Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-02-21
The IOWA MERCHANTS
Retail Dealers in Convention
Approve Of Pure Food Law
and It's Enforcement
PREMIUM PLAN CONDEMNED
Iowa Hardware Dealers Told Tina:
They Will Win Over the Mail Order
Houses-sisnificant Fact Showing
lnferiority of Mail House Goods =
Furniture Dealers Elect Officers.

| Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Feb. PA successful
three days session of the Iowa State
Retailers association, which has been
holding it's ninth annual session here,
closed last night. The Iowa Hardware
Dealers association closed it's conven-
4 ton today, and the furniture men of
the state closed profitable meeting
last night.
The proceedings of the final day of
the retail merchants were without
doubt the most interesting of the ses-
sion. Resolutions We're adopted APP
proving the proposed increase in APP
preparation for the state food commits
sioner in order to secure a better en-
forcement of the pure food law, APP
proving the so-called "peddler's" bill
against itinerant vendors of goods and
box car merchants censuring railroad
companies for making low rates on
/ packages containing premiums and
threat ening such railroads with oppo-
sition if the practice is continued, CALI
! ing upon the legislature to add a COM
mittee on commerce and retail trade to
| the regular committee of each house.
A special resolution was also passed
condemning the practice of placing
of aboY 10
and placing the members on record as
opposed to handling any goods carry
ing premiums with them.
Resolutions were also adopted ap-
proving of the Iowa State Retail Mer-
chants Fire Insurance company, APP
proving of the 1-cent postage bill now
pending in congress; approving the
federal measures permitting the dis
charge of civil service employees who
fail to pay for the necessaries of life
furnished them on credit; also indors
ing the proposed amendments to the
bankruptcy act.
The Iowa bill making a transfer of
bulk stocks of merchandise void as
against creditors unless the purchaser
receives a list of creditors furnished by
the seller under oath and first notifies
them of the intended purchase was ap-
proved by the session.
L. S. Tyler, secretary of the South
Dakota Retail Merchants association,
delivered an address yesterday morn
ing before the association. H. r.
Wright, state dairy and food commits
sioner, delivered an address on the
Iowa pure food law during the fore
noon session.
Defeat Of Mail Order Houses.
VT have no fear but that the hard
ware men of Iowa will win the fight
against the catalog houses said H. A.
Cole of the Coles Air Tight Heater
Company, of Chicago, a former retailer
of Council Bluffs, speaking Ito the
convention Of hardware men yesterday
afternoon.
The mail order men are now reap
ing the harvest from the seed they
have sown in the last seven years, and
their crop is falling"
He was speaking particularly of the
sale of stoves, on which there had been
lively discussion in the assembly for
some time. He said that the mail order
houses had warehouses full of stoves
on their hands which they could not
get rid of except at a sacrifice, because
Of the fact that the people are learning
the quality of the goods they have
been getting and are not ordering as
they did, hence the dead goods the
houses have on hand.
II have friend high in the official
circles Of the Pennsylvania railroad.
He told me recently that the claims
for damages which the catalog houses
had against his road were three times
as great as all the freight the ROAD
had ever received from Them The
application of his remark was obvious
that the quality of the goods was SO
poor that they could not stand the
ordinary wear of shipping.
THAT is the reason you dealers
have received certain low offers on
certain brands of stoves when the
/ manufacturers prices had advanced
per cent The goods you got on those
orders helped to unload the supply of
the catalog men,"
One of the most interesting discus
sions of the hardware meeting was
that pertaining to the selling of stoves.
Mr. L. c. Abbott, of Marshalltown,
read paper On the Business Man in
Politics" The gist of his paper is as
follows: Business men should enter
politics and give their community the
benefit Of their business training. The
city is a corporation doing business
on the assessment plan" and is at the
same time the kindergarten for al!
other branches of government; it is
therefore essential that business men
should run the Kindergarten. If it is
true that business and politics do not
mix, it is high time to change the form
Of government.
The Shrine temple was open in the
morning and evening, large amounts of
business being done by the exhibitors
taking this opportunity of talking to
their buyers when they are all to-
gether.
The chief interest Of the open session
Of the convention today centered about
the discussion Of the insurance ques-
ton. led by President S. R. Miles, Of
Mason City. The program for the day
was as follows:
Christian church auditorium, 2 p. m.
Address, E. NJ. Bush, Evansville,
Ind, president of the National Retail
Hardware association.
2:30 p. m.-"Window Displays" c..