The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-04-16
SHALL THE COUNTRY
TOWN CEASE TO EXIST?
Evils 'of Capitalization Can Be
Overcome Only by De- ).
Capitalization.
BY o. A. CHARLES.

tN"PSiibHt ny " a. CHaTies, iSlV'l e.
In this country we are face to face
with a great economic question that
involves the very existence Of every
country town in the United States.
For more than generation the
cities have grown at the expense Of
the country until the congestion Of
population in those huge aggregations
Of humanity has become a menace to
the perpetuity of the nation Human
degeneracy ending In pauperism and
crime have proved to lie the newt,
able consequence of substituting the
tenement for the home and rearing
children in ne alleys and on the
asphalt instead Of in the midst of
gardens and green fields.
The increasing tendency of crime
in cities has become recognized
fact. The type of citizens bred in an
environment from which the human.
izing influences of nature have been
shut out loses all human sympathy
and furnishes material for mobs that
promise to some day repeat in the
streets Of every American city tho
fiendish atrocities of the French rev.
olution. Is there no remedy? What
then is the antidote for this social poi.
son? There is an antidote-a pre-.
ventative and cure, and there Is but
one-it is decentralization.
Trade must be de-centrallzed.
Industry must be de-centalized.
Commerce must be de centralized.
Decentralization must be the watch.
word Of stupendous national move
ment that will take hold of the pa.
triotic impulses and grip the heart
strings of the people OF this nation.
One of two things is COINS to hap.
pen to this county. The already over
grown and congGsted cities will con-
tinue to rob the country towns Of
their trade and population and to abb
sorb larger proportion of the popu.
lation until destruction faces the ma
ton. or the economic forces that have
been sweeping humanity and industry
into the great cities will be checked
and reversed and thousands of small
industrial centers and country towns
and villages will absorb the rapidly
increasing millions who comprise the
vast army of industry. Which will
you have? President Roosevelt said:
II would rather the country be made
up of great number of fourishing
small towns and villages than to see
immense cities grow at the expense
OF rural communities" The influ.
ences and forces that are at work to
promote trade centralization and to
absorb into the cities the work OF
commercial distribution now done by
the county merchants are most in
geniously appealing to the cupidlty Of
the rural people.
TO convince them that the only
question inolved is the alleged advan-
tage Of wholly eliminating the coun-
try merchant as distributing agency
1t Is contended that the country mer-
chant makes profit on all the goods
he sells and that his customers could
save that profit to themselves by
trading with the big cities through
the pOstotfico instead OF at the home
store.
In nine cases out of ten goods or,
dered by mail from catalogue all
things considered, including quality.
cost the customer more ehan goods
bought at the country store after a
personal inspection. In the rare
cases where small immediate saw
ing might be made by trading
through the postofiice for every cent
SO saved, thee is larger direct loss
that will In the long run come back
like boomerang to the postoffice
trader.
This is true when nothing is con.
sidered but the purely selfish effect
OF this act upon ones own profit and
property interest. Market and farm
values roads schools and the thou.
sand and one social relations and
community advantages that exert a
reflex action on farm life.
The home market Is the best mar.