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Show Wholesale Business Destruction I The Patman chain store bill, which, according to economists, econ-omists, would virtually destroy this industry, will be introduced in-troduced again in the next session of Congress. Commenting Comment-ing on this measure editorially, the Idaho Daily Statesman) says: "Without entering into any argument about the merits and demerits of chain grocery stores, it is nothing less than astounding to observe the scope of some of the laws proposed in an effort to legislate them out of existence exist-ence and it is far from impertinent to observe that the chain stores are so firmly entrenched in our economic system that passage of such bills as that proposed by Senator Patman would affect it seriously by throwing') countless persons out of work and removing one of the biggest outlets for the distribution of our farm, produce." Passage of the bill, the Statesman points out, would demoralize the chain store industry's 250,000 employes, who now earn about $1,250,000,000 a year and add many of them to the already bulging relief rolls. It would des- utrov a laro-e nart of the S6.000.000.000 annual market now provided by chain store purchases. It would result in increased in-creased cost to the consumer estimated at $100 per family fam-ily per year. It would deprive property-owners of a large part of the $450,000,000 now paid annually in rentals by the chains, aid depressproperty values. It would do away with the major portiofl of the $225,000,000 a year the chains now pay each year in direct taxes, to say nothing of the other millions they pay through indirect taxes. The editorial concludes, "Idahoans can help their state by letting Congressman . . . know what they think about this measure." Every consumer, every producer, every worker everyone every-one who believes in the democratic process and the free competitive system which is so necessary to its perpetuation perpetua-tion should fight this bill, and all other class legislation, irrespective of who it is aimed at. |