The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-01-13

so-called modern improvements may
be accepted as beneficial which in
their actual working out, when prac-
tically tried. would prove to be evils
in the guise of benefits. An lllustra-
ton of this Is the proposition to turn
the Post Office Department into a
carrier Of all kinds of miscellaneous
merchandise by the adoption Of a
parcels post system. From a national
point Of view one of the most serious
dangers from this system is the in
evitable effect that it would have, to
throw into mail order channels and
transfer to the great cities Of the coun-
try a vast volume of trade now done
In the small cities, country towns and
Villages. That this would be an evil
no one with mind capable of thought
can deny Stupendous changes in
the methods of transacting the busi-
ness Of distributing merchandise TO
the consumers would result, and the
result Of every change would be to
transfer trade and population to the
great cities. 1t would practically wipe
out the jobbing trade and the country
merchant would inevitably become, as
the Postmaster General says. In effect,
he has become in Germany, a sales
agent without any stock In trade, Of
fering specific goods as they are sold,
just as a manufacturers agent does
in this country, requiring no more Of
the machinery of trade than is neces-
sary to transmit his orders to the
central factory or warehouse. Retail
merchants now engaged in trade in
thousands of the smaller trades GEN.
ters In all arts Of the country would
be forced out OF their business, their
stores would be closed and some great
mail order concern in a great city
would do the business. The people
employed to transact 1t would neces-
sarily live in the cities where the
trade was done. In every European
country where the parcels post sys-
tenn exists, 1t has had this effect. The
cities of those countries in Europe
have grown in population and trade
with stupendous strides, at the ex-
pense Of the country, since the parcels
post system has been in vogue. That
system. has undoubtedly been one Of
the great promoting influences to-
wards this Capitalization of trade and
population in the cities.
To break the effect OF this funda-
mental objection to the parcels post,
the proponents Of that scheme urge
that 1t will stimulate the settlement
'f the rural regions, because It will
1crease the cOnveniences of rural life.
so 1t would stimulate rural settle
nlent, If the government would fur
,ish everyone who would move into
lie country with a donation of money
and free supply Of garden tools II
he huge treasury deficit which would
De caused by the parcels post system
4 inaugurated were applied directly
o such donations and gifts from the
government 1t would undoubtedly re-
suit in creating many new country
homes. but the reaction from such a
scheme would far over-balance the
benefits from IT.
The fact is incontrovertable that
he goods, wares and merchandise,
household goods. garden tools, dry
goods and clothing, groceries and all
ood products not produced on the
arm must be purchased from some
source by the dwellers in the country.
Where are these goods to come from.
md where are the people with con.
ir'ct the trade Of supplying them to
I've? If the countless millions of dol
ars expended by the dwellers in the
country for such things in the course
,f a year are sent to the great cities,
md the goods ordered from there
huge mail order concernes, to be de-
ivered by parcels post, then the fact
cannot be gainsaid that the people
who transact that immense volume
)f annual business will be concentrate
I'd in the cities. The large population
now transacting the business in the
small cities, the country towns and
country villages, will be transferred
to the cities. The eventful working
out Of such system would result, in
the end, In dividing our population
into two classes-those living in the
great cities and those living on farms
they be large or small. in
the country. The intermediate popu-
lation. which now furnishes the So