Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1897-01-20
TIE DRUMMER QUESTION

Our contemporary is not wholly given mp to the free trade fsllscy, as will bs seen from the following sound republican doctrine, which recently appeared in its columns:
 "Drummers from foreign towns are ever harassing Prescott business men for job printing. These fellows should be made to pay a license, as home printers pay both license and taxes, for the same privilege
 The JOURNAL MINER heartily en- dorses the above sentiment. It en- dorses good sound republican doc Urine, such as the above. no matter from what source 1t may appear. It is certainly not giving home print CTS fair and square deal, to collect from them annually four per cent of all they possess, for city and county purposes, and then to impose an ad- ditional tax, in the way of license, to allow them the privilege of doing enough business to pay this four per cent tax annually, and then per init outsiders to come in and can vass the town from one end to the other for business without being compelled to pay a ceut for the privilege. It is neither fair and just to the printers or the town. It is not fair to the home printer for the reason that he Is discriminated against in the matter of being com, pelled O pay license for doing business, while the outsider pays neither taxes nor licenses 1t is not fair to the town, for the req son that the money thus spent goes abroad for the support of some othec place, whereas if the work were given to the home printing of fees 1t would be raid out in salaries to printers in tho town aud through them returned tt circulation Lere. In other words itAwould be contrib uted towsr.s .hoN support Y cur town.
 The wbo,o priecipleOf protec- ton, as advocated a,2-jhe republi- can party, is embodied in this ques- ton. It applies not only to the printing drummer, but to every class of drummers who come to the town to solicit business in compe;i- ton with local firms. IL applies with equal force to the clothing drummer who makes his periodical visIts to the place, takes his orders for clothing and sends it of to Chi cago or San Francisco, and when the goods come they have a great big C. O. D. label on them, which means that before they are taken out of the express office, the money must be deposited there for the full amount of the price of the goods aud an additional fee to pay for car rying this money to some foreign town. This, while the town has sev- eral houses engaged in the clothing trade, whose proprietors are also paying license and taxes for the sup port of the municipal and county governments, and employing men who spend their money here for the general support of the town. This too, while the town has two of as fine merchant tailors as can be found in Chicago or San Francisco, both of whom are taxpayers, license payers, rent payers, and wage payers.
 The principle is also applicable, probably, to some other branches of business with equal force, but the printer and clothier and tailor are perhaps brought more into direct competition with outside drummers than any other class of business men and in many cases the outsider is paid as high price for an inferior quality of goods, as a better quality could be obtained for by patroniz- ing home industry.
 The JOURNAL MINER practices what it breaches, too, as not dollars worth of patronage year is given abroad, either from its office or from the family of its proprietor, which can be obtained here.
 California mails have haan ra