The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1914-06-12

Shoves his Fatent Leather Shoes Un-
der Poor Mans TabIe-Ais Victims
Extend From Ocean to ocean-From
Sunrise to the Last Chance.
Copyrighted, 1914, by Thomas ]. sullivan.]
Said a clever quack to painstaking
business man, How many Of the pass
ing multitude, do you suppose, appre-
ciate your honesty or understand the
impositions Of quackery?'
mot more than one in ten." was the
answer.
"Well" said the quack, "you may
have the one. I'll take the nine"
That is the system upon which the
mail order houses operate, and nothing
more strikingly portrays the credulity
of mankind than their success Quack-
cry is thing universal and univer-
sally successful. In most cases 1t is
literally true that no imposition is too
great for the credullty of man.
The Quack Doctor of Commerce.
The retail mail order house is the
quack doctor Of commerce. 1t prom
ises much and guarantees nothing
Like patent medicines, the directions
are always on the inside, and you must
buy nOnreturnable package before
you can find out what they are.
The mail order house never helped
to build the little white school in your
district or turnpike the road past your
door. No mail order house ever took
you by the hand when you were in
distress and told you to let the little
account run until after harvest next
year. No mail order house ever sold
you vehicle and spent every cent of
Its profits In the community where
you and your neighbors could get it
all back again. No mail order house
ever showed It's patent leather shoes
under your table and rejoiced with you
when you were glad nor spoke en-.
couraging words when afiliction visited
you, nor stood with uncovered head
beside the graves of your children.
Sentiment Is Unknown.
That the mail order houses are after
your money is an undisputed fact.
Every dollar sent to them leaves your
nelghborhovd forever. The mail order
house may bear upon its face the
Semblance Of friendship, but no human
heart beats under its cloak Of hypoc-
risy. Sentiment to 1t Is unknown.
The whole institution is as cold and
bloodless as corpse.
There never was a farm in all
Christendom whose value was increas-
ed by the mail order houses. They are
parasites to which life is worthy of
notice only while they can draw the
financial blood out of the communities,
to the upbuilding of which they con-
tribute nothing. They create no local
market for the product of the farms,
They have no property in the country
which can be assessed to help bear the
burden of taxation.
Can Duplicate Every Offer.
In every town in the country the To-
cal retail merchant stands ready to
duplicate every offer seductively set
forth In the catalogues 'of mail order
houses, and more. He will trump the
best trick the mail order house ever
played IL you will put down spot cash
and accept from him Il class of goods
devoid of respectable ancestry and
upon which no reputable manufactur-
er'S name can be found, but in which
the disease germs of prison made goods
are secreted.
He can sell cheap goods Il you will
buy them from him with your eyes
shut He can meet the best price
ever made by mail order house II
you will plank down your money and
accept what he gives you without
question and without recourse. But
you must not expect him to be In his
place of business every day In the
year, ready and willing to make good
any defect, ready and willing to stand
back Of every article he sells with his
own reputation and the warranty Of a
responsible company.
Local Merchant Needs No Advocate.
The local merchant needs neither ad-
vocate nor defense. His methods rest
upon principles that have built up in
this country system of internal com.
merce which is both the marvel and
the admiration of the world. His busi-
hess is legitimate because Its success
contributes to the general prosperity
Of the community in which 1t stands
as thriving example of honesty and
industry.
1t does not require that man shall
be endowed with unusual mental at. |
tainments for him to know that n pri.
rate monopoly in restraint of trade, de-
signed to wiring extortionate profits
from consumers. is detrimental to the
best interests of the patrons of that |
industry Any combination organized
for the purpose of smothering competi-
tion. whether 1t be Of capitalists, cap
tains Of industry. aborers. farmers,
warehousemen, transportation lines or
any other branch Of the business world, |
is essentially unethical, unwise and de.
structive of business In the end,
The honest consumer must pat him. |
self enthusiastically on the back when |
he spends his money In such way |
that In supplying his own wants he Is
helping to build up the community In
which he lives.