Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1905-11-04
Local Trade.

ouOulu w ulo OACIuSlFCly. Il0 10
willing to share a portion of it with
his neighbor in the same business
but he objects most strenuously to
any of it going to great mail order
houses. He feels that the people
of this vicinity do him great i'm
justice when they pass him by for
a large company operating in far
off city between whom and the con-
sumner there is absolutely no bond
of interest save that which comes
through the exchange of goods for
coin Of the realm.
The merchant is right. No one
has a right to patronize mail order
houses, neither has any bushes S
man the right to pass by his fellow
merchant and trade in the depart
ment stores of Chicago and Du-
buque Nevertheless the farmers al d
laborers this fall will write to Sears,
Roebuck & Co. and Montgomery
Ward & Co. for their fall and hol1-
day goods and you will see many
personals IN the Tribune reading
Mrs. Blank went to Dubuque this
morning" or Mrs. Blank and
daughter went to Chicago for a
brief visit this morning." The
names of the wives and daughters
of our most prominent business and
professional men will appear as the
subjects of these personals.
We want to tell the merchant
why we think he is being sighted
while people of moderate and poor
means patronize mail order houses.
There are several reasons. We
shall give few:
First, the farmer wants to save a
few pennies on a stove to help pay
the interest on that mortgage. One
morning the mail carrier brings him
two pieces of mail. The one is the
local paper and he chances through
that hastily before opening the
other which is quite bulky. He
finds that the second is a nicely
printed and quite attractive cat
alogue from Sears, Roebuck & Co.
and he chances through it to see
whether or not there are any stove
bargains. Of course he finds what
he is looking for. A stove all
pictured out in shining fittings at
a very low price. Then he chances
at his local paper looking for an
advertisement by some merchant,
but finds no mention of what
any of them has to sell or what it
is liable to cost. OF course he buys
the mail order stove. The mail
order house has published the fact
to him that it sells stoves and has
given him a price on it.
Second, while the farmer is glanc-
Ing through his catalogue he finds
many other things advertised which
he can use and the result is another
order. Had the mail order house
never sent the catalogue it would
never have sold O. single article.
Had 1T never advertised it would
have gone into bankruptcy.
Now, you are doubtless, saying
that we are arguing for business.
Of course we are. We want our
pages filed with advertising and if
you will fill them up with the right
kind 1t will do you good. The
trouble is that too many merchants
believe that they are comforting a
favor on the publisher of paper by
advertising in his columns.
They regard it as a great favor
and think a printer is as much Of
a charge on the public as are the
poor at the county home. The
mail order houses are teaching
local merchants lesson in the
proper use of printers ink. They
are building new warehouses.
expanding their business in a
thousand ways all through the
medium of advertising while local
merchants are standing at their
front doors and wondering why
times are SO slow.
The advertising medium of the
mail order house is the catalogue
and that catalogue is filled with
cuts and price lists. The advertis-
ing medium of the local merchant
is the local newspaper. Fill up a
space in it in the same attractive
manner the mail order house does
the catalogue and see what IL brings
you.