The Brinkley argus., 1920-01-29
s(Continued from last week. )
Fights Mail Order Houses.

UWQ 4StAleTS. hUOul Oue-luiEu Ol tuS 4bu11n&ss of North Dakota was going Ito u1ail-o order houses. l sent out a Hmm, Doctor Carr, to investigate.
 hired him because he is running Imasa4ine advocating Trade at Home" When we found mail-order lhouges doing business at home, we became interested in mail-order busi- lnoos in North Dakota. Seventy-two dsolid carloads of catalogues from mail- lorder house were delivered In North Dakota at that time. I hired two linen and sent them out over the state. iThey Interviewed merchants. had a little 1heet for them to fill out, asking about Advertising. Well, I found that { 75 per cent of them didn't believe in Iadveftising. Then 1 knew at once what was the trouble to great ex- tent. estimated that over million
 dollars was being spent in that state iby mail order houses. I found that &75,00O,000 were being spent in the
 United States by the mail-order ihOuses, and that million went to the slstafe of North Dakota. To those con- asumers every single day came cata- .10Rues or pamphlets of some kind, and the retailers of that state absolutely mot making an appeal to the consumer flor their business. I went to the job lberS and manufacturers. They didn't know what was going on. It never entered their heads that they were Alosing 25 per cent of the business in "A Y A1Jl rrxhk Ito realize that retailers are your agents and when they are gone you wont have anyone to distribute your merchandise."
 have been in Chicago in Mar shall Fields, and Carson Pirie Scott's.
 They have been interested along
 that line. I said to these jobbers: q
 want you to do something for the lrotail merchant along these lines. lI found in talking to these men they do not understand advertis- ling and do not believe in 1t. am Ieattsied that S5 per cent of the lbuSiness people in the United States, lout1fde the larger cities, do not be-
 lfexe fin it, do not use it, and do not N3lUISA4XG LuC luA OpPoAbobAliSS @ttheY are losing. I started to educate
 1hon. to interest them in this work. 300 that when the merchant wants ad-
 0xf1ning for his paper or his letters Vr circulars or pamhlets, he will go HO any of the houses and tkey will help #him. They have become interested In Att Also the question of price has
 come ID. To this day great many people figure that the retail merchant cannot compete with mail order
 houses" laid it before these mem must furnish the retailer mer- ;chandise at such a price he can meet Nmail order competition. He is your
 agent Are you going to let them clean
 him up or keep in business yourself?" They promised they would furnish merchandise that would meet all mail order competition. tell the retailer If the wholesale houses don't give them . price that will meet mail order
 COmpetitlon, let me know about it;
 and .ln two years. I have not had
 single Instance where the jobher or ,manufacturer has refused to meet mall order competition. l got away with fhe price. put backbone into
 the merchants.
 M Then I started on the advertising game talked to travelling men and
 rot fheir houses to go out and sell #merchants not only merchandise but
 adyertising.
 Solving Peddler Problem.
 found the peddlers were selling an immense amount Of groceries over
 North Dakota, and I went to the
 Wh0lesale grocers and said: T want
 to get out an advertisement myself,
 a groeery ad, just as attractive as
 these mail order people send out" I4ey got up an advertisement They
 rent this out to their trade. We used afhia Advertisement and, believe me, we so1d some merchandise. And they thought that a good idea. They went
 ont and sold over 1,200 of their GUS .f0mefs that idea and l think eventual 3lY Wn are going to get out of 1t won d6rfm results.
 found that 65 per cent of the
 c0<Eee in the state of North Dakota WAL being sold by peddlers and mail < <. or(l6 people. I know we did not have the l0ffee business and began to inves- K 43figafe why. I found we were selling < Hound packages and mail order houses @sWere selling 25-pound packages for g !xew cents cheaper. These men told 8)lne about 1t; suggested what we ought E :fo 70. bought coffee in larger pack X hrs and started advertising; put 92nample in a sack; wrote them about MI told them we were putting 1t on 3to1o on this date, and attached sample ls' which would show them what kind of &cofkee it was so that when they read Y TIT letter they had the coffee to sample T used this same method in dried x1its.
 Alter visiting about 78 newspapers %1,o& hax rfn