FIXING OF THE COS!
THE FACTORS IN PRICES OF
COMMODITIES.
PRODUCriGNANDDISTRIBUTION
■Equity In Division ef Profits to All
Engaged in Producing, Manufac
turing and Selling.
Were the masses of people better
informed as to principles underlying
business transactions and commerce
In general there would be less cause
for complaint as to matters pertain
ing to buying and selling of com
modities.
One of the faults, if it may be so
termed, is the inclination of the
people to complain about prices they
must pay for goods required for do
mestic and other uses. There can be
no doubt but that in many districts
retail merchants exact exorbitant
prices, this to an extent is the fault of
the people who are little acquainted
with real values. There are three im
portant things to be considered in the
fixing of the selling price of all com
modities. These factors are the cost
of the raw materials, the expense of
manufacturing and the expense of dis
tribution. From commercial transac
tions neither of these basic elements
can be eliminated. The farmer who is
the grower of corn, wheat and other
•cereals that comprises food stuffs, re
ceives compensation for his product
in accordance with the laws of sup
ply and demand, and the values that
may regulate the monetary markets of
the world. The producer of cotton In
the southern states, must receive for
his product compensation that is
based upon the cost of labor, manu
facture and what finished articles in
the cotton line may bring iu the mar
kets of the world. The producer of
the raw materials must pay for his
labor, and for his investment in farm
lands and farm equipment. The man
ufacturer who buys tlie raw products
must take into consideration the ex
pense of labor, the maintenance of his
manufacturing plant, the interest
upon the amount invested, and also
various other items, and the sum of
•these with what he ca" secure for his
finished product, regulates the price
that he pays for the raw material. In
the distribution of goods the middle
man plays an important part. He is
the go-between the producer of the
raw material the manufacturer, and
the manufacturer and the consumer.
■He cannot well be eliminated from
•commercial transactions. He per
forms a service that neither the pro
ducer ol the raw material or the man
ufacturer can more economically per
form. The middle men are the job-
Ibers, the commission agents and the
"•retailers; each performing his special
service in the matter of distribution.
The consumer is the end of the chain,
■the final buyer of commodities who
■ utilizes them for his own use and the
nises of his family. There should be
•a margin of profit in each of thf.
different transactions that will allow
editable compensation to each and
every one interested in the production
«of a finished article. All goods have
.•a real value and this value is deter
mined solely by the elements referred
tto herein. The consumer must expect
vto contribute his mite towards the
support of all engaged in commerce.
He is the beginning link, as well as
the ending link of every transaction.
The farmer who grows wheat, when
She forces the grocer from whom lie
buys his flour to sell the flour at a
low rate, indirectly has an influence
in lowering the market for the wheat
(that he produces. When the consum
er demands that goods be sold at a
•price below the cost of production, he
invites substitution of inferior goods,
of the articles and en
.courages a system that is unwhole
.some.
The people should understand that
they never receive something for
nothing, or receive anything of value
for less than its value unless under
some abnormal circumstance. Of late
years there has a system grown up of
offering great bargains in various
ikinds of goods by catalogue Bent
through the mails, and presenting at
tractive and illusive advertising that
goods are being sold at less than cost.
The intelligent man or woman will
carefully consider all the circum
stances relative to such offers, and
will be guided accordingly. It is evi
,dent that when special bargains are
made there are conditions that justify
such bargains; that goods are not of
:standard grade, are stale, or deterior
ated in some manner. Also there has
a system of offering "free premiums"
grown up that is unwholesome, and to
an extent an imposition upon the peo
ple as the system compels them to
pay for articles that are not essential
for them to have. The man who buys
tugar does not care to be forced un
der the guise of paying for sugar to
pay for a paper of pins or a package
of needles, even though those may be
si "free premium." It is well to bear
these points in mind, and a little
atudy i»to business economics and
principles will be highly advantage
• ous to the one who desires to know
about the proper value of goods he
. must buy.
Care of Shr.de Trees.
While shade trees are very desirable
along sidewalks and roads, unless
they are kept well trimmed they be
come much of a nuisance, preventing
evaporation of rains and helping make
muddy streets. It is well for citizens
of every town to look after the trim
ming of shade trees, and the planting
of shade trees where they are needed.
