Soon thereafter a thorough change of sentiment with
regard to the whole matter of cooperation took place, contemporaneously
with the industrial depression and unsuccessful strikes. The rank and
file, who had hitherto been indifferent, now seized upon the idea with
avidity. The enthusiasm ran so high in Lynn, Massachusetts, that it was
found necessary to raise the shares of the Knights of Labor Cooperative
Shoe Company to $100 in order to prevent a large influx of "unsuitable
members." In 1885 Powderly complained that "many of our members grow
impatient and unreasonable because every avenue of the Order does not
lead to cooperation."
The impatience for immediate cooperation, which seized the rank and file
in practically every section of the country, caused an important
modification in the official doctrine of the Order. Originally it had
contemplated centralized control under which it would have taken years
before a considerable portion of the membership could realize any
benefit. This was now dropped and a decentralized plan was adopted.
Local organizations and, more frequently, groups of members with the
financial aid of their local organizations now began to establish shops.
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