Middletown transcript., 1916-09-16
MAIL ORDER GREED

IRON our local paSS oPPOOAS
~ article by the Scribe on '"fhe
Town Prosperous which every citizen
and especially every property owner in
our town, should read.
This is the day of Trust monopolies OF
nearly every staple of life, grinding
remorseless monopolies whose boundless
greed and expressions are largely made
possible by the removal of all competl-
tion helped by the legal juggling OF
statutes and courts. These rascaily
methods in trade are not one whit
better than the plain piracy of other
davs for which the culprits were hung.
To this busines buccaneering which
has swamped thousands of honest busl-
ness thru unfair practices, must be
added one more form of trade monopoly
that of the MaH Order Houses which
is driving countless numbers of our use
full country stores and shops to the wall
in defiance of right and justice, and OF
course, utterly without mercy.
These foreign mail order firms pay no
taxes. nor license to do business here in
oiIr sFofz . 9 t1t, MIR h<>seen business men
in fact, do not give up one cent OF
their vast earnings to help pay the ex-
lenses of the State and towns wherein
they operate. They just suck, SUCK
suck, like the horse-leache's daughters
ever crying "Give, give.
Is it any wonder many local business
men in the smaller towns and villages
cannot compete with these foreign firms
who do 81, 900, 600 worth of business
in our state every year without one cent
of cost or expense of any sort l.!
1t seems the state is powerless to
remedy. or even to lessen, this grossly
unjust evil without runfliagls sfo5f Of a
national law, and of that venerable
and sometimes vulnerable charter of
our liberties, the u. S. Constitution.
Still. there is a remedy if the people
in these towns and villages can be made
to see that in thus helping these outside
monopolists injure their home business
men they are in reality injuring their
own interests, since no town can keep its
prosperity and population without first
class stores.
At least in all fairness. before send
ing away their orders they can give
their home dealers a chance to bid
thereon. In cases where the local mer-
chant, for example. does not happen to
have in stock the precise article needed.
a description giving material, quality
style ETC., will enable him to get 1t as
eheaply as the mail order house VIII
furnish it, and without the trouble, time
and cost of writing for it, in many
cases to be deceived or disappointed in
the ehararter of the article when re-
ceived.
Moreover, is it not true that the home
business men pay their share OF taxes,
and give literally to all public causes,
and to anything that helps to benefit the
town? Should they not, then be
literally supported instead of being
knitted in this way?
But one thing is certain, you cannot
sell your tart and eat it too. This prac-
tice of patrOnizing mail order houses,
after it has crippled or driven out the
high7grade stores that help to make the
town a success, will also cause real
estate to go down, population to grow
less, houses and stores to remain empty,
taxes to increase until the once live,
thriving town sinks to the level of a
poor crossroads village with few one
horse stores and with every ything else to
mateh-a dilapidated Deserted Vii
Iage."