Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-04-19

local merchants ought to stand togefh-
or to maintain the integrity Of their
trade. We have all done. we'll. and Zach
OF us have our especial clientele. The
| relations between q house such as ours
and our customers is like a big fam
lily. There is not only a business. bat
a social side. We all know each other.
| One knows what the other wants, and
the other knows about what we have.
There is reciprocity, a frlen lship anil
mutual appreciation. That can only be
| obtained through a business built ZIP
| through long and thorough personal In
| tercourse and intimate knowledge.
| With a trust concern that would all be
different. Tais combination idea Wa
tried four years ago, by Jaffrey, but
with no success, FIR various reasons.
| OF course, a house like Morgan's car
finance the venture, but whether it Is
| good business or NJ: Is another propo-
sition. l am inclined to think not, for
a variety OF reasons.
II am opposed to the plan, for many
persons. How, for instance, car a per-
manent appraisement be put upon the
value OF a dry goods store. To-day
we have a saleable stock, that will In
| voice so much. A week hence there
may be a radical change in values.
| Fashion, the season, inclement weat' ier,
| ETC., all make. a great difference in val
ues. They vary from day to day, al
most.
There is no local disposition % go
into such a plan, at least among the
large dealers, and they would be the
people the proposed trust would natar-
ally prefer to negotiate with. The dis
advantages to the firms and to the pub
lie are manifest. You would destroy
that friendship now existing between
customers and firms. and it would be
death to the little fellows once the
trust or a combine obtained an en-
trance. 1t might be a good thing for
n especial firm, selling out at a large
bonus for good will, etc., but for both
the customer, the jobber and the man
ufacturer it would be bad. I will illus
| trate. A manufacturer makes a certain
line of goods and his output Is, say,
5000 cases a year. The trust repreeen-
tative calls, makes enquiries and says,
I'll take the whole thing at such and
such a price The manufacturer de-
murrers, because that is less than he
ought to have. The trust man says:
AN right, suit yourself, but we'll put
in rival goods in our big establishment,
sell them at cost, and freeze you out.
The manufacturer gives in. Then the
combine, having a monopoly, asks the
purchasing public what it pleases, and
if you don't like the price you can
buy something else, that isn't what you
want. l have felt like calling a con-
ference of local dealers or their repre-
sentatives to talk this thing over, but
so far have taken no steps in that Ill
rection. I think there is an unanin.ity
of opinion here in Wheeling against
the proposed combine, which may be
but the forerunner OF others. Wheel
ing would, probably, be the only West
Virginia city involved, and the only one
between Pittsburg, Columbus and Gin
cinnati. / don't believe the idea is feas-
ible, because a dry goods stock is mo-
like steel, iron, OF pottery or glass, but
it is well enough to study the tendency
and be prepared for it."
Another gentleman who did not care
to be named, remarked:
There is a radical evolution and
revolution going On in business circles,
and | am very much afraid we are only
at the beginning of this combination
business. About everything has been
combined in the manufacturing world,
and the big retail business enterprises
come next in order. / see nothing to
stop a consolidation such as is pro-
posed by Mr.. Claim, and it would be
quite as legitimate as a combination of
manufacturers or railroads. | do not
see why one general management
could not control stores in both large
and small cities for the sale of goods
of any description. You have had
practically the same thing for many
years, in the cases OF Seigle, Cooper Il
Co., John Wanamaker, and various
other concerns we'll known in the bus
mess world, while the familiar
department store shows what can
be done in carrying on a COM
bination business, where n firm deals
in everything. All this, perhaps, Is not
desirable, but it appears to be newt
able"
Several other gentlemen were inter
| viewed, but in no instance was there