The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-12-31
A USELESS ARMY

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da Herald, Col. A. P. Jordan pub
lished a splendid editorial regarding
the high cost of living and suggest
ed ac remedy the doing away with
the thousands Of -salaried trav-
cling statesmen and the enormous sell.
ing expense attached to their main.
tenance. We intended to reproduce
the editorial mentioned, but somc one
got away with the paper, therefore !
canhot do 30.
Il Is generally conceded that the
time Of low prices for the necessi-
ties Of life is past-that even aftcr
the war 1t will be many years before
prices are materially lowered and
that probably never during the life
OF the present generation will prices
again be as low as they were prior to
the beginning Of this great world
struggle.
The people are asked by the food
commission to do everything in their
power to conserve food. the feeding
Of the fighters being just as essential
II we are to win this great war, as is
the furnishing Of munitions. This be-
ing the case it stands to reason that
1t is essential for those who must re-
main at home and produce the food
stuffs. to be able to provide at least
good substantial food for their own
tables. as well as clothing and the
necessary articles for household use.
The present high prices are pinching
the laborers and causing many Of
them to do without those things that
are absolutely necessary to provide
the Drawn with which to carry on
their labors.
Throughout the United States there
is vast army of travelling salesmen.
maintained at an enormous cost.
They are about as necessary to the
conduct Of business as is the secon.
caudle appendage to a flea-bitten ca
nine. The elimination Of this vast
army Of non-producers would in
crease the ranks of the producers
many fold and relieve thousands of
men now required in agriculture!
and industrial pursuits for the more
serious work Of fighting in the
trenches or upon the open battle
fields. And more than that, a largo
per cent Of the money saved by the
manufacturers, wholesalers and dis
tributors could be Topped of the re-
tai, prices Of foodstuffs, clothing an i
other everyday necessities of the
People Of the nation.
The great mail-order houses of the
United States do not employ travel
Ing statesmen. They create a deman1
for their goods by advertising. They
use magazines, the country newspa-
pers (where they will accept mail
order house advertisements and cata-
losues) For few cents Uncle Sam
carries their "sales talks" right into
the home Of the purchaser. Paying
the travelling expenses of drum
;mer" adds large per centage to the
cost Of the goods. His salary would
more than provide for an advertisin z
campaign in the territory he covers.
And the result would be just as sat.
isfactory to his employers. as we'll as
materially reducing the cost to the
CONSUMER.
II onyone will show US where there
Is any necessity Of from a dozen to
Twenty travelling salesmen coming to
Manatee from ampa every week to
sell cur merchants their weekly sup.
plies, which could Just as well be or
dered by mail or telephone, we will
consider ourselves under obligations.
1t is conceded that after the war
conditions will have to be readjusted.
1t occurs to us that the time to be-
lgih readjusting is right now. while
there is an unprecedented demand
Throughout the land for men in all
branches of business. 1t is the logi-
cal time to do away with this useles,
ormy Of travelling statesmen, while
there is opportunity for them to Sc
cure lucrative positions in other lines
of endeavor .-Manatee Banner.