The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1920-01-09
AMERICAS GREATEST, MOST
CAREFUL PURCHASING AGENT.
THE FARMERS WIFE

| and live STOCK Delt OF tne OiHteu
States is divided into two equally inn
portant factors, viz: crop raising and
housekeeping, the last of these fac
tors being indispensable to the first,
and no modern farmer attempts to
run both ends of the business.
When a young farmer starts out for
himself he starts, first, by getting
wife; then he gets farm and starts
to raise crop after turning the other
half of the business over to his part
ner. The firm name is Mr.. and Mrs.
Farmer. Mr.. Farmer takes charge OF
the live stock and crop tending and
borrows money at the bank to run his
end of the business on. But he leaves
it to Mrs. Farmer to provide "three
squares" and lodging for himself and
hired help; to raise the money TO do 1t
on by growing and marketing the by
products Of the farm.
The farmer leaves it to Mrs. Farm
er to purchase practically everything
used in the business from churns to
Overalls, with the exception, perhaps,
of some particular fancy of his in the
way of gasoline tractor, and at that
he is more than likely to get her COX"
on the order he places for that.
The farmers wife really does the
buying and she does it as part of 1.-The
farming business"--nOt as pleasure.
Instead of going for an afternoons
shopping, without the slightest idea OF
buying anything, she makes a want
list, WATCHES THE ADVENTIST
MENTS and when she is sure she can
buy to the best advantage she makes
her buying trip to the nearest town.
The fact that she often sends the or
der to the mail order house proves
that she is business woman who can
be sold by advertising and that she
appreciates the efficient craftsmanship
of the mail order catalog. 1t appeals
to her sense of buying as business
because it presents the goods to her
in businesslike way, numbered and
priced with complete description and
an authentic illustration of the article
advertised.
The mail order house is a "buga-
boo to many country merchant be-
cause he doesn't know how to COM
pete with it in securing the trade Of
the farm buyer. He has tried numer-
GUS ways-most of them wrong ways
and he has often come to believe
that the only way he can sell Mrs.
Farmer is by getting something to
sell to her at lower price than the
catalog house sells it for. That idea
has made junk shops out of many
small town retail stores.
Mrs. Farmer is just like any other
good purchasing agent. If she must
buy a certain grade of merchandise
she will buy where she can buy to the
best advantage, but she is always in
terested in better article. The mer-
chant who makes speciality of the
trade marked, nationally advertised
goods is the only dealer who can COM
pete to any great extent with the mail
order house, and the reason he car
compete is because he doesn't have tc
compete. In other words, he car
trust to the merit of the standardized
= lines he carries.
Teamwork Among Retailers
/ Will Solve 1t.
: The fact that the farmers wife is
8 the farmers purchasing agent makes
= it necessary to put the feminine appeal
o into all advertising copy that she
V reads. But the feminine appeal to her
:. is not exactly like the feminine appeal
9 in copy designed to sell city society
Il ladies. Not that the same copy will
= not sell the farmers wife-because it
Il will, on those things exclusively fem
y mime. She likes dainty garments, de-
licious deserts and toilet accessories
=, as much as any woman and she likes
u the advertisements of them presented
g in the same way, but in her business
e as purchasing agent for the farm
!, the buying of utensils, sturdy clothes
n stoves, separators, and the hundred
" and one necessary adjuncts 20 the
: farming business, she wants the ap'
l. peal to be business appeal bus
II mess wOman's appeal
/ She wants to know that she will be
n capable of running the power washer
"a herself. She wants to know that the
IS clothing will wear well, that hel
Il kitchen utensils will work well ant
economically. And she wants to be
sure that the new automobile will car
: ry the whole family over to "hel
! folks" on Sunday and get them bach
in time for milking. That is the
o kind of feminine appeal" to put int
Z copy to sell the farmers wife.
&c The country merchant depends en-
u, tirely on selling the farm buyer, but
~ the fact that SO many of them fail il
= business, or, at least, fail to grow
80 shows that they have not been able
80 to get as much of the business as they
e. should. 1t is a really serious prob
II lem with many merchants right nov
- the problem of increasing volume
. and it is problem that manufacture
ers of nationally advertised merchan
!; disc are interested in for the reason
\ that much of their product is sold ov.
D er the counters of the country's small
town retail stores. Team work among
retailers for the purpose or attracting
more buyers and for the purpose Of
extending the trade territory of thu
20 town is the solution Of the problem
but it is hard for country merchants
~ to cooperate to any great extent be-
- cause so many Of them handle thu
III same merchandise that they are near
III lv oil comnetitors and few of then