The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1911-02-14

Nashville, Tenn, Feb. 14.-A list of
notable speakers is being prepared for
the Convention of Southern Merchants
which meets in Nashville, February
2Sth for a four days consideration of
the parcels post and other subjects of
vital interest to merchants. Among
those who are practically certain to
come are: Hon. John Sharpe Williams
of Mississippi, United States senator
elect, democratic minority leader in
the house; T. ]. Fernley, of Richmond,
Va, secretary-treasurer of the Nation
al Association of Hardware Jobbers;
Governor B. w. Hooper of Tennessee;
Thomas H. Potts, secretary of the Ma
tional Association of Retail Druggists
On the tentative list are Governor Jud-
son Harmon, of Ohio; Governor Wood
row Wilson of New Jersey; General
Luke E. Wright of Memphis, secretary
of war in Roosevelt's cabinet, formerly
governor general of the PHILIPPINES
and ambassador to Japan, and num-
ber of others who have attained to
national prominence in statesman
ship, diplomacy and business en-
deavor.
Concentrated effort is to be made to
render impossible the passage Of a
parcels post bill, not only at the pres
ent term of congress but at any sub
5equent term, by demonstrating the
evils it would entail on retail mer-
chants, not only. but as well on all
interests that in any way touch mer-
camille enterprises. 1t is the belief of
those who have brought about the
holding of convention that a parcels
post law, such as that now pending
before congress, would drain the rural
communities of their capital and pop
ulation, aggrayate the evils of central
lied wealth and congested cities and
that only two classes of interests, the
retail catalogue mail order houses and
the express companies. would receive
any sort of benefit.
The theory of which much capital
has been made by certain interests,
that the passage of the bill now be-
fore congress would result detriment-
ally to the express companies and
that those companies are preventing
its passage has been exploded. The
scheme for rural parcels post. such
as the bill calls for, according to the
contention of the merchants, will not
create competition with the express
companies. but will give them mon
oply of carrying packages from the
mail order house to the local post
office, and the packages will be taken
in charge by the mail carriers only
after they have reached point where
the express companies can carry them
no further.
The situation that would be created,
as summarized by member of the
executive committee of the convention
of southern merchants in an interview,
follows:
in every country town, catalogue
agents of mail order concerns would
establish themselves. They would
need no store, and carry no stock.
Their whole time would be devoted to
soliciting orders from catalogues. The
merchandise would be shipped to them
by express or freight from the retail
mail order houses in the large cities.
When received 1t would be deposited
in the local postoffice and the pack
ages delivered by the rural carriers.
THE rural free delivery system, in
augurated for the educational advance
ment of the people, would thus be sub
verted from its original purpose. and
would become mere instrument or
agency in the hands of the great re-
tail mail order catalogue house for the
of the most oppressive
trust that human ingenuity could de-
vise-the mail order trust trust
that would eventually control all
sources of supply and all channels of
distribution for everything the people
must eat, wear and use in their daily
lives"
mo one but the retail mail order
catalogue houses, dealing in all classes
of merchandise, could maintain local
agent and solicitor In
town. They would thus be given a
of the commercial advan-
tages of this new system of merchan-
disc delivery by the mail carriers on
the rural routes. The country mer-