Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-08
Army and Navy Club, Washington, Feb.


The Commission Merchants License.
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:
At meeting OF produce commission mer-
chants held at Sheas Hall recently to protest
against the proposed change in the license law
from s4O to go and the requiring of bond from
commission merchants Of 50 600, it was stated in
justification of the proposed change that Chi
cago has recently put license tax Of 5000 on
all commission merchants Believing this to be
a mistake l addressed a letter of inquiry to nv
friend, Col. Robt. NJ. Littler secretary of the
Chicago produce exchange, to which received
the following prompt reply, which, for the in
formation Of all concerned, respectfully ask
The STAR to publish:
CHICAGO, Feb. 3. 1892.
]. H. CRANE, ESQ.,. Washington. D. c.:
Dear Sir-Replying to yours Of the LIST
would say the produce commission merchant
with an established place of business is not re-
quired to pay license; brokers pay SOS. ped
dlers $40. Ali licenses expire April 80 an
nually. Recently we have had an ordinance
passed requiring non-residents to take out
license. The fact was that the railroad yards
were market places. and scores of non-residents
were drumming the grocers restaurant and
hotel trade to the serious interference and loss
to the established merchants; hence we pushed
the inclosed ordinance through.
Chicago city council needs revenue and, no
doubt, would like to make everybody pay
IiScuSe out cO We nave DCeu on guard 10
show that rents and expense accounts for the
commission merchant are already exacting
enough, and it would not be the best thing to
tax the commission merchant.
Why, before We had that ordinance passed 81
per cent of the potatoes and apples were sold
by non-residents. Some OF them existed here
at a few cents a day on free lunches. &c.
Yours, &c. II. NJ. LIrTLER
Secretary Produce Exchange,
The same condition of things referred to by
Col. Littler has existed here for years, only
worse, for while Chicago commission merchants
have never paid any license tax, they having
heretofore stood, SO far as the tax was con-
cerned, on an equal footing with the non-resi-
dent dealers, here discrimination has BEEN
and still Is made against those with established
places OF business, who are required to pay an
annual license of $40, while nonresident deal
ers, who Use the cars and depot yards for ware
houses, pay no license at all. They come here
with one or more car loads of produce, with
out having any place to put it, assuming that
the regular Wholesale dealers have not intelli-
gence enough to know where to obtain goods.
They soon find out that the resident dealers
are quite as well posted on the markets Of the
country as they are. and that these dealers are
stocked up with all the goods they can handle
to advantage. Then these nonresident
dealers, instead of consignlng to q regular
licensed dealer, enter into competition with him
by drumming at reduced price among his GUS
toners. This sort of thing should be stopped,
and the outside dealer be required to stand on
equal footing at least with the resident licensed
dealer or, what would be better, enact the
Chicago law here.
There is another class of dealers that seem to
have escaped the notice of the assessor. L al
Jude to certain clerks in departments who have
for years been doing u regular produce bust
ness without paying any license or store rent
These department dealers when they receive
an invoice 60 around among their friends and
take orders by selling to arrive. When the
goods arrive they deliver direct from depot,
thereby escaping store rent and license ana
helping to demoraiize and break down the
market while at the same time they are draw
ing high salaries from the government, which
the licensed dealer. who gets no pay from the
government. Is taxed to pay.
This is ali wrong, and should be stopped ut
once. VIII not the Com nlissioners and Con-
gress tako notice Of this matter and apply the
necessary iegislatiOu2
Why is it that Chicago booms ahead with
suck wondrous growth and prosperity? 1t is
for the simple reason that Chicago stands by
Chicago in every enterprise her citizens en-
bark In. This is the great secret Of the success
of that wonderful city, whose population Col.
Littler il another letter. offers to bet will reach
z, 900 900 at the next census. J. II. CRANE.
Feb. z, 1892.