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Show Utah Centennial History Suite 1880s, which Bishop Reid alluded to wistfully in an address to the Sanpete Stake in 1882: "There is no coercion in this Church-men can sustain it or not, as they please, that is their business. It is to help all, not to make a few rich." Although the Manti store stayed in business until 1916, it met increasing difficulty, and when its holdings were liquidated that year, they brought only $7,000 against an indebtedness of $9,000. 9 The demise of the cooperative movement in Sanpete County may also have been aided by outside factors. In 1878 Bishop Madsen of Gunnison wrote to stake president Canute Peterson to complain that the parent ZCMI store in Salt Lake City priced its goods so high that it was impossible for local stores to maintain even their home business. The Gunnison store was dying, he wrote, because residents of Gunnison could get goods just as cheaply in Salt Lake City, even with the costs of transportation figured in.lO Copyright Historical Views, 19994 |
