The Winslow mail., 1923-01-19
anti PEONACE LAW INTRODUCED
SHOULD RECEIVE SOLID SUPPORT

than at the company store, at least
in the community from which l come,
may soon be observed at the railway
station consulting the ticket agent as
to rates and routes leading elsewhere
And on every hand may be heard the
comment: Well, he bucked the com
pany, and that is what he got!' :"
Every large mining company in
Arizona has in it's employ a number
of Weakened, subservient apologies
for men who are used to devote a
considerable portion of their time to
gathering information of the activi-
ties of other employees, and in pack
ing tales to the various officers of the
companies, rendering report of all
things which are going in and about
the camp. Usually, the least sign of
independence or of action contrary to
company policy, whether it be in
business, socially politically, or other
wise, is quickly reported, and the Of
Tending employee is promptly 'dis-
ciplined." Family men become afraid
to trade at other than the company
stores, and even fearful to openly
discuss political and other community
problems openly"
I Competition against the company
store is. gradually eliminated by un-
fair competitive methods, and the
monopoly is more firmly entrenched.
Lack of business forces the independ-
ent competing merchants to reduce
their stocks. Competing stores cannot
cary as large a variety Of merchan-
disc to choose from as the company
store which has the privilege of hold
ing out on the customers pay checks,
and the Independent merchant is fur
ther handicapped for that reason"
Under such a system, the commu-
nifty cannot possibly grow or develop
along independent commercial lines.
Some persons seem to carry the idea
that the company store serves as a
protection to the employee against
profiteering merchants, and that but
for the company store, b u
would be practiced on the employees
in their buying. This propaganda
sounds silly to those familiar with the
real results of company store opera
tions. Where the company store
thrives, with its unfair advantages
enjoyed over competing merchants,
competition is ultimately removed,
and only the company store remains,
or such small stores as are allowed
to exist by tolerance, or such as will
accept company dictation of prices. =
Nobody ever heard of a company
store going into bankruptcy or being
forced to make an assignment for the
benefit of it's creditors, but that is
the common fate of its competitors.
This policy of domination by the min
ing companies has reached point in
the larger mining camps, where they
insist on going into practically every
phase of the social, political and eco
nomic life of their employees and
their families. 1t reaches into the
fraternal organizations, the women's
clubs and even tries to enter into the
churches. 1 personally witnessed the
demise in the Ajo district of Par
ent-Teachers' Association at the hands
of the company Orders were issued
to the head of the schools to instruct
the teachers to quit the organization,
and they obeyed. The employees
were told to tell their wives to quit
the association, and they did And
the organization, which was doing
good work for our schools, died"
"And so it goes, and will continue
to go, until mining communities are
allowed the privileges of other clas-
ses Of towns of organizing themselves
into municipalities, and until the
over-shadowing menace of the COM
pany store and company domination
in every activity of the daily life of
its employees is removed"