Business ts Good In illedo 



ECONOMISTS may wave graphs and 

 spew figures by the carload; in- 

 dustrialists can thunder their heads 

 off about increased labor costs due to 

 higher food prices; "golf pants" farm- 

 ers may decry the regimentation of ag- 

 riculture; politicians may scream warn- 

 ings over radio and rostrum; but in 

 Aledo, Illinois, a typical country town 

 of a few thousand in Mercer county, it's 

 all a lot of "hog wash." 



And it isn't just the farmers that turn 

 a deaf ear to all the howling and alarums 

 going on. The merchants in this up and 

 coming little town are the most vocifer- 

 ous in their statements that "Business is 

 better because farm prices are better." 



There are no big payrolls in Aledo. 

 But they raise hogs around there. Mer- 

 cer county raises more hogs per square 

 mile than any county in the United 

 States. What's more, they raise corn. 

 The ten year average has been 40.7 

 bushels per acre. At the present writ- 

 ing, when you put corn and hogs to- 

 gether, you spell prosperity for the 

 merchants of Aledo and they're not 

 backward about saying so. Top it off 

 with big cattle feeding operations and"" 

 you have money being spent freely in 

 Aledo. 



For those of you who don't know your 

 geography, Aledo is over in the North 

 Central part of the state east of the 

 Mississippi river. The land is rolling and 

 the soil ranges from sandy loam to 

 brown silt loam. Livestock farming pre- 

 dominates. 



Wjth corn and hogs the principal 

 crops, it naturally follows that there was 

 plenty of corn-hog money loose in Aledo 

 this year and last. This year there were 

 1,200 corn-hog contracts signed. The 

 checks totaled around $400,000. Last 

 year the corn-hog money was around 

 $850,000. This year there were fewer 

 contracts signed but the county went 

 11 '/2 to 1 for continuation of the pro- 

 gram. In 1933 there were 875,000 bushels 



of corn sealed. In 1934 there were 

 115,000 bushels. 



But this isn't a story about the farm 

 life in Mercer county. All of the fore- 

 going is to give you a little background 

 for the reason why Aledo merchants are 

 coming to business again with a feeling 

 that after all they didn't make a mis- 

 take when they gave up the idea of be- 



Aledo's Mayor, J. W. Murphy, 



Also Sells Furniture. 



"Our sales are up 20 per cent this year.' 



:- E. E. Cabeen Calls H!t 



Store "The Beehive" 

 "Folks are buying extra items this year." 



coming a street car motorman to re- 

 main in Aledo and sell goods. 



So, now let's get around and see these 

 merchants. Let's get straight talk from 

 them on whether the AAA and increased 

 farm prices has any effect on retail 

 business. For, what happens to them 

 is translated out and beyond Aledo to the 

 wholesalers in larger towns, thence to 

 the mills and factories that produce 

 those goods, and further on to the wage 

 earner who is now working steadily, 

 buying from other merchants. There it 

 is — the trail back to prosperity that 

 farmers have always had to blaze. 



Down a side street Harry Holscher has 

 his shoe store, repair department and 

 custom made shoe business. Harry gets 

 medals for shoes he makes at the various 

 expositions around the nation. Said he, 

 "I have sold more good shoes this year 

 than last. This year they are buying 

 quality rather than paper. If I men- 

 tioned $8.75 for a pair of shoes last year 

 they'd just sink down in the chair. But 

 this year it don't bother 'em. They sit 

 up straight and buy my shoes — and 

 they're all farm people too." 



Ralph Thede has a big implement, 

 household appliance and automobile 

 business. He sells most everything else 

 that farmers need, it seems. Except for 

 automobile prospects and a few others 

 occasionally, Thede deals exclusively 

 with farmers. Was business better? 

 His face lit up with a broad smile. "So 

 far, the first ten months of this year, 

 we have sold more than 100 brand new 

 tractors, and with used tractois it 



amounts to 150. There are more cash 

 deals. Down payments are bigger and 

 collections are fine. I can safely say that 

 business this year will be 60 per cent 

 more than our best year. So far we are 

 875.000 ahead of our best year and two 

 months still to go." 



To get variety into this, let's jump 

 over to Parkman's. This is a strictly 

 ladies' ready-to-wear store and Mrs. 

 Parkman nodded pleasantly from behind 

 a counter where she was waitir.ij on 

 three farm women. The sale made "=he 

 said, "Our business is much better this 

 year. Practically all our trade is with 

 farm people. Many of the people living 

 in town are retired farmers so we can 

 safely say that increased farm prices 

 have helped our business." 



Next door is Cabeen's Beehive — and 

 a beehive it is. The store was crowded 

 from early in the afternoon until late 

 at night. You can buy everything from 

 a bean blower to a suit of clothes, and 

 outfit most of the house as you go along. 

 Pots, pans, dresses, mittens, overalls, oil 

 cloth, crockery and toys — you don't have 

 to move over two feet to find what you 

 want. Said Mr. Cabeen, "I've boen in 

 business here for 30 years. And I will 

 say positively that times are better 

 now than they have been for a long time. 

 Last year they weren't so optimistic. To- 

 day, farmers are buying better mer- 

 chandise and more of it. Now I can sug- 

 gest two articles instead of one. Last 

 year and the year before, folks came in 

 with just enough money for what they 

 had to have and I didn't dare try to sell 

 them anything else. Increased farm 

 prices have done all this." 



Down the street His Honor the Mayor 

 — J. W. Murphy — tends his furniture and 

 undertaking business. He is also presi- 

 dent of the newly organized National 

 Bank of Aledo. "I've been in business 

 for 40 years here in Aledo. I've seen 

 farm prices down to mighty low levels 

 and I know what that can do to the pros- 

 ( Continued on page 28) 



"This year they are buying quality shoes.' 



DECEMBER. 1935 



