1132 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
September  1,  1923 
Things  To  Think  About 
A  Country  Merchant  Talks 
Some  time  ago  I  read  an  article  in 
The  R.  N.-Y.  from  one  of  your  readers 
complaining  about  the  way  her  home  mer¬ 
chants  “skinned”  her  in  every  deal  she 
had  with  them.  I  have  been  in  the  retail 
business  in  our  home  town  since  101 8, 
and  count  among  our  best  friends  the 
farmers  of  the  community.  Among  those 
are  several  who  have  paid  for  their  farms 
in  a  reasonable  time,  and  done  their  trad¬ 
ing  at  home,  which  helps  increase  the 
value  of  their  property.  Not  once  did 
your  correspondent  mention  quality.  Price 
was  dominant,  and  therein  she  showed 
inconsistency,  inasmuch  as  she  pays  one 
whole  dollar  for  only  12  months  sub¬ 
scription  to  The  R.  N.-Y.  Surely  some¬ 
one  has  told  her  she  can  get  other  papers 
for  less  money.  The  R.  N.-Y.  has  been 
worth  several  dollars  a  year  to  me  since 
we  commenced  taking  it,  but  really  there 
is  no  more  difference  between  farm  papers 
than  between  different  makes  of  corn 
planters,  stoves,  etc.  As  an  example 
my  wife  and  I  bought  a  cook  stove  when 
we  were  married  in  1912,  giving  a  deal¬ 
er’s  price  (we  were  then  on  a  farm).  My 
wife’s  sister  bought  one  in  1919  from  a 
catalogue  house  for  a  lot  less  money.  To¬ 
day  ours  would  sell  for  a  fair  second¬ 
hand  price,  while  my  wife’s  sister  is 
wondering  where  she  can  buy  a  new  one. 
But  mark  you  this — she  doesn  t  even 
consider  buving  from  the  same  house 
that  “stung”  her.  Everything  your 
home  merchant  sells  he  stands  back  of 
and  he  surely  would  have  heard  from 
such  a  stove.  No  one  will  claim  there 
.•ire  no  dishonest  retailers — at  least  1 
wouldn’t.  But  why  condemn  them  all 
because  some  are  not  honest  l  There  are 
dishonest  farmers.  Will  you  quit  farm¬ 
ing?  I  always  try  to  have  farmers  set 
their  own  price  on  the  produce  they  bring 
to  the  store,  and  what  do  you  suppose 
nearly  all  of  them  say?  “All  I  can  get.” 
There  you  are ;  farmers  are  no  different 
from  men  in  other  occupations  ;  they  want 
all  they  can  get.  Not  denying  the  fact 
that  farmers  are  not  getting  a-t  least  “all 
they  want”  out  of  their  produce,  and 
some  things  they  buy  are  most  likely  too 
high,  did  the  farmer  have  a  brotherly 
feeling  'for  the  retailer  after  the  war 
when  he  sold  goods  for  less  than  half 
what  he  paid?  I  mean  the  average  small 
town  merchant. 
I  resent  such  talk  because  there  are 
generally  one  or  more  sharks,  money- 
grabbers,  crooks  or  whatever  you  might 
call  them  in  every  community,  while  the 
majority  are  honest  and  are  a  great  help 
to  farmers.  The  Sundays  have  been  few 
this  Summer  when  wife  and  I  and  our 
two  boys  have  not  packed  a  lunch  and 
all  piled  into  our  Ford  after  church  and 
Sunday  school  and  gone  to  some  shady 
place  with  a  farmer  friend  and  his  family. 
We  consider  nearly  everyone  our  friend, 
although  I  must  admit  we  can  see  a 
strong  tendency  to  lean  as  our  friend 
in  The  R.  N.-Y.  does,  toward  cheap  ar¬ 
ticles  regardless  of  quality.  Let  me  give 
you  a  little  insight  into  pricing  goods — 
a  larger  percentage  of  profit  is  added  to 
the  cost  of  a  cheap  article  than  to  the 
cost  of  a  good-  standard  one.  Why? 
Because  we  must  get  ready  for  the  re¬ 
turn  goods.  They  are  bound  to  come 
back.  Let  our  friend  with  an  open  mind 
look  around  her  community,  forget  the 
dollar  for  a  little  and  see  what  class  of 
people  stand  for  the  best  things ;  those 
who  are  looking  for  cheap  goods  and  kick¬ 
ing  everyone  for  running  his  business 
as  best  he  can,  or  those  who  run  their 
business  as  best  they  can,  take  in  the 
county  fair,  give  a  few  dollars  without 
knowing  they  are  going  to  get  returns 
with  interest,  and  in  fact  are  helps  to  the 
town  as  every  good  merchant  tries  to  be. 
When  on  motor  trips  through  the  country 
and  we  stop  at  strange  stores  I  always 
try  not  to  be  what  every  merchant  has — 
a  disagreeable  customer.  Some  people 
without  saying  it  tell  the  merchant  as 
soon  as  they  enter  the  store,  “You  will 
do  me  if  you  can ;  I’ve  got  to  watch  you.” 
Others  say,  “I  have  confidence  in  you, 
as  I  want  you  and  others  to  have  in  me.” 
When  we  have  any  bargains  or  favors  to 
offer  who  gets  them?  Think  it  over. 
New  York.  L.  A.  W. 
