The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-10-21
Kickers Who Trade With EAST
ern Bargain Houses.
CLEVER UMBRELLA THIEF
But an Athletic Clerk Landed Right
on His Nose-Missoula Has
Few Chronic Cases OF
Shop Lifting.


to rob the tiller of the soil because
the farmers and the buyers estimates
as to prices do not agree, and then
orders his winter supplies of clothing
and other articles from some eastern
bargain house that sends out alluring
catalogues and shoddy goods. Not all
farmers do this, it is true, hut the
chances are-it is a 10 to l shot--lhat
the farmer who makes the loulest talk
about the combination that III alleges
has been formed against him is the
one who buys the least goods from the
nome merchant. 1t is a fact that en-
cites comment from those who observe
1t that the catalogue of the eastern
bargain house is found in many ranch
homes in this section and that = bears
signs of constant use. And this is not
confined to the farmer alone. There
are others. The farmer who finds in
Missoula the market for his produce;
the mechanic who earns his living n
Missoula; the laborer whose wage is
paid in Missoula money; the doctor.
the lawyer, the editor, whose income is
received from Missoula people-all
these certainly owe it to Missoula to
do their purchasing there.
Especially is this the case when the
merchants are equal in quality and
marked with prices that compare ia
vorably with those of the catalogue
list 1t is the Missoula merchant that
makes the town. When there is a sub
scription for a new road or for a
! Fourth of July celebration or for any
| public or benevolent purpose, it is The
Mssoula merchant who puts his name
| upon the list. 1t is the Missoula Her
! chant who pays the taxes. 1t is the
| Missoula merchant who advances gro
| ceries and shoes for the children be-
| fore the crop is harvested and who
| carries the account for months, Der
haps. 1t is not the eastern dealer who
sends out the seductive catalogue who
| does this. He pays no taxes in tbs
| city. What claim has he upon the
| business of the citizens? This is the
question that is never answered salts
| factorily by those who send their or
| ders East. There are those who are
| hypnotized by the big letters that an
| nounce bargains, SO called. either on
| catalogue or on street sign. They
| lose their heads and, nine times out Of
49, pay high price for an article that
is of mighty poor quality. These peo-
| pie send thousands of dollars out of the
| city that should be spent here. 1t is
no wonder that the local merchant
sometimes feels sore when he sees a
| man whom he has assisted in many
ways wearing a coat that came from
some eastern bargain house. The only
| satisfaction that he gets is the sight
| of the coat in a month or two. The
| shoddy shows then.
| But there is one man worse than the
| man who sends East for his goods. He
is the ran who tries to set them for
nothing. A Missoula store had an tn
| teresting experience with one Of these
] fal1 "a ut
| part of it was that the same man had
| tried the same trick about six or seven
| years ago In the same store. On that
occasion lie walked up to a stand
| which contained some handsome and
valuable umbrellas and, selecting a
down his trousers leg and walked out
of the store. Unfortunately for him
self, he got drunk and the police found
the umbrella. which they returned to
the store. The man was more or less
| known about town at that time, but
he disappeared soon after. rms tall
he showed up again and one day last
week he drifted into this store. He
| was recognized and the manager of
| the store was curious to know what
his rev graft was. So he watched him.
But he had no new graft. 1t was the
same old one He walked carelessly
about the store, looking here and
stand There he stopped. and in few
| minutes began the execution of his old
| trick Before he had the umbrella
slowed away. however. an athletic
clerk landed on the thief's nose with a
coed right handler. 1t took the recipi'
ent of the little right handed atten'
ton completely by surprise. He dror'
ped the umbrella and fled toward th'
Isdoor No effort was made to stop him
and he may be running yet.
Mlssoula has been comparatively
free from shoplifters lately. There are
a few chronic cases that all the mer-
| chants recognize and they are always
| watched when they enter store. But
! there is no such epidemic of this habit
| as there was three or four years ago
| During one fall season there were al.
most daily arrests of women who hac
A been detected lifting goods from the
Y counters of the stores that they visit
1 ed It became so common that no at
| ten ton was paid to it. But the victims
of this peculiar mania seem to have
I sought green fields and new pastures
One Of them was shortly afterwarc
conspicuous in Spokane in the same
line.
And the moral of all this, if there il
| any moral, is that the best way to az
business is to patronize the home mer-
chant in an honorable and straighttor'
ward manner Read his advertisement
visit his store and give him chance
to supply your needs if he can. Then
| If he cannot. you are justified i'll send
Ing away for your goods But you
will find almost always that he can
suit you as to quality and price Is
well and better than the firm that
!. sends you bargain catalogue. Do ret
fall into the habit of the Christian
Scientists and try to imagine that The
home merchant has not a good stock
| when he has. 1t is just as sensible
: as to try to imagine that you have 10
toothache when you know mighty vel
| that you have.