Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-02-23
I LOOKER.ON IN IOWA
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| in the hotel office at Nextown was re.
| lating the sad experience his house
| had selling goods in Othertown, Iowa
1t seems that a successful merchant
doing business there, died. and his sor
succeeded him. Suppose we say the
fathers name was a. B. Catchem. The
sons name was ]. B. Catchem. Travel
ing men knew of A. b., and j. 3
sounded much like it. j. B. didn't
make any statement to Bradstreet j
B. Catchem, Othertown, Iowa, was his
name and address, anybody that would
sell goods right he would patronize
Any firm that asked him for a state
ment could go to the hot place, he
could buy all of the goods he wanted
without telling some travelling man
his private affairs. And he did buy
lots of goods. Must have bought then,
close for he could undersell any firm
in any town for fifty miles in any d.
rection. Hardtack & Son, over in
Somehow, five miles away, asked
$2S.75 for the identical stove j. B.
Catchem sold for SIS. Catchem's prices
OF all kinds OF hardware and building
material We're frequently fifty per cent
material were frequently so per
cent lower than his competitors in
other towns. But J. B. Catchem had
hard luck he trusted out too much, so
he said. and many of his accounts he
could not collect and Catchem failed.
Offered to pay ten cents on the dollar
or go thru the bankruptcy court just
as his creditors wished. And, re-
marked the travelling man, in closing,
the, worst of this whole business Is
that Catchem otter he gets on his feet
again, can start in business some
where else and another lot of whole.
sale houses and travelling men will dup
licate our experience. There's no way
to prevent a storekeeper from selling
his goods at any price, there's no way
Of compelling storekeeper to make
a Bradstreet report. there's no law to
prevent such mercantile transactions.
and our desire for trade makes us
danphools enough to sell all such men
all they will buy. carload lots suits us
the best.
Recently one of the line lumber
yards of Iowa lost a good manager
because he went into business for him.
self. The local correspondent Of the
T.-R made an item OF it and also gave
the name and address of his success
sor. Before Mr.. Successor arrived in
the town to take hold of his new du-
ties, he received eight offers from as
many lumber firms, asking II he had
closed contract, il higher wages
would be an object, etc This is mem
toned here to illustrate that everybody
reads the T.-R. That is to say some
body reads every word in each copy,
advertisements and all.
And this easily suggests that the
writer in the past 20 years has been
asked hundred times more or less,
who is it in Marshalltown that
handles 49, 49," 1--WE looked over
the paper and they are not running all
ad." Whenever he could the writer has
always given addresses. but many
times his. ignorance was equal the
and for the same reason.
+%*
In these times when we are all "agi'n
the railroads" it's poor day when
some reform is not suggested. But it
does seem as tho these ought to be a
poultry, hogs, ETC.. in other cars than
combination, express. baggage, and
passenger cars. During one Of our
coolest days this winter in the front
end of one Of thees combination cars
several crates of chickens, ducks and
turkeys were loaded in the front apart
ment, shipped by express Soon after
a three pound hog was loaded in the
same place. Then the express agent
punched up the fire. Not twenty feet
away, with only board partition to
keep away the odor and a door fire.
quently opened to make it still more
interesting, were men, women and chill
dren, compelled to grin and bear It,
hire a livery team or go afoot. These
passengers were not nearly so anxious
to ride for two cents mile, as they
were for some law to prevent just such
mixing up Of live stock red hot stoves
and human beings.
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