SCHEMES TO DEFRAUD.
Some of the Plans to Secure Money
Without Adequate Compensation.
Plans to secure money from the
people without giving adequate re
turns are numerous. Not alone are
the residents of country districts
made tbo victims of schemers, but
city people as well are now and then
humbugged by shrewd fakirs. Within
the past year or two it was announced
in the columns of magazines and the
farm papers of a seedless apple being
evolved. A few months later seedless
apple trees were widely advertised
from different parts of the country.
One concern which started iu to op
erate on an extensive plan organized
seedless apple companies in different
states of the western country. Within
a few months hundreds of thousands
of dollars were taken from the pock
ets of the people for seedless apple
trees. Tbese trees were just the
ordinary kind, and poor stock at that.
So bold were the operations of the
seedless apple tree schemers that the
secretary of agriculture found it nec
essary to issue a bulletin warning the
people of the fraud, and later the post
office department issued fraud orders
against those engaged in the nefarious
business. There are nurseries located
in nearly every state. It is a good
plan for the residents of farming and
fruit growing districts to carefully in
vestigate concerns selling fruit trees
and similar lines before they are
given patronage.
* • •
A number of petty grafts have late
ly been worked throughout the coun
try. One of the common ones is the
hiring of agents to sell soaps, per
fumes and other commodities on the
premium plan. The concerns which
operate games of this class generally
have their headquarters in some large
city and through advertising secure
the names of people desiring employ
ment as canvassers and agents. To
such they send letters holding out ex
traordinary inducements. Those who
agree to act as agents sign a contract
which is an agreement to pay for such
goods as may be sent to them on con
signment. The sample outfits which
are forwarded, or the small stock of
goods, are billed in such a way as to
allow the concern an exorbitant profit.
It' ihe agent succeeds In selling the
goods and remits promptly there is
not likelihood of being any trouble,
but generally the goods are so poor in
quality that they remain dead stock
in the hands of the canvasser, and
he will flud that the agreement he has
signed will hold him to pay for the
goods.
• • •
One of the humbugs that is perpe
trated upon the people of many com
munities is the selling of stock in co
operative mercantile companies. Dur
ing the past three or four years the
residents of many small towns and ag
ricultural districts have lost hundreds
of thousands of dollars, if not mil
lions, through the buying of stock in
alleged cooperative establishments in
large cities. One company with head
quarters in Chicago, doing a mail
order business, sold stock in excels of
$1,000,000, and when the concern went
into the hands of a receiver about a
year ago there was not ten per cent,
of assets to return to stockholders.
Other alleged cooperative deals in
volve what is termed a profit sharing
plan. This plan does not require the
purchase of stock, but the cooperative
part is purely a scheme devised for
the securing of trade.
COSTLY LESSONS IN ECONOMY.
It Is Not Always a Matter of Saving to
Buy Cheap Goods.
Almost every rural community has
within its confines people who have
paid well for experience and have
learned costly lessons as to buying
of goods.
Not long ago in a western town a
citizen desired to buy a kitchen range.
A visit to the local hardware store
was made and the prices asked by
the dealer were not satisfactory to
the prospective purchaser, who by
the way had his attention attracted
by the advertising in his farm paper
of "a bargain" in a kitchen range.
The range was advertised as equal to
those costing "twice the money at the
local store." The citizen sent a
money order to the concern advertis
ing the range, and in the course of a
few weeks he was notified by t lie rail
road agent that the range had ar
rived. In removing It from the sta
tion to the farm house, in some inex
plainable way part of it was broken.
The broken pieces! were taken to the
local hardware store but could not be
duplicated. A letter was written to
the range company and in the course
of a few weeks a duplicate of the
broken ] art was received, but it was
discovered that it would not fit the
stove, it had to He returned and a
few weeks hiter another piece was
sor.t; then the stove was placed in
use. Within six months the top had
become so warped that it interfered
seriously with the drafts. At the end
of the year the stove was burned out
and ready for the junk heap. The
purchaser of the stove then deter
mine;! that lie would secure another
•o;n the home dealer. He paid
the line dealer the price lie was
a?;:ed which was obout one-third more
than the poor range cost, and after a
few years the range was found to be
as good almost as when first bought.
