The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-02-20
LUMBERMEN Hear
OF
MAIL ORDER FIRMS
BY JINTOWN Man
Thousands of Men Owe
Prosperity to Local Mer-
chant, He Says
CUTS POPULATION
AND LAND VALUES
Terms Statements That
They Can Do Business
Cheaper "All Bunk"

Thousands Of men in the north
west who are now independent and
prosperous would have had to walk
out If they had not had the coop
GRAFTON Of the local merchant.
This is a statement made before
the morning session Of the eleventh
annual meeting Of the North Da-
kota Retail Lumber Dealers asso-
citation in the Fargo auditorium by
Alex Karr, jamestown, editor Of
Community Life, in an address on
Community Cooperation
Mr.. Karr, shortly after COM
mencing his talk, touched on the
mail order business as related to
community prosperity, and after
that the corporation problem was
given little attention. He lombard
ed. stormed and took the mail order
strOnghOlds, tearing down argument
after argument that had been pre-
sented in favor OF mail order buying
until not a vestige remained.
THE mail order houses tell us that
only the profit OF the local merchant
is left at home" said Mr.. Karr. The
statement is false. They have fall
ed to reckon with the by-products.
John H. Worst tells us that if
we would mill our own wheat in
North Dakota we could save $5,000.-
900 through the by-products. We
will assume that the merchant
makes seven per cent profit on the
sale Of his goods in addition to 25 or
30 per cent which must be added as
the cost Of doing business. This Is
the by-product, which is paid out in
taxes, in rent, in wages and in up
keep, and is 25 to 80 cents more than
the mail order houses claim is left
In the community.
"You spend 500 with your local
merchant, and $50 stays at home.
Send 800 to a mail order house. and
you don't get a cent Of II back. 1t
Is lost You can kiss it goodbye
when it leaves your hands"
Mail Order Business Large.
The mail order business in North
Dakota alone amounts TO great
sums yearly, large enough to stagger
the imagination of the uninitiated,
Mr.. Karr said.
Our state legislature has tried to
devise a scheme by which to tax
this mail order business" said Mr..
Karr, "and If they could it would cut
25 per cent off your taxes
Mr.. Karr declared 1iat the mail
order business seriously affected
land values and population.
"You know" he said, that land is
worth more money when i0 is near a
business center. Where there is no
business land is much cheaper. The
same is true of population. People
follow money, and the bulk Of the
population naturally is where the
money Is" -.
DO Much Publicity Work. ID
Mr.. Karr declared that statements
of mail order houses that they could
do business cheaper than the local
merchant were all bunk
do you know that Sears, Roebuck
g. Co, of Chicago, have returned
goods to the amount Of $l2,0O0,0OO
each year?" he asked. They have,
and on those goods they pay trans
portation both ways. The goods re-
turned to them in one year would
stock a string Of little country stores
six miles long"
The mail order houses are great
and maintain great pub
Iicity bureaus, Mr. Karr said.
Through their channels OF
they learn when the mer-
chants of small town are not wide