The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1910-06-03
Boycotted OF,
Another Article

I'VE are advised that you are,
and have been for sometime cutting
----------at a very low price. We
have had considerable correspond
ence with you in reference to this
matter. We have been very ,leni-
ent because we desired to have
your good will and patronage. But
it has now come to such state
that the cutting of the price must
be discontinued. We are forced to
to take this position, and we trust
you will appreciate that you can
sell as mush as heretofore of our
goods, by maintaining the prices
and further more make a great
deal more money
We answered this letter and told
them that our system was SO in
expensive that it would be an in
justice to us to ask US to raise our
price, and that if they insisted on
this that we would be forced to CIT
out the sale of this article. We told
them tEat we would not annoy the
other grocers by advertising the
the price of the article, and now to
show you that this company want
ed to be more reasonable, we re-
ceived the following letter from
them. I will show you the sub
stance of the letter which l re-
ceived from them later on.
1--WE are in receipt of yours of
the 21st, and appreciate that you
are good business man and that
you have a large business. That
is the reason that we are anxious
to come to an understanding; but
you cannot blame us for wanting
to protect our own interest, and
prevent this constant complaining
of the other merchants" Later it
was adjusted satisfactorily to them
A great deal of evidence could be
shown you to prove that the manu-
features, The Retail ,Grocer's AS
sociation, all work to try to keep
the price up on many articles.
Here is part of letter which will
show you the situation.
To give you a little more evil
dence along this line, will say that
Mr.. Duke c. Bowers, personal
friend of the Basket Stores living
at Memphis Tenn who has thirty
two stores, printed pamphlet, and
sent it to the law makers at Wash
ington, to stop this trouble on the
part of the Manufacturers, Whole
sale Grocers, and Retail Grocers
when they try to fix the retail
price, by law.
In his letter to the law makers
he says did you know that lots
and lots of manufactured articles
used by both rich and poor could
be sold at profit by some dealers
at much less than they are now be-
ing retailed for? Did you know
that there are numbers of dealers
who would sell some things con-
siderably cheaper were it not for
the fact that the manufacturers
binds him to sell at the price die
tated by them.
If by the use of more econOm-
ical system one retailer Is enabled
to furnish the consumer, on a
smaller margin of profit than can
his competitor, don't you believe
he ought to be allowed the priv
lege?
Why is it that some of the manu-
facturers dictate at what price their
products shall be sold for, after
they have passed out of their
hands?
Gentlemen, l say that when a
merchant knows how to conduct a
business calculated to give the
consumer the greatest possible
value for their money, and at the
same time make what he considers
fair margin OF profit, that he
should not be allowed to be hamp-
cred, unless he was making reduct-
ions for the sole purpose of injury
to some individual or firm"
The above may seem strange to
some of you, probably many of
my own customers wonder why it
is do not sell, and cannot consist
antly sell an advertised flour, like
Gold Medal Flour for example.
The Basket Stoses could probably
buy a flying machine and sail
around Lincoln, but we could not
sell Gold Medal Flour, unless we
obeyed orders and kept the price
| up.
An investigation into the causes
why food prices were high by the
grand jury of Lorain County, Ohio,
disclosed that certain manufactures
were limiting the selling price OF