Press enter after choosing selection

A Few Tingles For Callaghan & Co's Ears

A Few Tingles For Callaghan & Co's Ears image
Parent Issue
Day
3
Month
November
Year
1897
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

F,(i. Courier: Dear Sir: - I noticed in a recent issue of your paper an artiole froni the pen of Callnghan & Co., or one of their' employés, in answer to your article calling for the enforcetnent of the city 1 cense law,orits entire eiïaeeinent from the city statutes, and I have wondered tliat no answer to it has appeared. In the iirst place Callaghan & t'i. admit that they are willing t pay h msonable Iicense. And vet they never have done so in all these yeára they have been in business liere, takim; the best of the law-boök trade. They have never contri buted a penny for the protection they receive in doiug business in Aun Arbor, but the otlier business men of Ann Arbor are obiiged to pay for protecting this firni in their riglits. Wliat is meant is the expenses of the city in ita pólice, fire departnient, etc, and in the support of the schools and the very institution that makes their business possible and profltable. Is it any wonder that our local dealers object to being faxed for the lienefit of a tinn that comes frölti outside the state eutirely ? If Callaghau & Go. were in Micliigan, and helped support the univer.sitv, : t i 1 1 1 1 the case uonld lie different. Tlie assertion of lliat tirin (hut as "professional law booksellers" tliey eau lo for onr Rtudents and faculties anil citizeiis wliat none of our home dealers can do, is siuiply wind, nothing else. "There is not a day but wliat our a;rent either telegraphs or rites for lmiiks that we do not have in our branch there, nor is there anybady tliere outsMe of our agent who could give themany inforniation whatever concerning these books that they are interested in," gay they. Wliat bright men tliey must be, to be sure! WhatduHand stupid men onr local dealers must be ! What ft great storehouse of informatiou the head of their "professional bookseller must be ! Now, is it not true that either John V. Sheehan, or George Wahr, who deal largely in these books, could give any iuformatioH that any dealer in America could? Are tliey the sort of business men who allow any one to know more about their own business than they themselves know? But few will believe it. Here is a further quotation : "Now as to our motive. We could make more by remaining away from Aun Albor than we can by going." Is that a reasonable proposition? They come liere then and do business simply out of pure philantbropy and love for our students at this university. How kind of 'hem ! Tiien the coininunication goes on to state that it they were not here the students would club together and send off and get their books of foreign dealers. Yes, that is done to some extent. Always bas been and always will be by some who think they are doing a sharp thing, but the same student seldom gets caught in that trap twice. The local dealers here have always to meet the prices of outside houses and always will do so. There is no reason why they can not sell as cheap as any one, and they do. ïf that assertion is true of law books, why is it not true of other textbooks used in the medical, Hterary, dental and pharmacy departments? Don't our local dealers meet with that same thing in that line? Of course they do. The assertion that Callaghan & Co. were always willing to sell their books to all local dealers here until one of them accepted the exclusive agency of West & Co., that particular dealer, Mr. Wahr, denies. He says that he only secured the exclusive agency for West & Co. after Callaghan & Co. refused to sell him any more of their publications, and that he stands ready to give up the exclusive agency referred to the minute Callaghan & Co. will sell him their publications on the same ternas given other dealers. Then there is another thing that our local dealers do that this Chicago lirm do not do. You cannot piek up a student publication, annual, periodical, program or other printed matter in which students are interested, but you will find an advertisement of one or more - often all four of our local book dealers. This is another species of tax levied upon our dealers that thistemporary firrn escapes. Do the studeuts appreciate that fact? It is asserted that the city authorities have selected a new firm, in another line of trade, that has come to this city with the intention of remaining, if they find that they can do a sufficient business here to make it profitable. Why not test the law on Callaghan & Co. ? They are abundantly able to stand the expense, and have had profits here for so many years that they ought to be willing, out of pure philanthropy, to carry a case into the courts to find out whether the principie of favoritism, or protection without taxatiou will be upheld by our courts of justice. While the writer of this would not favor prohibiting Callaghan & Co. from doing business in Aim Arbor, he believes that they should be compelled, in some way, to bear their share of the burdens that other business men are compelled to take upon their shoulders.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Courier