The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1917-03-16

!
South, East and West Can Unite For
Good.
Copyrighted, 1914, by Thomas J. Sullivan.
Every failure is step to success;
every detection of what is false directs
us to what is true; every trial ex-
hausts some tempting form of error.
Not only so, but scarcely any attempt
is entirely failure; scarcely any theo-
ry, the result of steady thought. is al
together false. No tempting form Of
error is without some latent charm de-
rived from truth. With these thoughts
in mind | have prepared what | call
the consumers creed.
A Gate to the City.
1t is not religious creed. If it were
l would not be writing it. as | am
afraid might get my metaphors
crossed. This is business creed.
something like the people of New Eng
land unconsciously adopted when Lord
| North undertook to tax them. Thereto
fore they had always been accustomed
to divide on points. 1t so happened,
fortunately. that their opposition to
! Lord North was Il point on which they
were all united. 1t was business
point
! have written creed upon which
the people of the north south, east
and west can all unite for their own
good.
A good creed is a gate to the city
which has golden foundations; mis-
leading creed may be road to de-
struction, or if both misleading and
alluring it may become what Shake
speare calls a primrose path to the
eternal bonfire.
Perhaps my creed is nothing more
than set of principles which it would
be well for every consumer to practice.
Read them and then adopt them as
your very own:
A Business Greed.
First.-I do not patronize the mail
order system because it is selfish and
greedy and for the reason that l buy
at home, where my interests are.
Second.-If this community is good
enough for my family and to live in
1t ought to be good enough for my fam
fly and | to buy our necessaries In.
Third.-I will not take the word of |
the mail order house for its goods, as
| want to see what l am buying. and /
want to get what pay for.
Fourth.-l do not patronize the mail
order houses because they demand
cash In advance. and when | am
broke" and sick and need supplies my
home dealer is willing to carry" me.
Flfth.-I patroniZe the home dealer
because he stands back of his goods
and in case of error is willing to rec
tify.
Sixth.-I patronize the home mer-
chant because believe a man ought to
spend his money in the community In
which he earns it.
SEVENTH patronize the home mer-
chant because believe the man who
sells what he produces and buys what
ne needs ut home cannot be injured
by deceptive catalogue pictures or al
legged bargains.
Eighth do not patronize the mail
order houses because they frequently
sell damaged and inferior goods, which
t avails Il man nothing to attempt to
exchange. But the man | patronze-
he home merchant. the man who helps
% pay the town, county and state tax
Will exchange any article buy from
lim which is unsatisfactory.
Ninth. Il spend my money with my
home merchant in preference to some
nail order house in distant city be-
,ause the local merchants help to sup
'ort the publlc schools where send
ny children, the churches and the de-
PENDENT poor in my vicinity
Tenth.-l patrouize the local mer- :
liant because he does not try to trick
ne into buying "cheap" goods. which ;
'ecause Of their effectiveness prove
o be expensive. and. further. because {
hould Ill luck or bereavement come a
ny way my local dealer would not /
My prove that he was neighbor
nd Il friend but man. with mans
cart and a mans inclination to do
God; not soulless corporation like '
he mail order system. whose only in.
tinct is greed and u further desire for 4
ain.
do Unto Others"
Let all citizens follow this creed
nd they will be blessed with happy
ONES and a happy life. They will
rosper financially and at the same
me improve their moral standard. Do
'r your neighbor what you would like 7