The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-07-10
PROTEST AGAINST
BOARD ACTION
State Fair Body BIunders in Letting
Mail Order Houses Have
Space, Some Cities
Claim.
RESOLUTIONS ARE SENT
VInton and Other Clubs Pass Mem.
orials In Which They Censor
This Action by
State.

oomeDOuy IN DeS MOlneS made a
bull and is hearing from the people
who know better, says the Burling.
ton Hawkeye. 1t will be dificult for
the parties at the capital city to make
satisfactory explanation and it will
be no small job to right the wrong, OF
which they have been guilty. A Cedar
Rapids correspondent is sending out
the following:
The commercial clubs and other
business organizations Of the state
are preparing to let the state fair as.
ISOLATION hear from them on account
OF the association leasing space at the
next state fair to large mail order
house OF Chicago for display of its
goods. The Vinton Commercial club
already has adopted resolutions of
protest and 1t Is expected the local
club will take similar action at the
meeting OF the board Of directors.
Other clubs throughout the state are
expected to follow suit at the next
meeting
The vinton club has sent copies OF
resolutions it passed to every club in
the state and has suggested to them
that they take like action.
The resolutions passed by the Vim
ton club set forth that from investi-
cations made by reliable persons 1t
is the belief that many Of the mail or
der concerns are conducting an I'M
fair competition against the CONNER
cial interests OF Iowa, and that often
the catalogs Of these houses are mis-
leading and the goods sold are not
as represented and that almost with
out exception better prices and bet
ter goods can be obtained from the
merchants, doing business in Iowa if
the customer is willing to pay cash,
as must be done with the mail order
houses.
1t is further set forth that the Iowa
State Fair association derives prac-
tically all OF It's support from the COM
mercial interests OF the state in one
form or another; that the mail order
houses do not contribute to the well
fare of the fair either in payment of
taxes in the state or to the welfare Of
the state in the matter Of their pur-
chase OF products; that such concerns
DO not make any contributions to the
welfare of the various communities Of
the state from which they obtain their
business; that an investigation has
shown that many Of them do not pay
Lu6lT WOIlSH eHplOyeS SuulCleuL
wages to enable them to live decent
lives, and that certain managers OF
these concerns shirk all responsible
ty for these conditions.
at is our belief the resolutions
say, that the action OF the Iowa
State Fair association in leasing large
space and thereby inducing concerns
of this character to come into the fair
for advertising purposes, is unfair and
unjust to the commercial interests Of
the state from whatever point Of view
one looks at it, therefore it is resolv-
ed that the Vinton Commercial club
protest most vigorously to the Iowa
State Fair association against their
action in this matter and that We for
ward those resolutions of protest to
them at the same time urging them
to refrain from similar action in fu-
ture years"
The club also requests that every
organization In the state
pass similar resolutions and forward
a, copy of them to the State Fair as
sociation.