MAIL ORDER TRUST
By Congressman Clyde H. Tavemer
Washington, .lune 26.- 80 si ntl
and Insidiously thnt tht great putt
lie is as yet almo.n unaware of its
presence, a new trust is extending
its tentacle out over the country.
It is the mall order trust. Already
its strangling grip is tightening
about the million small town and
country merchants who are the back
bone of national prtwperlty.
The mall order trust has capital
ized women and child labor. It has
capitalized vice. It ha turned all
these things Into dollars dollars
which should have foundtheir way
into the tills of the country HMO
rhant, Instead of flowing into the
trust's Wall Street hoard.
One mail order house recently In
creased its capital stock from $500.
000 to $40,000,000. A new JtlO.OOO,
000 merger of mall order houses ha
been formed. Wall Street financiers,
including the Morgan banking firm,
has had charge of both these finan
cial operations. Still another mail
order house, with 6.1 acres of floor
space, made a net profit of $17,000,
000 last year.
It is evident that the greed eyes
of the great mail order financiers
art turned upon, the entire retail
business of the United States out
side of the great cities. It is also
plain that a gigantic trust Is rapidly
forming. The small retail mer
chant is facing ruin. That the grip
of the octupus is already being felt
if shown by the population statis
tics. Nearly 7,000 small towns lost
population In the census of 1910.
It is declared that something must
be done by immediate legislation, or
the parcel post will not be the com
plete blessing it ought to b . It is
asserted the solution of the problem
will be in the form of n heavy tax
on mail order business. This tax
would, It is contended, tend to stop
the expansion of the mail business,
and to reduce its present formida
ble size. The money thus collected
would be spent for road building or
other local improvements in the dis
tricts which contributed to the Mall
ortfsi iiou-
The small retail merchant is the
prop of distributed prosperity, and
the growth of the mail order trust
serves no common good. Here Is a
principle which works out: "If ynu
spend your money where you get it,
you will be able to get it where pea
spend it."
Through a systematic advertising
campaign, the mail order capitalists
have sought to poison the public
mind against the' small nierei'iv.t .
The people have been told that there
are too many merchants, and that
their retail methods are wasteful
and costly. But I would point out
the other side of the question.
The Chicago vice Investigation
showed that 50,000 women employees
of mail order houses are existing on
starvation wages, many of them be
ing driven by poverty to lives of
shame. The . mail . order bouses are
the great distributors of prison-made
goods. They are the exploiters ,of
misfortune, buying much of their
goods at bankrupts' sales.
But who takes an interest in local
affairs and has a hand in the up
building of communities? Whose
goods are assessed for the taxes to
pay for local improvement? Who,
when the crops have failed or the
6trike is on, and there is no cash
to send away, extends the credit
which enables the community to live?
The local merchant and not the Wall
Street owned mall order house.
We want cheapness, a lower cost
of living; that is what we are all
working for. But we do not nam
it at the expense of the women wage
slaves of Chicago and of the million
little merclnants of this country.
STOCK BREEDERS' HANDBOOK
The Nebraska Improved Lirs
Stock Br eders' A.-.-o iation has re
cently published a dircetory of the
breeders of fancy live stock In the
state of Nebraska who belong to
tlds Association. It contains, be
sides tin- breeder's name and the
kind of stock which he handles, the
approximate number which he gen
erally has on hand and also the num
ber whkh are for sale. PractUullv
every breed of live stock Is repre
sented in this little book. The Kx
pertinent Station at Lincoln is con
stantly receiving inquiries as to who
has stock for sale of "such and such
a breed". Doubtless the Agricultur
al Press of the state also receive
many inquiries. This little directory
should be a very helpful guide to
any prospective purchaser or others
interested in live stock. Anv one
desirous of securing a copy should
write to Mr. Val Keyser, Secretary
of the Live Stock Improvers' Asso
ciation, Kairbury, Nebraska.
ESTABLISHED -p
1688
UNTIRING WORKERS TRIED AND T RUE
NATIONAL
LIVE STOCK
COMMISSION CO
A PROGRESSIVE COMPANY
FOR PROGRESSIVE PEOPLE
ZTm W AS THE MAN
THE ONE CAR SHIPPER
GETS AS SQUARE A DEi
86 J
Wit.
THE NUT CLUB You Jo'n Us We Will Stand tor Lots of Art By F. R. MORGAN
r AH.MONSifuft.eTibS . i ON My honor. noNSieufc. I I " 1
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