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Show WHY NOT A CONSUMERS' UNION Yesterday a man called at the Standard Stand-ard office and said "Why nol have a consumers' union-'' What is the matter now? was the query. "I find every profession, every "business "busi-ness and every trade organizing for self-protection and only the consumer is hotted around as a victim of all the unions." There is a good deal of truth in what Is stated. The cattlemen organise as do the sheepmen. The grocers and the butchers get together. The lawyers have their bar association, the doctors their medical union, the mechanic his labor union, the millers have their flour union and so on down tho line Practically all Interests seem to be organizing except the consumer and he simply swallows what the union and organizations prepare for him. What would happen if the consumer of the necessaries of life formed a buyers union Thev are doing that in the east, Consumers' clubs are being be-ing formed that consist of ten to fifty members, and thexo clubs buv at wholesale prices direct from the jobbers job-bers One club in New York pays In cash $500 twice a month for groceries and it is claimed that the club buys for ode-third leas than the regular retail price. In one city the retail grocers objected to wholesale houses selling to the clubs :ind it was finally agreed between the grocers anil the jobbers that wholesaling should be done onlv with those who held a retail re-tail merchant's license from the rltv The club promptly bought a retail store license from the city There can be no objection to forming con sumers' or buyers' clubs, to buy the necessaries of life. If the sellers combine, why should they object if ihe buyers combine? The dry goods and clothing merchants mer-chants seem to hold aloof from all combines Perhaps their merchandise merchan-dise changes fashion too often to take chances on keeping the same from one season to another. There Is no good reason why the consumer cannot organize to protect himself by saving bifi mone ;md buying buy-ing in quantities for cash and at wholesale prices Why not ? Head the article In another column ot this paper on Co-operative Marketing Market-ing " by Joel Shoruaker. |
