A society may, accordingly, well look to its members
for a sufficient provision of working capital. But it has
a right also to look to them for more. It has a right tc
look to them for loyalty in their deahngs with it. No1
a few people seem unable to realise this. To them theii
society is only a new shop, at which they may deal oi
not, at their pleasure. Hence they y\e\A to the seductive
blandishments of interested dealers anxious, for obvious
reasons, to break up the society even at a temporary
sacrifice, giving them part of their custom or their sales
— and that generally the most valuable part ; for the
dealer in making his preferential offer is wont to be
eclectic — and leaving the society to manage as best i1
can with the rest, which often enough is mere rubbish
No society could successfully carry on business on sucl
lines. What the members acting as has been instancec
forget is that the society's interest is their interest, its gair
their gain, its loss their loss. It is to provide for then
what they cannot otherwise secure — an independent
steady and trustworthy market, or else a source of suppl]
for all seasons. If it is to do this, it must have their ful
and loyal support, as a matter to be relied upon. Or-
ganisers of Co-operation on new ground, especially if ii
be Agricultural, very commonly find that this is not al



GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 33

once tmderstood by those for whose benefit they are acting.
■" Perhaps the greatest difficulty," so writes Mr. J. S.
