Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1908-09-02
TO KILL YOUR TOWN,
Surest Way Is to Trade With
Mail Order Concerns.
WHY YOU SHOULDN'T Do so.

Encourage Your Local Dealer and
Thereby Enhance the Value of Local
Property-Why Help to Build Up an
Outside Trust7-A Home Trade Talk.
BY sending the money away from
home the person who patroniZes the
mail order house impoyerishes his local
| merchant, prevents his local merchant
from bringing on well assorted stocks
or large socks Of merchandise, pre-
vents the local merchant from employ
ing more help, which usually comes
from the ranks Of his patrons; pre-
vents his local merchant from assisting
worthy local enterprises, either the
church, lodge, factory or political
movement, that are nearly always for
the benefit of his community, says
Up to Date Farming, published from
indianapolis. The paper continues
with this strong argument for home
trading:
1t prevents the growth Of pcpula-
ton In the community In which the
patrons Of the mail order houses live
and In that way reduces the value Of
land In which the farmer in particular
is Interested. The greater number Of
people In the community the better
should be the price Of land.
BY patronizfng the mail order houses
the person patronizing such houses Ii
often deprived Of the privilege of buy
ing many articles that he needs i'm
mediately that would be of great ben
eft to him and whose cost could prob
ably be saved many times over If he
could but be supplied at once.
BY refusing and failing to buy from
his local dealer he loses the opportuni-
ty of buying goods which he actually
needs and which by comparison he
could pick out as the best and the
cheapest.
It Is we'll known fact that mail
order houses get the most Of their
business based on low priced goods,
and when a low price is named in
variably low class goods are furnished.
1t Is also a well known fact that
mail order houses buy seconds and
goods of low quality. AS a rule, Of
course, they keep some standard goods
that they offer at less than legitimate
profit, which blinds the mail order
house customer and makes him believe
that everything the mail order house
offers is good quality and low In price,
which, of course is not true.
1t behooves every person, whether
he be farmer, mechanic, professional
man or capitalist, to buy everything
that he needs from his local merchant
when It is possible to do ito do
everything that he can to encourage
the local dealer and local manufacture
ers. The sympathy Of your own peo-
pie is a thing much to be desired and
very much needed.
It is a fact and can be proved that
many former successful merchants in
communities that were prosperous pre-
vious to the advent of the mail order
uOuSto nave Dccn DulhlhPiCh anu iN
duced to poverty, and the people in
such comm mites can get only the
bare necessi les and have to make fire.
quent trips to nearby towns I'm order
to make selections that they formerly
could obtain at home from their local
merchants.
We appeal to all persons to patronize
their local merchants always and never
to let the small difference in price on a
few articles stand in the way of pat
ronizing the local merchant
Is it consistent to undertake to fight
the trust with one hand, the trusts that
have reduced the price of labor and
farm products to such an extent that
your calling is the poorest paid in the
land, and help form another trust with
the other hand because these trusts
are willing to sell to you in some in
stances at price slightly lower than
your local merchant can sell the goods
to you for and get living profit?
You will find that your home mer-
chant will sell you the same quality Of
goods just as cheap if you pay him |
cash and the freight, and you get the
goods without waiting from two to
three weeks for them.