A  City  Worker’s  Eight  Hours 
It  is  interesting  to  read  Mrs.  Willcox 
and  others,  on  a  day  on  the  farm.  I 
wonder  whether  any  of  the  readers  will 
be  interested  in  a  farmer’s  day  in  the 
city?  I  was  born  and  raised  on  a  farm 
in  Central  New  York ;  for  various  rea¬ 
sons  left  the  old  homestead  when  I  was 
16,  worked  on  a  farm  by  the  month  a 
few  years  for  $10  to  $25  a  month  and 
found.  One  Fall  I  was  offered  a  job  in 
the  city  at  $1.75  a  day.  I  remember  my 
first  day  in  the  mill  I  thought  “If  this 
day  only  ends  I’ll  go  back  to  the  farm 
tomorrow  morning.”  When  the  six  o’clock 
whistle  blew  'I  hurried  home  (?)  to  the 
boarding-house,  and  found  a  pretty  good 
bunch  of  fellows.  I  went  back  to  the 
mill  in  the  morning  with  this  thought  in 
mind ;  ‘T  am  going  to  save  until  I  get 
money  enough  to  buy  a  farm.”  That  was 
about  17  years  ago.  I  have  never  changed 
my  mind,  and  I  think  this  will  be  my 
last  Winter  in  the  city.  I  work  eight 
hours  a  day,  earn  $140  a  month ;  first 
I  pay  out  $40  for  a  place  to  stay  ;  then 
I  go  to  a  coal  dealer,  ask  him  to  send  me 
some  coal.  If  he  says  yes,  I  thank  him 
very  kindly,  then  hand  him  $100  to  $150 
for  my  year’s  supply.  I  can’t  find  any 
rooms  decent  to  live  in  under  $40  a 
month.  Then  my  little  girl  must  not  play 
on  the  grass  ;  when  inside  must  not  make 
too  much  noise,  as  it  disturbs  the  people 
living  upstairs.  Out  of  my  $140  a  month, 
if  I  can  bank  $25,  I  am  indeed  lucky.  If 
I  should  be  out  of  work  for  a  couple  of 
months  it  will  take  me  six  months  or  a 
year  to  catch  up  again.  I  pay  regularly, 
whether  I  work  or  not.  First  comes  the 
landlord  for  his  $40;  then  the  coal  man, 
the  milkman,  the  groceryman,  gas  and 
electric  bills.  I  could  spend  every  bit 
and  more  than  my  $140  every  month,  and 
then  not  have  the  genuine  solid  comfort 
I  had  back  on  the  farm. 
all  the  time.  By  havihg  a  good  wife  I 
have  managed  to  save  a  few  thousands, 
and  we  are  looking  forward  to  next 
Spring,  when  we  hope  to  own  our  farm 
and  where  our  little  girl  can  find  room 
to  play  and  ourselves  draw  a  long  breath. 
Speaking  of  long  hours  I  frequently  visit 
some  of  my  farmer  friends,  when  I  have 
a  few  days  off,  and  find  hoeing  corn,  dig¬ 
ging  potatoes,  pitching  hay  10  or  12 
hours  a  day,  a  snap  compared  to  my  eight 
hours  in  the  city.  When  I  have  a  few 
days  off  I  go  into  the  country,  and  work. 
When  my  day’s  work  is  done  I  go  to  bed 
and  sleep.  When  my  eight  hours  in  the 
city  are  done  I  frequently  carry  part  of 
my  next  day’s  work  home  with  me;  some¬ 
times  take  it  to  bed  with  me,  have  to  do 
it  or  lose  my  job.  Again  let  me  say  I 
am  more  than  glad  to  exchange  my  eight 
hours  in  the  city  for  10  or  12  hours  a 
day  in  the  country.  c.  H.  s. 
New  York. 
Goldfish  Culture 
On  page  995  there  is  a  question  by 
M.  N.  G.  about  raising  goldfish  for  a 
"hobby.  As  this  is  a  bad  time  to  acclimate 
fish  to  new  water  I  would  suggest  that 
the  writer  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Aqua¬ 
rium  Society  at  the  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History,  77th  street  and  Cen¬ 
tral  Park  West,  the  fourth  Friday  of 
any  month  except  July  and  August, 
where  he  can  ask  all  the  questions  he 
wishes  and  get  good  information,  as  this 
society  is  composed  of  men  and  women 
who  make  a  hobby  of  this,  and  not  a  busi¬ 
ness.  This  society  will  hold  an  exhibi¬ 
tion  of  tropical  fish  at  the  Museum  Sep¬ 
tember  1,  2,  and  3.  There  is,  of  course, 
no  admission  charge.  The  Museum  is 
open  September  1  and  3  from  10  A.  M. 
to  5  P.  M.  and  on  September  2  from  1 
to  5  P.  M.  If  they  will  ask  for  me  in 
the  exhibition  room  I  will  gladly  show 
them  around  and  explain  things. 
WM.  G.  HOLBEIN. 
“And  how  is  your  little  baby  sister, 
Ronald?”  asked  the  vicar,  who  was  mak¬ 
ing  a  call.  “Oh,  she’s  only  fairly  well, 
thanks.  You  see,  she’s  just  hatching 
her  teeth.” — The  Brisbane  Mail. 
We  are  under  obligation  to  someone 
