The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1914-09-18

cred while gathering the data for this
series OF articles I would occasionally
find little city that bore every evil
dence Of prosperity. Whose store
buildings were all occupied; whose
people were hustling and happy; and
which in general had the appearance
Of being the community expression of
pride, stability and contentment. Up
on arriving in such city and noting
these prosperous conditions that were
in such marked contrast to those pre-
valent elsewhere, my first thought
would invariably be that the enjoyment
of some exceptionally favorable natural
condition would account for its being
spared the fate OF its neighbors. 1t
/ seemed in violation of all known laws
of reasoning and logic that one town
could so abundantly prosper, while its
neighbor, score Of miles away, would
be slowly decaying under the same
general conditions. Investigation,
however, would always prove my sup
positions wrong. Upon inquiring as to
what was due the apparent miraculous
salvation of their community happiness
and prosperity, citizens Of such towns
would invariably answer, in substance:
Cooperative, intelligent and persist
ent effort on the part of our merchants
in teaching the people the truth about
mail order competition and educating
them to the dollars and cents wisdom
Of comparative investigation"
I found that many different methods
had been employed to accomplish this
result, and although they were all
based on the same fundamental theory,
think the one that proved most sue
cessful and at the same time most ex-
pensive in dollars and effort, was the
plan adopted by the business and pro-
fessional men OF city OF some 900
population located in southwestern
Nebrasks. Crops had been good and
prices high for two or three years and
the farmers who had humbly begged
accommodations in the way of credit,
and in many cases cash, during the
preceding hard times, now found them
selves out of debt with an abundant
supply OF ready money they were dying
to spend. The big mail-order concerns
who keep watchful eyes on every little
nook and Granny of the country, and
are always the first to take advantage
of favorable trade conditions, lost no
time in getting their always ready
machinery in motion. Soon after the
first good crop had been harvested and
sold, they began their campaign OF un-
rest and innuendo. Every mail brought
hundreds of appeals to the citizens OF
the town and country to: Cut out
the middleman." Save money"
buy direct from the factory" Cease
being hoodwinked by your country
merchant" and countless other insin-
uating phrases of similar nature. 1t
took" and took good. The seduc-
rive influence Of the beautiful illustra-
tions, and the well-chosen words OF
the silent salesman soon had the mer-
chants of the town at their wits end as
how to combat this insiduous influence
that seemed each day to be gaining a
firmer hold on the purse strings OF their
former patrons. Conditions eventually
came to such a pass that few OF the
old school store keepers" supinely
gave up the ghost, while there was
yet time," they said, to save little
from the wreck"
The fate of this little city would
very probably have been that Of count
less Others had it not so happened that
three or four OF its merchants were
genuine live wires who refused to ad-
nit defeat, and were deep and broad
enough to realize that new condition
existed that had to be met in a new
way. These few men by persistent
effort, and by appeal to that do or
die" spirit latent in all of US to great
er or less degree, finally imbued their
brother merchants with grim deter
e i Il