The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-01-09
THE DAILY MssouLAN TUESDAY MORNING 1917
AHOtESAtBRAACAHE@
American Society Of Equity
Will Establish Distribut-
ing Store Here.

Not q competitor Of the legitimate
business enterprises. but an upbuilder
Of the community, is the American So
ciety Of Equity, according to r. A.
Bennett, state secretary Of the society,
who Is In Missoula in the interests OF
the organization.
Mr.. Bennett said that the society
will soon open q wholesale distributing
| agency in Missoula for the benefit Of
the many cooperative stores which
are scattered throughout this part Of
the country.
Store on Third Street.
The new store will be located on
South Third street across from the
flour mill. and will be in operation as
soon as all the necessary arrange
ments with the branch stores are COM
plcted. 1t is expected that the whole.
sale branch will do q record business.
as the one at Great Falls. with less
contributing territory to draw from.
has been doing over $1,000 worth Of
business a day.
The stores which will DO contribu.
tory to the Missoula agency are those
at Corvallis, Hamilton, Victor and
Drummond. some on the reservation
and then a dozen others which will
soon be ready for business. Stores
that will be operated by the American
Equity society at Horte, Florence and
Darby will in short time be ready to
do business.
Buy by Carload.
Carloads OF various kinds of COM
modities will be shipped in to the Mis-
soula wholesale agency and will then
be distributed to the retail stores about
the country. while the various farm
products will be gathered up and
shipped by the carloads.
After Mail Order Houses.
Mr.. Bennett said: THE American
Society of Equity. in entering trade
throughout the country, does not in
tend to drive out the good business
men of the town, but is trying to drive
out the mail order business which
lately has been growing so rapidly
throughout the west. The society is
taking up the marketing side of the
farmers work, and is doing cooper
alive buying and selling, and giving
the dividends to the members who are
stockholders instead of allowing the
big mail order houses in the east to
have all the profit.
Many people assume that the
Equity stores sell goods cheaper than
the other stores. but this surmise is a
mistake. They sell at the same prices
as other stores, but their customers
are their main stockholders and thus
are able to divide the profits among
themselves.
Each store that has a share in the
wholesale distributing branch will be
represented by trustee. and the board
of trustees will govern the branch.
Expect General Support.
The farmers and union men are all
supporting the equity society. as they
all feel that they have supported the
mail order houses long enough. While
few years ago there were only two
mail order houses sending out cata-
logues there are scores of them now,
and they are sending their catalogues
in by the carloads, with the public
paying for it all. The poorest paid
people in the world are working in the
mail order houses. and these same
corporations make the greatest profits
of them all.
with the many stores operated by
the society scattered throughout the
country. it is expected that a better
market than ever for home products
will be found. While for many years
Montana people have been eating
Washington apples, they are now be-
ing educated to eat Montana apples
and last year the society's store in
Hamilton shipped IS carloads of APP
pies to various points in the state for
distribution. For the last five years
some apple growers in the Bitter Root
have ~lost money, out last fall they
made more than ever before, through
the efforts of the society in marketing
the fruit.
Growing Rapidly.
THE American Society Of Equity
has at present more than 10000 men,
/ bers in Montana, and besides they are
advancing rapidly throughout the
states of North Dakota, South Dakota.
| Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and
| Kentucky, and other states In the
middle west.
Besides their cooperative stores,
the society maintains life, fire and
lightning. and hail insurance depart
ments, real estate department, and
equity banks, all for the benefit OF
their stockholders.
Last year the society saved its
| memhers sSO. OOO in premiums on hail