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Newspaper Page Text
VpE- ? J-ggfclVljyK T 'rr-rif CO.OPERATIVE-.STORE' SAVED INDIANA TOWN AND. DROVE -WOLF TO, THE WOODS Shirley, Ind., ha? "solved the high cost of living. ' The solution is a co-operative store. It is a general $tore, car rying everything thatpeople who work have to buy. 'There are 2, 000 people in, Shirley. Noble Van Meter came to the rescue when hard times'' gripped the town. He levied a town meeting. Shirley was boiling with socialists'ind there was a lot of hot speeches, 'The other mer chants simply raisedain when they heard about ' the proposed co-op store plan; it wo'uld ruin their business. 'But they had'had their dhance and failed to make good. The co-op stpre was started in Mar.ch, 1911, capitalized at $5, 000. Stockholders buy things at ac tual cost,' plus justenough to run the store. Anyone can buy stock. It costs $10 a shar'e. One share gives a man all' buying privileges. People who are not members must pay regular price for what they buy; this profit goes to the stockholders up to 8 per cent. Any profit over that amount is paid to the stockholders in pro proportion to what they .have bought. To jusjly distribute this surplus, credit slips are given with each purchase and called in at regular intervals. In four months Lee Ayres got $1 1 rebate on his $10 stock. This was clear velvet. Besides, he had bought all his store supplies at almost cost , The brotherly spirit of the store is shown when a man gets sick. He is refunded his stock money and given 30 days to take it up in. Meantime his buying privilege is continued gratis to help him out. The matter of graft and one man control . are carefully safe guarded. The stock limit is $50. Every man has one vote regard less of the amount of stock he owns. Everyone who has any thing to do, with handling the money is under heavy bonds. Di rectors go over the books month ly. Noble Van Meter delivers all town purchases in a small wagon which he hauls. "For what is the use of hiring a boy and keeping a horse?" he asks; "that would make the people pay more for what they buy." o o "'Tis a cru-el, cru-el, wor-ld," A Shopper said one day, "I find the costly trimmings On my hat are just plain hay. "But then they're very stylish, And I'll leave 'em on, I guess, For even if they're 'phony' They're a fine match for my dress." Picked a Lemon. "Oh dear," said a maiden bold, 'T fear that I'm getting old, I'm going to look out For a Leap-Year hold-out," She did, but is sorry, we're told. Cj&b&m&itmtfcivUijfiim- i. A -.. .w