ration. In 1881, while the
general opinion in the Order was still undecided, the leaders did not
scruple to smuggle into the constitution a clause which made cooperation
compulsory.

Notwithstanding Powderly's exhortations, the Order was at first slow in
taking it up. In 1882 a general cooperative board was elected to work
out a plan of action, but it never reported, and a new board was chosen
in its place at the Assembly of 1883. In that year, the first practical
step was taken in the purchase by the Order of a coal mine at
Cannelburg, Indiana, with the idea of selling the coal at reduced prices
to the members. Soon thereafter a thorough change of sentiment with
regard to the whole matter of cooperation took place, contemporaneously
with the industrial depression and unsuccessful strikes. The rank and
file, who had hitherto been indifferent, now seized upon the idea with
avidity. The enthusiasm ran so high in Lynn, Massachusetts, that it was
found necessary to raise the shares of the Knights of Labor Cooperative
Shoe Company to $100 in order to prevent a large influx of "unsuitable
members." In 1885 Powderly complained that "many of our members grow
impatient and unreasonable because every avenue of the Order does not
lead to cooperation."

The impatience for immediate cooperation, which seized the rank and file
in practically every section of the country, caused an important
modification in the official doctrine of the Order. Originally it had
contemplated centralized control under which it would have taken years
before a considerable portion of the membership could realize any
benefit. This was now dropped and a decentralized plan was adopted.
Local organizations and, more frequently, groups of members with the
financial aid of their local organizations now began to establish shops.
Most of the enterprises were managed by the stockholders, although, in
some cases, the local organization of the Knights of Labor managed the
plant.

Most of the cooperative enterprises were conducted on a small scale.
Incomplete statistics warrant the conclusion that the average amount
invested per establishment was about $10,000. From the data gathered it
seems that cooperation reached its highest point in 1886, although it
had not completely spent itself by the end of 1887. The total number of
ventures probably reached two hundred. The largest numbers were in
mining, cooperage, and shoes. These industries paid the poorest wages
and