The Mena weekly star., 1906-12-13
THE RETAIL GROcERS.
They State Their Position to the Public Simply Asking Square Deal and
 Honest Competition.

the stand the retail merchants Of Mena are taking toward the N. M. Roach Wholesale Grocery Go. !, which claims to sell goods at wholesale prices direct from the manufacturers to the consumer.
 It has gone out to the public, throughout the country, that the retail merchants of Mena are trying to put MT. Roach out of business, when, in fact, it is Mr. Roach who is trying to put the tue retailers out, and this is written to get before the public the position we are taking is the matter.
 We claim, a man or company who does a wholesale business has no right to sell 10 the con- sumer, if he does, what use have we for the retail store? Again, if the wholesale man sells the re- tail man and then sells the con- sumer at the same price, who is going to buy the goods from the retail man?
 Do you take 1t to be a good business proposition? Do you think it would be to your best interests to do away with the retail store and concentrate all your business to one man and cut out all competition? How can Mr. Roach expect the merchants to buy his goods under lsuch cir cumstances. He tells you the reason he is doing this Is because the merchants quit buying of him and he is forced to sell :.he 10 con- sumer to make a living. Now, we do not object 10 Mir. Roach doing a retail business If he wants to, this is free country, but, we do object to his doing a retail business under the guise of a wholesaler, because he knows he can't sell goods at retail and stay on the jobber5 list and get his regular jobbers discount.
 To do a legitimate wholesale business one has to be recognized in the business world and among manufacturers as one who sells to no one except the retail mer- chants, before he can get on the lobbers list and get his regular iobbers discount. But when he goes to selling to the consumer we claim he is not doing legiti- mate business and not dealing fairly with the retail merchants, hence, for this reason we are try ing to force him into dong either wholesale or retail business exclusively. There is no middle ground, he must do one or the other.
 All that the retail merchants of Mena are wanting is square ieal. We are only contending for that which we think is right aud just to all parties concerned. We would prefer to see Mir. Roach do wholesale business because we think there is enough business in this territory to sustain two good wholesale houses and we want competition, we think 1t better for us, better for the town and better for the surrounding country. But if it is his choice to do retail business let him do 1t on the square, come out as a regular retailer and quit posing as as martyr, and we are willing to take our chances on getting our share of the business, with fair competition. Then he will he on an equal footing with the other retail merchants of Mena and surrounding country. But as long as he is trying to do both we do not feel that he is giving us square deal.
 Mir. farmer. how much of your produce of different kinds does Mir. Roach bug of you and pay the cash for?
 If Mir. Roach puts us all out of business, which he says himself he is going to do, who is going to buy ali this produce of you? Do you think you will get the highest market price for 1t when all competition gets out ot the way? On the other hand do you think you will get your mnrchan- disc cheap when you have con centrated all your trade to one man and driven out all compe- tition? We think not.
 Had YOU ever thought ot this! Do YOU THINK HE WOULD ALWAYS