The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-03-23
OUR NAME
Is '.The Groce-s' Protective Association, .
OF Enporia, kansas,


And to the Good People of Lyon County
We Hereby Introduce Ourselves
Generally and to Certain
Class Particularly.
In these days every class of business
seems to recognize the fact that organ
izatiOn for protection is necessary to
the success of that business. Capt.
tai combines; the bankers have
their conventions; the telegraph
companies have their associa-
lions; the railroads have their pools;
the mechanics have their unions; skilled
laborers have their brolherhoods. In
fact there is scarcely class but what
deem il necessary to organize, and IN
that organization find benefit and profit.
In fact all of these are but small types,
followings aud results of the great pic.
ture, pattern and fact of our own
country, whose 10 or more states unless
combined, organized and working IN
der one great constitution governing
all, would amount 70 nothing and would
soon disappear.
For the last ten years the grocers of
this city have been the prey and vic
Tins of large class of systematic
frauds, who would ingratiate themselves
into the good graces of the grocer and
after "being carried so days. the grocer
being tired would be informed by the
Obliging customer. that he would not
ask the grocer to carry him any longer,
but would ask some other grocer 70 car
~ hun 80 days, and by the time the
customer would complete the circuit of
the town, at the expense of the grocers,
he would have got pretty nearly q years
living out OF the grocers for-promise
to pay-some time. These are the men
whom when asked to pay up, declare
with righteous indignation "that these
grocers acted the rascal with them"
You let one of these fellows work four
days for one of those grocers, and on
the evening of the fourth day if that
grocer did not pay him cash in hand,
he would rush to justice of the peace
like lightning to sue for work and labor
and scream for q judgment But
they will trade whole six
months with that same grocer
and would laugh at him if the
grocer would undertake latter repeated
requests for paymenD to get judgment
against him for the necessaries of life
sold him. The fraud shouts: "you are
trying to crowd me-" and the law steps
in and says to the grocer: "you must not
Cypress the people in this way; if you
were foolish enough to trust him you
must take the consequences. You
should not have sold him the goods.
You see you would distress him if you
collected your judgment" But the
grocer replies: HE told me when he
commenced with me that he was in dis
tress and wanted me to help him, when
let him have the goods"
So now the grocers of the city of En-
poria say to this class: This practice
is now ended. In our constitution and
bylaws lately adopted We say to you
fairly and squarely we cannot trade with
you longer. Your names and addresses
We have in book for that purpose and
no groceries of any description will be
sold, until your debts for groceries are
paid or secured, by any grocery firm in
this city.
The grocers' books of our city are in a
bad plight, and they are unanimous in
declaring that they will stand by one
another in the future.
The officers of the association are as
follows: President. j. T. Burton; Vice
Pres, John Bay; Treasurer, n. B. Ire,
land; Secretary and Attorney, Chas
Fletcher.
Office of association at office of the sec
rotary.
Respectfully submitted by the asso
citation.