This is one illustration of how econ
omy wrongfully practiced is ex
pensive. It is not always wise to
seek the bargain counters when good
articles are wanted. Neither is it a
wise idea to buy goods before you
have an opportunity to carefully ex
amine them and determine thftil
value.
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 1907.
A HOLY WAR
Is Being Preached in Mo
rocco by Moslems.
MOORS ATTACKED
French Consulate at Casa Bfanca and
the Custom house was Looted
—Many Buildings Burned.
Paris, France.—Special dispatches
received here from Tangier represent
the situation as being more alarming
011 the coast and in the interior. Caid
Sale, the administrator of customs at
Rabat, is said to be openly preaching
a holy w<ar among the Mussulmans, as
the result of which the French consul
has distributed arms to the Euro
peans.
It is feared that the worst features
of the massacre in the Jewish quarter
have not ye* been related. The
stench from decomposing bodies is
described as fearful; the air is thick
with smoke and tilled with flames,
while the empty looted houses tell
their own rale.
French sailors are guarding the
British consulate at Casa Blanca,
where the consular agents of the Uni
ted States, Germany, Austria-Hun
gary and Sweden have sought
refuge. The Italian and Portuguese
consuls are at the French consulate.
The European shops were pillaged,
but 110 Europeans were killed.
The state bank at Casa Blanca has
beeu robbed of about $15,000.
The French consulate was attacked
by Moors during the night of August
5. One blue jacket of the guard was
killed and three were badly wounded.
The custom house at Casa Blanca
was looted by natives 011 Tuesday and
many other buildings were set 011 lire
and destroyed.
A sailor of the "Dii Chayla was killed
and four others were wounded.
TELEGRAPHERS STRIKE.
Operators Employed by the Western
Union in Chicago Refuse to Handle
Messagas from Non-Unionists.
Chicago, 111. —Tlie telegraph oper
ators employed by the Western
Union Telegraph Co. in Chicago went
on strike last night at 12 o'clock. The
trouble was precipitated by the Los
Angeles strike, inaugurated Wednes
day.
Last night the local executive board
of the Commercial Telegraphers'
Union of America met and passed
resolutions requesting the men tore
train from working with the Western
Union operators a-t Los Angeles. All
operators employed ia the overland
division of the local office followed
this request and Assistant Night
Chief Harry Price ordered all who re
fused to work to leave the office. He
then went into other divisions and re
quested the men togo into the over
land division. In every case he was
met with a refusal, until over 70 men
had been sent home.
The grievance committee of the
union notified -Mr. Price that unless
every m-an was reinstated by mid
night every union man in the office
would be called out. This demand
was refused and at midnight a whis
tle was blown and every operator em
ployed in the main office with the ex
ception of six wire and loop chiefs, in
cluding Night Manager Price and his
two assistants, left their keys and
with a round of cheers walked out of
the office. The men employed by the
eompany at various morning newspa
pers had been notified of the con
templated strike and they also quit
work.
THE COMPANY YIELDS.
The Southern Railway Agrees to Obey
Alabama's Enacted Laws Reducing
Passenger and Freight Rates.
Montgomery, Ala. Gov. Comer
and the officials of the South
ern railroad reached an agreement
late last evening and the license of
the railroad in Alabama will be re
stored.
Beginning September 1 the railroad
and its allied lines will put into effect
the two and a half cent passenger
rate and the law reducing freight
rates on 110 commodities. The agree
ment was not reached without conces
sions being made by both sides, but
in the main it is a victory for the
state.
The laws in question will not be
pat into effect permanently. The
agreement declares that their opera
tion is subject to judicial determina
tion as to their, constitutionality and
reasonableness.
t'he railroad's counsel agreed that
they would ask Judge Jones to modify
the restraining orders issued two
months ago so as to permit of the
immediate operation of the two laws
in question. The compromise affects
only the Southern Railway Co. The
other railroad systems of the state
were not parties to the conference.
