Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1914-03-04
THE CREED OF
THE CONSUMER
SET Of Principles Worthy Of
Practice.
HOME PATRONS PHILOSOPHY

Founded on Facts and Should Be Lived
uIp to by the American People--Not
RELIGIOUS creed-Peope of North,
South, East and West Can Unite For
Good.
Copyrighted 1914 by Thomas J. Sullivan1
Every failure is step to success;
every detection of what is false directs
Ms to what is true; every trial ex-
bausts some tempting form of error.
Not only so. but scarcely any attempt
is entirely failure; scarcely any theo-
nv. the result of steady thought, is al
together false. No tempting form of
error is without some latent charm de-
rived from truth. With these thoughts
In mind | have prepared what call
the consumers creed.
A Gate to the City.
II is not a religious creed. IL 1t were
| would not be writing it. as / am
afraid / might get my metaphors
crossed This is business creed.
something like the people of New Eng
land unconsciously adopted when Lord
North undertook to tax them. Thereto
fore they had always been accustomed
to divide on points. 1t so happened,
fortunately, that their opposition to
Lord North was a point on which they
were all united. 1t was a business
point.
l have written creed upon which
the people of the north. south. east
and west can all unite for their own
good.
A good creed is gate to the city
which has golden foundations; mis-
leading creed may be a road to de-
struction, or if both misleading and
alluring 1t may become what Shake
speare calls primrose path to the
eternal bonfire.
Perhaps my creed is nothing more
than set of principles which it would
be well for every consumer to practice
Read them and then adopt them as
your very own:
y A Business Greed.
First--I do not patronize the mail
pr,>ady and for the reason that l buy
at home where my interests are.
second.-If this c6nE.ehity Is good
enough for my family and | " i've in
it ought to be good enough for my fam:
lily and / to buy our necessaries In.
~
Third will not take the word OF
the mail order house for its goods, as
want to see what ! am buying. and
want to get what l pay for.
Fourth.-I do not patronize the mail
order houses because they demand
cash in advance, and when | am
broke and sick and need supplies my
home dealer is willing to carry me-
Fffth.-i patronize the home dealer
because he stands back of his goods
and in case of error is willing to rec
tfy.
Sixth.-I patronize the home mer-
chant because believe n man ought to
spend his money in the community In
which he earns it.
Seventh.-I patronize the home mer-
chant because ! believe the man who |
sells what he produces and buys what |
he needs at home cannot be injured |
by deceptive catalogue pictures or al |
legged bargains
Eighth.-I do not patronize the mail
order houses because they frequently
sell damaged and inferior goods. which
IL avais man nothing to attempt to
exchange. But the man / patronize-
the nome merchant. the man who helps
to pay the town. county and state tax
VIII exchange any article buy from
MIN which is unsatisfactory.
Ninth.--I spend my money with my
home merchant in preference to some
mail order house in distant city be-
cause the local merchants help to sup
port the public schools where | send !
my children. the churches and the de-
pendent poor in my vicinity.
y
Tenth.-I patronize the local mer-
Chant because he does not try to trick |
Fme into buying '.cheap" goods, which
because of their effectiveness prove |
to be expensive and. further. because
5 should i'll luck or bereavement come
my way my local dealer would not
@only prove that he was a neighpor
and a. friend. but man, with mans
heart and a mans inclination TO 10
good; not soulless corporation ike
the mail order system. whose only IN
stinct is greed and further desire Tor