Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-03-03

| able night TO make UNIFORM price Tor
| coal as the various stoIe heepers III Tue
| community nave 10 Hiahe iuehtlcai prices
on sugar, nan ana callco.
IN these days no organization rs com
| plete Wltnout fIess ASehl, lof Tue act
| ual truth cannot harm us. NO newspap-
er attack should pc ieit unanswered. NO
[ mistaken notion Snoulo oe dioMeu 10 take
| root IN the pubic mlilu. Educate the
people; show the edltors OF your news
! papers what ton OF coal costs, from
| the time it is blasted out of the bowels
| of the earth until II reaches the stove. 1t
| Will be the news ana theS VIII De slad
| to print it,
| dishonest competition especially as re-
CARDS short weight, can be stopped by rig
! id enforcement OF local laws or by the
| enactment OF such laws where they do
not exist. Put the crooks out OF business
| wherever you find them ana at any cost.
There should be apremium set on honesty
| and separation of the sheep from the
goats. Not even for expediency,s sake
| should a palpably dishonest dealer be
urged or allowed TO become member of
| an association, at least not until he has
| mended his ways. which he VIII some
| times do; because few men care to have 1t
| known that they cannot get into an or
| SaniZation made up of the best men in
| their line of business.
| | have found that a large fraction OF
| the complaints which come in to me con-
| corning price cutting, are either unfound-
ed or the result of Il misrepresentation of
| the circumstances Customers in search
| of low prices often make false state
| mentS and statesmen with an eve oniy
| to the commission at stake frequently
| misrepresent the facts or wifully mis-
| construe them. An important feature OF
| any Association, therefore is TO sift the
| evidence and heal the breach if possible
| A good salesman, by the way, is one who
| can go out ana get the price; II he can
| not do so he is a worse than useless eX-
pense He becomes Il losing proposition
| and II trouble breeder
| You may he interested TO know that the
: New York Association is now in its sew
enth year ana includes practically all the
important dealers in Manhattan ana the
| Bronx as we'll as in JERSEY City and
| lioboken across die Hudson river. We
! have Il President. W. President an Tx
| eCutiVe Committee, of seven who decide
| most of the ions and "A
! General committee of g. selected geo
graphically, so that all parts OF the ter
! ritory will he Represented, each sfnenl Der
Of the General l0y1nfttt ed IS supposed TO
keep in touch With four or nv, dealers
nearest to him. The Executive Commit
tee elects the Commissioner who Is also
Treasurer of the Association and appointS
the Deputy Commissioned. legal advisor
and office force. Dues Of the Association
are based ON the tonnage of the dealer
Regular meetings of both the Executive
ana General Committee are held each
month and sometimes several lines !,
month"; and meetings of the entire trade
Occur; at frequent intervals District
meetings for the adjustment of local
trougles are often called and have been
found to be very efficacious COmmnn-
ications between the dealers. either per
sonal or by telephone. are encouraged
in case of MISUNDERSTANDING or for the
interchanee of information and are often
more effective than any sort of mediation
One of the most important features of
/ the Association is its collection depart
ment. Last year over $50. 900 worth of bad
bills We're turned in by the members
and of this amount over $4,000. or about
20 per cent. were collected, of which about
one-half was secured through the Office
without recourse to legal action | have
with me forms of letters We send out to
delinquent members. .f these are of in
terest to you shall be glad to leave them
with your secretary and TO answer any
luestions you may desire TO ask concern
ing TINS important matter. Some of the
melhodS we employ as a practicallylocal
",5; ~ may ilet apply 10 your own;
over a biar State h,,t tho nr;ncinles o.. d" az
b',s;,a', ',S Is ~ nU' tle piinclpies OF
Jo,,ht ,no+ W., 49, ui vt ;t W me- anu l
mon never make . visit Of tb ,is c snrt
without ina,n;ng rnnoi ~ l.; ~ ~ ~ "ol
10 me ana Ia TIE aSsociation I VI ranrasa,,t
W. have heen ba,,;ns o,, o,,, ma,,I,i'
du,ing tho nant wear ond w., , roo.ons
,i;ni7 -, No., d'' g. t.u. ioi itaoollS
MIN ,nattars VA onto,; IT, IN ~ ~
ivor avon bonn,aes1v hna ~ ~ S;; ;,u
Of n,.n,,. bi,t na,,ar o.u th ,,E oi,i r
fan hettar daons en-. ..fIu nv 81 a.,
~ 49, thraa ,oa,,th na a,'.'i ~
NV no nnst stren,,nns orfaits 't r. 'i,,r'
aio,i,r nia,,antr ha,, ,,, - - wy 'o'i
aathnre ond harn,on,. c, "a, ,,,,no ~ ~, ~
&C. cxnant "a nto,t ,i.ht ,nriI t,at
and avoid the ranatitin5 az tho disastrn,1s
.nndj,ionc ,yI;nh hnH n,a VI to,,;I
u,nrca sinoo ,ooS S''"i' '""''9
Vitbont INV oroo,;.a.io, o . ou,,;,,r
noint md witbo,It tha amon ~ q a ai,H
amria Of What the aSsociatinn bns dona
in tho nast haiia,.a ~ h,Ta;, ls' ,n''i1
b,va driCtad e,iII r,,rthar frnn, ;tt, 49,,
mos ana that ina rat.u trade 4, Me-
Vii, wn,,ld hoyo Moan '1nn,,aa - ra,hon
yan,. or rninnme co,nnn,itio, ~ "''''''9i
nave peeh impressed Dy the effects
that can pe produced by Individual effort
he hr3ueht nbnnt NV a yerv f ,,,"' , ~,
who are ihorGnrhlv in aarnsst AVA 40
wiiIne ar eonoa sacri6ca 70 1ba,nea,,,as
tn thj,,f etraight ana act Soiri,. w.
~
me pubilc mas hothlhS 10 Tear from
Such an association aS yours. IL IS NOT
trade IN "ich men nave iattened ana
grown iISh uISnonestE' 90 NOT know
OF a shlsie dcilet III NeW YORK CITY VINO
mas accumulated a fortune solely from
ms coal business; .'fc any good business
man a paper ana pehcli ana the last coal
bill you PAM TO the wholesaler and let
him iigure IL out Tor himself. The chances
are he VIII ask you why you stay in bus
mess; man recently asked me If
WASH AFRAID me district attorney would
investigate lhe Coal Merchants Assoca-
ton of New YORK, and | answered tina