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classes  is  a  waste  of  money,  for  they  have
neither  the  means  nor  the  desire  to  indulge  in
such  extravagances.  Very  naturally  the  great
demand  among  these  people,  as  it  is  among
persons  of  this  class  elsewhere,  is  for  the  necessities ­
  of  life—cotton  goods,  textiles,  patent
medicines,  shoes,  farming  implements,  hardware, ­
  machinery,  tools  and  the  like.  These
are  the  things  required  by  the  farmer  and  the
laborer  who  make  up  the  greater  proportion
of  the  world’s  population,  and  perhaps  the
very  best  way  to  reach  them  is  through  the  influence ­
  of  the  middle  man,  the  jobber  and  the
local  storekeeper.  Of  these  three,  the  village
merchant  is  by  far  the  most  important  with
the  masses.  He  is  always  a  man  of  standing
in  his  community.  He  is  invariably  respected
and  looked  up  to.  His  word  among  many
amounts  to  law—his  judgment  final.  He  is
the  moneyed  man  of  the  neighborhood.  He
carries  the  peons  on  his  books—helps  them
along  in  hard  times,  and  when  crops  are  short
—extends  credit  when  he  thinks  it  wise  to  do
so  and  curtails  it  when  proper.  He  is  there ­