The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-30
In 4 SOLID WELD
HARDWAR<1 sTEN OF THE STATE
ARE JFsED BY ORGANIZA-
TI0N.
THE WORK is WELL DONE.
CHARLES r. LADNER, OF SIT. CLOUD,
CHOSEN FIRST PRESI-
DENT.
NEEDS oF THE ASSOCIATION
Set Forth I'm Speeches by the Lead
ers In the New Move
ment.


Dealers association was organized yes
terday morning, in the house of repre-
sentatives at the state capitol. Nearly
200 retailers from all parts of the state
are present to participate in the pro-
ceedings. The various committees were
appointed by Senator Stebbins the tenn
pCrary chairman and Charles F. Lad
ner Of st. Cloud, who has been In
strumental in crystallizing the senti-
| ment, in favor of the organization Of
hardware men, was elected president
for the ensuing year.
When the retailers convened at the
capitol at II o'clock in the morning,
they were greeted by a committee Of
the ST Paul Retailers union, Presi-
dent Jesse Gregg, of the Commercial
club; J. H. Beck, r. A. Kirk and other
members Of the Jobbers union, and
! number of local hardware men. Mr..
Ladner address, d the gathering, saying
he was glad to see such a spontaneous
| return from the circulars sent out
through the state, as showing that the
matter under consideration was one in
which all present were interested, and
for the cure Of certain existing evils
SOul6lH1DS uiuSI DG uOIlc Wll1IOOI ullOOC
delay Mr. Ladner said credit for the
movement must not be given to him
entirely, but must be shared by several
! other gentlemen present who had CO.
| operated with him in getting the retail
ers together, He felt, he said, unequal
to the task of properly bringing the
matter uppermOst in the minds of the
dealers to the attention Of the con-
/ vention and wished that temporary
officers should be selected. Upon the
motion of Mr.. Howe, Senator A. T.
! Stebbins, of Rochester, was named as
! temporary chairman, and after being
! welcomed to the chair, made brief
J speech to the members present. Sena-
tor Stebbins said:
| Gentlemen of the Convention: I desire to
! thank you for the honor you have conferred
! upon in making me your chairman. Let
me at the outset express the hope that the
/ deliberations Of this body Of hardware deal
may be conducted with peace and har
mony. We are here to discuss ways and means
! to promote the hardware interests of the state,
! and | believe the first thing to be done is the
! accomplishment of a permanent organization
! so that may consider the interests of the
! manufacturer, the jobber and the consumer.
Each class has moral and legal rights. The
! manufacturer has the legal right to sell to
! wbomsoever he pleases, but there is also
moral right coming to the retailer, and that
is that the manufacturer shall protect those
to whom he disposes of his manufactured prod
uct
There is an obligation resting upon both man
/ ufacturers and retailers, and | trust that
there win be no clash of interests, but that
this Representative gathering may be product
i've of much benefit all around, and with the
best wishes for complete success l again
wish to thank you.
President Joseph McKibbin, of the st.
Paul Jobbers union, was introduced
+ ,a ooo iV.y11a N a
welcome said:
am very glad on behalf of the jobbers Of
the Sanity city to welcome you gentlemen
here, and wish you all success in your efforts
at organization. I will pass over the usual
marks about addressing an intelligent and
good-looking assemblage of business men,
and get down to serious matters. l want to
say that the difficulties in your business are
affecting, in way another. all trades
throughout this vast country. Some of the
causes Of this condition Will be removed in
time.
The hard times which we have been expert
encing all over the land have resulted in
demand for extremely low prices on all sorts
Of merchandise. Formerly purchaser asked
first for quality, but that has all been changed
by the stringent money conditions. The job
bers have noticed this and find that it re-
quires the most energetic pushing to sell
high grade stuff. The people cry that they
must have cheap goods. This has naturally
resulted in the manufacturers making and
placing upon the market much shoddy goods,
Tricky persons, aided by lying advertise"
ments placed in some of the newspapers have
seen their opportunity to pick up what are
called seconds at the factories and sell this
product at reduced prices. We have all seen
these men who dubbed "scavengers." We
sell them our defective goods at price, and
are glad to do it. This is all right as far as
! it goes. The lads" in some of the papers
make it appear that you cannot buy So
hat for more than So, or yard CT 79-cent silk
ribbon for more that 3S cents. They won't
| let you do it. l believe that time and return
ing prosperity-when the matter of quality
stands again with the price asked for goods
will bring the much needed cure. We must
not wait, but act, and that without delay.
Senator Stebbins has pointed out that there
| is a legal and a moral right, and the iobbers
have more thar once found it necessary to
refuse to dispose of their seconds to I'M
| scrupulOus persons. Now while We are here
we must not discuss morals alone, but get
down to business and work together. The
country town needs the retail store and will
support it under the right conditions. If
these supply people crowd out the retailer
! the consumer will find later that he will have
to suffer for it.
Some time ago the Chicago jobbers accused
their brethren in St. Paul of being spot on
the map. If we are we have by dint of hard
work as an organized body resolved ourselves
! into shining spot and mean to remain
so. Let me ask you to pull together and put
ting aside any petty advantage you may nd-
vdually gain, work for the common veal.
President Jesse Gregg, Of the Com
mereiaf-e1ub was next introduced and
! made a brief speech to the hardware
|
AS president Of the Commercial club 1t
gives me much pleasure to add to the well
come which has already been extended to
the hardware from all over the state. l
have been asked by the mayor to say that
the freedom of the city is yours, and further
that he has given his Instructions to the chief
of police that no member of the Minnesota
Hardware Dealers association is to be ar
rested for scorching. The fact that you are
here shows that there is something wrong,
and the present indication is that it will be
rightcd. During the last few years of hard
times have not been sure upon which
side of the ledger were coming out.
wish only to counsel moderation. Make
your resolutions concise; load your guns
with ball: stand by your officers, and you
Will get what you want that is right.
Louis Nash, secretary of the ST.
Paul Retailers union, added his well
come to those which had been given,
and gave it as his opinion that there
was something radically wrong when
q call for meeting of this kind had
been responded to so generally Con-
tinuing, he said
l take it that the object of this meeting Is
similar to that which resulted in the forma-
ton Of the St. Paul Retailers union. 1t is
evident from this gathering that the men here
realize that the concentration of business in
the hands of few will result in the elimina-
ton of that great middle class of society
which has always been regarded as the bull
wark of American freedom and liberty. The
retailers are the backbone and sineW OF the
commercial world. and with proper organiza-
ton II VIII be quite easy to put a check on
this Capitalization of business. The retailers
union Will be here, and the members will be
very glad during your stay here to show Won
gentlemen any courtesies in their power
Upon the motions of Messrs Move.