Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1910-12-22

AAAh WOiSiC iliAilS lCe NHS SoI
rier can take anything for you
that he is able to carry, but il
is proposed to limit the weight
to eleven pounds only. This
would greatly curtail the de-
livery privileges now open
to every farmer who de.
sires to use them and make de-
livery cost him more than un-
der the present method.
Here is another side of the
Question the side seen by your
good friends, the home mer-
chants:
Pig-city merchants of all
kinds would be quick to seize
the rural parcels post as a de-
livery outlet through the use of
the local agents, to whom par
GELS would be shipped in large
quantities by express or freight
for deposit in the local post
office and delivery by rural car
riers. There is absolutely no
way in which this could be pre-.
vented.
The opportunity thus afford
ed these mail-order houses for
the development of a gigantic
trust is a most serious menace
to the farmers welfare. Ev-
cry necessary of life could in
time be monopolized through
the operation Of this govern
ment postal subsidy, taxed
against all of the people and
applied for the sole benefit of
the Mail Order Trust. Already
Wall street sees the trend of
events and "big business" has
become interested in the foster
irg and financing the parcels
post agitation. Its appetite
has been stimulated by the re-
suits of the past few years,
which have enabled one mail
order house to pay an annual
dividend of Z per cent on its
many millions of capital and
recently to declare a special
dividend Of SO l-3 per cent.
What farmer can ever hope t.
equal that record?
The big city merchants pay
40 taxes of any kind direct or
.|indirect in your community
I. They do not help maintain your
schools, churches, libraries,
hospitals ard other public in
sti utions. They do not help
you build and maintain COCO
roads. They do not give you
credit and they give you
neither sympathy nor help
when misfortune comes. These
big-city merchants have abso
lutely no interest in you, ex
capting to get hold of as many
# your dollars as they can and
rive as little return therefor
is possible.
Furthermore, the big-city
merchants do not help in aoy
.vav to maintain and build up
the home market for your pro
ducts that enables you to get
pot cash or it's equivalent for
verifying you have to sell
| Your location near such town
Increases the value of your
farm and makes that farm easy
o sell at full value whenever
our desire.
YOU appreciate the fact that
be farmer trade keeps up the
country towns and that any
ystem- such as the parcels
post which will divert the
farmer trade from the country
own to the big city will ruin
the country town.
If the country town is ruin.
d, the farmers home market
will be destroyed or at leas,
very seriously impaired. Prop.
srty values in the country
towns would certainly depre.
ciate as store after store was
forced out of business and
greater burdens of taxation
would be placed upon the farm
ars' overburdened shoulders.
Lack of funds raised by taxa.
ton would curtail the schools
Of the country towns. Church.
es now so largely supported by
the home merchants could no
longer be kept supplied with
ministers, unless the farmer
members heavily increased
their contributions. Public
spirit would be destroyed, pub.