Industrial Co - operation. Edited by Catherine Webb. (Co-opera- tive Union, Manchester.
2s. 6d. net.)—The preface, by Mr. L. L. Price, with its wide and dispassionate view of the whole subject, must on no account be neglected by the reader who undertakes the study of this volume. The ordinary form of the Co-operative Society is the association of consumers. If we go through the membership of any such association, we shall find that none, or next to none, are producers. The Society may be bakers, but they do not grow wheat. And probably they bake only bread. For specialities, such as biscuits, they have to go to outside sources, If they sell flesh-meat, they have to buy the sheep, oxen, pigs, &c., from farmers or importers. Almost all groceries, again, are, from their nature, outside the scope of production ; tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar, dried fruits are of this kind. The fact, too, that the producer, when he does belong to such a Society, probably has to sell in the open market as well as to the Co-operators introduces a difficulty. This is the undeveloped side of the system. The volume is a most interesting and instructive record of what has been done in this direction, and gives a hopeful view of the future.
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