Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1910-12-16

tricts and its pauperism. The country
town has no slums, and every one is
self supporting. The red light and
| criminal districts of the cities are un-
known to the country towns. The 20
lice force and the criminal courts of
the city are unnecessary, and the
money which these would cost can be
used to plant trees and build side
walks.
| The cities are crowded almost to the
limit of human endurance. The coun-
| try town has less room than the coun
try itself, but still there is plenty for
every one. The cost of food that is so
alarming to the city dweller is more
or less of Joke to the resident of the
country town He has a garden in Ills
back yard and COW in neighborine
pasture. The cost of living may have
affected his ability to purchase lux
uries, but he will always have plenty
to eat.
The country town has distinctive
place to fill in the development of the
country. Some people would do away
with the country town altogether and
let all the farmers business be done
in the cities. Others would have the
farmer patronize his home merchant at
whatever cost. An average between
these ideas will represent the attitude
of the majority of the farmers toward
the country town. To centralize all
mercantile business in the large cities
would be an unwise policy. The tend
ency is rather in the other direction.
The movement of factories to smaller
towns where the employees can live
more comfortably is becoming general.
Decentralizing of the mercantile bust
ness must follow.
The growth of the mail order bust
ness has been regarded as spelling the
doom of the country town. That the
mail order business has grown to its
present proportions is the fault of the
country retailer himself. The country
town is essential to the prosperity of
the farmer, but the farmer is more
essential to the prosperity of the coun-
try town. If instead of appealing to
the sentiment of the farmer and trying
to caioe of brighten him into boycott
ing the mail order houses the country
merchant had handled the problem in
a businesslike way there would have
been no mail order scare. In those
country towns where the Importance
of the surrounding farmers is recog
nized and an attempt made to give the
farmer a square deal there is little
complaint of mail order buying 1t Is
the merchants who treat the farmers
unfairly who are most ready to raise
the cry against the mail order houses
In good many towns the farmer is
directly Disseminated against. The
stores maintain delivery service for
their city patrons. The farmer goes
to the store for his goods. The city
man usually pays once month-some-
times not so often. The farmer nearly
always pays for his goods in cash or
produce. Yet both must pay the same
price. The farmer is helping to pay
the cost of delivery system from
which he gets no benefit. He is help
ing to pay the interest on credit az
counts and sometimes the accounts
themselves. If instead of workin.
desperately against anything tha
bears the name of parcels post on thu
ground that it will encourage mail Oh
der buying the merchant would tur
in and work for a low rate parcel
post on the rural routes he would ef
fectually curb any tendency the con
munity might have toward mail ordp'
buying. If he would deliver certa!
such a parcels post he would be gi,
Ing them no more than square deal
Another way in which the merchant
IN country towns are unfair to Il
farmers is in the purchase of fai
produce. A good many times the me
chants will combine to keep down Il
prices of potatoes and other far
products. Often they will ship 10 su
products from Il distance, torgettiu
their arguments in favor of buying
the home community.
One of the greatest injustices viii
the merchant in the country town Ii
imposed upon the farmer and up
his fellows in town as well is that t.
useless duplication. In many count
towns there are half a dozen groce
where one could easily do all the bus
ness. Three or four hardware store
are trying to live where there is traC
enough to support only one. There
duplication in delivery systems, dupli
cation in rent and clerk hire and in u
dozen other items All this the farm
er and the lown people who patroniz.'
the stores have to pay. To be SURF
that they do pay 1t there is often All
agreement among the retailers to hold
prices at certain level. Then they
complain when the farmer sends away
for his goods. They forget that the
farmer is Il business man and that a
business man cannot succeed unless
he follows business nrincialas and
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