and operates 30,000 acres of farm land in England, on which it raises fruit for its jam factories, vege- tables for canning, dairy products for distribution among the store societies; and an equal acreage in Ceylon and In- dia for the production of tea ; vast areas of land in Africa for cocoanut and palm oil; and 10,000 acres of land in Can- ada for the production of wheat for its flour mills, the largest in England. All these vast enterprises, including facto- ries which are the largest of their kind in the world, are owned collectively and controlled democratically by the mem- bers of the local societies, the directors and managers being the paid servants of the collectivity. Thus use, or service, is the stimulus, rather than private com- mercial profit. It has been only within the past few years, since the beginning of the World War, that the Consumers' Co-oper- ative Movement has been recognized as a significant social movement, presenting itself as a distinct and practical alter- native to Socialism, Syndicalism, or any of the other purely theoretical collectivist movements. This development of its so- cial significance was entirely due to its abnormal growth during the war period, a result of its efficiency as a source of food supply during the dislocation of private trade and production. With a general world-wide membership of about 8,000,000, in 1914, the membership in 1920 stood at 24,000,000, each unit rep- resenting a family, rather than one in- dividual. It was in Russia that this growth attained most abnormal dimen- sions, the membership attaining 15,000,- 000 throughout the country in 1920. In other countries, however, the develop- ment has also been remarkable. In France membership rose from 800,000 to over 1,500,000; in Great Britain it rose from a little over 8,000,000 in 1914 to over 4,000,000 in 1920. In Switzerland, Denmark, and Finland a majority of the population already is involved.
