The San Francisco call., 1898-01-04

agent, but most of them manage to escape all contribution to the revenues of the city.
 When commercial travellers repre- senting the leading mercantile houses of San Francisco visit Victoria, Port land, Seattle or other coast cities they do so under instruction from the home concerns to respect the license ordi- nance of the cities which they visit and not evade payment for the privil-
 ege of selling goods in these places
 This custom should be observed in San
 Francisco by the agents representing
 manufacturing firms of Chicago,
 Cleveland, Pittsburg, Boston, New
 York and other cities of the East
 Speaking on this subject yesterday
 Grove P. Ayres of the house of Hol-
 brook, Merrill & Stetson remarked:
 Tt IS common occurrence to find that agents representing houses in the East from which we purchase large quantities of merchandise every year are selling goods in this market These agents simply come here and establish an agency, or put up temporarily at some hotel. They pay no rent worth mentioning; they pay no taxes and do not carry stocks of goods. They go from house to house in trade and from town to town and solicit The custom is not confined to the hardware busi- ness, but extends to dealings in boots and shoes, dry goods, liquors, provis- ions, produce and other lines When there is ample production or overpro- duction in the East and large quanti- ties of goods of a certain line are on hand San Francisco is used as a dumping ground. The goods are sent her e-A1I brings the figure down to the actual cost of production
 These transactions of everyday oc- currence have not escaped the observa- tion of A. A. Watkins of w. w. Montague & Co.,, F. w. Van Sicklen of Dodge, Sweeney & Co.,, A. c. Rulof- son of Baker & Hamilton and the representatives of many other leading wholesale houses of the city.
 The method of solicitation is carried to such an extent that the agent will get retailers to the number of seven or eight to join in ordering a carload of goods, so that the lowest figure of transportation can be obtained. Even eggs by the carload are brought to the city consigned to draymen, who de- liver the packages as marked to the | several retail merchants joining in the enterprise.
 It is acknowledged that competition is the life of trade, but our wholesale merchants, who are here established. and who are taxed to pay for police l and fire protection, for schools and municipal conveniences, should be pro- tected against unjust competition. The fact was brought out incidentally at a session of the State Board of Equal ization in Sacramento that one large Eastern corporation did a business in San Francisco amounting to $1,000, 900 year, and that the only tax paid was municipal license. Every day cash returns of sales were made to the home office, hence there was no money in bank or in possession of the agent of the corporation here to be as- sessed.
 The volume of business daily trans acted in San Francisco by manufac- | turers' agents is immense. There is no way to approximate it in dollars. | but the fact is obvious to all who come | in competition with the agency sys- tenn that the curbstone brokers are | not compelled to bear the burdens of taxation which the law imposes on resident merchants who carry large | stocks of merchandise and conduct | business according to legitimate forms | of commerce.
 Primarily the manufacturers agent was stationed in San Francisco to be l near the wholesaler, and to bring the | merchant into closer relation over the | wire with the manufactory. It was the idea that the agent should herald the superior worth of his own wares. but that the trade should be supplied | through the resident wholesaler. As | competition grew sharper the agent | ran down to Los Angeles and up to | Victoria, soliciting direct orders at | these places and at intermediate | points. This direct business becoming | profitable the idea of extending opera | tions to retailers residing in San Fran cisco was grasped. Having no stock | of goods to be assessed, no store rent to pay and getting goods in carload |, lots for distribution to various retail [