The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1907-04-15
EVIL PRACTICE OF SUBSTITUTION.

moral thief is not legal thief in
the eyes of the law, and by that token
many a man is at home when his right
full place is in Jail, says the editor of
the Ladies' Home Journal. But the
question is: Shall we, as a public, help
this sort of man along? And this ques-
ton brings itself home with peculiar
force to women, who are the buying
power of our country. A man, by dint
of thought and work, invents an article
of food, of wearing apparel, or for do
nestle use He carries out his concep-
ton; he gets it ready for the market;
he recognizes the requirements of the
law of the land and patents his article;
he invests large sums of money in let
ting people know about it, and he makes
a success. That is, thousands buy the
result of the thought of his brain, the
investment of his money, and his hon
est. legitimate methods. Along comes
a man who has no brain wherewith to
conceive except to trade upon the other
mans success, and "Uneeda Biscuit be-
comes ''Uwanta Biscuit; "Jap-a-lac'
becomes "Jac-a-lac"; "Cottolene" be-
comes "Cottoleo"; pears Soap be-
comes Peers Soap" and so on. All
these limitations are purely and palp-
ably intended to mislead the public,
to confuse the buyer. Now this lml-
tator does not need to invent; he mas
no call to invest capital; he goes on
the wave of popular support created
by the man who legitimately Launched
the result of his honest thought. Such
a parasite not only lives on the brain
and capital of another, but he also dis
tinctly hopes to get an undeSerVeu
livelihood by playing upon the credullty
of the public. He is coward, as is
proved by the fact that he initiates.
His article is never so good as that
which he initiates, for the same moral
twist that plays upon name Will play
upon the quality Of the article. AS
matter of fact he has no need to think
of the quality of his article, for he re-
lies for his sales on his misleading
label: hence quality, to him, is Of slight
Importance and therein lies the fraud
against the consuming public.
The bid for patronage upon which he
usually catches the eye of the thrifty
woman is his untruthful assurance that
his article sis just as good as others
and-here comes in his strong point
sit is cheaper in price And thus
thousands of women are fooled; trap
ped into supporting a moral thlef ana
a business coward man whom decent
business men shun-and getting a
cheaper article at a cheaper price A
woman sometimes fails to realize that
she has it in her power to raise the
standard of American business honesty
bv a refusal to patronize such 1m1ta-
tons. For just in proportion as she
makes it easier or harder for these
moral thieves to succeed, so does she
make the business Of honest dealings
easier or harder for her husband or
son. Business will be honest just so
far as the public demands it shall be.
The two or three cents saved by a
woman in her support of an Initiative
article represent the costliest invest
ment she can make toward the lowering
of those business ideals with which
her son must sooner or later battle
when he goes out into the commercial
world 1t is she who, by her patronage,
builds up or tears down honest business
ideals.