The Dickinson press., 1915-10-30
BIC MAIL ORDER HOUSES
LOSE MANY PATRONS
EDUCATION OF CONSUMER AS TO TRUE CONDITIONS SLOWLY
RESTORING VAST VOLUME OF BUSINESS TO REGULAR
CHANNELS OF TRADE.
Novel Methods Produce Amazing Results.
Bv David Powell.

There is perhaps n 0 section of the country in which the exclusive mail
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Birth of the MaiLOrder House.
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"storeKeepers" Responsible.
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Mai-Order Buying Becomes Fad.
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throughout the middle west. They present to the eye a silent, grim array
of empty store buildings and deserted streets that give mute witness to
the folly of their citizens and serve a S fitting monuments to buried hopes
Of civic greatness.
"Store-Keeper" Eliminated.
while Pg ths Et thf t 9s5t few f ths years ecun f5o wg e4 1thsjs entry a ite m tas field! J..
lutonso to speak, the mai[order houses had things pretty much their
own way: They grew by leaps and bounds and it was but a few years
until their trade extended from coast to coast. The years, however,
that witnessed their greatest growth also witnessed the gradual death of
their best friend-the "storekeeper" He is almost extinct, although a
few of his kind yet survive to serve as thorns in the side of the reputable
created by his forbears which has been s. zealousy foHered by the cah-
ogue houses. You may have n O. two such in your W town.
"service" and equality" Prove Effective.
AS new blood entered the retail trade and as new ideas gained a
foothold and new methods were adopted, many schemes and plans were
tried and discarded by the merchants in an effort to regain the lost bust
ness that they felt rightfuly belonged to them. It was not. however,
until the fact became apparent that only by educating the people to see
met with any success. But wherever that fact has been realized and
there has been a bunch Of Eve-wire progressive merchants to preach and
practice the doctrine of Service" and equality" and to educate their
people to the dollar and cents wisdom of comparative investigation, the
lmai-order fad is on the wane and commercial prosperity again assured.
Comparative Investigation Convinces. #"
The towns where this has been accomplished enjoy n exceptional adj
vantages and their merchants ar subject to the same general conditions
prevailing elsewhere in the country. I mention this to show that any
merchant of that class, the uptodate kind whose watchword is deficiency"
no matter where he may be located, al with very few exceptions, meet
mai-order competition Of any kind if the people of his community will but
give him the opportunity.
ton conducted by anyone anywhere, will prove the statement in my
article next week I am going to give you the details Of such a investi5
cation carried out on a large scale by the citizens Of a town Of about
5000 inhabitants, located in central Illinois. Although many methods
to accomplish the same result, ! think this one was the most expensive
lin dollars and effort.
Copyright 1915.