Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-11-18
MEN WHO PATRoNiZE TEMPO.
RARY BUSINESSES OFTEN
COME OUT LOSERS.
COAL DEALER RELATES
. SOME OF EXPERIENCES
Patrons Turned Him Down Whom He
Had Coal to Sell, Planning to Share
in Carload Lots Shipped In by Other
Citizens--Later Begged For Fuel
Wilson's Observations.
pecial 70 Times Republican.

Special TO Times Republican.
Dumont, Nov. 1S.--On of the aggra-
waiting features of a livery mans bust
ness i'll the days when there was such
a thing as horse livery service was tho
cutting in of the outsider. retired
farmer or some other man with u
team and nothing else to do with it
at the time except to subtract from
the regularly established livery mans
business. This was easily accomplish
ed by undertaking the livery man,
ness prematurely by the short sighted
traveller who followed the old custom
Of buying where you can buy the
cheapest" only to find later on that
his temporary livery was no more and
that he could not buy at I'LL.
\ northern Iowa coal dealer has
found that this same cutting in pro-
cess can be applied to his business
and that in some cases, notably
when a strike puts stop for time
to coal production, the consumer loses
out in the attempt to buy under the
regular figure, realizing all too late
that he had better have dealt with his
regular dealer. This in brief is the
coal merchants story:
Early in the season my firm In
structed me to put on q systematic
coal selling campaign turnout the
summer and-fall. We filled our bins
and piled some on the ground. l set
up a bulletin board in front Of my
office ON which a warning to buy early
was written in large letters. l called
up my prospective customers by
phone and tried to explain the situa-
ton. A few responded. / sold from
that piled up outside and on which l
had paid the expense Of extra hand
ling. They didn't want to take this
coal, they preferred that from the
bins, so 1 didn't pile up any more.
Then came the cutting in" part Of the
performance. A carload or two was
shipped in by an outsider. taken by the
buyers direct from the car, at a less
price than I could afford to take for
what had handled twice. These buy
ers gleefully passed the word along.
explaining that one firm was to have
three cars in after a while, another
two at about such time, and still
another some more, ana what was the
use to pay more now when you can
get fresher coal cheaper, later on
When ! talked about buying coal my
old customers made excuses. Their
coal houses all seemed to be in tho
middle Of their gardens or else We're
filed with something that must be
moved out and no time ror moving It..
One man hated to interfere with q men
that was setting In his coal house.
They simply would not buy. Time
went on and the OUTSIDERS didn't ship
in any coal. It was always coming
still never came. It hasn't come yet
probably never will. The strike did
come and then there was no reluc-
lance to buy from me. Tpey didn't
even ask the price but begged for coal
and more coal. 1t is all gone and
many in this territory are mighty low
on fuel at this time. We have some
bins in another town that need repair
ing but my firm does not intend to
make the repairs. 1t is going to quit
handling coal there and the customer
may look to some outsiders for his
supply, getting it on no profit plan
If he Is able to do so.
The "liveryman" will quit II he can't
make q living and the traveller may
search for temporary service.
J. II. Libby is pump man for the M.
g. st. l. station at Belmond. Last
summer he raised a flock Of some
twenty White Rock chickens. There
were CRASH oppers along the line OF
the r.Algona branch" this season and
myriads of these suffered the common
fate, Of all creatures that attempt to
dispute the right of way with loco
motives. their inanimate forms ad-
hereing to different portions Of the
machinery as the trains entered tho