Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-07-19
RETAILERS WILL FIGHT
Home Trade League Plans Ag-
gressiye War Against Mail
Order Houses
DEALERS OF WEST INTERESTED

Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan,
Kansas and Minnesota-Disappr
of Lumbermen's Plan.
Chicago, Ill.,, July 19.-War has been
declared on the great mail order houses
of Chicago and other cities by the
500, 900 retail merchants of the west. IN
one of the most striking economic
movements this country ever mas
known the small dealers are fighting,
as they say, for their lives.
The mammoth institutions, employ
ing thousands of workers, doing their
business entirely thru the medium OF
their bulky catalogs, spending no mon
ey in the communities whence they de-
rive annually millions of dollars OF
patronage, they declare, are forcing
increasing numbers of home merchants
to the wall and making commercial
graveyards of once prosperous towns.
In this life or death struggle joboers
and manufacturers also are involved
with the retail merchants.
League is to Act.
An organized attack on tine mail
order institutions is to be made by
the Home Trade League of All Amer
lea, which has existed for several
months in the Monarch building
largely as a publicity bureau. but
which is shortly to be incorporated
and institute a more systematic ana
aggressive campaign against the mai!
order houses thru a board of twenty
one managers, with a vice president
and an advisory committee OF Ten
members from each state.
The backbone Of the league is
formed of commercial associations,
national, state and local in character.
in Illinois. Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan,
Kansas and Minnesota.
To Meet Competition.
Alfred C. Clark manage of the
league, declared that a policy of COM
petition with the mail order houses
would be conducted in a thousand cit
les and towns principally in the mid
die west.
They expect to meet competition by
forcing the wholesaler manufacturer
and iobber to give local merchants
the same rate as the mail order con-
Germs Under the present system
home merchants are compelled to sell
many lines of goods at hlgner rate
than the favored big institutions, be
cause they cannot buy as cheaply
from the manufacturer or jobber.
Consumers are being asked before
they send their orders to the catalos
houses to give local dealers a chance
to figure on Them and If the local
merchant cannot meet the competition
the home league will place him where
he can.
Disapprove Lumbermen's Plans.
In some of the cities where the
fight against the catalog houses has
been fiercest the local merchants as
ISOLATION has organized excursions and
entertained visitors from the sur
rounding neighborhoods, with the ex-
press purpose of convincing them
they can sell goods as cheaply as the
mail order institutions.
In many parts of the country retail
trade associations are taking up the
fight following a policy of their own
which, however, does not have the ap-
prevail of the league. One of these
schemes has been for, the members
of a retail lumbermen's association In
Iowa to write to the mail order houses
asking for catalogs, each member
agreeing to write two or three letters
a week calling for answers. Catalogs
ordinarily cost 81 each, and I'M addi-
ton there is the expense of stamps
and stationery. For months this has
been going on, and the mail order
houses have now applied to the dis
.trict attorney of northern Minnesota
to take action against these thousands
of individuals for using the mails in
furtherance of a conspiracy to injure
their business.
Purpose Of the League.
The proposed constitution of the
Home Trade League of America sets
forth it's purpose as follows:
The chief purpose of the Home
Trade league is to combat the mail or
der system in all its phases, believing
that it's tendency is toward the con-
traction of trade in the hands of a few
individuals in few cities. Therefore
to the end that we may help restore
the merchant trade of the nation to its
natural normal condition the members
of the Home Trade league pledge them
selves to have no business with the re-
tail catalog house or any jobbers OF
manufacturers who continue to sell
them. We regard the consumer as OUT
logical ally, and everything being
equal we believe he will trade with the
merchant in his home town 1t is the
purpose of the league to bring the man.
ufacturer, the jobber and the retailer
together to the end that the retail
merchant can successfully meet the
competition of the catalog house.
Provision is made for the control OF
the organization by a board of man
ayers consisting of twenty-one mem
bers, to be chosen by the temporary
committee on organization, to serve
until the + rst annual election.
There is to be a president secre-
tary, treasurer and vice president
from each state
The vice president for Illinois, I'M
der the bylaws, is to be the general
manager, with power to contract for
publicity. The principal committees
consisting of seven members each, are
on manufacturers, jobbers,. retail mer-
chants. consumers, transportation, pub
licity and selection of location for the
annual convention.
Successful Strike
against lung trouble. can be engineered
by DR. Kings New Discovery fnl