A Daring Holdup.
Now Castle, Pa. —The Baltimore
& Ohio station -at Ellwood
City, 12 miles south of here, was
robbed Thursday by two masked
tn<>n who bound and gagged Agent.
Wilfred Francis, stole about ?200 and
escaped.
Williams Is the Nominee.
Jackson, Miss. —The democratic
state executive committee on
Thursday declared John Sharp Will
iams the nominee for United States
senator, he having 648 majority ovor
Vardaman.
| THREATEN TO STRIKE.
TRAINMEN ON EVERY WESTERN
ROAD WILL DEMAND HIGHER
WAGES.
1 Strike on the Colorado & Southern
Road Results in the Shutdown of
Number of Mines.
Denver. Col.—lt is not expected
that Martin A. Knapp, chairman of
i the inter-state commerce commission,
and Charles P. Neill, commissioner of
labor, will come to Denver in connec
tion with the strike situation on the
1 Colorado & Southern railway. So far
I no progress towards settlement has
been made and the outlook is that the
strike may spread.
Grievance committees of employes
of the Denver & Rio Grande and
! other roads are in the city and will
I demand an additional two cents an
| hour for yardmen. Every railroad in
; the west is threatened with a strike.
Sixteen of the larger mines near
; Trinidad, depending directly on the
i Colorado & Southern for the handling
j of their product, closed indefinitely 011
I Wednesday as a result of the switch
| men's strike. The shutdown will
throw some 3,000 men out of employ
ment.
I To prevent the closing of their
! mines, which would entail a loss of
; thousands of dollars, and to relieve a
' threatened coal famine at Central
City, ten of Central City's most promi
nent citizens turned "brakies" and
manned a train of fuel destined for
that district. They took charge of the
freight at Golden, where it had been
laid out since the calling of the strikn
of trainmen on the Colorado & South
ern last week.
G. W. DELAMATER SUICIDES.
Man Once Prominent in Republican
Politics in Pennsylvania Ends
His Career.
Pittsburg, Pa. George Wallace
Delamater, once candidate for govern
or of Pennsylvania and who served
j as state senator from Crawford coun
! ty from 18S7 to 1890, committed sui
cide Wednesday by shooting in his
office In this city. Occupants of a
neighboring office in the Diamond Na
tional Bank building found him dead
! with a 38-calibre bullet hole in his
' right temple.
Grief over the death of his father,
1 George B. Delamater, at Meadville,
j Pa., on May 6, and the sudden death
1 of his son, James Delamater, in June
! at Connellsville, Pa., is believed to be
j the cause of his suicide. Members
j of the family say that Delamater had
become morbid with grief of late.
Delamater was connected with the
Prudential Life Insurance Co. in this
city and leaves a comfortable fortune
to his family, being heavily insured.
His family always had taken active
part in public affairs and his father
had represented the Crawford-Erie
; district in the state senate. George
took an interest in politics early in
life. He practiced law only three
years. Then he engaged in business,
banking principally, the firm being
Delamater & Co. In 187ti he became
mayor of Meadville, and in 1880 he
was a republican presidential elector
for Pennsylvania. In 188t> he was
elected to the state senate. In 1890
he was nominated for governor, but
was defeated.
After his unsuccessful candidacy
his bank in Meadville failed. This
was caused by losses resulting from
his expenditures in the gubernatorial
campaign. Other losses were sustain
ed through a railroad enterprise.
WERE HIT BY A fLYER.
Four People in a Carriage Are Killed
at a Crossing at Allenhurst, N. J.
Allenhurslj, N. J.—Four persons,
employes of the Norwood house,
were Instantly killed last night when
their carriage was run down by a
Pennsylvania passenger flyer, known
as the Bankers' Special, at the Cor
lies avenue crossing here. They were
Thomas Edwards, a driver, and Lo
retta Grace, Jennie McDonald and
Hannah Murphy, waitresses.
The Corlies crossing is just south
of the local station of the New York &
Long Branch railroad, and the station
platform was crowded with summer
visitors, who witnessed the • accident.
Edwards had stopped his team at the
crossing, where an excursion train
drawn up at the station blocked th<i
road.
