Weekly journal-miner., 1909-02-24
PLUCK-ME STORES ARE
 IN DIRECT JEOPARDY

duced into the council to prohibit per sons, firms or companies from using scrip, checks, puneh-Outs or other evi- dences of indebtedness payable Tn oth- erwsie than their face value in money, or to compel employees to purchase goods of any particular stores. The measure will not affect the merchants of Phoenix, but many other cities in Arizona are directly concerned in the passage of the bill, which is similar to the law passed in Montana and New Mexico. It will be fought hard by large mining companies, however.
 Relative to this bill, c. R. Temple, realty man of Douglas, who is ill the city, stated the following today in an interview with your correspondent:
 "There is a condition prevalent in certain cities, notably Bisbee, Doug las, and Clifton whereby certain pow erful mining corporations maintain general merchandise stores whose i'm mense profits are taken from the wage earners and at the disastrous expense of every independent business interest in the communities where the big com panies department stores are main tained.
 "It is an old saying that figures do not Iie.Figures nere are eloquent. The payrolls of the districts and cities are as follows: Warren district, $475,OOO monthly; Copper Queen and Calumet Arizona smelters at Douglas, $120,- GOO monthly; Fl Paso and Southwest m payroll, $3O,OOO. The bank depos- its in Bisbee December, 1908. were $1,943, ,46S; in Douglas, $641.3Ol; and the combined population of Bisbee and Douglas is about 30,o00.
 "The city of Tucson, with a popu- lation of over 10000, has a possible payroll of SIOO,OOO monthly. During the season 300 tourists spend an aver age of S1O per day for four months; let us assume that outside of these two sources of income Tucson has a trib- utarv payroll of $2OO,OOO This gives Tucson a possible revenue $3,6OO,OOO exclusive of her jobbing trade. In less than two years we have Tucson develop from an insignificant Mexican Pueblo into a city of over 20,000 in habitants. On the other have eOndi- tions have made Bisbee and Douglas with payrolls exceeding over $7,OOO,- 900 per annum the slowest towns in business development.
 "It is estimated that deduction for the Copper Queen stores of these two cities amounts to , per cent of the payrons or S4O9,5OO. The aver age profit of the stores is 9 per cent, figuring on which basis but 35 per cent of the payrolls or S22l. 100 reaches gen eral circulation.
 ''If the present system which the law will abolish. were not in effect and Douglas -Bisbee had l25 merchants with frontage of 30 feet each, this would give us six blocks, 300 feet on each side of the street, and the aver age earnings of each merchant would be S9,S2S per year, based on the pres ent payroll, were the business equally distributed. The average wage per day in the Warren district is $4 or $l2O per month. There are 1000 men employed, making a monthly payroll of S4S0.0O0, and the distribution of this amount at an average of $S00O for each merchant would give 60 mer- chants a daily business of S266, from which at 10 per cent profit they would earn 5000 per annum. But arguing from a 9 per cent basis Bisbee would have l05 merchants covering seven blocks and earning an annual profit of $l, l,350,O00 When you are eonversant with the facts and conditions as they now exist in Douglas and Bisbee you must agree that unless some remedy is provided the independent merchants will be forced out of business, wnicb will mean the pratical extinction of good values of business real estate.
 ''I might sight you Globe with no company stores and with a payroll practically the same as Clifton, a clos ed mercantile town. has bank deposits of sS75OOO while Clifton bank depos- its are but s222, ,00O Globe is a pros porous town bidding fair with Tucson and Phoenix for the population banner of the territory while in Bisbee, much of the profits go back to the corpora tion cofrers in New York city. Ex- isting conditions have in great meas ure prevented railroad development. The legislature will work out a rem edy, and we will in short time hea- +lo -oot of the Southern Pacific whiS-