Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1913-01-17
LOCAL MERCHANTS
CAN REAP BENEFIT
FROM PARCEL POST
Must Adopt Catalogue and Mail
Order Systems of City Dealers
to Compete With Them.
WILL READJUsT BUSINESS.
New Postoffice Venture Will
Greatly Augment Departments
Work-Advertising Counts.


Work-Advertising Counts.
The following from Director Ralph
of the bureau of engraving and print
ing at Washington regarding the
heavy use of the new parcel post by
the people is significant of what tre-
mendous influence the Inauguration of
that system will have in the readjust-
ment Of the balance of trade:
"We started off with 100000 stamps
a day. Within a day or so we have
had to increase 1t to 100000 This
forced me to work my steam press
stamp printers night and day to sup
ply the demand, and also to build up
a reserve supply. We soon will have
to print 100000 a day"
The American public has taken hold
of the parcel post SO quickly and
eagerly that the bulk of business done
the first week is SO great that it is i'm
possible to get any accurate figures as
to the number of parcels sent. Post.
Office officials said an estimate would
be impossible for several days at
least.
Unquestionably, as a result of the
coming Of the parcel post the mail
business of hte country will be tre-
mendously augmented as perhaps one
half Of the packages sent are the re-
suit of letter sent first class. Thou
sands upon thousands of business
houses all over the country will soon
flood the mails with catalogues in an
endeavor to get some Of the new busi-
ness. The zone system of postage
charges will. however, tend to equalize
the radius of distribution, giving, as
1t does, the local merchant. or those in
the first zone, leverage over those
situated within that zone.
If, therefore, the local merchant
wishes to hold his own he must pro-
vide for mail order department be-
sides what he has been doing hereto
fore; he must put, out the silent sales
man" in the shape Of catalogues and
thus acquaint their customers, present
and future, with the brands and lines
OF goods carried by them. Neither
must they neglect to thus fortify them
aselves because the other fellows In
the same zone carry the same brands
and they will certainly get their cata-
l0gues out to the people.
Thus the question SINNERS down to
one Of acute merchandising. If the To-
cal man can buy as cheaply as his city
brother, II he can do business on a
margin of profit as small, taking vol
nme of business into consideration,
then the natural assumption is that
he will get the business. II he can't,
NE is going to lose out because, after
all is said and done. the average pur-
chaser who buys for cash is just as
;soulless as the big corporation and
when it comes to spending his money
he puts aside sentiment and forgets
that when he couldn't pay the cash his
local merchant trusted him and helped
him over the hard place. all Of which
Is evidenced by the fact that few
places are without the catalogues of
the mail order houses.
1t Is our opinion that the country
merchant can sell his goods cheaper
than the citv fellow We And in the
printing business that we can reduce
cost Of production to some extent and
make the same margin of profit as our
city competitor and at lesser cost to
the consumer. If that holds true in
all lines of business then the parcel
post should prove most decided ad-
vantage to the local man.
There is no sort of question regard
ing its value to the consumer or pur.
chaser, nor to the man who raises
things will 1t prove of small value.
The two can get together on a basis
that eliminates the middle man. The
farmer can ship direct to the consum.
'er and the latter will get his supplies
In fresh condition but 1t Is up to the
farmer also to let the people he wants
TO do business with know just what
he has to sell and the price.-Arling-
ton Chronicle.
Mrs. Maude Hubert of Twin Falls