The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-01-04
HONE INDUSTRY
That's What Our Merchants Must Do if
They Would Protect Themselves.
The Mankato Mills Co. Will Open Re-
tail Store For the Sale of Their
Goods if MankatO Mer-
chants Do Not Buy.
A Plain Statement by an omeer of the Co

| A few days ago the Free Press got a
confidential "tip'' that the Mankato
Mills company was seriously contem-
plating the establishment of retail
store in this city in the near future
for the sale of their hosiery. gloves,
mittens and other manufactured ar
ticles. 1t was also limited that if this
step was taken the company would sell
their goods to consumer at whole
sale or manufacturers prices, and that
all their employees would have the
same privileges as other people.
That such step would prove of
serious consequences to our retail
stores is too apparent to require dis
cussion. The company has upwards of
100 employees representing about an
equal number of families, SO that
fully 700 people, directly and indi-
| rectly connected with the mills and
who now buy supplies of every kind
from the merchants would be privi-
legged to purchase all their hosiery,
knit underwear, etc. at jobbers' prices.
This of itself would cut deeply into
the retail stores, but it would be only
a fraction of the damage done to our
merchants if the Mills company carry
their project of establishing a store
| into effect.
| To get at the truth of this rumor,
and if possible ascertain the reason for
such radical departure for manu-
factory to as sumo, the Free Press to-
day had long interview with one of
the officers of the Mills company on
the subject, and that the public may
clearly understand their posi- tion we
give, as nearly as possible, the exact
statement of the gentleman inter
viewed. Asked for his reasons for
such a contemplated step he said
| 'Oh, the same old story 1t is sim
ply matter of self-protection on our
part. We are entitled to reasonable
share of the trade in Mankato if the
goods we make are good enough for
the people in other communities, and
we have demonstrated that they are.
We have not been getting our share
through the merchants here, excepting
in the case of two or three, and we
forced to resort to the plan you speak
of. What do we call our share of the
trader Well we are not trying to force
any body to buy our goods, but we have
a right to expect, especially in our
homo WI yUn
money, to sell at least onethird or
half of the hosiery, etc. used in this
city every year. How much do we
sell here2 One thousand dollars per
year would cover our sales in this city
and it is safe to say that from $15, 900
to $50, 600 worth of hosiery alone is
sold in this city each year. In other
words, we are selling perhaps one
| fifteenth of the hosiery used here.
Rather discouraging, isn't it, when
you think that we are the only manu-
facturers of such goods here, and, in
| fact. there is absolutely no hosiery
mill west of the Mississippi manufac
! turing the varied assortment of knit
goods and leggings that we do and in
such large quantities, which enables
us to compete with the best mills in
the world, and compete successfully
too, outside of Mankato at least. /
have many times seen goods in stores
in this city that were bought from
mills located in Michigan and Wiscon-
sin and even further east Some of
these goods / know positively were
made by machinery identical to ours
and of the same quality of yarns But
the merchants seem to prefer to pay
the freight in spite of the fact that
we are competing successfully all over
the country with the very mills whose
goods the merchants buy here. We
have told the merchants here that we
can give them goods equal to any
made, at same prices or less and save
them freight, but they have their ear
muffs on and can't hear us. No mill
can show more modern machinery or
more experienced help. We sell our
goods in New York City and Tacoma
from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
/ Why is it then that they are not good
enough for Mankato buyers? Is it be-
cause the merchants here are better
judges and condemn goods that we sell
everywhere and that those who buy
our goods don know their business,
or that we don't know it ourselves
No, l will tell you why. They blindly
refuse to believe it possible that any
!, concern in their own town could man
ufacture goods as good as they can
buy out of town. The farther away
from home they buy the better the
goods seem. We are simply CONDEMNED
or boycotted in advance without trial
I could name one or two merchants
here who would not even condescend
to consider a proposition to buy. Are
they any more successful than the
! three thousand other merchants who
do buy of us? Is their wisdom
superior2 Is there any reason to believe
that if they have been successful in
their line of business in this city we
i can't be in ours? Outside of any
local consideration it would seem to us
to be policy for merchants here to buy
our goods, as we pay for labor alone to
/ residents of this city about $50, 600
per year. This amount goes into the
pockets of the merchants and they, to
use slang expression, give us the
laugh in return Out of the sum we
pay in wages they must make clear
gain from 81, 900 to $4,000. If this
mill was shut down, they might miss
lit, and, as to shutting down | will say
that we have not done SO since the
summer of SO except for short time
absolutely necessary for repairs and in
ventory. Outside of goods we manu-
facture we did jobbing business this
lyear of nearly $50, 000-on the side
you know. We import direct from
lSaxony the class of full-fashioned
fancy hosiery, which can not be made
on American machinery, and conse-
quently we are prepared to supply
the trade with any class of hosiery
produced anywhere at lowest possible