The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1912-06-07
BLOW TO MECHANICS
Parcels Post Bill Strikes at Home
Working Man.
TOWNS WOULD BE DESTROYED
Effect OF Parcels Post and Mall Order
Houses on Foreign countrIes-A
Situation That American Artisans
Should Fight Asainst-What About
Your Boys Future.

How will the parcels post, II 1t be-
comes a law, affect me?" you ask.
Suppose you are stone mason or
a carpenter or man following any
trade in the building line: you are a
resident in a typical country town in
an agricultural state; the parcels post
becomes a law, thereby lending assist
ance to the mail order houses, the
fathers of the bill. The mail order
evil is thus abetted and aided to be-
come monster of even fiercer mien.
1t has already been a blood sucker of
your town business and a stumbling
block to progress. 1t now becomes
even more formidably so. The home
merchant will be seriously crippled
because the unthinking people of the
community will send their money to
the mail order houses in greater vol
ume.
No More Work For You.
The natural result to you will be
this: the local merchant will become
distressed; business will be bad, it
will be bruited about on the street
that the town is not progressing. This
will reach the ears of people who had
intended to build; outsiders coming
in will learn Of the dissatisfaction and
stagnation and will not purchase va
cant property on which to erect
homes; those who have homes will
become dissatisfied and endeavor to
sell them; what was once a busy little
town in which you were kept employed
Will be a retrograding, half deserted
hamlet, populated by lot of dissatis-
fed souls who would go away if they
could, but who are held by property
interests from which they cannot re-
lease themselves.
This is not dream. 1t is an actu-
atty. Let me point you an exact
proof. In the state of Iowa twenty
five years ago there was a flourishing
town of some 1000 people with a
healthy business. In the village was
a mercantile firm that occupied a
four-story block. Within was a model
country store affording the people op-
portunity to buy almost anything they
could desire. There was a large
school building in Vernon, a newspa-
per, a postofflce, library and the
dozens of civic advantages that go to
make desirable residence location.
And into this ideal country town
there stalked the destroyer!
A mail order house, one of the
houses now fathering the parcels post
bill, found it advisable to go after
Vernon's business. Vultures follow
flock wise!
What about Vernon today?
The postoffice is gone!
Business has flown!
The great store, occupying four
foors of mammoth building, is a
hing of yesterday. All that remains
S a small stock in part of one of
he lower floors of the structure!
The ample school building is va
;ant, save enc room where one school
eacher is able to teach the few chill
iren who patroniZe the school!
Here is an apt example of ruin
wrought by the mail order house, with
'ut the aid of the parcels post! With
he added advantage that will accrue
o these vandals of trade, with the pas
age of this BILL what can we hope for
he country town in years to come?
Suppose you had been a carpenter
r a mason in Vernon? Where would
gu be now? Who would build homes
nder such conditions as I have enum-
rated above?
1t must appeal to you that measure
living the mail order house an ad-
antage over the country merchant
'ill tear down the home town. The
ocal lumberman who has been your
r1end, who has helped you figure on
obs and carried you financially until :
GU could finish the jobs, will not be I
4 existence when the mail order s
ouse aided by the parcels post has '
ad an opportunity to do it's devastat- S
lg work. The town in which you live t
i'll be dead and there will be little t
emand for building material or build v
r. What demand there is for lumber i
an be filled by the city wrecking
ouse-and you in your general taxes, i
1ould you still exc out an existence II
| the town, will help pay the delivery n
III. -
The deficit in the postoffice depart +
ent last year was very large, and Il
lould the parcels post become a law. a
hat it will cost to transport eleven Il
'und packages, not only by express n
It by rural delivery, where this has to b
! done on horseback in the far :,
untry. is alarming to contemplate. n
ne people win be taxed to pay the n
'ficit. n
Let's Go Slow on This. q
We Americans are given too much r.
hysteria. We want to change too r.
we are like weather-vanes, n,
lifting with each wind. We should r.
more conservative. Take your own "
Sc, for instance: you would be salts re
d to continue living in the town in
itch you now reside. You have your III
me, and if you could be paid well &C
: your work and have plenty of it,
u could not justly find much fault n;