The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1913-08-02
How to Build up or
Tear Down This
Community.
BY j. o. LEWIS.
THE MENACE OF THE MAIL ORDER
HOUSES.
BY j. o. LEWIS.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES $1,000.

THE MENACE OF THE MAIL ORDER
HOUSES.
That the mail order houses in the
large cities have become a menace to
the smaller cities, towns and commu-
mites is proved by the large patronage
they enjoy from all over the entire
country and further substantiated by
the number of packages carried by
transportation companies, which under
the law must bear the name or some
mark of Identification by which the
shipper is known
| This mail order business got it's in.
ception from men who made habit of
buying up secondhand goods, stocks
from bankrupt firms and fire damaged
or salvage goods from fire losses. To
these were added goods that were Gull
ed by manufacturers and graded sec
onds and thirds, etc.
These were shrewd business men.
men who believed in advertising, and.
realizing the possibilities of adyertis,
ing, commenced their business entirely
along these lines, and to prove the sue
cess of advertising no better evidence
could possibly be offered than the fact
that every weekly paper-farm, indus
trial, social or religious-carries their
advertisements and also that they send
out catalogues of enormous sizes, beau
tifully illustrated and embellished,
costing hundreds of thousands of dol.
lars to publish.
To-day they have grown to such
enormous size that they own and con-
troll factories; while they contract to
sell the entire output of other facto-
ries.
However, the plants they control
and operate manufacture what is term
ed in commercial parlance as competi-
tive goods something that every mer-
chant can sell at a low price to meet
the demands for cheap merchandise.
But as to standard and high class
goods made by large and reliable firms
you never see these goods advertised
by mail order houses, or if you do the
price is just the same as fixed by the
manufacturers for all dealers.
Therefore when one orders articles
.of the low priced and cheaper kinds
he is sure to get just what he buys
cheaply made goods and seconds and
no cheaper than he can buy right at
home when freight charges, money or
der fees and postage are added.
Thousands of dollars annually are be.
ing sent to these mail order houses
from this vicinity, thus depriving the
home merchant of his rightful patron.
age. And yet, no matter how much
the merchant may be dependent on the
patronage of members of his communi-
ty, he is supposed to give and to aid
every work undertaken for the mate
rial betterment of his town, and he
does, being often coerced into giving
by the demands of his customers, fear
ing to offend them because of the fear
OF loss of patronage. There can be no
question but that all of our people are
in duty bound to patronize home mer-
chants. To them you owe allegiance
and support, and now ask you can
didly, are you giving it to them?
If you are buying goods out of your
home town-more particularly from
mail order houses and merchants in
other cities-I say to you that you are
undermining the home merchant and
likewise the very foundation of your
own well being. Every dime that you
send to a mail order house makes that
much harder the success of your home
merchant and likewise retards the
growth of your town. The money you
send to mail order houses is taken en-
tirely out of local circulation-is gone
forever.
Whereas, if you spend 1t with a home