The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-08-27
THEY RESENT IT.
Merchants Denouh-e the Spectators Who
Have Accused Them OF Selling Goods
Too High

| The brief account of the prospective deal
by which the Popuiists seek to control
! local business affairs as we'll as local
politics. which was published exclusively
in the EAGLE yesterday, caused no small
amount of discussion among the retail
dealers of this city, and particularly
| among the retail clothers, At first with
out thorough investigation. they did not
think much aboat it, knowing full well
that the Populists are rainbow chasers
| and creators of impractical schemes gener
ally, but when they did ascertain the abso-
ute facts, they gave the matter some at
tention; in fact they became quite hot
over it. They did not become
hot because these people proposed
to come here as business men. or even as
partisan business men, but they became
justly wrathy at the leaders in the scheme
for making random statements with ref
erence to the prices now prevailing among
the business men of Wichita, doing the
retail trade La speaking with several of
them yesterday an EAGLE reporter heard
good many things about the trade of
Wichita that were interesting, and which
certainly looked as if the pusbers of this
politico-commerctal scheme accused them
unjustly with reference to prices. If
there is any city in the west in which the
merchants are not guilty of the charge of
eXtorting exhoritant prices from the pub
lie. it is Wichita. One Of them who has
been in the clothing business for
years said to an EAGLE re-
porter last night: 81 am glad that
the item in yesterday mornings EAGLE
l. IA Il I,
TO my miLd and that is that the third
party or Populists are entirely too prone
to disturb and interfere with existing
conditions. Now / think any class of
people have a perfect right to take up
what political issues they may desire to
handle, but when they say to the. public
We are the Peoples Party and insist on
running the business as well as the poll
tics of this country. to the exclusion of all
other people, it is about time for us to
stop long enough to ask ourselves the
question, Whittier are we DriftingF L
don't care so much about this at present as
do of the accusation made that We are
selling goods at exhOrbitant rates. 1t is a
lie made out OF whole cloth us
every one knows who does
business in the city of Wichita / am
nearly as old IA business man as there is in
Wichita and have done business in three
states, but have never sold goods on a
closer margin of profit than L have in
Wichita, To be sure | have been very
and am in good fix finan ci ally,
but attribute that to good rustling quail
tiles and net to good profits. And while
l say this of myself also say it of every
other clothing merchant in town. l am
with the price of clothing in every
town in southern Kansas and | do not
hesitate to assert that the merchants of
Wichita are selling goods ten per cent, at |
least. cheaper than the same quality OF
goods can be bought for in the state. III
these gentlemen are coming here, and 1 |
am informed on good authority that they |
are, have no objection to offer, but do |
think it comes with bad grace from them |
to assert that they can and wIlls sell |
goods cheaper than the merchants that are |
established here. They claim that they |
can do this because they will bring a
capital of S25. 600 with them; that is absurd
ia view of the fact that more than half
iozen business men in town carry more
han that amount of clothing alone and
ia the case of Biting Bros, Cole e. Jones.
and two or three other firms more than
double that amount. / can extend the
light hand of fellowship to any legitimate
merchant that comes in town, whether he
S in my line or not, but don't like to see
business and politics mixed. Above all
lon't like to hear the leaders in such
movement charge legitimate merchants
IS they have done at random with charg-
ng exhorbitant prices.