Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1895-10-23
Communicated.
Ed. Tribune.

I have been informed that
quite considerable amount OF mer-
ohandise of variuos kinds is purchased
abroad that comes to the purchaser
by express or through the mail de-
partment; in fact | often hear people
tell of sending away for certain ar
ticles of merchandise, 1t is of the
evil of this practice that wish to say
few words by your permission
through the columns of your paper.
If the purchaser we're in any way
profited thereby it would be a differ
emit thing, but he is not which | Will
endeavor to show. For instance par
ty sends away to the cities for suit OF
clothes or for half dozen shirts or
any othermercantile commodity. He
must necessarily purchase the same
from some retail dealer, as whole
sale dealers never sell goods to con-
sumers, hence he pays the city retail
dealer the same profit, and quite often
a bigger profit, than the home mer-
chant would be content to take
on the same terms of payment spot
cash, besides the express charges
which is quite an item, amounting to
75cts. or ST. 90 on small parcel, which
he saves when he trades at home.
Now this rule holds good in all cases,
il matters not if it be suit OF clothes
a dozen shirts, dress pattern or
cloak, groceries, hardware, furniture
or anything else.
There isn't any sense in sending
abroad for a few dollars worth OF
goods expecting to save money there
by than it would be to send out of
your own town for mason to plaster
up hole in your wall, or carpenter
to build you wood box, but sup
posing this sending away business
was practical not alone III the mercan-
tile business but in mechanical lines
as we'll, what would be the result?
What would become OF your town?
You would simply in u little while
have no town, Your merchants and
mechanics would all have to leave
town for want of patronage.
Again take away all the property
in the town, all the stock merchandise
now subject to taxation, would it not
make quite difference in your taxes.
1t takes just so much money to carry
on our government raised by taxation.
Now if there were no town property
or stocks of merchandise in town to
levy taxes upon, this deficiency would
necessarily have to be raised by a
higher tax on farm property does any
know what was the valuation or the
amount of the assessment on an east
ern firms stock of samples pasted on
cardboards by which they carry on
through an agent clothing business
in Morris. Now we have no objection
to any Eastern finn puttsng in
stock Of clothing in Morris subject to
taxation and TO do business in
Legitimate way. but we are decidedly
opposed to the underhanded way
the sample card business is done
simply to avoid taxation. Now sup
posing all business in every other line
in town were carried on in this style,
what kind of town would you have2
And where would your taxes come
from? Some of you people who give
your patronage to such concerns
would in all probability have to pony
up their share of it in the way Of
higher levy on your property, if you
had any.
Now I hold that it is as much for
the interest of Morris and Stevens
county to have in Morris good mer-
chants handling different lines of
goods as it is to have good mechanics
in the different trades or skilled pro-
fessional men in their different call
ings. How are you going to have
them? By giving your patronage to
out of town people? Do you mag
inc for an instant that you would be
any the worse off, or your farm less
valuable, or that you would have
poorer home market? If your town
had population of eight or ten
thousand inhabitants, with paved
streets, and electric cars running
thereon, with palatial stores well
stocked with all kind of goods, with
electric lights, water works, etc. Such
towns with all these improvements
Won help to build and make in other