A New Co-op Success

Add to the long list of student operated enterprises which have made "co-op" a magic word in college communities the new plan of a co-operative laundry.

Harvard whose co-operative society had already made an enviable record in establishing seven successful store departments at Cambridge, has now proved the laundry feasible by three years of successful operation.

The system of saving cash slips as claims on dividends was adopted, and results in 1918-1919 are reported as follows: prices below or meeting those of any other laundry, and a dividend from profits amounting to a 4 per cent rebate to student members on charge purchases, and 9 per cent on cash purchases. More than 5,000 students benefited.

Success of this new branch of the co-operative idea will doubtless increase the demand for adoption of the plan in college communities which have not made trial of it. However, the laundry requires an extensive equipment, and does not logically come first in the establishment of a "co-op" plant Following the experience of other beginners in the movement, it would be well to work conservatively at first, starting with a small bookstore or similar establishment, and setting aside part of the profits with the idea of branching out into the laundry business when a sufficient reserve should be accumulated. With businesslike management and real co-operation, there seems no reason why this stage could not be reached in Ann Arbor.