Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-12-18
Editor Of Iowa Trade Journal
Makes Investigation of
Its Extent
RESULTS ARE STARTLING
Makes the Assertion That Half the
Mail From the Entire State Goes to
the cataIos Houses-Inquiry Shows
Half the Freight in Small Towns Is
to Consumers.
Special to Times-Republican<
to Consumers.


Special to Times Republican
Des Moines, Dec. 1S.--The grocers
and the retailers Of the state
are getting wide awake on the
matter of mail order business.
1t is the popular thing now for every
convention of business men to con-
slider the evils of the catalogue
house and the mail order concerns.
There has been great deal said by
merchants about the enormous extent
of the mail order business but always
in the abstract. Editor Pilkington of
the Iowa Trade Journal has been
making an investigation of the extent
of this class of business and Saturday
he told State Dairy Commissioners H.
r. Wright that inquiry from any
number of station agents at towns
within fifty miles of Des Moines had
disclosed that so per cent of the
freight received at these stations is
billed direct from manufactures to
consumer. He declared that he could
convince anyone that the business has
grown to enormous proportions. He
further claimed that while he did not
have official information on the point
he had information from the inside
to the effect that half of the mail
from the entire state which goes to
Chicago is addressed to mail order
concerns. He claims there is no exag-
geration whatever about these figures
and that anyone who will take the
time to make an investigation care
fully as he has done will ascertain the
situation and arrive at the same con-
illusions as to the extent of this bust
ness. Since Governor Packard called
the attention of the grocers to the fact
that with a pure food law the public
would he guaranteed as to the WORTH
and purity of the food they buy of
local retailing concerns while from
the mail order houses which engage in
interstate commerce and sell direct to
the consumer there could be no effect
i've state law and hence the public
would have no guarantee, the grocers
have thought more of the pure food
law. They believe that the public will
buy where they believe they can get
the purest foods and where they are
sure they get pure foods and hence
will patronize the retailer.
80
The publicity clause is one of the
important features of the proposed
pure food law. This clause gives the
commissioner authority to issue from
time to time as he thinks wise and as
the executive council gives consent.
bulletins on the findings and results of
chemical analysis of the foods. that are
investigated 1t is expected by this
method to furnish the newspapers
information and thus reach the public
direct with the information as to the
various foods and brands that are on
the market. There are about 5000 re-
tail grocers and butchers in the state
and it is probable that bulletins would
be sent to all Of these informing them
on the foods put out by the manu-
facturers.
It is more than likely that part
Of the fight at the coming meeting Of
the Iowa State Travelling Mems Asso-
citation will he on the number of peo-
pie admitted who are claimed to be in
eligible to membership. The allega-
ton is made that about anybody that
ever travelled on railroad is being
admitted to membership if he desires
to enter and is being solicited and
urged to join, though it is claimed
that the rules and bylaws Of the So
ciety require that person be the
travelling salesman and representative
Of some house or firm or else col
lector and must have been engaged in
such occupation for at least a year be
fore application for members3s2.
There is no doubt that large num-
Der have been taken in who never in
their life were travelling men in the
usual sense.
While the primaries Of Cass county
have been over for more than week
there is some claim that the issue there
was not distinctly the primary cleo
ton law. Persons familiar with the
situation in that county claim that the
primary law was the chief proposition.
sent a circular to practically every
republican voter in the county a short
time before the primary, in which he
stated OelLlloIy IudL ne 1dNOTcO lHe
state wide primary, anti-pass, tariff
revision and other matters familiar to
the Cummins people. The defeated
candidate, Campbell, then sent out a
circular saying he was not opposed
to the primary Meredith was elected
by sos majority, in total vote of
about 1000.
Carroll Wright was not present at
the conference of the Cummins' men,
here some days ago, the editor of the
Daily Capital to the contrary notwith-
standing. Furthermore, the Capital
editor had no reason whatever for be-
lieving that Mr.. Wright was there. and
had he gone to his phone and gotten
connection with the office Of Mr..
Wright he could quickly have ascer-
tanned that he was not there. There
was not railroad attorney present at
that conference The names of all
those present at the time were given
out and Furthermore there was no
particular effort to cover up the fact
that a conference was being held and
reporters about the hotel corridors
could see for themselves who were
present. The editorial in the Capital
of a few days ago in which it is
stated that Mr.. Wright attorney for
the c.. r. I. & p, was present at the