Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1906-05-11
CATALOGUE HOUSES
HAVE NEW SCHEME
Offer to Pay Big Interest on
Money Deposited With
Them.

The latest scheme of the big oata-
logue houses is to offer to pay farmers
Z per cent per annum on all money de-
posted. an alluring rate, which bait
will undoubtedly attract many Of the
unsuspectipg.
Sears, Roebuck g. Co. Of Chicago.
is the concern which is now making
this offer, which has all of the ear
marks of . clever means of increasing
its business with the farmer, ~ we'll
Is to get around the new Chicago rule
to charge exchange on all out OF town
checks, says the Interstate Grocer.
The rate offered is one that no
bank can or will offer and q rate
which no concern Of the size Of
Sears, Roebuck & Co. would pay In
the ordinary course provided the money
was needed to carry ON business &C.
cording to usual methods.
The ordinary rates charged by
Chicago banks at the present time. is
from to 51s per cent where the risk
is such as would be consistent with
good banking usages. A concern
with the financial rating of Sears,
Roebuck & Co. would have no diff
Guilty in obtaining money at the lower
figure or even less.
The catalogue houses always adver-
tise that they can sell goods cheap be-
cause they buy in large quantities
and obtain low prices, but in this in
stance they are making bid to the
farmer which is direct contradic-
tion to their advertised policy.
They claim that they handle their
goods on remarkably close margin
of profits, but they turn IN an offer
to pay three times what sound bank
would offer for certificates of deposit
and fully five times what any of the
Chicago banks would pay on checking
balances.
A feature of the scheme is that
Sears, Roebuck & Co. do not trust the
farmer at all, but compel him to pay
cash for what he buys, but they ask
the farmer to trust them with his saw.
ings.
This rate Of interest, z per cent, is
the highest legal rate allowed by the
state of Illinois aud shows to what
extent the mail order houses will 90
to get business.
1t is very clear to anyone who takes
the time to look into the plan that it
is purely a scheme to get hold of the
farmers money and then work him
up to turning it over to the catalogue
house for goods he can buy at home on
better terms than from the faraway
mail order house.
It looks as though the plan might
he followed by daily report on each
mans balance and letter to the de-
positor telling him that there was a
certain amount to his credit, for
which the catalogue house would sell
him buggy and set of harness.
worth twice (?) the amount of the de-
posit in consideration of relinquishing
his right to the money on deposit.
As practically all of the banks of de-
posit in the country are now under
either state or government supervis-
ion. it seems quite likely that the
authorities will take cognizance of the
new move on the part Of Sears, Roe
buck & Co. and place the firm under
the same restrictions as are the regu.
lar banking institutions.
AS a means of meeting this new
scheme, it is suggested that country
merchants do their best to find which
of their customers use this new plan
and when they ask for time on their
purchases, deal with them in the man
ner which ordinary business sense
demands.
The fight against the mail order
houses by the retail merchants is 60
ing merrily along and is bearing fruit
every day and this latest scheme shows
to what extent the catalogue concerns
are being driven In their efforts to re-
tain the trade which they have drawn
from its legitimate channel.-St. Louis