j it ~ he ch ile :d poorest workers away. For those who could lose their jobs at any moment, the only options were indebtedness and the dreaded poorhouse, where they would be separated from_ their wives and children. The Poor Law of 1837 made matters worse, events strangely reminiscent of recent welfare reforms. The old English Poor Law had provided for direct relief payments during periods of unemployment, rather than confining people to poorhouses. The rapid disappearance of cottage industry via advance of centralized industrialization increased the need for relief. But the rising tide of unemployed led to calls for confinment to workhouses. The reforms of 1837 gradually did away with direct relief payments and introduced work requirements. Relief payments and conditions in the poorhouses were intended to deter people from becoming poor to make them seek employment, rather than support them during times of hardship they could not avoid. The cooperative ventures of the Pioneers were shaped by the social, moral, and intellectual impulses of their time. Many Rochdale cooperators had been active in both the Chartist movement, which called for universal male suffrage, and the cooperative movement inspired by Robert Owen, which aimed at setting up industrial cooperative villages. The moral and religious fervor of Methodism that swept through Britain in the eighteenth century left an indelible mark on the Rochdale Pioneers, stressing frugality, utility, worldly success, and disdain for church hierarchies. These tendencies merged with the tradition and pride of the artisan, and the desire to escape becoming an industrial proletarian. The artisans of Rochdale did not venture into uncharted territory when they set up their cooperative store, but they forged a set of principles that had not been successfully combined up to that time. In addition to pure food, open The co-op regarded bad food, gin, and debts as part ofa cycle ofpoverty and dependence they wanted to break. membership, and cash trading, they adhered to two ideas that proved most influential in the modem co-op movement: democratic control, where each member had_one vote independent of the number of shares owned (as opposed to joint-stock companies), and a member dividend on purchases, not just on investment. Other central Rochdale principles were important to later co-ops. The Society only paid a fixed interest on investment capital, to avoid speculation in shares. Rochdale also stressed the need for education. The store became a venue for debates on timely subjects from revolutionary socialism to Swedenborg's religious doctrines. But the policy of official political and religious neutrality, helped avoid ideological Below. The modern successors to the Rochdale Cooperatives: the co-op wholesale society, bank, insurance and retail services buildings in the center of Manchester. Note older Co-op buildings to the right. infighting that had tom apart many other cooperative ventures. A newsroom and library set up by the Pioneers soon became a focal point of cooperative activities. It also became a central attraction in the town at a time when no state school system existed. Parish sch_ools or vocational training provided by charitable societies, craft organizations, or factory owners were the only avenues to education for the lower classes. 'In 1853, the Rochdale Pioneers decided to allot 2.5% of profits for their educational fund. Their school taught mainly science and mechanics, but also classes on cooperative ventures and the arts. "Few co-op societies had advanced nearly as far as Rochdale in the supply of higher education to the citizens of their towns." By the 1870s and 1880s, however, the advent of state schools, public libraries, university extension programs and local colleges upstaged this form of co-op education. The democratic principle, strongly favored by Chartist members of the Society, did not exclude women. While legal restrictions on property-holding were deeply entrenched in the nineteenth century, the Rochdale cooperative accepted women as members of the society with full voting rights. Since the store also functioned as a savings bank, many women were able to accumulate property of their own. Store policy did not let the husband withdraw the money of his wife, a strong stance in the patriarchal England of the time. Single women also had savings in the store. "Young men in want of prudent companions," George Holyoake adds, "consider that to consult the books of the Store would be the best means of directing their selection." While no women were recorded among the 28 original Pioneers, the accounts indicate that women such as Ann Tweedale were instrumental in advancing the idea of cooperation. She was present at the early debates about the cooperative at the beerhouse. After her marriage she convinced her husband to join the Rochdale cooperators. When the Pioneers embarked on their venture, they were met with skepticism and distrust. In fact, by 1844 cooperative schemes had fallen into disrepute, mainly because of the failure of Owenite colonies. The Rochdale RAIN Summer 1996 Volume XV, Number 1 Page 33
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