The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1908-04-29

IL WAo oHly latoiy, saw one OF Jne
leading farmers in this community
carrying large, bunglesome cstalog
from a Chicago catalogue house,
home with him. 1t happened that
l was drawn into discussion with
him of this question and l WAS act
uslly surprised to hear him express
himself az he did. In the first place,
feel proud OF the fact that l have
never pstronized one ofthese concerns
in preference to dealing with our
home merchants. Probably one rea-
son why have not felt inclined to
send my trade away from home is
because, it has only been few years
since l found my financial condition
such that it became necessary for me
to arrange with some one to carry
my account over q crop season. 1 am
not one 30 forgetful of accommoda-
tons as to order from u catalogue
house and send them the money with
the order when our home merchants
have been glad enough to extend
credit to me when l needed it. But
L can net say this influence has
been the only one to cause me to
trade entirely ut home. l know, if
or any Of my neighbors, want to buy
something, if they would only go to
the merchants and tell what they
wanted, he will furnish it to us jus.
as cheap as We can get 1t from cat
alogue house. Now don't mean he
would let us have first class goods at
a price We would pay them for Sec
cond class goods, but mean for the
same class of goods they will sell us
just as cheap as those other fellows.
In figuring the cost of goods from
catalogue houses, we don't want to
forget to figure in the cost of send
ing the money and paying the freight
or express. Ii it is anything liable
to need repairs, our home merchants
can get them for us, but it is almost
impossible to get them from cata
logue house. OF conrse the merch
ants in our town cannot afford to
sell us goods just as cheap as these
catalogue houses and wait six months
or a year for their pay when these
other concerns require us to send the
cash with the order, or as soon as
the goods are received. They could
not afford to do that. l remember
when one of cur neighbors met with
a loss Of nearly everything he had on
earth and when we started out to
take up q collection for him every
merchant in our town, and, in fact, in
three towns around us, contributed
something. No one thought of ask
ing a catalogue house to help out on
this fund. OF course 1 can imagine
how much good it would have done
to have asked them to-
1 am not a philanthropist and 1 am
frank to say that il any ting could be
saved in the long run from buying
from catalogue houses, might then
think about it, but do not believe
you save one cent. 1 know it is a
hard matter for merchant 10
come out even on sugar. When he
sells me or any Of my nsighbors a
worth, it must weigh up to
dollars worth, but when any of us
buy hundred or 80 pounds from a
catalogue house it can be just . little
short and we think, of curse, it has
shifted through the bag or something
is the cause of II and we let it go at
that.
1 know of one my neighboss buy
ing cook stove from a catalogue
house. When the stove came it look
ed just exactly like the picture in the
in fact, it was like it only
1t weighed about one-half or two
thirds as much as the same SIZE stove
would If it had zen bought from one
Of our hardware men. My neighbor
told me it was the last thing he
would every buy away from home,
because he knew he was stuck on the
stove, for it was just like the picture,
and the fact that it was light weight
stove did not give him any excuse for
refusing 10 take it. Since then 1 was
telling one of our hardware dealers
about it and he said he could have
got the man the same weight stove
and delivered il to him at about S1.50
less than what il cost my neighbor,
Conntinu tho fraioht