The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-09-10
(By David Powell)

published last week crops had been
good and prices high for two or three
years and the farmers who had humb-.
,, ly begged accommodations in the way
of credit, and in many cases, cash,
during the preceding hard times, now
found themselves 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 get
ting their we'll oiled machinery in mo-
ton Soon after the first good crop
had been harvested and sold, they be-
gan their campaign of catalogue adj
vertising and every mail brought hum
dreds Of appeals to the citizens of the
town and country; "Cut out the mid
die man" Save money" Buy di-
rect from the factory" and countless
other phrases of similar nature. 1t
took" and took good. The seducl
tive influences of the beautiful illus
trations, 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 infiu-
,ence that seemed each day to be gain
| ing firm hold on the purse strings
of their former patrons.
Citizens and Merchants Join Forces
The fate of this little city would
very probably have been that of count
ess others had it not so happened that
three or four of its merchants were
genuine live wires who refused to adj
NIT defeat, and were deep and broad
enough to realize that new condition
existed that had to be met in new
way.
They organized some two hundred
of their most progressive citizens into
a Trade-at-Home league, the purpose
of which was to establish bureau of
comparative investigation for the use
and benefit of the consumers living
within the city's trade zone. Although
every member was an enthusiastic
booster and helped in every way posi-
BILE. the active work was done by
committee of ten representative bus
mess men who took several months
to get things in readiness for the cur
tain to raise on this pioneer drama
OF commercial art, but when that time
came, they had demonstrated beyond
doubt the fundamental soundness
of the theory upon which their labors
were based.
Purchase Mail-Order Goods for
Comparison
A catalogue from each Of the three
mail-order houses doing the bulk of
the business in that territory had been
taken and carefully gone through,
page by page, and from every line of
merchandise was chosen from one to
IA dozen articles that, as near as could
BE determined by the Illustrations and
descriptions, seemed to be about the
same quality as similar articles car
ried by the local merchants. When
the list was completed they began
buying these articles from the cata-
|logue houses through the medium Of
their friends, their wives and their
clerks, and as they came in were TAX
en- to the display rooms and there
carefully analysed both as to quality
and workmanship. Shoes were sawed
lin half, furniture was taken apart,
mattresses ripped open and in fact
Ievery article was thoroughly dissect-
led. To each article was then attached
a card showing the result of the in
vestigation, dwelling in detail on
|every essential feature of construction
land material. The card also had the
catalogue illustration and description
ATTACHED showing the net cost of the
article delivered there. Exhibited by
the side of this was one OF as near
the same quality and style as could be
found in local store which was
treated in exactly the same manner,
the attached card giving the same in
formation as was shown on the other.
Prepare Impartial Exhibit
The committee in charge OF the
work was absolutely impartial in pre-
Iparing the exhibits, as 1t was early
decided that for the work to accom-
Iplish permanent results it would be
folly to do otherwise, so such mall
Iorder articles as had the best Of the
argument tand there we're many Of