The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1882-03-31

A few States and Territories and some
cities have adopted q license system against
commercial travellers. In Montana each ped
dler or commercial drummer In required to
pay SIS In each county for q license TO tran
sact business and make sales, either directly
or by sample. Nevada, we believe, has
| similar law. These licenses run only three
months, so a commercial man In taxed at the
rate Of 500 year In each county. Ogden
charges fee of $40 per quarter, and this
brings In o revenue Of several thousand
dollars per annum. The ordinance taxing
commercial men in this city went into effect
on April /, 1881. The question of local
license fees charged commercial men in
States, Territories and cities has attracted
the attention of Congress, and among the
bills lately introduced In the House, by
| unanimous consent, was one by Brewer, of
New jersey, making Ii q criminal oifense TO
arrest commercial agents engaged In selling
goods by sample I'm any State or Territory or
the District of Columbia. The bill Ii pre-
faced by lengthy preamble, setting forth
the grievances Of commercial agents, who
are often subjected to annoyance or arrest
for non-payment of license taxes imposed
by State or Territorial lawsupon agents who
come from other localities for the purpose
Of selling goods. The bill makes the pen
than 500 or imprisonment for not less than
three months.-Ogden Pilot.
This Ii the first exposition of the bill we
have seen, although we surmised Its nature
from its title In the Congressional Record,
and have since noticed that 1t was advocated
mers" most do radiate. There Is no doubt
the commercial travellers will bring good
deal Of influence to bear on Congress to Sc
cure the passage Of this bill. There are
many thousand of them, and tax Of few
dollars on each would secure large lobby
fund, aside from the more legitimate pressure
brought by jobbing merchants in the cities
and the travellers themselves. At first
thought IL would seem the imposition of
license upon commercial travellers were i'm
polite, but experience has demonstrated it
is right and advantageous.
For many years no license was imposed on
them In Montana, and probably would not
have been until yet had not disreputable
the issue on the Legislature. These fellows
not only came and sold to The wholesale
dealers but to the retail dealers, and then
huckstered off their wares by retail to con-
sumers at the wholesale rates. We know in
stances where a case Of cutlery and single
set, case OF boots and single pair, a case
OF guns and single gun, were sold by the
same drummer TO dealers and consumers at
the same rates. This kind of business would
drive our merchants to the wall. II must be
recollected that they pay largely to the sup.
port Of the local government, that they and |
their families constitute q part Of society, |
that they give of their substance to public |
enterprises and institutions, that they have |
here their homes and their property, on |
which they pay taxes and which inspires their |
interest I'm the public welfare. In contra
distinction to them the drummer comes in |
with $40 to $50 worth of samples, sells what |
be can, and goes. He has no identity with
The interests of the country, and adds moth
Ing except travelling expenses to its mainte-
nance. On these men, the Legislature has
said TO the several counties, you shall levy a
license of s25 every quarter. 1t is true, per-
1aps, that this Is added to the price of their
wares, and that In the end the consumer pays
or 1T, but we think not. III such were the
,ase the effort would not be made TO have a
'rohibitory law enacted. IL simply compels
| nonresident, non-taxpaying, non-interest-
ID, and transitory element doing business In
Montana to contribute a mite toward the
ocal government. Ii they do not wish to
Jay 1t let them stay away, and sell their
,oods less The travelling and license expenses.
Beside, the day Is coming when these "sam-
lie men" will sit down beside our mer-
hants and contest for the retail trade. II
would be in perfect accord with the spirit of
his present measure to exempt this class of
Iealers from license. 1t looks to us that our
merchants should write TO Delegate Magin-
lis and invite his efforts against this measure.