The Glenwood post., 1911-07-22
A FARMERS IDEA OF
CATALOGUE HOUSES

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an article contributed to the st. Paul
(Minn.) paper by Thomas Horrigau, a
farmer of New Brighton, MINI.
We as farmers are very willing to
admit what the fine toned orator tells
us, that we are the most independent
people on earth, and SO we could and
ought to be, but are not. We are sim
ply the serfs and slaves of that great
monstrosity, the mail order house,
which is sapping our financial lives. L
put it strongly because L hope to awak-
en- to realization of the slavery we
50 voluntarily accept and seemingly
enjoy. l do not claim to be any dit
ferent or any better than the rest of
you in this respect, but l would like to
join my fellow farmers in throwing
off the thraldom which now exists.
l do not wish to be considered as
talking from mean spirit toward my
family, but l am tired ofhaving my
family sitting up nights and devoting
Sundays to shopping by mail and buy
ing many things which are not neces-
sary for their happiness or comfort,
simply because a bargain counter S
constantly spread before them. l be
lieve we should build up our own com
munities and enable our home mer-
chants to give us good market for
our products by standing by them. We
can buy all that we need, and, on the
average, as cheaply, by doing our busl-
ness at home, and thus make a better
market for our products.
How can we expect the country
stores to grow and thrive if we, as
farmers, refuse to trade with them and
send our money to some distant city.
which does not interest us or help us
in the least? While there is always a
standard price for some kind of
farmers produce, how can we expect
the country merchant to buy our eggs.
butter and poultry, and other products
so vital to us all if we don't recipro-
cate? Is it not an object for US 10
build up our own market town and
make markets for our productsf
Does it not add to the value of onr
land to be able to point to some thriv-
ing nearby town with ready market
for our products, with schools ami
churches Is not land so situated
worth more than if isolated and dist
ant from everything and everybody
About the only thing the mail order
house has left US for ourselves is the
production of babies, and I should not
be surprised to see them open found
ling hospitals and furnish ready-made
babies at "reduced" rates, avoiding
medical expense and the purchase ct
barrels of Mrs. Winslow's soothing
syrup.
If my farmer friends would unite l
would be glad to refuse the catalogues
from the mail order houses. l want
my family to have all the inery ami
gewgaws we can afford, but | want
them to go to the home merchant to
buy them, and not give their trade 10
some one that has no interest other
than to take our money.
By standing by our home merchants
we are standing by each other, and by
standing by each other we will thrive
and prosper together. Is it to our in
terest to build up great houses in dist
ant cities? | make the broad asser.
tion that while some things on the
surface seem cheaper than the prices
of our home merchants, after we have
scrimped ourselves to get the cash and
have paid the freight and other
charges, and paid for things we do
not need because they seem cheap, we
are actually out of pocket; we are
simply gulled by the coromants.
If we keep depressing and destroy
ing our home merchants we will find
after lifetime that our farms are in
an isolated region and have not in.
creased in value as they would if we
had made market at our very door.
l know too well the selfishness of
human nature to imagine for mo-
ment that you would join in crusade
against catalogue houses if it did not
appeal to your cupidity. When you
can make and save more than the cat
alogue man you will buy at home. 1t
is fine thing to cut your neighbor 8
throat if it puts money into your own
lpocket, but when it comes to cutting
your own throat the inducement is not
SO tempting.
l know farmers who are always in
debt to their local merchants while
their cash has gone to the railroad for
freight bills and to catalogue houses
for articles which do not rank as eithe.