Arizona republican., 1912-10-03
The Cost of Distribution

The ReDuDlCdl Is III IGCtlpl Ol INO 1 pamphlets, each descriptive of a chamber of Horro" Boht relate to the tariff Though neither pamphlet 1 appears to have been issued by a po- litical committee both deal with the tariff question from opposite points | of view. The first favoring the democratic | policy, describes an exhibit maintained in New York of various articles such as cook stoves, clocks, horse shoes and lead pencils, manufactured in this i country and sold at a lower price abroad than at home. The other pamphlet favoring a pro tective tariff, describes by means of pictures The Real Chamber of Hor- TOTS" The pictures taken from pie torial journals like Harper's and Les lies in 1893 and 1894, represent riots, | bread lines, soup houses and incidents in the marches of the COXey and the Kelly armies, signs of bad times at ll son democratic tariff law. No doubt, the bad times of that period resulted directly from the change in the tariff, perhaps not so much to the operation of the new law as to the apprehen sion regarding it's operation. So to a certain degree we may admit that The Real Chamber of Horrors" is an exaggeration.
 But returning to the low tariff or the tariff for revenue picture, in the minds of the ignorant or the unthink ing, the fact that an American made article is sold for less abroad than at home is final and irrefutable proof that the tariff on such articles is too high; that our producers or manufac- turers are bleeding us for enormous profits while abroad they are forced by competition down to reasonable prices
 The fact is that the profits to the American manufacturer on his foreign sold products are as great as on those sold at home, for he is spared the greatest item of expense as to them. The cost of distribution in this cOun- try is enormous. It is unparalleled anywhere else in the world. It is ire quently much greater than the cost of production including the cost of ma terial, labor and running expenses.
 All have noticed the page advertise ments in American magazines. A sin gle issue costs several hundred dollars and the same advertisement frequently appears in a dozen magazines the same month In addition advertising agencies scatter smaller advertise ments in hundreds of newspapers throughout the country This expense goes on day after day and month after month Still, in addition, the manufacturing firm issues tons of ex- pensive literature relating to the same article This is sent out to dealers by mail and express and a part of it reaches every consumer in the land Great posters relating to the same ar ticle, glare at us from every billboard and from the advertising section ot every street car in the land. The ad- vertisement is painted on country fences, on rocks by the wayside.
 Then there is the enormous expense of travelling salesmen, and the keeping up of sales departments. All this con- stitutes the American system of dis tribution such as prevails nowhere else in the world. It is in no way re lated to any tariff system. It is em' ployed sometimes to meet fierce com petition. and at all times that "tht people may know" The people have to pay for knowing
 The American manufacturer is at nC expense for distribution abroad. Hi goods there are sold in one of tw' ways. He either establishes a brancl house and distributes his wares him self to retailers or else they are sol' outright to a factor who distribute them by the comparatively inexpensiv methods of the foreign country.
 It should also be understood tha when these comparisons betweel prices at home and abroad are made they are what are called jobber prices. We have seen no compariso of the prices paid by American an foraiop copcuuoerc of American pro duced articles. But this we know, tha the prices of meat, grains, vegetables coffee, sugar and generally, the neces saries of life. are lower here than i France, Germany and England, thoug