Omaha daily bee., 1915-08-05
WOULD PRESERVE
THE SMALL TOWN
Msnnix Proposes Local Federations
as Means to Combat Mail
Order Houses.
BUSINESS MEN HAVE AN OUTING

"Will the small town be permitted
to remain, or will it have to give way
to the larger metropolitan COM
munity centers?"
That is what E. ]. Mannix, editor
of the Commercial News Of Sioux
! Falls, wants to know. He delivered
an address on community building
at the Nebraska Business Mems out
ing and chautauqua yesterday after
noon at Carter lake. He attacked
the catalog and mail order business,
and declared 1t is robbing the small
towns of their possibilities.
/ As remedy he proposes a federation
| of farmers and merchants clubs Mr..
ManniX has been active since the first
OF the year in organizing such clubs
throughout South Dakota and Minnesota,
and has also one at Crofton, Neb To
date there are fifty such clubs in these
three states organized by Mr.. ManniN.
/ The clubs are composed of the farmers
and merchants of a given town and sur
rounding community. They work to-
gether comparatively and tremendously
with the idea Of patronizing home in
dustries uppermost in their minds They
build a rest room in the town so that the
farmers wives may have comfortable
place to spend part OF the day when they
come TO town. In the case of towns that
have done away with the saloon, the
community rest room is also built for the
men.
Mr. ManniX advocates a system of COM
pelling the railroads to pay something
TO each town for the development Of
the country roads that lead into that
town. lie advocates specialization OF
business in the small towns as well as
in the larger ones. He says there is
too much OF the selling OF everything
in one store, SO that no one place is
specialized in any line, and every body is
trying to do everyone's else business.
Nathan Roberts of Lincoln, president OF
the Nebraska Business Mems outing as
ISOLATION, opened the chautauqua with a
short address on the purpose of the or
gsnization. Robert II. Manley commits
sioner of the Commercial club of Omaha,
addressed the audience in behalf of the
business interests of omaha. D. F.
Dolan, general manager of the outing,
spoke on the purpose of the chautauqua
anu OF! lut evil Oh lile man OIueE Dusl-
ness He pointed to the fact that we
need more factories in Nebraska and
more patronage of home industry. He
declared there are 5000 automobiles in
Nebraska, and that at an average of
5000 apiece, these represent $50, 900 600
expended outside of the state, as not an
automobile is made in the state.
He declared that the craving to buy
goods through the mail order houses, is
due to the "hysteria of cheapness." He
declared that we must educate the people
to know that what they lose to the COM
munity in sending their money out for
goods is much more than they gain for
themselves in so-qalled cheapness OF
their bargain.
+. II. DeRhodes of Sioux City gave a
lecture and demonstration of window
trimming, decorating. and display adver-
Using.
Sectional meetings of the businessmen
will be held in the forenoon, and bust
ness lectures will be given in the chau-
tauqua auditorium in the afternoon
About $50 merchants were present at the
opening program Tuesday.