The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1906-02-15
NORTHWEST MERCHANTS MAKE
PROTEST TO CONGRESS,

WNrNs
PROTEST TO CONGRESS.
w. j. Rouleau, business manager of
the st. Paul Trade Journal, filed with
Congressman Stevens, for p~resenta-
ton to the postoffice and post roads
committee of congress, a petition con-
general merchants, wholesale mer-
chants and manufacturers of the
Northwest, protesting against the en-.
actment by congress of any form Of
parcels post legislation.
The petition, as presented by Mr..
Rouleau and filed with the committee,
is as follows:
Whereas, there has been recon-
menGed for consideration and action
by your honorable body, legislation
providing for the consolidation Of the
third and fourth classes of mail mat
ter, and the transmission of the same
at a less cost than now is provided
for by law; and,
Whereas, we are profoundly i'm
pressed by the knowledge that such
legislation would prove inimical to the
best interests Of the people of the
United States as a whole and to the
retail merchants, wholesale mer-
chants, manufacturers and others en-
gagged in commercial traffic, particu-
larly, and, in our opinion, based upon
experience, would work great hardship
upon and place the above mentioned
interests at great disadvantage in the
pursuit Of their business calling by
f~avoring centralized interests in the
shipment of merchandise direct to
consumers through the mails; now,
therefore,
1--WE, the undersigned, general mer-
chants, wholesale dealers and manu-.
fac.urers of the United States, do
hereby numbly petition your honor
able body not to enact any law that
will admit of the institution by the
government of a parcels post, so call
ed, or n law that will in any way
tend to reduce the present cost of the
transportation of merchandise through
the mails"
The petition is the first to be filed
from this section against the parcels
post bill, known as the Henry meas.
ure, and is the largest w filed by
country merchants.
Speaking of the results of his trip
to Washington, Mr.. Rouleau said:
"While the petition that | filed is the
only petition of its kind to be present
ed thus far, it is well known that 9TH
ers are being circulated in various
parts of the United States and that
several others will follow the one that
the st. Paul Trade Journal has filed.
in addition, there is not a member OF
congress who has not received person
al letters from his constituents among
the merchants, protesting forcibly
against the proposed Henry bill, and
in addition resolutions protesting
against the measure have been filed
by practically every retail merchants
association that has held a convention
this year.
The general merchants, wholesai.
ers and manufacturers of the country
fully realize, however, the great force
that is back of the proposed parcels
post legislation, and they are in readi-
ness at any time to bring all the in
fluence that they have to bear against
such legislation. For there is no ques-
tion but what if the government I'M
dertakes to transport merchandise
through the mails at a low carrying
cost, such action soon will cause the
retirement from business of a major
ity of the retail merchants of the coun-
try, and with them the jobbing inter-
ests. The business Of the country
will be carried on by vast aggregations
of wealth, centralized in m or more
of the chief distributing centers Of the
United States, and, as their field is
thus increased, they Don will be man
ufacturing their own goods, which will
also ceptralize and monopoliZe great
manufacturing interests of the country.
This Is not a pleasant picture to
look upon, but IL will be the inevitable
outcome of the cEactlOn in this coun-
try of a parcels post law, which will
serve to do away entirely with the
recognized method of doing business,
i. e., from the manufacturer to the job
Der, through the jobber to the retailer.
and from the retailer to the consumer,
it being proved that this is the most
equit able and most satisfactory way
of placing manufactured products in
the hands of the people."-St. Paul
Trade Journal.