The Marshall republican., 1913-01-17

A bill Ia to be introduced In the
coming session OF the Missouri lag
islature which is intended TO put al
curb on so-calied bankrupt sales"
OF fire sales" or receivers sales,"|
which 20 far to ~unsettie the business
interests Of the smaller towns and
cities Of the state. 1t 10 known al
the Bulk Sales Law" and It's prin-
cipal requirement Is that a merchant
who desires TO sell out his stock and
business in bulk to one purchaser,
must give notice OF such intention a
specified number OF days in advance,
10 all wholesalers or manufacturers
to whom he Is indebted. The pro-
posed law does not give the whole
salers any lien on such stock OF goods
hut merely gives them sufficient no
tee that they may take such steps
under existing laws as will protect
them II the sale Is fraudulent or in
tended to evade payment for the
goods. Where there is no desire or
Intention to defraud. the law does
not apply. Where no creditors are
deirauded there is no one to take
advantages OF the law.
Hardly a weeks passes but the
wholesalers OF a large market learn
that some recent purchaser OF n
stock OF goods has sold 81 between
two days 10 his "brother-in-law" or
hrs uncle" and has then left for
parts unknown. That purchaser be-.
ing. in the eyes OF the present laws.
an innocent purchaser" cannot be
held and the loss TO the wholesalers
IL total.
The worst effect OF such fraudulent
transfer Is however to the retail mer-
chant OF the smaller towns and the
cities In which the sale took place.
Immediately after the "~brotbcr-in
Law" or uncle" takes over the stock
he puts up n four foot high sign
bankrupt sale" or may be Il Is a
N"fFNNfN , hdl' VI liNf saw anu
the goods are offered at half price
until they are gone and the uncle
goes over TO the next town aud n new
store In started and sold out in bulk
and then slaughtered.
The result to the honest merchants
Of a town are very disastrous. The
public. buying $3.50 shoes. (honest-
ly sold at such n price, for s1.75 AZ
the bankrupt store. concludes that
the honest merchants OF the town
have been making e~xorbitant profits
and business In settled for months.
Convinced that the home mer-
chsnts are gougers, the t~ownspeople
having no bankrupt stocks" to draw
from. buy cheap quality goods offer
ed az apparently close prices by mail
from the catalogue houses In the big
cities. This sends money away from
home. which never gets back and the
legitimate. iair-dealing merchants OF
the town find their business dwindl-
inr TO nothing. In spite OF the fact
that they have all along sold their
merchandise at a fair profit. that
they stood behind II. that they had
the goods In stock TO be shown and
that they had paid the principal part
Of the taxes OF their town and have
been the men who have supported
all OF the charities and churches and
schools and kept the town alive and
helped TO support the lawyers and
doctors and plumbers and bakers and
butchers and millinery and icenen oil
the town.
The proposed Bulk Sales La" has
been endorsed by representatives OF
the Missouri Retail Assn, which as
sociation Is composed OF different re-
tail organizations all over this state,
AZ we'll as other important bodies o.
business men. commercial clubs. etc
Petitions to the legislature and
letters to individual members OF the
legislature and to senators will &c
FAR to bring about this meritoriou'
.nd highly Important law. II Is nov
In effect and satisfactorily workint
In the protection OF retailers In al
hut five OF the states OF our unioI
ana Missouri Is one 0! the .iye.
Gettlng Eggs In Winter