The daily Alaskan., 1914-03-13

Who does hot remember the 'slgnr unseen" trades or swaps" of boyhood days2 One of the parties in the trans action usually got the worst of it, didn't he? And as a rule 1t wasn't the one who proposed the deal, was itl There is a lot of the same soTt or
 sight unseen" trading going on to- day, only nowadays it is called mer' chandising by mail.
 Catalogues Look Inviting
 The illustrations in the catalogues or the retail mail order houses look inVit- ing. The reading matter sounds nice, and sometimes the deal turns out all right.
 But, even supposlng 1t does, where in is the buyer any better on than IT he bought from the home merchantr Take any article you choose from the long list of things sold by mall ana you will fad upon investigation that you can buy 1t just as cheaply and just as well at home. The expense or selling 1t by mail is just as great as the expense of selling 1t over the coun- ter. ..
 Your local merchants have rent, tax es, clerk hire, etc, to pay, and the mail order houses have the same ex- penses. only rent aud taxes are higher in the large cities than In the country town. And. In addition, they have to maintain u small army of bookkeepers, steuographers. shipping clerks and oth- CT employees. besides the immense cost of advertising.
 How many of the rural consumers know that advertising appearing In what are known as mail order advertis- ing mediums costs from SAP to SS5 an inch in single columns? It is true nev- ertheless. Where does the enormous profit come from out of which these enormous bills are paid? Out of the pockets of the consumers.
 Would Welcome Such Bargains.
 The city people would go wild with ioy if these mail order houses actual ly had values with style and quality. ! They would not need to leave their own large cities to sell at the prices they quote. as the city people would swoop down upon their bargains like hungry hen hawks on green goslings. But with style and value lacking they | do not dare show their goods in the city where the prospective customers would have the opportunity of com uarison, but by cleverly worded and exaggerated description they make the country people believe they are offer | ing more desirable wares than the country merchant carries and at less price, and. having no opportunity for comparison before buying. many peo- l pie naturally are duped.
 Everybody knows the picture of a | five dollar suit of clothes looks as good as the picture of twenty dollar suit The description reads well. The suit ! seems to be what you want
 Cash With the Order.
 You send your good money be- 1 cause the mall order house will not ac- ccpt an order where the money does not accompany 1t. Then the suit ar rives. It was to be all wool, but 1t is not. It is fully a size too large and several years out of date, and, besides, i it has the style and general appear ance of the prison made garment.
 If Mir. Mail Order Man were right there you would not accept the goods, | but he is far away, selling suits, no doubt. to some other nonsuspecting sons of man.
 Next time you are attracted by an i nd. of some mail order bargain" just clip it out and take 1t to your local dealer and see if be will not duplicate it. That's only nelghborly and, fair and gives your merchant chance to make good his statement that his prices are the lowest and his goods