The log cabin Democrat. [volume] (Conway, Ark.) 1901-1982, 1908-12-17

thus placed upon certain articles
to sustain and perpetuate the sys-
tenn of selling through drum
mers or agents, we mention the
following: A James and Graham
or Springfield wagon, or a Stude-
baker wagon, or any other kind
of a wagon, can not be bought
and put on Flat Top Mountain
by any farmer for less than a
stipulated price, and your Uncle
Newton has been informed that
each district has stipulated man
appointed to handle these wag-
ons, who makes the agents
profit on each wagon Of not less
than SII.oo, and from that to
$500. Hence it does not make
any difference whether the farm
er has to send to Memphis to get
his wagon or buys it at his near
est railroad station depot. He
must pay this extra tariff fixed
for the selling agent, that can not
be for any other purpose but to
keep up and perpetuate or pay
for this extra selling help,
whereas, if we did not have the
present system, the farmer could
order his wagon directly from
the maker at from $1,000 to SIS
90 less than he now has to pay
for it.
Then, another thing, the sew
ing machine drummers have all
got one price on a sewing ma
chine, and it don't make any
difference which agent you buy
from, the extra cost for selling
or agency fees is charged to you,
and your Uncle Newton has sus-
picions that the sewing machine
drummer gets taken care of IN
the price just the same as the
wagon man, and has to pay the
extra bounty on goods bought,
don't make any difference what
agency he purchases through.
This statement is justified by
the fact that the Retail Mer-
chants Association of Arkansas
have seen that to continue under
this method of high tariff goods
and justify them in paying the
profits on the extra methods OF
delivering goods to them, that
they must organize to fight the
mail order business; and hence
not only in Arkansas, but in 9th
er states, the merchants are forced
in self-defense to drive out GER
tain mail order concerns. Now
why is this? Your Uncle has
diskivered but one answer, and
that is that no honest merchant
can do business prohtably, pay
ing the present system high
rates, and compete with the re-
tail mail order man who does
not recognize the fixed schedules
by which modern commercialism
is exacting its tariff. Now, in
speaking of a comparison of forty
years ago with today, our mutual
friend has touched upon very
vital question in comparison of
profits when he uses the follow
ing language: "But if you will
find the merchant who sold goods
forty years ago, he will tell you
truly that forty years ago when
he went to market and bought
his goods, he sold them for a
much better profit than now, and
that if he could get the same
profit now, he would get rich. !"
This is the thing that prompted
your Uncle Newton to make such
inquiries in concluding his letter;
for whereas, forty years ago, the
merchant could get rich, the
farmers could have money, in
fact, loan money; and there were
less failures in merchandising
than today, and everybody says
greater profits obtained than now.
Then the question to your Uncle
Newton, is where are these profits
goin' to? 1t appears to us
that, with the reports that Dunn
and Bradstreet makes on mer-
chants, wherein it is stated that