Morris tribune., 1886-02-10
CORRESPONDENCE.
The EuIuRE OE MORRIS.


What shall 1t be? Has it reached
its full growth or will 1t continue TO
grow? This largely, If not wholly,
depends upon the business men "f
Morris. So long as they offer no In
ducements to the people to come here
to trade, over and above our neiShbor-
ing towns, the place will probably re-
main just where it is. With its pres
ent start and existing railroad facili-
ties, with Il prospect for one II not TWO
more roads in the near future, can
see but one obstacle in the way oil
Morris as commercial centre for large
scope of country. There is demand
for large city in this part of the
country somewhere. Why not make
it here in Morris? IT can he done.
The obstacle, to which l refer, is the
present system OF doing business. l
am sorry to say that, with one or two
exceptions, our merchants are not Ill
o position to offer any advantages
that merchants of neighboring towns
can not offer to get trade, tor all are
doing business in precisely the same
way, and so long us farmers can buy
goods as cheap in one place as In an
other, they will get supplies in the
place nearest to them. Visit Star
buck, Cyrus, Hancock, Donneliy,
Graceville and other places and you
will find the stores much alike. In
each is few dry goods, groceries,
boets and shoes, hats, caps, hardware,
drugs, etc, etc. Visit Morris and to
large extent, you will find the same
general mixture. All of these houses
are supplied the same way by the ST.
Paul and Minneapolis jobbers through
their representatives, the drummers.
These drummers sell to all alike and
none of these general dealers have
any advantage over any other dealer
Now what should be done is this.
Each merchant in Morris now having
general stock should concentrate
his capital, take one line of goods, as
I have done, deal with manufacturers
direct and cut Off this useless expense
of supporting drummers and enrlch-
ing iObbers. Let one or more handle
dry goods, others, boots and shoes,
others groceries, etc. This is the man
ner in which business is conducted IN
all of the larger villages and cities
and will account for the selling OF
goods at retail in ST. Paul as cheap rs
they are sometimes sold by the st.
Paul jobbers to the country jack-at-all-
trades, the general dealer. If this
change is made, those dealing in gro
ceries can establish themselves with
eastern manufacturers, doing away
with the drummers entirely, buy at
low rates and in car load lots. Those
in other lines could do the same.
Then Morris merchants could retail
goods ut prices that would draw trade
from far and near. Let Morris mer-
chants make these changes and they
Will he able to sci goods at prices al
most if not quite as low as those now
paid by them to the jobbers, and
would attract attention. They could
then hold out inducements to bring
trade to Morris for distance, not on
ly half way to Hancock on one side
and half way to Cyrus on the other,
but from SO to 100 miles in all direc-
tions and the hotels, instead of being
filled by drummers selling goods,
would be filled with farmers and 9TH
ers buying goods. Let local wheat
buyers pay few cents per bushel for
wheat more than is paid by neighbor-
ing towns and let Morris merchants
offer nice, clean, exclusive lines of
goods at from 90 to 25 per cent. less
than neighborIng towns can do and
see how quickly people will find itout
and flock to Morris, People now come
from so to 60 miles to buy goods Of
me, because it is known that deal in
clothing exclusively and have larg-
| er and cheaper STOCK than can be
found elsewhere. What am doing
in this line, others can do in other
lines. The $4,000 of railroad bonds
saddled on to the county LOOK big in
the eyes of the peaple, but we are pay
ing larger and more unnecessary
tax than this every year for the sup
port of drummers and as tribute to
St. Paul and Minneapolis jobbers.
No wonder these cities boom and
real estate in them is advancing more
rapidly than anywhere else; st. Paul
and Minneapolis, believe, claimed
to do a jobbing business of $3.50 ,OOO, ,Oot
last year. The jobbers profit on this
at 20 per cent. is $50,OO0,0OO. This
shows the amount that consumers
have paid for the privilege of dealing
with jgbbers instead of manufacture
ers. Let this amount be saved to tR'
people in the future and you will fine
country real estate advancing in price
and tire people of the Northwest al
prosperous and happy as the peopl'
of these cities now are.
, ..-~-@-< CHARLES WILSON.