Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-02-06
L00KER.ON IN IOWA /

Liscomb, Feb. 5.-Theres two sides
to all questions. 1t can be admitted
that in this present controversy over
the catalog house business the news
papers have generally favored the
side of the Iowa dealer Having this in
mind this column will be used in this
tissue to give the farmers arguments,
or rather the following extracts from
farmers letter on the subject, Will
be given without comment:
I'm a Yankee will answer some
questions by asking others.
"Have you in your town any groc-
cry house that buys grain. hay, hogs
cattle, etc?" Same question as to
clothing houses, dry goods houses, inn
plement stores, harness shops, shoe
stores, hardware stores, lumber yards,
coal yards and drug stores.
Now the aforesaid editor goes on
to ask whether any of these catalog
houses will pay any of our taxes, con-
tribute to our churches, ETC., etc, and
the answer is yes. by selling supplies
from 10 to SO per cent cheaper than
local houses, thereby leaving their
customers some spare cash to do these
things themselves.
nav for cattle, hogs, etc, f. O. b. your
station Answer, send and get their
produce circular and my word for 1T,
they will make your stock and pro-
duce men as sick as they do your
merchants.
I'VE fellows who have been dealing
with these houses for 20 years, and by
doing so have put, in large measure,
the old credit system out of business,
know full. we'll why you editors kick
on these concerns. Your bread and
butter depends on the patronage OF
the advertising space in your papers.
The home merchant kicks to you on
the expense of advertising his stock
and then have the trade go to Chicago.
OF course you kick, and at the same
time you know that we are saving
money by trading away from home,
for if we did not we would not keep at
it, and if we did not keep at 1t. they
would have to go out of business
"Your old Uncle Abe once said, you
can fool part of the people all the
time, and all the people part of the
time, but you can not fool all the peo-
ple all of the time Do you think that
business like that of either of the
big. concerns in Chicago could be built
up on fraud and cheat methods? Ii
YOU do you must indeed hold a very
exalted opinion of the intelligence of
YOUR readers My idea of the situation
is that YOU editors had better not have
ANYTHING to do with this matter let
ting. rather, the parties directly in
terested do it themselves. And While
on this subject I would advise those
fellows who are being hurt (the ones
who howl you know to do it by meet
inc prices. Look at your merchants
piling up fortunes OF vast proportions
in a few years. Let them adopt the
live and let live policy with their
customers. There are too many houses
in the same line of business in almost
all of these towns. too many mouths
to feed. too much rent. too much
EXPENSE everywhere in each line. Cut
if out and cut down selling price to
match.
81 am sending you the page showing
that the leading Chicago supply house
does buy produce.
"Retter cut out these articles. They
serve no purpose. We laugh at them
and then go and make up another
order. In fact I laid aside an order
for goods amounting to $S5 to read an
article. and am now going to finish the
order. send it in the same mail as this
goes to you in. Yes, cut them out.
In a future letter in this column the
writer will give an interview with one
of the successful merchants of Iowa.
based upon the reading of this farm
er's communication. Evidently there
is going to be war. County organlZa-
tions of retail merchants are taking up
this matter in earnest. The produce
question is under discussion. Some of
these merchants are already suggest
ing that farmers who act on thelr
rights to trade where they please shall
also have the privilege of selling their
eoru nroduce to the catalog houses.
all of which will be interesting.
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