The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1919-12-05
TRADE COMMISSION.
DEFENDS ITS ORDER
" MERCHANTS SHOW " uM.
WORKABLE THEY WILL MOD.
nv RULE, THEY ASSERT
NEWS or the CAPITAL CITY
State Dispose o. Two and one-hab
Million Acres Of Land In Year,
Fire Marshal Warns Parents
Not 70 lock up Children

Representatives OF lner.
chants associations and individual
dealers have besieged the Montana
trade commission the last few days
with complaints. protests, comments
and inquiries concerning the commits
sion's general order No. 4. requiring
merchandise to be marked in plain fig
ures with the invoice cost to the deal
er and the selling price to the con.
sumer." members of the commission
declared. following meeting with rep
resentatives of the merchants.
MANY merchants express desire
to comply with the order. but aver
that the requirement that they shall
post sheets, exhibiting all their stock
Of merchandise with cost and selling
figures opposite each item, will mark
a great hardship on them by OCCASION
ing additional labor and expense In
order to meet the time limit, Decem.
her l. In consequence they are now
asking the commission for co-opera.
ton by way of time extensions, and
other notifications Of the order. The
commission. since its inception. has
used it's utmost efforts to secure CO.
operation from the dealers In enforc-
ing the provisions Of chapter q, laws
of the extra session.
Every early in the game. last Au-
gust, the commission earnestly solicit
ed the cooperation Of the merchants
in arriving at graduated scale of
profit margins. suggested that the
margins SO arrived at be tested out
for period and If found unreasonable
or not workable. that the commission
would thereafter modify same.
1.-THE merchants. however, refused
the suggestion and fatty declined to
cooperate ut all. With each new sug-
gestion their unwillingness to cooper
ate has been more pronounced. But
1t is not too late to cooperate. even
now. The commission is ready to co.
operate now. and If the merchants
will point wherein that portion of the
order In reference to posting print
ed or typewriter list Is unavoidable
or occasions undue hardships. the com
mission will be glad to consider sug
gestions for it's modification. As FOL
marking the goods with cost and sell
ing prices. the commission sees nc
merit In the cry that 1t will occasion
higher prices because of expense.
Most establishments now mari
each item with the selling price, Of
with cost price in a secret CIPHER ant
selling price in plain figures. instead
Of adhering to the old practice. thu
only change will be In adding the cos
figures. in plain Arabic numerals OF
the tag. For the stock on hand thi!
means extra work, but certainly NJ
hardship.
Judging from the response receiv
ed from consumers. the commission''
order meets with their complete ap
prevail. They feel that for the frs
time in their lives they are now Of
equal footing with the merchant In ar
irving ut bargain.
"The commission Is not confoundet
by suggestions that the trade commits
sion act ia unconstitutional. 1t ha
been advised that the act Is constitu
tional and since the people have chars
ed the commission with its enforce
ment, and are themselves sOlfdly be
hind the law, the commission propose
TO 60 ahead without Quibbling."
state Owns Much Land.
Montana owns 2.49O. SOB less acres q
land than the state held title to a
the beginning of 1919. that amour
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