TWO BIG QUESTIONS
THE "MORAL OBLIGATION" AND
"DOES IT PAY?"
SHOULD EE CONSIDERED
An Honest Answer to These Will
Keep the Trade with tho
Home Merchant Every
Time.
i (Copyrighted, 190G, by Alfred C. Clark.)
When the thrifty person or his wife
aits down for the first time —or any
time—with the mail order catalogue
and its temptations, there are two,
and only two, points to be taken into
consideration.
One of these Is moral obligation,
and the chances are that that will be
• dismissed as sentimental nonsense.
The other is—Will it pay? and to
that the thrifty person will be in
•tclined to interpret an answer from the
prices quoted in black-faced figures in
ithe catalogue.
Neither of these questions should
be lightly dismissed. Moral obliga
tion is not sentimental nonsense, aud
black-faced figures sometimes lie.
The duty a man owes to his own
community and his obligation to trade
at home are so often reiterated in tho
country press that, possibly like some
..of the preaching, it has a tendency
iio harden the hearts of the sinners.
What has your neighboring town
I
I "c > y
1 I
The fire of publicity is the medium the mail-order houses are using to
destroy this community. It is up to you, Mr. Merchant, to fight the devil
with fire. By the aid of the local press you can hold him over the scorching
flames, and put a stop to his devastating competition so far as this com
munity is concerned. Will you not assist in the good fight?
«?iven you, Mr. Farmer? A market for
ryour produce. What has made 25 to
•50 per cent, of the present value of
your farm? The accessibility of a
market. You know what your grand
father did on that same farm? Drove
his hogs and hauled his grain 30, 50,
maybe 75 miles to the nearest market
town, and received prices for them
that would make you howl about the
trusts. And he hauled back the fam
ily supplies tor which he paid what
tyou would consider monopolistic
prices. Do you happen to know what
the old farm was worth then? Well,
it lacked a good deal of being $75 or
SIOO an acre.
Yes, the home town, with its handy
market, has advanced the value of
your property and made you worth
several thousand dollars more than
your grandfather was worth. The
'home town affords schooling for your
children, and perhaps social and
church privileges which your family
would not otherwise enjoy. The rural
mail routes and telephone systems,
radiating from the home town, as
spokes from a hub. bring to your
home the greatest conveniences of
modern times.
Have you ever noticed that the first
■thing the settlers of a newly-opened
reservation do is to send for a wagon
Joad of mail order catalogues? Well, I
haven't. They lay out a town site
every six or eight miles, start two or
three general stores, build a school
house, a church, a blacksmith shop, a
grain elevator, petition the depart
ment for a post office, and start a
newspaper. They know, from former
• experience that, with these things
close by, life will bo endurable, what
• ever hardships may come. They know,
. also, that without them they must live
lives of isolation and endure an exist
• ence that is contrary to all natural
human instincts.
On the other hand, it goes without
saying, that the average country town
■ cannot exist without the support of
its tributary territory. Then, if that
town affords the advantages for the
:rural citizen that have been enumerat
ed, there exists what wo may call an
(Interdependence and a moral obliga
tion between the two. Are you, Mr.
Thrifty Farmer, living up to that ob
ligation when you do your trading
with the mail order house?
To this line of argument the farmer
may answer that his greatest obllga
'yon, hf3jirst duty, is to his immediate
1 household, and that anions the dottea
to his family and to the heirs of hi 3
estate is that of practicing judicious
economy—buying where he can buy
the cheapest and to the best advan
tage. And this brings us to the sec
ond point in the argument—the para
mount question in this commercial
age—"Will it pay?"
By most people an affirmative an
swer to that question is accepted as
the call of duty. As a matter of fact,
"Will it pay?" is a good test to apply
to any project or proposition. There
are commercial, as well as political,
demagogues, and the man who is ap
pealed toon the score of patriotism
or profit, duty or dollars, can scarcely
do better than to sit down by himself
and submit that question—"Will it
pay?"—to his own best judgment.
Provided always, that he goes to the
very bottom of it.
What are the relative advantages of
buying at the local store and ordering
from a catalogue house? Advantages,
understand, that figure in the ques
tion, "Will it pay?" Don't get away
from that question. It certainly is
very comfortable to sit down by your
own fireside and select a dress pattern
or a sulky plow from a printed des
cription and a picture of the article;
much more comfortable, in fact, than
hitching up and driving to town on a
raw day.
A consideration more important,
perhaps, is that the printed price in
the catalogue seems, in some cases at
least, to bo lower than the price
quoted at the local store, isn't that
conclusive? Let's see. The catalogue
describes the goods and quotes a
price; maybe it gives a picture of the
article also, but you don't see the
goods. The local merchant shows you
the goods; you may examine them
critically; he may allow you to test
them or to call in an expert to advise
you. Is it fair to conclude that the
catalogue article is the cheaper just
because the price is lower?
