The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1903-01-31
FURTHER DISCUSSION ON MAIL
ORDERS

interest your articles in regard tc
shopping in large cities via mail
route In your last edition some
person who signs M. H., undertook
to expose an ignorance that seems
almost incredible. In the first place
it was not contended that the mail
order houses carried shoddy goods,
but that they carried an inferior class
Of goods known in trade as seconds, .
thirds and specials. These goods
are lighter in weight and have not
the finish as the first class goods
have. Every person that has done
any business with these houses and
has taken the time to look into the
matter, knows that this is true In
the second place it is hard to see the
point where firm in the merchandise
ing business in Chicago, San Fran
cisco or Portland is any more in the
business of philanthropy than the
home merchant. Perhaps not so
much SO. If we want donation for
church that is to- be built In our
town, or perchance q donation for
something else to beautify our home
city, we 60 to our home merchant
and get it, and do not go to Mont
gomery Ward & Co., Sears, Roe
buck q Co., Odds & King or to Lip
man, Wolf & Co. Your home
merchant pays his taxes Just the
same as anyone else and thereby
helps to maintain our city, county
and state governments. The home
merchant pays his share of the
school tax and thereby helps to
maintain a school for our children in
our midst The mao that is in the
merchandising business in our town
puts his time, labor, and money into
bis business just the same as the
man puts his time, labor and money
In farm. Then, too, there is not
any more money in merchandising
than thee Is in any other legitimate
business affair. Take manufacture
ing, farming, cattle raising, sheep
raising, banking, railroading, physi-
clan, law business, large daily news.
paper business and mining have
returned fortunes more rapidly than
merchandising. There no such prof.
its as seventy-ive to two hundred
percent in any class of merchant Sc
except such that is hard to dispose
OF. This class of goods is some
times sold at large margin, appar-
emily, but when merchant reckons
up his dead stock on account Of uout
OF date, his profits are reduced to a
mlnium. Its not all fine clothing
hne cigars, theater and sunshine in
merchandising. If it were so. why do
nine out of every ten who embark in
merchandising fail? Why is it that
our land is not chuck full of mer-
chant princes with nothing on their
hands but to seek pleasure? Ali
there are many drawbacks in mer-
chandising. Many that M. u. has
never dreamed of in all his or her
visions of the wrongs inflicted by the
home merchant.
1t is admitted that any man or
woman has the right to spend their
money wherever they may see fit
but to look at it little deeper than
just on the surface. Don't it seem
that we are doing ourselves
real injury to help to build bic cities
tar away, and put fine clothing on
the backs of the people of those
cities by giving them the profit that
should stay at home where we have
TO spend our lives and where we aro
rearing our children. The people in
tatters referred to did not become so
because he or she traded with their
home merchant, but because they
wasted their substance where they
should not.
When you have not the money
you go and stand our home merchant
oil for while. When Won send =
order, the cash goes with