information and otherwise prospective and actual cooperators; in brief,
to coordinate the cooperative movement within the Order. It issued forms
of a constitution and by-laws which, with a few modifications, could be
adopted by any locality. It also published articles on the dangers and
pitfalls in cooperative ventures, such as granting credit, poor
management, etc., as well as numerous articles on specific kinds of
cooperation. The Knights of Labor label was granted for the use of
cooperative goods and a persistent agitation was steadily conducted to
induce purchasers to give a preference to cooperative products.

As a scheme of industrial regeneration, cooperation never materialized.
The few successful shops sooner or later fell into the hands of an
"inner group," who "froze out" the others and set up capitalistic
partnerships. The great majority went on the rocks even before getting
started. The causes of failure were many: Hasty action, inexperience,
lax shop discipline, internal dissensions, high rates of interest upon
the mortgage of the plant, and finally discriminations instigated by
competitors. Railways were heavy offenders, by delaying side tracks and,
on some pretext or other, refusing to furnish cars or refusing to haul
them.

The Union Mining Company of Cannelburg, Indiana, owned and operated by
the Order as its sole experiment of the centralized kind of cooperation,
met this fate. After expending $20,000 in equipping the mine, purchasing
land, laying tracks, cutting and sawing timber on the land and mining
$1000 worth of coal, they were compelled to lie idle for nine months
before the railway company saw fit to connect their switch with the main
track. When they were ready to ship their product, it was learned that
their coal could be utilized for the manufacture of gas only, and that
contracts for supply of such coal were let in July, that is nine months