THE WORKERS' CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY OF NELSON, LTD.

NZ Truth, Issue 869, 22 July 1922, Page 3

THE WORKERS' CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY OF NELSON, LTD.

Fifth Quarterly Report and Balancesheet. Co-operation is the only hope for this worn-out world. It is the proved welder of heart and mind to the practical issues of Capitalism. Some people regard It as . merely associated effort directed to the wholesaling of goods, the cheapening of service, and m 'the last resort as the final deathblow to Capitalism. It is with the latter notion that many of the pmall cooperative concerns m this country have been mostly concerned. Their founders, or most active propagandists, are for the most part Red Fedders of the reddest dye. It is to be hoped that the Nelson Company is not of the foregoing description, for, if so, it, with all others actuated by the same misconceptions, is bound sooner or later either to arrive at a clearer conclusion regarding the true meaning of co-op-eration, or to the final sta^e of ineffective incorporation — liquidation. The leading principles of true co-operation may be summed up broadly as consisting of the following features, namely, loyal, truthful association of persons who desire the best of service m all departments of life m which they are vitally interested. With this broad, basic principle properly understood and carried into effect the natural sequence is the growth of a feeling of TRUE BROTHERHOOD. which, again, may be reduced to one significant word: love. The sooner members of all co-operative associations realise fhe beneficial results which flow from loving unions, massed capital, directed service, and loyalty, the nearer we shall be to the true Commonwealth, which is the dream of the purest and best minds everywhere. Selfishness, greed, and profit will then be displaced by noble service, prompted by brotherhood. Such conditions give the widest social benefitr. and make the way easy for the culture of all the arts of kindness which, alas, is not the case where only the "discount," '-'rebates," "bonus," and "dividend" are made the end-all and aim of life. The little Nelson society has evidently followed the advice given to it on the few occasions when its affairs have been reviewed by "Cambist." At any rate he has noticed that his comments have been advertised m the local press, arid that they have been used to induce persons to become members or shareholders m the society. With all of this he is m "agreement, provided that the spirit ac well as thi letter of his arguments is properly applied. Cash trading is a principlo which he never tires of urging upon all biands of co-operative enterprise, and h-i will add to this, on the present occasion, that this class of business is within the reach of every person who is honest enough to put it into practice. By functioning m this simple manner no one would be m debt. No person would be hampered by liabilities. Extravagance m all directions would be curtailed and the dangers which follow debt would be COMPLETELY ABOLISHED. Looking at the assets side of the bal-ance-sheet now under notice, a most pleasant surprise awaits oni. There is not a single penny owing to *he society by its customers. In other words, the trading has been carried on fov cash only. This wonderful achievement places the balance-sheet m a unique position amongst all of the more or less co-operative associations which have, up to the present, reached the hands of "Cambist." Let us consider the effects of this on<the general position of the society. The assets total £2424, and consist of stock £1859, plant £232, improvements £43, and cash m hand and m bank £288. The items set down for stock, plant ancl improvements may be over-valued to some extent, but they are at least practically paid, for m full, seeing that "sundry creditors" make up a total of

only £413 m the balance-s^.eet. Out of the total value of the assets (£2424) £288 is m good, hard cash, or, say, nearly twelve per cent, of the sum set down, that is to say, about £12 on every £100 is money available for immediate use. When the other side of the balance-sheet is scanneo over one finds that the share capital is only £1633, or £282 more than m th? previous balance-sheet. Comparing the sales with the same period it is found that these have decreased by about £400. The management seem to "dodge" this comparsion, for they refer instead to the period of twelve months ago. It has NEVER BEEN QUITE CLEAR ' to "Cambist" why, m the fourth bal-ance-sheet, a period of four months was taken m. In the present balancesheet the period is for the correct quarterly term of three months. To arrive at the comparison made by "Cambist" he had to divide by four the sum of sales (£5143) shown for the four months, and subtract the result from the larger total, -vvhich gave £3858. The conclusions set forth m the report of the Management Committee regarding the cash sales are mere clap-trap, for if the facts are to be relied upon the first year's trading, compared with the capital account, is much better than the results fo.- the quarter under notice. In the first qua'r^ ter of the society's business they had only £521- of the paid-up capital, yet they sold £1807 worth. of goods to Iheir customers and the membership of the society was only 271. With a membership of 488 and a paid-up capital of more than three times that of the first quarter (£521) £1633, the turnover on the capital is now only twice the paidin money as compared with' the initial period of the society's operations. These deductions run counter to all of the claims made by the management. They remark, "this fully demonstrates the success of our co-operative efforts arid the loyalty of members to the movement." This writer opines that the members 'have reached the lukewarm stage, j It is time that they • PROVED THEIR LOYALTY, not to the movement only but practically to their own society. With a greater membership, there should.be more growth m sales made by the.society. On the face of things 't is quite fair to deduce that none of the members have really given their full support to the society. It is, however, a good sign to notice more members are enrolled. If only these remark?, and the foregoing comments upon thj true co-operative principles are applied rightly by the members a much better showing should result when the sixth balance-sheet is presented. "Cambist" considers that the stock item is the one most open to doubt or question m these accounts. What is tlie meaning of £47 deprecation, of this asset? Is this account brought down to cost on the shelves, or is it written down to replacement values? From the. meagre statement m the balance-sheet and the dead silence adopted towards this asset m the report to the members, no critic could arrive at any other conclusion than this. ... it requires! to be more fully answered. The stock may be m any sort of plight, or it may be m tip top order. Why not give some corroboration to the manager's values, Messrs. Auditors? This is. .a. co-operative concern, and the members should have all the facts of the business clearly stated for them.