An element that must enter into the
comparison of goods and prices is,
that in any attempt to fool the cus
tomer, the local merchant is decided
ly at a disadvantage. He must show
the goods, not merely describe them.
His business depends wholly upon the
limited trading area of his town and
his ability to inspire confidence within
that circle, lie cannot afford to make
a practice of misrepresenting his
goods.
The mail order house is not so tied
down to the maxim that "Honesty is
the best policy." It has no neighbors,
no fellow citizens, no mutual interests
with ils patrons. Its trade area is
wide and always shifting. Naturally
these conditions do not demand extra
ordinary vigilance in supplying hon
est-made goods. And where Vigilance
is not a needed employe in the busi
ness he is generally taken off the pay
roll, which makes a saving in expense,
as well as in the cost of the goods. If
lower prices are quoted by the cata
logue house, may not this account for
it?
"Will it pay?" Is it a matter of
economy to buy inferior and damaged
goods when the same money, or even
a little more, will pay for goods of the
best quality? Which course does a
man's first duty to his own household
dictate?
But to get at the bottom of that
question, we must consider the far
reaching general effect of mail order
trading. If single catalogue houses
are to be capitalized at $10,000,000,
they must be reckoned with along
with Standard Oil, the beef trust and
railroad mergers. If they are allowed
to suck the blod from our country
towns, your grandchildren will find
conditions much the same as those of
your grandfather's time. Their mar
kets will be 30, 50 or 75 miles away.
The towns and villages will be de
serted, and the "hubs" will be too dis
tant to send the radiating spokes of
rural mail, telephone lines and othev
modern conveniences far into the
country.
CHARLES BUADSHAW.
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1907.
INSPECTORS
In PcstaS Service Locate
Plant for Printing
LOTTERY TICKETS.
Two Arrests are Made and a Num
ber of Plates are Seized at
New Cumberland, W. Va.
Pittsburg, Pa. —PostofHce Inspect
ors Williams, Lucas and Craig
head have unearthed, It is said, the
printing establishment where lottery
tickets have been turned out by the
wholesale for distribution throughout
J New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and
West Virginia.
Following the arrest of Samuel
Conkle at Chester, W. Va., recently
for using the mails to defraud, the in
spectors concentrated their efforts in
West Virginia in an endeavor to lo
cate the printing establishment. Wed
nesday night, it is said, they were re
warded by discovering the place at
New Cumberland, W. Va.
The inspectors learned at the ex
press office at New Cumberland that
! a certain printing house had shipped,
|it is alleged, numerous packages to
Conkle, and when the son of the man
owning the printing house was called
onto make an affidavit that none of
the printing had been done there, he
refused to do so. However, the young
man is said to have given information
| which led to finding a number of cuts
I and two plates for printing tinted
I paper.
Among the cuts was one of the
i Ultra Itio Grande Lottery Co., of con
| cern of which the inspectors had
i heard nothing before. The cut. was
for circulars advertising a drawing of
| $50,000 by the company, in addition
to the arrest of Conkle, two other
| men have been taken into custody
1 here. According to the t'nited States
authorities numerous other arrests
j will be made in connection with the
1 case.
I
McCEELLAN IN BRONZE.
Stajue of the First Commander of tha
Army of the Potomac Is Un
veiled at Washington.
Washington, I). C.—With appro
priate civic and military ceremonies
| and in the presence of a distinguished
| audience, the heroic equestrian statue
I in bronze of Maj. Gen. George I!. Me
j Clellan, erected under the auspices ol
j the Army of the Potomac, was un
| veiled here Thursday. President
Roosevelt made the principal speech
and with Gen. Frederick I). Grant on
j his right and Gov. Stokes, of New Jer
sey, on his left, witnessed an impos
| ing military parade of regulars and
| militia.
Mrs. McClellan, the general's
! widow, Mayor McClellan, of New
| York, son of the general, and Dr
j George McClellan, of New Jersey, a
j nephew, who pulled the string releas
j ing the flags in which the statue was
enveloped, occupied seats on th«
| president's stand.
Brig. Gen. Henry C. Dwight, presi
j dent of the Society of the Army of the
j Potomac, presided.
Gen. Horatio C. %'Cing, secretary ol
the Society of the Army of the Po
tomac, read a history of the statue
which is by Frederick MacMonnies
the American sculptor residing in
Paris. The statue commands an im
posing position at the intersection ol
Connecticut avenue and Columbia
road in the northwestern section ol
the city. The equestrian group is
cast in standard bronze and is 14 feet
in height.
