The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1911-09-14
$1.OOa Year
tERMS' 6 Months FiftyCts.

between Minneapolis and Sank Cen
ter had selected his Immediately
needed line of goods.
Each morning there leaves local
goods train that stops at all stations,
and therefore all orders for that day
could be loaded into one or, if re-
quired, two cars, and delivered to
each point as required Remember
this applies to the main lines of rail-
ways only.
The whole car space is obtained
for that one days delivery, but
whether car order is filled each
day, or every third day, depends on
the amount of sales at each local
point. And also, each shipper is
limited as to space, according to
bulk or weight, but in the absence
of shipment, because not ordered, to
retailer at next succeeding point,
the first is to be permitted to use of
that portion of space not occupied.
The point that we will notice par
ticularly is that minimum in cost
Of transportation is thus obtained.
Sure and quick receipts of goods is
made possible; hence customers are
better served and not turned away
because the goods you have been
expecting, via shipment, have not
come" You hold that trade that
would GO elsewhere.
But, say you, we local merchants
here at Sank Center will still have
to compete with those at Anoka.
That is just what you would not
have to do, though local competition
would still be in force, but subject
to the attractive forms displayed bya
system of advertising; which in the
end would mean more business for
the home paper, greater profit to
you, and best of all, and most profit
able, because more economical, less
cost to the consumer. Don't you
see that lessenlng in cost means
more money to expend; consequent
ly more purchases, more profit,
greater local conserving of upbuild-
ing power, the use of the dollar in
the home affairs.
Furthermore, no buyer (consum-
err is going to pay railway fare from
the one point to the other, unless
part of the difference in the cost of
his purchase can be saved. He can
not here combine business with pleas
ure, for his goods will cost him the
same in Anoka as in Sank Center.
How do make the cost the same?
Well, I'll put the case before you in
this way: Here are twenty mer-
chants at as many different local
points between Minneapolis and
Sank Center; here is one car of
goods; the price of that car from
Minneapolis TO Sank Center, includ-
ing charges, as commonly distin-
guished by railway companies, be-
tween through and ''locaP' ship
ments, is say forty dollars. The
cost for transportation is 40; the
number shipping, 20; 40 divided by
20=S2-the cost to each merchant.
In the beginning, / had divided
my subject as in the following: First,
Capitalization; second. general first
shipments, third, previous arrange
ment or classification of articles;
fourth, quantity, subject to season
Of year and demand; fifth, order in
shipments; sixth, route advantages;
seventh. buying, based upon classes
of goods desired at the different To-
cal points; and last, as a sort of gen
eral objective, or summary, of which
an attempt at explanation has been
given, maintajnence of equality in
sales price. But realized that to
give full details of such outlines
would take up great deal of space
in the columns Of our little paper, SO
/ have chosen to present my idea as
above.
In closing, / will state, all that has
been attempted at this writing, was
the imparting of a general idea point
ing toward a systematizing, or con-
solidation among the retailers Of the
state. In a following paper shall
give brief comparative description
of the methods employed by both
the Mail-order. and the Wholesale
houses. This will include the buy
ing and selling of such goods as are
concerned with those business estab-
lishments.