White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1935-02-07
MoNsTRosITY

If you one Of the many interested in keep
ing the cost of living just as low as possible, you
will be interested in the attempt at Olympia to
put over licensing act which will have the eff
feet of placing extra burden on the shoulders
Of the independent merchant and raising prices
of all commodities sold in this state
Senate Bill 8, purporting to be plan to equal
lie the advantages chain stores have indie
pendents through mass buying and mass dstribu-
ton, is a most vicious attack on the consumer, for
it would adversely affect the greatest number Of
people. There is not store of any kind in Wash
ington that could escape the destroying influence
of this measure.
Senate Bill makes it unlawful to establish
continue existing store unless licensed
by the state. By "store'' is meant ''any place
within this state in which goods wares, merchan-
disc or personal property Of any kind are sold
offered for sale, either at retail wholesaler Ex
emptions are cooperative stores and public grain
storage warehouses or elevators ''not selling or
operating for profit
The annual license fee starts at SIS for single
store, jumps to 500 each for two stores, and in
creases by $40 each for every additional store in
group up to 10 when the annual license fee is
$3.50 for each; and ''upon each store in excess of
10, the annual license fee shall be $3.50 for each
such store
There has long been an agitation for special
tax on chain stores and if these license fees APP
piled only to chain stores there many people
who would favor such an enactment. But this bill
is drawn in such way as to include stores that
are not in any sense ''chan stores'' The Joker in
the bill is that these graduated license fees are
imposed on all stores, of whatever ownership or
control, by setting them aside in which the lam
guage OF the act calls 'groups'' Any store auto
maticay falls into group if receiving the priv
lleges or benefits of mass buying merchan-
dising mass ADVERTISING
What this means is that an individual citizen
operating an individual store in no way related
either in ownership control or operation to any
other store, becomes one of 'group' if partici-
pating in any way in cooperative buying of mer-
chandise to offset the advantages the chains enjoy
by buying in large quantities at lower prices than
an individual could expect to buy.
Or if by similar means, an individual store par
tcipates in distribution if he receives the priv
lleges or benefits of mass advertising
Consideration of possibilities shows that under
this proposed law it would be practically impos
sibIe for any store matter how small to oper-
ate without coming under one or more of these
provisions.
Ia the interest Of the consuming public, this
Senate Bill should be killed by the power of an
aroused and outraged public opinion. Legislators
should be deuged with written protests that such
an act will be nothing less than calamity to the
buyer of products of all kinds and will aid no one
but the political racketeer
This bill is likely to come up for passage any
day now and there is no time to lose in denounc-
ing this monstrosity by writing your representa-
tlves and senators that you are not in favor of
increasing the cost of living through such means