The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1909-10-07
That Should Receive
Mature Consider
alton of All.
workers ndBuSineSS
Interests Must Pat
rOniZe Each Other to
Insure Local Pro-
Sress and Prosperity

With the approach of the holiday
season, while good ways Off, timely
word will not be amiss. The working
man begins at this time to save for his
Christmas purchases of presents, etc.
lie commences putting Il small sum aside
each week and also begins to watch ad-
vertisements for bargains and right here
he often falls into trap, as the mail
order houses advertise more extensively
the things which he thinks he will want.
This is where the local advertiser and
the buyer both err. The local advertiser
by not putting few articles for the
workingman to buy in his ad, and the
workinSman makes a mistake by wasting
his time reading mail order house ads.
But l. hear some one say: But you can
get things cheaper of the big mail order
houses - Mr.. Workingman use your
own brains little. The first cost may
appear cheaper we admit. But let us
look into the matter a little further.
The article is cheaper in every scense of
the word. The articles entering into its
construction are cheaper than the goods
contain that the home merchant has to
carry, the majority of buyers are
judges of quality and if the merchant
carried such Il line tine mail order
houses do, he could not sell enough to
stay in business. Furthermore, you can
go to the home merchant S place of bust
ness and see what you are buying and
be able to select pattern that exactly
81,
houses from pictures and you have to
take what they send you. you are salts
fled with the pattern because you have
seen no others of similar style, until you
happen to go to Il friend s, who has pur-
chased of the home merchant. and then
you silently kick yourself, but sit up and
brag about the bargain (D'' you got.
You say nothing about paying the
freight and drayagc, postage, etc, and
then stretch the truth little as to the
quality of the article in question; .ut
all the time you are saying to yourself,
81 wish l had one like this one -
Now brother, there is another side to
this question aside from chcapness. Let
us see who furnishes us with the money
to buy. Does the mail order house pay
your wages Saturday night? Can you
get the label on the goods they furnish?
Do they help keep up the churches and
schools for the benefit of your family7
Gentlemen, You have idea what the
home merchant is asked to contribute to.
Every public enterprise the merchant is
first asked for donations which he willing
gives. He also gives you credit when you
-;,l. IL,
to it that your family does not suffer
while you are on your back out of a
job. Are you going to '.throw down -
n friend and neighbor who does so much
for you, who can sell you goods just as
cheap or rather will order the same goods
exactly for You that the mail order house
sells you. OF course you won t. You
will buy the goods he carries so that he
can make n living.
Gentlemen if you continue to patron
ze the mail order houses, every year You
do so you make it harder for a home man
to get a job. Support the man that helps
maintain and support our public institut-
ions and assist in making our community
prosperous. And above all patroniZe the
men who patronizes the advertising col
unns of your paper.
The above applies with equal force to
our merchants and business men, who de-
cry the practice of the working men and
others patronizing the mail order houses,
but they overlook the fact that whenever
they send out of town for something that
is being manufactured right here, be
cause it is little cheaper that they are
guilty of the same offence. When 4 bust
ness man gives n contract for building.
etc, TO foreign firm because it is Il few
dollars below the home contractor does
he realize that he is retarding the pros
peritv of the city: But whether he real
izes it or not, he is doing that very thing.
because nine times out of ten foreign
concern brings its workmen with them
and purchases all the material possible