The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-09-18
PICTURE BOOK VILES
How the Catalogues Lure Buy
ers With Deceptive Cuts.
ARGUMENT FOR HOME TRADE

,ie-sf--& - - 80 ">ass S2i .aShs- A..-'- {
7l.i.e Man W,o Sends Money Away Fo'
Goods He Could Buy at Local Store:
Strikes 1t the Very Root of His owr
Hroopcrity-h,trts TO the Wise.
Tie hc2d. the hcof and the hide o
the m:lii order business is the cata
iogee. and the meat Of the catalogue
is, the picture III these voluminous
hooks the larger catalogue houses pic
ture everything from u hog ring TO Al
portable sawniIl They picture things
which they hare and which they have
not. Everything goes in thls.great bool;
OF books II they have not the real
thing that the picture represents. they
haze something lust as good and
cheaper" says n writer in Maxwell's
aTaiisman..
They tavite you to SEND in your
money. for this Is strictly 4 cash i'll adj
vance proposition. If they have not
what yo,i order they will send you
somethiag else. but bc sure to send
your u.oley ia with your order. That
is important, You will have no oppor-
tunity to examine the goods and COM
pare the quality with ether grades, but
what OF that: 1t is such an<excitins
moment when yGu come to open the
bag and see the color Of the cat.
The catalogues are sent to every fam
ily where there is a possibility of Sc
curing an order. And these picture
books, supplemented by persistent ad-
vcrtising in the agricultural and reli-
giot,s Journals. keep q constant stream
or money aowil:: from the legitimate
channels OF trade into the Golfers OF
these catalogue concerns.
The business policy of the old grange
movement vas shortsighted. and the
results proved it to be impracticable.
1t vas bora OF prejudice aud miscon-
ception OF the organic laws OF trade.
The country needs the town as much
as the town needs the country. And
the middlcman is an essential cog in
the wheel OF everyday trade. TO cut
ont the retail merchant and business
men generally in the country town is
to dcstro; the small trlde and social
centers. the prosperity and growth OF
which Will always determine tue value
OF farIu property in their vicinity. The
nearer farHl Is to consuming mar
ket the greater beconcs the earning
poWcr OF each acre and consequently
the greater its value In the general
market. The ca talogue inn!i order idea
IL carried ont to its ultimate conclusion
would wipe out every village and small
town an,i !tnve nothing but individual
farms aud a few large distributing
centers, with conPlete monopoly on
the essential commodities. local cen
ters OF consumption that now furnish
the market for large per cent or the
farm products would disappear from
the ,uap, aud the social and cducationa!
Miyan.a.es Afforded In d large conf
aauu;ty. colld be found only in cata-
lo-iie center. and there would be no
need for more than one of them. The
greatest trust In. the world is the ideal
cataloguc suaiI order combination. It
covers every possible field OF trade and
brooks no competition.
Civilization as we know it is based
npou reciproca obligations. In the or
!. dtnasy course Of trade the local ner-
chant furnishes a market for the small
ar produce OF the farm and also pro-
yides reasonable assortment Of goods
for the use and convenience Of the
community. Tor these accommoda-
tIous the community Is under re-
cinrocai obligation TO give him the
preference OF trade-ut least to give
him fair chance to compete 1or that
: trade. THIS principle is recognized by
the cornmuniiy when 1t detnands that
peilt..ers> OH a iiceuse.
The man who sends his money away
from his homo town for goods that ne
can buy al the loca. store loses more
than he can i.osslb,y gain. He strikes
asthe very root of his own prosperity
1t Is n pcnuy wise and pound too!ist'
business. Every hundred dollars seul
ont os the county reduces the work
ing caoits' OF the county Just thai
much. A prosperous country town In
dicases prosperous rural ..nunlty
II roar towns look ss>ly ard r"Sept
is the "Iror Rent" sisns IN the store
windows STARE you in the face. It INC
merchants are discouraged. what IS
the effe:t on rarm property what does
The stranger. the investor. II yor
p,easc, ihiu.; of the community III gen
cral? VII, lie invest his money IN
community that Is not true to itself
The thinking man knows that the price
OF farm reaI estate depends as muc!
tpon It's rc%raesS 10 good live t"W'
as it does upon the producing power
os the soil.
Village improvement.
ynS.x If massachusetts