As the excursion train drew out, Ed
wards started his horses and the car
riage was squarely on the rails wheu
the flyer, southbound, and the ap
proach of which had been hidden by
the oppositely moving special, tore
across the roadway. Horses, carriage
and occupants were ground to bi»s,
the bodies of Edwards and the women
being frightfully mangled.
Twelve People Injured in a Collision.
Rutland, Vt. Twelve persons
were injured, four seriously, and
a score or more were badly fright
ened when a trolley car crashed Into
an empty car on tho Rutland street
railway line in this city Wednesday.
The cars met head-ou as they rounded
a sharp curve.
Three People Drowned.
Newton, N. J. —James Johnson,
aged 21 years, of Jersey City;
Harriet SHnkard, aged 16, of Brook
lyn, and Helen Eloigner, aged 18, also
of Brooklyn, guests at the Hunt home,
were drowned while bathing in the
lake here Wednesday.
One Killed, 15 Injured.
Swanton, Vt. —Arthur Mulheron
was killed and 15 other persons
were injured, three seriously, by an
explojt/>i.< of powder in the loading
room of the Robin Hood Ammunition
Co. here Wednesday.
I Balcom & Lloyd. j
Jig WE have the best stocked
|f general store in the couDty B
|f and if you are looking for re- t|
|! liable goods at reasonable
prices, we are ready to serve I
| you with the best to be found. 9
p! Our reputation for trust- 9
1 worthy goods and fair dealing |
is too well known to sell any
but high grade goods. |j
Our stock of Queensware and ji
Chinaware is selected with B
great care and we have some s£
of the most handsome dishes
ever shown in this section,
both in imported and domestic
makes. We invite you to visit
us and look our goods over. H
I =======
I Balcom & Lloyd, j
|jESSXSSZZSSSSS:ZS£SZZZZSZ3n
|| LOOK ELSEWHERE BUT DON'T FORGET
|| THESE PRICES AND FACTS AT |J
I | LaBAR S|| i
M ~ M
U We carry in stock P""""""™" E i M
|| pets, Linoleums and ' tSBwIb K
K Mattings of all kinds j. *. aT
£* town. Also a big line ffart-'r M
A very large line ol tFOR THE SSI!
PI Lace Curtains that can- ♦ M
l\ X«fo"ee auy COMfORTABLE LOOSING
14 fttf
Art Squares and of fine books In a choice library
112? Rugs of all sizes and select the Idea! pattern of Globe- P*
fl kind, from the cheap- Wernicke "Elastic" Bookcase.
M est to the best. Furnished with bevel French |^
M plate or leaded glass doors. M
M Dining Chairs, I ron «*lc o* I
|| Rockers and GEO. J. LaBAR,
jfcjV High Chairs. Bole Agent for Cameron County. U J
A large and elegant L
line of Tufted and
Drop-head Couches. Beauties and at bargain prices. | j
N' S3O Bedroom Suits, OC f4O Sideboard, quar- ft Oft
solid oak at SZD tered c.ak 0U P %
cj |2S Bedroom Suits, Co| $32 Sideboard, quar- C.IC kfj
Pf| Bolid oak at 3)/! tered oak 4>ZJ i? 5
$26 Bed room Suite, COfi |22 Sideboard, quar- €IC N
N solid oak at 4>ZU I tered 0ak,... •3> ID N
M A large line of Dreseers from I Chiffoniers of all kinds and M
|| $8 up. all prices. |g
|| J ||
fcj The finest line of Sewing Machines on the market, r*if
J| the "DOMESTIC" and "ELLRIDGE.' All drop- gg
? 5 heads and warranted.
A fine line of Dishes, common grade and China, in £2
£2 sets and by the piece.
Pi As I keep a full line of everything that goes to |M|
»« make up a good Furniture store, it is useless to euum-
M erate them all. N
M Please call and see for yourself that lam telling |4|
hg you the truth, and if you don't buy, there is no harm £*
jl| done, as it is no trouble to show goods.
il GEO. J .LaBAR. jj
UIST3DER.TAK.I3NTO. it]
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