The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1911-09-14

4
order house; therefore, if you desire
to conserve that all-important none
tary strength in your several com
munities, you ought to recall this
outgoing cash into your local ex-
changes, by adopting the Mail-order
method or plan.
We now and then see an article in
some local Newspaper in which adj
vice is given to the retailers to adver-
tise, if they wish to reach the con-
sumner, to acquaint him with the bar
gains to be had at this or that bust
ness house, and if he desires to
compete for trade with the Mail-or-
der house.
But good land! Is not the poor
merchant done to death" as it is
with the Mail-order houses re-
sources, and the second" in stocks
left after the city retail shops have
chosen from the wholesalers supply
of goods? Why, the local retailers
margin of profit is so small even now,
that to carry forward a broad adver-
Using plan would be topractically put
him on the level Of merely getting
out what money he had already put
into his stock in trade, after paying
possible store rent, clerk hire, trans
portation charges and the dozen
other, though small counting-up
claims on his percentage of profit.
What is needed is for the great
body Of local merchants from all
over the state to get together, to or
ganize on the plan of buying in
wholesale quantities, and then dis
tribute as required on demand
Where would the Mail-order
house then be? What would become
lof that useless profit eater-up, the
wholesaler? No need to answer,
where.
There might be some objection to
this plan on the ground that it was
impractical, but what more imprac-
teal plan is there than that of sup
porting Wholesale houses, aiding the
! growth and power of those and the
Mail order houses and seeing the
honest penny taken from it's rightful
sphere of employment-the home
community? Is that economy? Is
such prodigality as supporting those
who return nothing of what they
take from your midst to be called
economy? Well, no thrifty house
wife would ever throw the half used
loaf of bread out of doors, neither
would a careful tiller of the soil
leave a goodly portion of his corn
carelessly strewn about his fields,
which he had been at such pains to
cultivate for that crop.
And then, wholesale houses do
not handle goods much under 20 per
cent. profit. just think that this
means one-ffth of the cost must be
added to the sales price in the sales
by the local merchant, and the Mail
order house, having eliminated the
wholesaler, leaves you where, Mr..
Local Merchant, in the race for trade
on a competitive scale?
We are now to consider how to
form the joint establishment, this
CO. partnership, (aside from a few
remarks ] shall not attempt full ex-
| PLANTATION for such suggestions as will
| be advanced it would need more
space than could be readily spared).
OF prime Importance, and there
for contained in this paper, is: main
tainance of equality in sales price.
This is figured (apart from rental
and drayage) on the percentage of
cost Of transportation for goods de-
livered at each local point. The
object Of this is to enable the mer-
chant, say at Sank Center, to sell his
goods at as nearly the same figure as
do the retail shops in Minneapolis or
st. Paul. Why? Simply to hold
the clty-ward trade to each local
point. Can it be done? 1t can.
How? Assuming the co-partnership
to have been formed, the Wholesale
buying headquarters located at, adj
visedly Minneapolis, because it is
the most centrally located large city,
transportation facilities considered,
in the state; then suppose that each
local merchant in the cities, towns,
ETC., along the main line or railway