The Red Cloud chief., 1907-11-15

ing fakir, who was only on the streets
a few hours, and you will easily see
that In order to make any profit at all
his stock must necessarily be Of the
very lowest quality. II our wi mer-
chants carried goods of the same quail.
ity, they would sell them for fifty per
cent less, and still make a good profit
.supposing that they paid the same
originally for the goods. And 1t Is
not probable that an itinera tpeddler,
wandering from place to place and
reaching only the crowds he can
attract on the streets, can get better
quotations i'm the wholesale market
than regularly established merchants,
doing a legitimate business and buy
ing in much larger quantities. As a
matter of fact, the wholesale houses
that seek the patronage of legitimate
merchants will not sell to peddlers,
street fakirs and such itinerant dealers
at any price, in order to protect their
patrons. They buy their goods of Ger
tain wholesale houses that make a
speciality of catering to this class of
trade and do not handle standard
goods, or staples, but simply novelties
and cheap small articles that can be
easily handled and made to sell, not
to use. The shoestrings that he sold
for ten cents u dozen cost him two
cents a dozen. The pencils that he sold
at eight for ten cents are sold here for
a cent apiece. On the former his sell.
ing price exceeded the cost to him three
hundred per cent and it is but fair to
suppose that his prices on other wares
we're made on the same basis. Summed
up in a few words, the goods you pur
chased from him cost you far more, con.
sidering their quality, than you would
have paid any merchant in Red Cloud.
But there Is Il second side to the ar.
gument. 1t is not concerned with the
question of whether or not you can get
your goods cheaper in dollars and cents
by buying them of a travelling peddler
rather than from your home merchant.
1t is, you might say, the economic side
Of the question. You never yet saw q
community which prospered for long
in which the citizens refused to patro-
nize the home institutions. The habit
of making your purchases of travelling
vendors, or Of mail-order houses, il it
spreads, has "a very evident effect upon
the trade conditions of a locality. Buy
Of your home merchants and you not
only In most cases get your goods at a
less direct cost considering their quail.
ty but part Of the money you spend
remains at home to builds up home in
dustries, to pay the taxes that build the
schools, churches, roads and bridges, to
keep the price of labor up and to furn-
ish employment for all who want to
work. Send your money away aud the
results will be the opposite; your share
of the taxes will be higher or roads will
be left unimproved, public buildings
left unbuilt, and the business life of
he community will gradually die out
for the want of fuel.
We do not insist that our arguments
are incontrovertible. We are merely
stating the case as it presents itself to us
and giving u own opinion in regard
to the case. You are entitled to your
own opinion. Reason the situation
out for yourself, but not fail to give
the indirect economic results of trad
ing away from home the proper weight
II you do not agree with us, we would
be pleased to receive your views of the
matter and the reasons you have for
your views.