Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1907-05-02
TWO BIG QUESTIONS
THE "MoRAL OBLIGATION" AND
"poEs IT PAY"
SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
An Honest Answer to These VIII
Keep the Trade with the
Homo Merchant Every
Time.

When the thrifty person or his wife
sits down for the first time-or any
time-with the mail order catalogue
and It's temptations, there are two,
and only two. points to be taken into
consideration.
. One Of these Is moral obligation,
and the chances are that that will be
dismissed as sentimental nonsense.
The other s-Will 1t pay? and to
that the thrifty person will be in.
clined to interpret an answer from the
prices quoted in black-faced figures in
the catalogue.
Neither of these questions should
be lightly dismissed. Moral obliga-
ton Is not sentimental nonsense, and
black-faced figures sometimes lie.
Tho duty u man owes to his wi
community and his obligation to trade
at home are so often reiterated in tho
country press that, possibly like some
Of the preaching, 1t has a tendency
to harden the hearts of the sinners.
Nevertheless, the principle Is true as
gospel.
"HdJ UdO youI ueISnDUI lHS tOEu
given you. Mr.. Farmer? A market for
your produce. What has made 25 to
so per cent. of the present value OF
your farm? The accessibility Of a
market. You know what your grand.
father did on that same farm? Drove
his hogs and hauled his grain 80, so,
maybe IS miles to the nearest market
-,, u,.I ,1.I ,.,,a Co., boo,
that would make you howl about the
trusts. And he hauled back the fam.
lily supplies for which he paid what
you would consider m%OnOpOlistic
prices. DO you happen to know what
the old farm was worth then? Well,
It lacked a good deal of being SIS or
500 an acre.
Yes, the home town, with its handy
market, has advanced the value of
your property and made you worth
several thousand dollars more than
your grandfather vas worth. The
home town affords schooling for your
children, and perhaps social and
church privileges which your family
would not otherwise enjoy. The rural
mail routes and telephone systems,
radiating from the home town, as
spokcs from a hub, bring to your
home the greatest cOnvcnienccs of
modern times.
What would your farm be worth
and how many of these advantages
would you be enjoying now. II the
city from which that mail order cata.
lOguc came were your nearest market,
your most accessible trading point,
your only post office and social center,
the only place to which you could look
to connect you with the outside
world?
Have you ever noticed that the first
thing the settlers Of a newly-opened
reservation do Is to send for a wagon
load OF mail order catalogues? Well, !
haven't. They lay out a town site
every six or eight miles, start two or
three general stores. build a school
house, a church, a blacksmith shop, n
grain elevator, petition the depart
mcnt for a post Office, and start a
newspaper. They know, from former
experience that, with these things
close by, life will be cndurable, what.
ever hardships may come. They know,
also, that without them they must live
lives OF isolation and endure an exist.
ence that Is contrary to all natural
human instincts.
On the other hand, 1t goes without
saying. that the average country town
cannot exist without the support OF
its tributary territory. Then, II that