Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-05-18

7 IS ECELAND'S
Herald Cup Awarded in De-
bate on Mail Order and Re-
tail Trade Last Night.

In the final debate of the State High
school Debating League which vas
held at the University of North Da-
kota last evening Egeland won from
Courtenay by a decision of three to
two. The question for debate was
Resolved, that in North Dakota the
Patronage of Mail Order Houses is
Detrimental to the Best Interests of
the State" The affirmative" of the
question was upheld by Courtenay and
the negative by Egeland.
At the outset the two teams dis
agreed on the definition of the mean
ing Of the question. Courtenay con-
tended that the patronage of mail or
der houses tends to produce in the
state pauperism, idleness. crime, in
sanity and disease. Egeland con
tended h a the patronage of mail or
der houses is not detrimental % the
best interests Of the state because the
competition is beneficial to the local
merchant, that the mail order house
tends to educate the people of the
state in regard to goods and prices,
that this patronage is a financial saw
ing to the state, and that 1t causes the
evolution of the local merchant. They
commended that while competition is
not welcomed by any one. that it is
vet needed in any human system, and
that the mail order business is. the
only real competition the merchant
has in the state since the organiza-
ton Of the merchants into ~associa-
tons. The fact was repeatedly stated
by the negative thai the amount of
business done by the mail order houses
in the state, which they claimed to
average three and n half per cent
in h past fifteen years Of all the
business done in the state, could not
be anything but a benefit to the state
because of the stimulus it gave to the
local merchant.
Comparative Charts.
Charts were produced by the nega
tive showing the basis of distribution
and showing that the merchant could
buy more cheaply and sell more
cheaply than he does. The record of
comparison between goods both from
mail order houses and those bought
from the local merchant showed a
saving of 20 per cent on the mail or
der, and a quality slightly in favor of
the local merchants' goods according:
to tests made by Food Inspector Iadd.
The chart showed that, the merchant
can now buy only one per cen.
cheaper than can the individual from
$AS AAAdAA AAOOcS dlIGF ala expense
is paid. They showed .Brad,treet
charts to prove that while the a4firma-
tive commended that the mail order
house patronage puts the local mer-
chant out of. business that the l,er-
centage of failure from competition /.
only one and nine-tenths per cent
and that most failures OF. merchant
are due to Incompetence. i~nexpericnce,
and Ill advised PURCHASES A . pYooi
Of their argument that this mail order
business stimulates the local merchant
they quoted an advertisement 81
seventeen stores In the Lake feRiou
stating that they were prepared IA
compete with mail order houses
Charts Fwere also shown, TO prove tha1
the patronage OF maa order houses
does not tend to decrease the yaluS 81
farm or town, property. They quoted
from the tn commissioners report
which shows an increase IN value al
farm lands off, per cent andEin towy
property Of ~ Per cent III the last tor
The CouTtsnhy tsam stuck q II.
definition OF the question tl1rouehou1
ana some. yery9%c levsf ana plIcEs
work 49, shown w thsss dsbAtsrs
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