New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1911-09-20
A Farmers Argument Against the
Parcels Post and Mail Order
Business.

US, that We are the most independe
people on earth, and so we could ar
ought to be, but are not. We al
simply the serfs and slaves of tn,
great monstrosity, the mail ordt
house, which is sapping our financi;
lives. | put it strongly, because
hope to awaken youto the reslizatio
of the slavery we 50 voluntarily acceI
and seemingly enjoy. do not clai1
to be any different or better than tn
rest Of you in this respect, but
would like to join my fellow farmer
in throwing off the thralldom whic
now exists. People are so constitute
that it is hard to make any importan
move in the community alone, Gu
families like to have equal advan
tages with others, and so long as it i
popular for families to use the cata
logues for shopping tours they viii
feel that they are deprived of some o
the important comforts Of life, if it i!
suspended. do not wish to be con
sidered as talking from q mean spiri
toward my family, but I am tired O.
having my family sitting up nights
and devoting Sundays to shopping by
mail and buying many things which
are not necessary for their happiness
or comfort, simply because q bargain
counter is constantly spread before
them. I believe we should build up
our own communities and enable our
home merchants to give US good
market for our products by standing
by them. We can buy all that We
need, and, on the average, as chesply,
by doing our business at home, and
thus make q better market for our
products. How can we expect the
country stores til thrive and grow if
We, as farmers, refuse to trade with
them, but send our money to some
distant city, which does not interest US
or help US in the least. While there
is always standard price for some
kinds of farmers produce, how can
We expect the country merchant to buy
our eggs, butter, poultry and other
products, SO vital to US all, if We don't
Is it not an object for US
o build up our market town and make
markets for our products? Does it
'ot add to the value of our land to be
bile to point 10 some thriving nearby
own with ready market, with
chools and churches? Is not land SO
ltuated worth more than if it 10
'olsted and distant from everything
nd every body? |
About the only thing the mail order
ouse has left us for ourselves is the :.
reduction OF babies, and I shall not
surprised to zee them open found. l
ng hospitals and furnish read y.made {
sbies at reduced rates, avoiding I
edical expense and the purchase of '
arrels OF Mrs. Winslow's soothing
1rup. 8
II my farmer friends would unite 1
ould be glad to refuse the catalogues t
bile room in my house. I want my /
'mily to have all the fnery and gew- t
avs we can afford, but 1 want them
go to home merchant to buy it, and i
IT give their trade to some one that r
as no other interest than to take our
oney. c
By standing by our home mercha ants t
3 are standing by each other, and by {
anding by each other we will thrive c
I'd prosper together. Is it to our {
terest to build up great houses in
slant cities? l make the broad \
sertion that while some things on
e surface may seem cheaper than the d
ices of our home merchant, after we v
I've scrimped ourselves to get the q
sh and paid freight and other q
argos, and paid for things we do e
1t need, because they seem cheap, we q
Q actually out of pocket; we are b
IMPLY gulled by the cormorants. If q
keep depressing and destroying n
If home merchants, we will find after d
lifetime that our farms are in an 9
plated region and have not increased t
value as they would if we had made q
market at our very door. q
know too we'll the selishness of s
man nature to imagine for a p
'ment you would join in a crusade t
'ainst catalogue houses if it did not n
peal to your cupidity. When you II
n make and save more money by q
aling with your own merchants than s
9 catalogue man you will buy at v
me. It is fine thing to cut your t.
ighbor's throat if it puts money Il
to your pocket, but when it comes to
ting your own throat the induce n
ent is not so tempting. =
ITO be continued next week. >,