The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1915-02-26
ANTI=MAIL=ORDER
CAMPAIGN PLANNED
SPOKANE FIRM WOULD HAVE LO.
CAL MERCHANTS USE A MAIL
ORDER METHOD
Prominent Business Man Says Mos
COW Houses Meet and Beat the
Mail-Order Prices


In an effort to interest the business
men of Moscow in a campaign of com
munity development, R. w. King o
Spokane addressed group at thu
Chamber of Commerce rooms last eve
ming. Mr.. Kings plan contemplates
mailing monthly to residents of Mos
COW and vicinity booklets attackins
the mail-order houses and organizing
by the merchants cooperative firm
to handle the produce of the com
munity, his firm to provide the lit
erature and assist in organizing the
produce concern.
Commenting on the project prom
inent Moscow business man said, "The
anti-mail order feature of the plan has
two fundamental faults. In the first
place, it employs a foreign advertis-
| ing medium-a mail-order house, you
might say-to do exactly what the
plan is claimed to prevent, that is
taking out of the community money
that should be spent here, and buying
elsewhere commodities or services
that are available here at the same
Or less cost.
with the newspapers and printing
plants now running in Latah county
no outside assistance is needed in
providing printed matter or in reach
ing the people. The action of the big
gest advertisers in transferring their
advertising from other media to the
newspapers proves their value.
The advantages to the merchants
and farmers of helping to maintain
local pay-rolls and of practicing what
they preach are not to be overlooked.
''In the second place, a shotgun
campaign attacking mail-order houses
is fundamentally faulty. None but
constructive methods are really sound
Wise merchants know that money is
wasted attacking mail-order houses
and that it is poor business to even
advertise that they can meet or beat
their prices. AS a matter of fact, it is
we'll known among well-informed peo-
pie that the more progressive Mos
cow merchants do beat the mail-order
houses. The wise policy is to see
that people know all the time what |
3pe has for sale and at what prices
hings can be bought-to keep people |
that he is in business. Mer-
chants who realize this don't COM
,lain of or spend money attacking the
nail-order business. They inform
,eople specifically about their own
BUSINESS.
''The idea of having a cooperative
,roduce business seems sound. 1t is
lot new here, however. Every mer-
ealizes the advantages of the plan
ust one thing is acknowledgements
ion Unless the merchants do Coop 1
rate, the scheme won't work, no mat
er who starts it.
'If the merchants can cooperate in
managing the business, they ought to
e able to cooperate in organizing it. !
they can't, maybe a committee of !
members of the Chamber
Commerce could, or it might be
'orth while to pay the Spokane firm
!, assist.
There seems to be no sound rea- I
IN for including in the organization t
rms who don't handle produce. To
) so might make the organization un- F
ieldIy, and such firms would likely 3
ot feel entitled to share in the prof
s or care to share in the losses.
nyway, it is not likely they would i
, in or stay in if they did.
"The idea OF sending out of town N
40 per month to be spent in knock
G the mail-order houses doesn't ap-
al to me as good business.
"The mail-order houses got their
stomers by good advertising and a.
cd craftsmanship. That is the way ir
r the local merchant to get his. The
who complain of losing lie
siness to the mail-order houses are M
ally losing most of that business to is
de-awake local competitors who ol
ep people informed about their busi- sc
IS just as the mai1-order houses do tu
out theirs.
The mail-order men are far too in
Sc to spend their money knocking W
} little merchant" w
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