COOPERATIVE MOVE TO OUST POLITICAL RULE

"Although most people are drawn into the cooperative movement by the economic saving it offers them, they are beginning to realize its larger social and ethical significance," Mr. J. P. Warbasse, President of the American Cooperative League, said in his speech at the Liberal Club yesterday. "In many communities the cooperative society is superseding the local political organization in importance.

Lack Neighborly Spirit

"It has often been remarked that the movement has been much less successful in America than in the European countries. There are several important characteristics of American life which explain this fact.

"The foremost is, I think, the lack of neighborly spirit in this country. In Europe where most of the people live and die in the same locality their lives are much more likely to become intimately connected and bound up with each other than in the United States where the inhabitants are of a distinctly roving nature. The racial differences in this country also hinder the development of a friendly and cooperative feeling in a community.

Americans Scorn Saving

"The American, moreover, scorns the petty savings which a cooperative organization would bring him.

"The movement started in Great Britain, and spread from there, taking a very strong hold in Germany, Russia, and Switzerland. It has proved especially influential in rural districts; in one Swiss town where the same man was mayor of the town and President of the Cooperative Society it was said that he considered the latter position by far the more important. This is an indication of the trend away from political coercive rule toward voluntary control by the people themselves.

Does Not Imply Socialism

"The Cooperative system, even when carried to an idealistic length on the political and social side differs from socialism. Socialism is a government, and therefore implies that its measures are carried out forcibly. One can not withdraw from a government, even a socialistic one under any conditions. Participation in a cooperative league is entirely voluntary. The large cooperative organization also differs from the usual government in that it emphasizes decentralization in control, while advocating a centralized administration."