IS VEXED BY OHIO METHODS.
District Attorney Jerome Has a Griev
ance Against the Buckeye State.
New York. —Counsel for the de
fendant arranged with the district
attorney's office Thursday for the ap
pearance next Monday of Charles S.
j Fairchild, former secretary of the
| treasury, who in December last was
j indicted on six counts charging forg
, ery in the third degree. The case
I grew out of what came to be known
as the "Prussian bond transaction" of
the New York Life Insurance Co.
District Attorney Jerome on Thurs
day continued his investigation intn
the recent election for directors of the
New York Life Co. and which has re
sulted in the arrest of G. R. Scrugham.
Last; night Mr. Jerome gave out a
statement in which he declares that
he is perfectly satisfied with the work
of his assistants which resulted in the
arrest of Scrugham, and that he as
sumes all responsibility for what has
been done. Concerning the form of
Scrugham's arrest, the district attor
ney states that because of earlier ex
perience with the state of Ohio in the
case of William H. Hahn, he will
never again take any chances on the
return of a fugitive from justice front
that state so long as there is evidence
to hold him in this county.
Senate Refuses to Remove Kelsey.
Albany, N. Y. —The state senate
Thusday night after a heated de
bate refused to remove Otto Kelsey.
superintendent of insurance, from of
flee, as recommended by Gov. Flughe».
The vote stood 24 for removal to 27
against.
Mrs. De Massy Is Convicted.
New York. "llaroness" Anisia
Louise De Massy, the pattern do
signer, tried for ihe killing of Gustav
Simon, a shirtwaist manufacturer,
was last night convicted of man
slaughter in the first degree.
'AMONG THE GANG'
QUARRY OWNERS WERE ASKED
TO DIVIDE OVERCHARGES
FOR MATERIAL
USED IN BUILDING PENNSYLVA-
I NIA'S CAPITOL—THE GRAFT
INQUIRY.
Harrisburg, Pa. —The most, inter
-1 esting witness Wednesday be-
Harrisburg, Pa., May 2. —The most
Interesting witness Wednesday be
] fore the commission which is invest!-
j gating charges of extravagance in tlie
; furnishing of the Pennsylvania state
i capitol, John H. Sanderson, contract
a widow, of Williamsport, Pa., who
was called to tell about a deal that
Joseph M. Huston, architect of the
capital, John H. Sanderson, contract
or for the furnishings, and others had
; attempted to make with her for ser
i pentine marble from a quarry left her
jby her husband. The marble was to
, have been used in the capitol.
"They offered to allow me," said
1 Mrs. Anthony "fifty per cent, of the
proceeds from a new company they
desired to organize, but I was given
to understand that 40 per cent, of
! that amount must be divided among
j their friends. That would have left
: me only 10 per cent, for the marble,
\so 1 decided it would be better to
: give it away and declined to negotiate
' with them further. The other 50 per
| cent., they told me, would b6 used for
operating expenses at the quarry."
Jacob Shenk testified that the same
parties had called on him to negoti
ate a deal for the marble in his
quarry. Shenk declared that they de
sired him to charge the state sls a
cubic foot for the marble, instead of
from $5 to 8, the price he thought
would bring him a fair profit. It had
been expained to him, he declared,
that the difference was to be divided
"among the gang."
USED DYNAMITE.
Man on Trial for Wrecking a Church
Makes a Confession in Court.
Wilkesbarre, Pa. —There was a
sensation in the criminal court
late Wednesday when Stephen Sav
age confessed on the witness stand
that he was one of the men who
wrecked the Welsh Congregational
church at Edwardsville, near here,
two years ago, by dynamite.
Savage and Joseph Chunowsky
were arrested some time ago, charged
with the crime. According to Sav
age's confession he and Chunowsky
met in a saloon in Edwardsville
where they were told by two men
that if they destroyed the church
they would receive $125, which
money, it was alleged, was to be paid
by certain saloonkeepers who had
been refused liquor licenses by the
court.
In order to get the money Savage
claimed that he and Chunowsky went
to the church with several sticks ot
dynamite and placed them under the
front part of the building. Savage
said he was too drunk to get over a
fence nearby, but that Chunowsky did
so and lighted the fuse.
In his testimony Chunowsky denied
most emphatically the statement
made by Savage. He claimed that be
knew nothing about the explosion un
til some time after it had occurred.
A MINE DISASTER.
Seven People Are Dead as the Result
of an Explosion at Scarboro, W. Va.
Charleston, W. Va.—Three men
were killed, four were severely
burned and four others are entombed
and probably dead as a result of a
mine disaster at the Whipple mines
at Scarboro, in the Leap Creek dis
trict, Wednesday afternoon.
