The Ordway new era., 1909-01-08
A Death Blow to the Small Town


there is danger that some prop"'''
so.called modern Improvements may
be accepted as beneficial "hio" !"
their actual working out, wheh pfact''
rally tried, would prove 10 be eNiiS III
the guise Of benefits. An illust'a''o"
# this is the proposition to turn t"'
Post. ONCE Department into ca'''''
NJ all kinds OF miscellaneous mefchah'
IIse by the adoption of parcels post
system. From national point VI
view one OF the most serious dangers
from this system i the iheNI'do''
fleet that il would have, 10 throw IN
To mail order channels aud transfer /"
the great cities Of the country vast
volume Of trade now done 10 The >u'a''
titles, country towns and villages.
That this would be an evil no Que
with a mind capable Il thought can
ieny. Stupend0u> changes 10 the
method oftrausactlus the business "'
distributing mcrchaudl.e 70 the con
sumers would result. aui the result ui
every change would K io transfer
trade and population t. the great
cities. 1t would practically wipe out
the jnbbIng trade and the country
merchant would inevitably become,
as the Postmaster General says, 10
effect. hr has become IN Germany,
sales agent without any stock IN trade.
Offering specific goods a. they are snld,
lust rs a manufacturer agent does IN
this country, requiring no more If the
machinery OF trade than i necessary
to transmit his orders To the central
factory or warehouse. Retail mer-
chants now engaged IN trade in thou.
sands Of the smaller trade CenterS In
all parts Of the country would be fore
ed out Of business. their stores would
be closed and some great mail order
concern In a big city would do the
business. The people employed to
transact IL would necessarily live in
the cities where the trade was done.
Ia every European country where the
parcels post system exists, it has had
this effect. The cities OF those cOun-
tries In Europe have grown in pOpula-
tion and trade with stupcndous
strides, at the expense OF the country,
since the parcels post system has been
In vogue. That system has undOubt-
edly been one OF the great promoting
Influences towards this Capitalization
OF trade and population in the cities.
To break the effect Of this fuuda-
mental objection to the parcels post,
the proponents Of that scheme urge
that II will stimulate the settlement
Of the rural regions, because IL will
increase the COnvcnicnCcS Of rural life.
So IL would stimulate rural settlement
II the government would furnish cv-
eryOnc who would move into the Cuun-
try with donation OF money and a
free supply Of garden tools. If the
huge treasury deficit which would be
caused by the parcels post system II
inauguratcd were applied directly to
such donations and gifts from the
government, IL would undoubtedly
result in creating many new country
homes, but the reaction from such a
scheme would far Ovcr.balance the
benefits from it.
The fact is incontrOvcrtiblc that
the goods, wares and merchandise,
household goods, garden tools. dry
goods and clothing groceries aud all
food products not produced on the
farm must be purchased from some
source by the dwellers in the country.
Where are these goods to come from.
and where are the people who conduct
the trade Of supplying them to live:
II the countless millions of dollars
expended by the dwcllers in the
country for such things in the course
OF year are sent to the great cities
and the goods ordered there from
huge mail order concerns, to be de
llvered by parcels post, then the fact
can not be gainsaid that the people
who transact that immense volume of
annual business will be concentrated
In the cities. The large population
now transacting the business in tn,
small cities, the country towns ant
the country villages, will be trans
ferred to the cities, The eventua
working out OF such system woult
result, In the end, in dividing oul
population into two classes-thos,
living In the great cities and thos,
living on farms, whether they be larv,
or small, in the country. The inter
mediate population, which nov
furnishes the social center for th,
farmers life, in the nearby town O.
village. or In a small city wher,
practically every social advantage car
be had that exists in the larger cities