Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 175, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 July 1914 — HOME TRADE BOOSTS [ARTICLE]

HOME TRADE BOOSTS

Whom Do We Support?

WHAT if we should go to one of our local storekeepers and say: “Hers is a ten-dollar bill; I want you to buy for me such and-such an article, made so-and-so, this Color, that size, and deliver it to me at your convenience—say 30 days.” - Along comes another townsman, and another, still another, until 50 of us, all living here in'our community, shall have placed in the hands of the storekeeper a sum amounting to a thousand dollars, with similar instructions. We would then have treated our local storekeeper with the same liberality as we, who have been buying of the mall order houses, have treated these monopolistic concerns. .We would have then sfifigjned Mm with cash capital sufficient to buy what we ordered and give him a'falr profit on his deal. Yes, we would thus enable him to take a trip to the city, buy from the manufacturers the articles desired, ship them to us, spend a day or two enjoying himself if he so pleased, and leave him a fair percentage of profit over and above the cost of the articles and his expenses. DO WE DO THIS? YES, WE DO—NOT. But this is exactly what we do with the mail order man in the big city. We send him the money in advance. He has the use of our cash for the purchase of his merchandise. He sends us whatever he chooses and if wo do not like it we can whistle for our < He takes our money and buys that which we have ordered. Then he may take a trip to Europe If he so wishes, all at our expense. .. Few of us realize that we, the people outside the Mg cities, furnish the capital for the conduct of the big mall order houses. We do not stop to think that it is our money which Is building those great structures which are the pride of Chicago and some other cities. We do not stop to consider that we are the capitalists who are supplying the sinews of war against our own local business men. lust think of W— dividends of fifteen millions of dollars PAID TO THE BIG MEN IN THE MAIL ORDER BUSINESS AS A PROFIT EACH YEAR ON OUR MONEY. We send the cash in advance to them. They require practically no inare doing their business on the money which we, poor, deluded country dwellers, send to them, when we are only cutting our own throats and helping to diminish the prestige and strength of our local tradesmen. What would be the result if we should hand our dollars, in advance, to our local storekeepers and give them the same chance to make profits, without Investment? What would be the effect on our community? It would mean prosperity for us all. It would mean more taxes to be paid by our business men, improvements of a municipal character, better school facilities, better street lighting, better paving, etc. Of coursd, our local storekeepers do not expect us to do business in this way. Yet why should we not? We do it with the mail order houses and when we are fooled we take our medicine because we are ashamed to let our friends know how we have been buncoed. I But we should do tMs-r-we should give all of our business to those men who have made their investments in our town, who are trying to build up the community, who are paying the taxes and who are helping us to increase the value of our real estate holdings. We all know that the value of our houses and lots, here In town, will be Increased as ths community advances In prosperity, and the only way for the community to advance Is for our business men to do an Increased business. WE SHOULD PATRONIZE THE MEN WHO ARE TRYING TO HELP OURSELVES. We all hope to advance. We all hope to become prosperous. Whpn we buy from the mall order house we are helping monopoly to put our storekeepers out of business. When we send a. dollar to the big city, Instead of spending it at home, we are depriving our children of some of the opportunities for education which they are entitled to. Let us spend our dollars here at home, with the merchants who are trying to keep up the schools and other local advantages which we cannot have for our children unless we have a prosperous community. Let mi npt forget that the mail order man'does not pay any of our taxes In- this town. The taxes are paid by the local business men, at least the greater proportion, and the more business we do with them, the more taxes they must pay. LET US WAKE UP TO A CONSIDERATION OF OUR BEST INLET US SUPPORT THOSE WHO HELP US, AND OUR CHILDREN.