The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1908-04-15
uNsPoRrsMANLIkE COMPETITION.

UNSPORT SMANLlkE COMPE TlTlON.
The attention of The Ranch has been called by
the Gordon Van Tine Co., important mail order
house of Davenport, Iowa., which sells sashes,
doors, flooring, holding, ETC., direct to the con-
sumner through the medium of the farm papers of
the United States, to the iniquitous and unlawful
and monumental warfare which is being made
upon them together with other mail order houses
of the same kind, by the Retail Lumber Dealers
Association, otherwise known the Lumber
Trust This Lumber Association has been blamed,
and blamed justly for the eXorbitant prices that
have been charged consumers, for lumber during
the past two three years throughout the United
States In fact, evidences of their cooperation to
raise the price of lumber beyond all reason, be-
came so manifest that investigation was found
necessary by the Federal Government and the meth
DDS which they have been pursuing, as outlined TO
The Ranch by the Gordon Van Tine Co., are only
exemplary of other methods which have been pur-
sued by this and other combinations formed in
restraint of trade.
1t should be stated at this juncture that mail or
der houses of this sort manufacturing their own
commodities and selling direct from producer to
consumer, thus eliminating several middlemens
profits, have been a great economic advantage to
the consumer. For the reason that these COM
panes have been able to market their products
with the consumer at much lower rate than the
Retail Lumbermens Association, this latter COM
bination has seen fit to upon the business of
the mail order houses with methods which have
been insdious, unlawful, unbusinesske and UNI
sportsmanike. Finding that by decent CONNER
cal methods the mail order houses getting
far the best of it, they resorted to such trckery
insructing the many retail dealers throughout the
country to send to the mail order houses for cata
logues and ask for prices, flood them with an en-
tangement of confusing correspondence without
any intention whatsoever of making purchases. In
this way they attempted to make the business as
improbable as possible with the result that sew
eral of these houses found it necessary to make
an assignment or to sell out to the Lumber Trust.
The Gordon Van Tine Co. were able by means of
a thorough system to combat these illegal methods
and thus able to survive this warfare. 1t
finally became so bad that the postoffce author
tiles and the United States District Attorney at st.
Paul investigated the whole matter and brought
indictments against nineteen prominent retail um-
Der dealers. By means of the ordinary methods
pursued by these combinations when any of their
votaries get in trouble these men were finally able
to escape penalty and the matter was dropped by
the Court. Since that time the lumber dealers,
emboldened by their escape, from prosecution,
have become more fragrant in their abuses and
have resorted to methods which warrant investi-
cation on the part of the Interstate Commerce
Commission, the grounds that they con-
Quoting an illegal campaign to restrain trade.
Mail order houses have generally proven of
great benefit to the farmers They have made it
possible for them to buy goods at lower prices
than where it was necessary to pay the profit to
three four middle men. They have enabled
the farmer moreover, to do his shopping without
going to the city, giving him as large variety
to select from as can be had in any OF the great
buying centers of the country, and which cannot
be had in the ordinary small town or country vii
lage.
Since these mail order businesses have been of
benefit to the farmers it behooves them to take
cognizance of any efforts that are being made
which are derogatory to these interests. The
Ranch wishes to state that the Gordon Van Tine
Company is not advertising in it's columns, and
has promised advertising, but we believe
their case is which has interests in common
with all mail order houses and with the farmers
who are the consumers We have, therefore, taken
this opportunity to condemn the methods of those
people who warning upon them in illegal and
unbusinesske ways.