The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1903-01-30

dulge IN 10 more premium goods 70 the
consumer.
Take an average country town Of
500 to 2,OOOpopuIatiou, in my observation
experience and judgment, 1t Is best for
the town and community if the various
kinds Of business are separately repre-
seEted with good stocks In their lines
such as hardware, drugs. iewelry, farm
ing implements, dry goods and groceries,
luuber, coal and provisions. 1t adds TO
the enterprise and appearance Of the
town, the public can'welI be served, and
all should be prosperous, and every
merchant should take an earnest and
just pride in assisting to bring about
that condition.
in drawing this picture 1 do not
mean that such division Of the various
business enterprises should detract from
the indulgence Of legitimate and friend
ly competition between the merchants
Of the town.
''There IS IN most towns such a thing
IS too much jealousy and selfshness
practiced between the merchants toward
competitors, which can be better put by
calling it hOgishness in business.
Calmly reasoning along these lines
one can more clearly see the perniciOus
effects and inroads Of these various gi-
gantic premium schemes upon the
small country dealer. Every time you
sell an article with which goes a premi-
um coupon you are robbing yourself or
neighbor merchant out of the sale of
some article in his stock and the legiti-
mate profit thereof, which skimps the
accommodating Of deserving wealth of
your town and eOmmunity-thus shrink
ing the sssessable we alth of your town,
checking her prosperity and growth in
a very unbusinessIike and disloyal way.
"As the wealth Of the town is taxed
to support the cOuntyit appears to me
that every citizen, whether a business
ma Of the town or farmer, should frOWn
upon such methods.
"Then are we not doing worse than
rObbing Peter to pay Psul?' We are
cutting of our nose to spite our face.
To put it good and strong, we are dupes
we are playing into the hands of the
other fellow.
Trade journals all over the country
are, with good reason, constantly hsunt
ing alarm about the parcel post bill,
cheap postage and free rural mail de
livery as a serious menace to the bust
ness of the country retailer. but this is
more or less remote while the premium
scheme we have with US and to which
we are allies and promoters Of every
business day of our lives.
by selling these premium goods, We
are encouraging, teaching and educating
the people, our friends, to send away for
goods, to patronize city mail order hOus-
Is, which is now serious problem to the
country dealer.
In presenting some Of the points on
this subject in this paper some Of you
may consider them as visionary, impOs
sible Of solution and reform, because OF
the selfshness and jealousy existing be
tween merchants and that inbred senti-
ment and instinct of human nature TO
speculate in every plausible scheme Of
fered however fictitious and proftless If
may result. But every successful bust
ness man knows that well organized and
systematic effort put forth in his town
to make it more attractive, easy and
profitable for public patronage is the
best possible educator with the great ma
iority of people in the community for
home patronage against sending away
to some distant market for gOOds-as
the intelligent citizen fully understands
that by sending away for his goods the
loss to the town and community is great
er than any possible profit to himself.
While have no definite plan to pro
pose to put check to the far reaching
premium system, am ready to act on
any feasible and businesslike plan that
may be devised, and 1 firmly believe
that if united action would be taken by
and through the various organizations
of merchants over the country a stop
can be put to it-while if permitted to
grow and spread out it will grow more
beyond and out Of our control and tend
to concentrate more and more the bust
ness and wealth of the country in large
commercial centers."