Many of those who escape 1 were
slightly and some seriously injured,
but all will recover. Isaac Pelter, the
mine boss, was left in the mine. He
was closing up the air courses in an
effort to force fresh air to those re
maining in the mine. He expected to
follow his men out, but up to a late
hour nothing further had been heard
cf him.
The Whipple mine is located with
in two miles of the Stuart mine,
which exploded on January 29, killing
80 men. Both mines are owned by
the White Oak Fuel Co. The mine is
one of the best equipped in this field.
The cage and shaft was damaged,
but was in operation at 9 o'clock last
night.. The cause of the explosion is
not known, but probably was the re
sult of firing a heavy shot at the faco
of the works.
A Frightful Record.
Washington, D. C. —The accident
bulletin issued Wednesday by the in
ter-state commerce commission for
the thre.e months ending December
31, 190G, shows that during that quar
ter the total number of casualties to
railroad passengers and to railroad
employes while on duty was 20,944, an
increase of 1,094 over those reported
during the preceding three months.
The number of passengers and em
ployes killed in train accidents was
474, an increase of 207 over the num
ber in the last quarter. The number
of passengers killed in train accidents
in this quarter, 180, is the largest on
record except for the quarter ending
September 30, 1904.
Fifty People Injured in a Fire Panic.
Chicago, ill. —More than 100 per
sons were penned in a burning
building Wednesday at 255 Wabash
avenue and narrowly escaped with
their lives. Fully half of these, per
sons were injured in the panic to es
cape, but none is expected to die.
Pittsburg Machinists Strike.
Pittsburg, Pa. —The strike of the
machinists went into effect Wednes
day and over 1,000 men quit. work. A'.l
the shops in the Pittsburg district ex
cept the Westinghouse Machine Co.
are affected.
FessßßSßseseesssßa:
)m & Lloyd. I
I WE have the best stocked
general store in the county jj
and if yon are looking for re
liable goods at reasonable S
prices, we are ready to serve
yon with the best to be found. p
Our reputation for trust- if
Hi' worthy goods and fair dealing §
v is too well known to sell any if
g but high grade goods. 1
P Our stock of Queensware and II
Chinaware is selected with Mj
great care and we have soma
p of the most handsome dishes H
j} ever shown in this section, j|
B both in imported and domestic jffl
makes. We invite you to visit
| us and look our goods over. j|
J l
j Balcom & Lloyd, j
LOOK ELSEWHERE BUT DON'T FORGET JJ
|| THESE PRICES AND FACTS AT
g|| LaBAITS II §
;; ii I m
5S M
|| We carry in stock ' _ 1
*4 the largest line of Car- - ' kg
Mpets, Linoleums and q£ _ 1 fTiTiTiTtriTlH • h j
Mattings of all kinds \?Y 112 J
JJ ever brought to this 112?
town. Also a big line - V s BbSSSBsH
IS of samples. H
A very large line ot - FOR THE ESp "
Lace Curtains that can- ?f
>* Xr"e I pie My - CONTMABLE LODGING »\
II
MArt Squares and of fine books in a choice library
Rugs of all sizes and select the Ideal pattern of Globe- M
M kind, from the cheap- Wernicke "Elastic" Bookcase. Iff
est to the best. Furnished with bevel French |^j
|| plate or leaded glass doors.
Dining Chairs, I ' on «""-c o» I |g
Rockers and GEO. J. LaBAR, **
HkM High ChairS. Sole Ageut for Cameron County.
A large and elegant I—
line of Tufted and
Drop-head Couches. Beauties and at bargain prices.
II si
*4 |3O Bedroom Suits, COE |4O Sideboard, quar- <tOfi fejt
solid oak at tered tak 4>JU Sm
Jj|§ (28 Bedroom Suits, Ol |32Sideboard, quar- COT
i? (| solid oak at 4)Z! tered oak
Jf* f'2s Bed room Suits, OH f22 Sideboard, quar- fflC
M solid oak at I tered 0ak,... II
M A large line of Dressers from I Chiffoniers of all kinds and N
M $8 up. 1 a 1 prices. M|#
____________________________________________ J. |
fed The finest line of Sewing Machines on the market, fcg
JJ the "DOMESTIC" and "HLLRILGH.' All drop- gj
E2 heads and warranted. Jj
A fine line of Dishes, common grade and China, in j
£2 sets and by the piece. M
I* As I keep a full line of evervthing that goes to
M make up a good Furniture store, it is useless to euum- |f
N erate them all.
»< Please call and see for yourself that lam telling kg
you the truth, and if you don't buy, there is no harm h*
£2 done, as it is no trouble to show yoods.
|| M
Ej GEO. J .LaBAR. |j
UKrDEF?LTAIiI3NrO. M
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3