Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-01-14
OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON TER.
FRIDAY EvEN'G, JAN. IA, 1881.
Where Some of Our Money Goes.

Where Some Of Our Money Goes.
Very few OF our readers are aware
of the magnitude of the business
transacted by certain Eastern retail
establishments with the people OF
every town and village in the land.
Since the law went into effect which
authorizes the transmission by mail
of packages weighing less than four
pounds, at very low rate of post
age, the business has grown to enor-
ormous proportions, and instead OF
the small articles occasionally en-
closed in letters, as keepsakes, we
have now almost every article OF
utility and comfort passing the
breadth of the continent at the same
cost as if sent from the New York
Office to one in the adjoining coun-
ty. jewelers. avail themselves Of
this facility to compete with local
dealers in watches and clocks; toy
dealers send steamboats,, locomo-
tives, pianos and Noah's ark with
all its its animals, while similar jim
cracks await a purchaser on the
shelves of our home dealers; mer-
chants send dress patterns and laces,
ribbons and furbelows, at New York
rates, postage included" while
our dealer wonder why staple goods
are in 30 little demand; clothiers,
furnish coats, vests, pants and shirts.
made to your own measurement, at
the post-ofice delivery, while our
local Snip sets his goose by in dis
pair; variety dealers send anything
from an umbrella or pair of over
shows to Bohemian vase or set Of
China, and they are all safely deliv-
cred to purchasers, two or three
thousand miles away, at but 1.-THE
OF the cost for transportation which
would be charged by the Express
companies.
While, of course, the postal law,
afforded the opportunity for this
manner Of doing business, its sue.
cessful prosecution is owing to quite
. different cause. Without the
means Of informing the people of
the quality and cost of their goods,
the trade could not have been devel-
oped. These operators advertise
literally, but after their own style,
and make those whose legitimate
business it is, aid them at the least
possible cost. The dealer first %.
tablishes q magazine or quarterly of
his own, ostensibly as literary
venture; in reality. to place himself
in communication with the people
and sell his wares. The price of
subscription is placed at the bare
cost of publication, to ensure the
largest possible circulation; he then
proposes to club" his periodical
with the local newspapers. and it is
truly surprising how many publish
ers readily fall into the scheme,
without any prospect of adequate
reward. If this is declined, he
sends a column article, ingeniously
worded, so as to pass for the editors
own glowing endorsement of the
periodical, with the proffer of set
OF bosom studs, or gold pen, or
some othor six-bit trifle, if the arti-
Gle appears in his paper. This bait
is likewise grabbed by those who
should have better sense. Sub
scriptions flow in, and the current
OF business begins its steady course.
Some adequate idea of the extent
OF this traffic may be derived from
its magnitude here. We learn from
a reliable source that the amount of
money transmitted each month from
the Olympia post-ofice to single
firm in New York city, for novelties
and fancy articles, averages $500. 1t
requires but little reflection to show
that if one house is able to secure
$500 per annum, steady support,
from little town like ours, 5000
miles away, the aggregate over the
whole country must be stupendous
sum; and when we add to this the
business done by a dozen or more
other large firms, and the hundreds
OF smaller ones. in the Eastern cities,
San Francisco and Portland, we will
i4be at no loss to discover one OF the
primary causes of hard times and