The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-07-20
A BLIGHT ON LOCAL ENTERPRISE
1faruland Mnnnzine.


The growth of the mail order business, like
the Octopus, reaching out its tentacles and
gfasping everything within its reach, has be-
come very serious matter in its effect upon
small towns and the smaller cities throughout
the United States. Without realizing the part
they are contributing towards throttling the
local enterprises in their neighborhoods, hum
dreds Of well-meaning people are systematic
calIy sending their dollars away from home, to
some mail-order concern which. every day in
the year, devours some local manufacturing
industry, or some country town or small city
merchant. They may say that it is only dol
lar or two that they send to the mail-order oc-
topus, and they can't see how that hurts the
local stores or local manufactures. But re-
fleet moment and see what this mail-order
octopus thrives upon. First it eats up your
dollar, and then your neighbours dollar, and
SO on until it has swallowed up the whole
store of your neighbor in your town, which,
because of the want of the support it was just
ly entitled to, but which was fed to the mail
order octopus, was closed and removed to some
other place wherethe people spent their money
ct home.
Il Is not the single dollar that goes to its ca
pacious NAV that keeps it alive, but it is the
thousands of single dollars that are drawn
from every part of the country that it tattens
upon. It is like feeding chestnuts to the ele.
phant One chestnut does him no good, but
when the nuts are coming to him continuous
ly from everybody, he fattens on them and
soon becomes strong enough to shake the trees
for himself and luxuriate on the downpour.
So It is with the mail-order octopus. Itthrives
on the multiplicity Of dollars that roll TO It ~
every mail while local enterprises and local
merchants Ianguish and die for want of the
support that is unwsely sent abroad to enrich
a concern that has no interest in the welfare OF
the communities from which their income
flows.
But the loss to the town Of the merchants or
industry that have been forced to close Their
places is not all. When he leaves he takes his
family and perhaps his clerks. This is one
slice out of the population. With the depar-
ture of one from such cause, others will soon
follow, and the lots and land IN and near the
town naturally depreciate in value, because OF
the evident lack OF support OF local enterprises.
To that extent does the octopus eat up slice
of the value of the real estate. With this loss
follows the loss of public spirit, and The town
remains stationary or goes BACKWARDS. Inc
opera house, or the public library, or the leo
ture course, or the young peoples club, all OF
which had been probably projected, never ma
terialize, or never so long as the mail oc-
topus is fed by the dollars that should be kept
at home.
It has been but dozen years or 80 since the
mail order octopus began reaching out its ten
tacles, yet in that time 1t has spread all over
the country and is destroying thousands of To-
cal enterprises in every section Of the United
States, enriching itself at the expense ofthe To-
cal community. If thoughtful persons who
have been induced to send their dollars to this
great blight on local endeav0rs would think
Of the injury they are unwittingiy doing to
their home establishments and would stop feed
ing this octopus and spend their money ct
home, where all things considered they can do
as we'll as abroad, the local towns would take
on new life and citizens would be increasing
the value of their own possessions. instead OF
fostering blight on the enterprises in their
own neighborhoods