St. Tammany farmer., 1903-04-25
APPS PROFITS SMALL
Saws Middle Men Get the Large End
Of Every Deal.
illustrates Truth of This by Figures
Relating to Sewing Machines and
His Recent BOOk-COmmen ends
Senator HOar's Speech.

! I was ruminating about the grand
army of middle men that it takes to
carry on the trade and commerce OF
this country. Iverily believe that they
make more money than the manufac-
turers and there are twice as many
of them. A friend of mine recently
visited a large mandatory of sewing
machines and the superintendent told
him that the prime cost of first
class machine was $500 and they
johbed them off at $13. The jobber
sold them for SIS to agents. The
| agents retail them at $35, for he has
to rent store room and keep horse
and wagon and make repairs free and
sell on installments and sometimes has
to take a machine back, for non-pay-
ment. When the original Bill Arp
moved to Texas he took his wife's ma
chine with him and left his note be-
hind with ten dollars unpaid. Shortly
after that a new agent was sent here
who was not acquainted with the Arp
family and he came out to my house
and wanted me to pay the note. hao
hard work to convince him that was
another Arp. The note was signed
William Arp, his mark, and Cinderella
Arp. her mark. My wife was very IN
dignant that she should be Suspected
of making her mark.
Well, now you see how much money
went to the middle men after the ma
chine left the factory-$22-twice as
much as it cost to make it. just so II
is with thousands of other things that
go through the hands of middle men.
Twas ruminating about this because
I received report OF 500 copies OF
nv new boook that Mr.. Byrd had sold.
The book cost IS cents to electrotype
and print and bind it, and waste have
the profits arising from the sale. The
price was $1.25 postage paid, which
was II cents. Thirty copies had been
sold here at the book store for 375o.
The book store kept rs per cent, Or
$9.37. Mr.. Byrd got $2s.13. The freight
and incidental expenses amounted 10
three cents copy. So the cost was
IS cents. and it netted SO cents and
my half of the difference was two and
one-haf cents on copy. The publish
er and agent or middlemen get about
all there is in the book. am not COM
planning at anybody but myself, for
Mr.. Byrd told me that the price would
have to be $1.50 to make anything,
But I wasn't thinking about agents
charging so much, and / wanted the
people to have it as cheap as possible,
but it can't go on this way. The pub
lication must stop or the price be
raised to $3.50, and if an agent won't
sell for 25 cents copy, he needn't sell
at all He runs no risk. He loses no
time. The books sell themselves on
the counter. But Mr.. Byrd can con-
tinue to sell on mail orders for $1.25.
and ten cents more for postage. This
will be fair divide all around and give
the poor author about Is cents
copy.
Senator Hoar's speech at Chicago is
before me. Nothing since the war has
so cheered me and impressed me as
that beautiful speech. Why doesn't
every newspaper in the south copy it,
or that part of it that pays such
tribute to the southern people. When
l finished reading it l would have
hugged the old man, if he had been
near enough. Listen: 'My life, po-
litically, has been life of constant
strife with the leaders of the south
ern people, yet as I grow older,
have learned snot only to respect and
esteem them, but 1 love the great
qualities which belong to my country