My thought has been turned recently toward one of the many problems which is confronting mankind, one which philanthropists, and those most intimately concerned, are endeavoring to solve through co-operation.
This movement is said to hold middle ground between socialism and communism on the one hand, and monopolies on the other, aiming neither to equalize the power and wealth of the world by an arbitrary levelling of all distinctions, nor to enrich the few by the selfish disregard of the many.
Statistics prove to us that co-operation is rapidly gaining in strength, the particular form which it has taken in different countries being influenced by social and economic conditions. The moral effect has been good; thrift has been encouraged, an impetus given to temperance, and the wage-earner brought into vital relations with capital.
