Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-23

The following communication has
been handed TO US for publication:

been handed to US for publication:
"AIDING THE TRUSTS"
GA recent issue of The Democrat
contained an article entitled, Aiding
the Trusts, cOndemning the right of
economic liberty, on the plea that
buying from a mail order house helps
to support trust, and also that the
home merchant should be supported.
Now, being as the farmers are about
the only ones that commit the great
crime of ordering goods by mail, and
being farmer myself | beg to be al
lowed a little space in your paper to
state what the average farmers view
of this matter is.
The farmer is 81 very hard working
man. He not only works himself, but
his wife and family dC likewise. The
average days work IS fourteen hours.
No other business takes this amount
of labor to keep it above water.
When it comes time for him to dis
pose of his produce, what cOnfrOnts
him? He takes it to market and the
merchant sets the price. He sells the
fruit of his hard labor for just what
he can get, for he cannot take it
home. The price is set by the home
merchant, who knows that the farmer
must sell and sell at once. He has
him cOrnered. The farmer must buy
goods for to take home and the mer-
chant again sets the price, leaving
him no voice in the transaction what
ever Now if there was a little COM
petition among the merchants he
would not be supporting home trust.
But the local dealers, from time to
time, meet and discuss various mat
tiers pertaining to their own as we'll as
to other peoples business, and it so
happens that the farmer finds the
same price at every store, and he re-
ceives the same "pain" from one as
nc do from the other. Is not this
Il trust? Perhaps it would sound
combine. 1t is only an agreement to
stand by set price and avoid COM
petition. Does not the home merchant
aid the trusts? Can he purchase any
thing today that does not pass
through the hands of some trust? Is
he not aiding some trust when he re-
fuses to take a LOAF of produce
from a home farmer and orders it by
the carload from somewhere else?
How is it when he refuses to purchase
the farmers meat, and orders no bet
ter, and maybe the very same, from
the great meat trust of Chicago, and
uedlS IL OuU 10 HIS poor CuSGOulStS dG
an outrageous price?
SO, when we buy of the home dealer
we not only contribute to the great
trusts, which our government loves
SO much and protects so we'll, but we
also aid the home combine. At the
end of the year, when the farmer, af
ter paying his just and unjust taxes,
after paying his tribute to the trusts
and combine, may get out of the
"demnition totaln a dollar that in
some way they overlooked. Where
shall he spend it? He looks around
for place where the golden rule is
the motto, but trust and a combine
meets his eye at every turn. Like a
mighty devil fish they hang over the
entire nation, robbing labor of its
just reward, leaving merely enough to
keep it in a good working condition,
and the farmer sees that he must buy
from the one that will give him the
most for his money. Would
he not be doing his family an
injustice if he did not use economy
when he had the chance? Would not
YOU who write the word howl in big
letters do the same? Don't kick when
you are required to take an occasion
al dose of your own medicine. "
S. James Bartle.
The article to which our correspOn-
dent takes exception was simply
copied into The Democrat from an
exchange. We have never editorially
condemned the right of free competi-
ton. In fact we have not gotten over
the old notion that competition is the
life of trade. But we are confident
that the people of this section are be-
ing served better by our local mer-
chants than they would be served by
department stores or other mail order
houses. And on the whole the prices
of the local merchants are the cheaper
when the service rendered and the