Mexico weekly ledger., 1916-06-22

AduE uNNAh1t Nv
ture, cannot live isolated. He organ
ires with others, giving up some OF
his personal rights" for gains Of
great advantage which cannot be had
by solo living. The community is the
smallest form or organized society
outside the home, and SO q close re-
~lationship should exist between citi-
gems. The community is for the eiti-
zens and the citizens are obligated
to the community for the benefits they
receive. II is the citizens who de-
termine the gain they get from hv-
ing in the community, because they
determine its thrift, its industry and
its size. With these g~eneralities in
mind, we shall consider how Mexico
came to be, why she is nov and should
continue to be in he future.
The frs. man ove the presen site
of Mexico saw nothing that especially
attracted his attention to the place as
a community. He settled because Of
the fertility of he soil, and the desir-
ability of the location for a home.
Others came later for the same reason
Then barter and trade began. As the
country became more thickly settled
extensive trade and division of labor
took place. Common needs expressed
themselves, and common remedies
were adopted, namely-a community
grew; businesses were established,
not for the interest of one, but for
the interests of all. So Mexico was
the result of natural needs which
found expression in cooperation and
in the establishing of home business,
home industry. With the growth of
industry there came a parallel growth
of the town. Mexico and home bust
ness are linked together. We are to
see if she can live without her home
retail trade.
Let us make on analogy. Isolated
fanatics get their commodities
either by bringing them distances
from communities Or by having hem
sent by written order. AS other fam
lilies come to the vicinity, trading be-
gins and SOC a general store grows
Around this store a town springs up,
because of home industry and the sat
isfaction of social desires. With the
growth of the community there comes
a corresponding decrease in mail-or-
dering. II the community becomes as
great as a hundred thousand, mail
ordering Of commodities ceases to
exist. So we see that where there is
no home business, there is no COM
munity; and that the larger the COM
munity the less the mail-order trade.
We conclude, then, that Mexico AN
not live without home business.
But let us go farther and see IL
mail-ordering is primarily better for
the c~iizens; and then trace the ulti-
mate result Of mail ordering to the
community.
1t is commended that mail-order pric-
es are lower than home prices on the
same commodities. Let us see. Ger
tainly, the large purchasing power
of the mail-order house tends to make
possible cheap purchasing. But it
must be remembered that mail order
industry is dependent on advertising.
Advertising, as it is carried on by
mail-order houses, is expensive. Lo-
cal papers, if they sell them space at
all charge very high rates, and the
catalogs which present the articles
in descriptive form to the public, are
costly. The initial cost of a catalog
to mail order houses is often greater
than a dollar a book. Add to this the
mailing or express charge of about
twenty-five cents, consider the num-
Der of catalogues inefficiently distri-
buted, and see the loss of much that
might be gained by quantity purch-
ase.
Furthermore, the price given an
article in a catalogue is not the &C.
tual cost of the article to the con-
sumner, To that price must be added
the cost of transportation. A mail
order price is, therefore, a double
price one which is difficult to figure.
Many purchasers are deceived by
thinking the price listed in the cata-
logue is the cost of the article.
Time and convenience must also
be considered. Ordering by mail is
a slow way of purchasing commodi-
ties, because transportation is not
rapid and is more or less uncertain.
The Mexico-buyer has his demands
filled at once. There is no DELAY to