The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1913-03-06
PARCEL POST AND OUR MERCHANT

One of our neighboring editors in whom we
have the utmost confidence has made very thor
ough investigation of the effect OF the new parcel
post on our home merchants. In answer to the
question, "Wl the law hurt the home mer
chant" he says
while the plan under consideration in
Congress it had to meet the solid opposition of re
tailers organizations. Their enmity was based on
the theory that the parcels post would prove an
immense advantage to the big mail order houses.
Now that the new delivery system has become a
fact the wise country merchant is preparing to
make the base of It, In investigating his oppor-
tunity under the law the country merchant
finds that the best gives promise Of being not half
bad.
Whatever the big mail order house may have
hoped for in the way Of advantage under the nat
rate the zone system finally adopted gives dis
tinct advantage to the local retailer. Instead Of
hurting him 1t really ought to be Of service to him.
The bargain rate of the whole system is the rate
between the rural delivery center and all points
on the outlying routes. The final routes get the
local rate. That Is to say. package Will be TAX
en- to any point on rural route for the same rate
paid for the delivery of packages within the town
limits This local rate is five cents for the irst
pound, and cent pound for the other ten
An eleven pound package at the local rate would
be delivered for fifteen cents. When you locate the
route it offers the best package delivery bargain
offered in this country While the country town
merchant is getting this local bargain rate the big
mail order house is paying high rate that In
creases in proportion to the distance OF the mousse
from its patron. The country merchant not only
has an advantage in the rate but his natural ad
yantages in time is materially augmented The lural
telephone is now the concomtant OF the rural
route Where both are available all that is re-
quired is a little forethought in early ordering ard
goods may be delivered from town on the same day
the order is phoned in
Apparently all that is needed on the part ot
the country merchant is little enterprise in uti
lzing the facilities afforded him. In this direction
advertising in the local papers would seem to be
his long suit Upto-snuff merchants in small
town can get up just as attractive an advertise
ment-prices and alas any of the catalogue
houses Many in them have been doing 1t regu-
larly in this territory, and even without delivery
advantages and have found little difficulty in hold
ing business in competition with the far away mail
order house Advertising, Of course Will not count
for much unless the merchant keeps in stock the
kind OF goods his patrons call for, With goods
suited to the needs of his community the newspa-
per advertisement to attract attention to his wares
and prices the rural mail delivery to take his ad-
yertsement to his customers, the telephone TO
transmit the order and the parcels post to deliver
Il who can say the country merchant hasn't a com
bnation that must be hard to beat? with that
combination on his side the country merchant thar
let's the bulk Of the orders from his territory go
far away catalogue houses will not be justified
in blaming Congress for his inability to transact
a nrohtable business