The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1913-03-21


Has it ever occurred to you just
why there has been so much written
IN the newspapers and magazines
about the erfortionafe profts of The
middle many Have you ever wonder
ed why almost every publication that
comes to your home takes a shot at
the poor retail merchant? If you do
not know, let me give you the answ-
err. 1t is ADVERTISING. The
great metropolitan newspapers, the
farm journals, and the hundreds Of
magazines that are published, cannot
and do not expect any advertising
patronage frorl the retail merchant.
Their advertising comes from mail
order houses, from manufacturers,
and from department stores that are
seeking to deal with tho consumer
direct. Therefor these papers constnn-
thy comto,n articles encouraging the
consumer an euery section of the country
to send his money to some far ouoy
merchant and thus SAFE the profit of the
retail dealer at home.
The subscription price of practical
ly all newspapers and magazines
show loss. Often this subscription
price would not pay for the amount
of plain white paper used in the
newspapers and magazines you re-
ceive. All of the profits of these
publications come from advertising,
and 80 it is to their interest to con-
stdntiy cork for q system of distribut-
ion that 0iH lead to more advertising.
If all goods were bought by the
consumer from his local store, there
would only be advertising in the loo
al paper. Such method of distrib-
union, of course, would not suit the
magazines and newspapers They
therefor, for years have been advoc-
ating and endeavoring to build up
all kinds of selling plans which lead
to consumers buying their goods as
far away from home as possible.
ADVERTISING was the reason
that all of these publications were so
much in favor of parcel post. AID
VERTISING was the reason that it
was next to impossible to get any ar
ticles opposed to the parcel post in a
national daily paper or in maya
zine.
The parcel post is, of course, a
very good thing. In many ways it
will be great convenience. We
have however, been promised that
it will reduce the cost ofliving. We
have been promised that it would
bring the city man and the country
man in closer contact. | have been
doing little investigating, and l
find that nearly all the parcel post
packages are going from the city
man to the country man, while the
country man is not sending back any
packages to the city man. Packages
are going from the city to the coun-
try, and money to pay for these pac-
kages is coming from the country to
the city.
Under the old system the farmer
sold all of the products for spot cash
and bought most of the goods he
needed on credit. Under the new
system planned by the magazines
and newspapers, the farmer is to sell
his goods direct to the city consumed
without the necessity of any middle
man in the spape of a merchant. !
What should like to know is, how
is the farmer going to secure his city
customers? Will the farmer adver-
tise in the newspapers and magaz-
ines? Will he send out circulars
offering his chickens, eggs, and but
ter to the city consumer? Will he|
sell goods to the city consumer only
for cash, or will he give credit? Id
he extends credit, how will he find
out about the financial standing of
his customers? 1t would be some
what of a joke, wouldn't it. if the
state OF affairs were reversed and the
farmer should have to pay cash for
all the goods he buys that he needs
on the farm, while in turn he would
have to sell his farm products to the