e
of which did an annual business of $1,000,000. They claimed
to have, about the same time, five steamboat or packet
lines, fifty societies for shipping goods, thirty-two grain
elevators, twenty-two warehouses for storing goods. In 1876
one hundred and sixty Grange stores were recorded. In he
same year it was officially stated that "local stores are in
successful operation all over the country."

The Sovereigns of Industry also developed co-operative
distribution largely. In 1877 President Earle reported that
"ninety-four councils, selected from the whole, report a
membership of 7,273, and with an average capital of only
$884 did a business last year of $1,089,372.55. It is safe
to assume that the unreported sales will swell the amount to
at least $3,000,000."

There have been numerous stores started apart from these
orders. The finest success won is by the Philadelphia
Industrial Co-operative Society. Starting in 1875 with one
store, it has now six stores. Its sales for the quarter
ending February 18, 1882, were $51,413.63. A considerable
increase of interest in such stores marks the opening of our
decade. Stores are starting up in various parts of the
country. The Grangers claim to have now hundreds of
co-operative stores, upon the Rochdale plan, in successful
operation. Texas reports officially (1881) seventy-five
co-operative societies connected with this order. * * *

We had an epoch of brilliant enthusiasm over co-operative
agriculture in 1840-50, but little has been left from it.
One form of agricultural co-operation, a lower form, has
been astonishingly successful--the cheese-factories and
creameries. It is estimated that there are now 5,000 of them
in the country. In co-operative manufactures we have had
many experiments, but few successes, from 1849 onward.
Massachusetts reported twenty-five co-operative
manufactories in 1875. All of them, however, were small
societies.

Now, co-operation has its clearly marked limitations. It is
of itself no panacea for all the ills that labor is heir to.
But it can ameliorate some of the worst of those ills. It
can effect great savings for our workingmen, and can secure
them food and other necessaries of the best quality. If
nothing further arises, the spread of co-