The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1856-08-11
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time since, an article comparing the business
of Galena and Keokuk, taking for its est
mates some statistics contained in pamph-
let issued in this city BY Mr.. Clemens. We
designed to have made notice of the matter
at the time, for the purpose of correcting
some errors that the Courier had fallen into.
The statement made, with respect to both
keokuk and GalenA, was for the year 1854,
and wns presented as follows:
kKoKUK.
Groceries, Wholesale and Retail, $894,5l5
Dry Goods, 8 g 747,OOO
Boots and Shoes, $1,000
Books and Stationery, 1900
Stoves and Tinware, $4,000
The following shows the trade Of Galena
during the same year in the same articles
Groceries, Wholesale and Retail 81 ,OO5 ,S72
Dry Goods, ISL ,462
Boots and Shoes, 139,l37
Books and Stationery, 39,092
Stoves and Tinware, 1887
Iron and Hardware, 242 500
These fgures, emitting the item of iron and
hardware, would show difference Of but
$2S9, e05 in favor Of Galena. But with re-
spect to that item the Courier says:
"The keokuk pamphlet states that Iron
and Hardware is put down among the Groce-
ries, because they were sold BY wholesale
grocers. Add the two together, and we have
81 ,348, liz as the trade of Galena in these
articles, against 1884,, SIS for Keokuk.'
Il is a fact that three or four whole
sale grocery houses did include iron, but not
hardware generally, among their stocks
But it seems to have been forgotten tibet there
were two or three exclusive hardware houses,
aud We presume, therefore, from the face OF
the statement, that their sales were not in
cluded. The business of those houses would
very nearly make up the discrepancy between
the figures for the respective cities.
The Courier says farther:
" The keokok pamphlet gives no items OF
the trade in ready mady clothing, crockery
and glassware, drugs, medicine, paints, &C.,
and it is reasonable to infer as it has put
iron under the head Of groceries, that these
articles are included in the grocery or dry
goods figures. The trade Of GAlena in
these articles in 1854 amounted to over
100000"
There are several houses devoted to the
exclusive sale Of these particular articles,
and the inference Of the Courier, though
doubtless fairly enough presumed, 10 not &C.
curate in point Of fact. The separate sales
OF these articles ore very large, but we cannot
state the sum with any more than an ap-
proximate accuracy, and will not, therefore,
speculate upon it. But, correcting this err
ror, and the one with respect to iron and
hardware, and the difference in the business
OF the two cities would not be very large,
IN the particular departments alluded to.
We are only surprised that keokuk com
pares SO favorably with Galena. We had
presumed that, without doubt, the wholesale
business OF keokuk was larger than that of
any other town on the Mississippi, above
st. Louis. But we were aware Of the heavy
trade of Galena, and had not extended our
comparison to the business of that CITY,
which we had no doubt exceeded the trade Of
any other town in the region west OF Chica-
go. And while, so far as we are informed,
We are still willing to concede that, in 1854,
the trade of Galena was greater than ours,
yet 1t is plain that the difference was not
very wide, and, with these items, and the
knowledge OF the astonishing increase Of
business in our city since, as the basis OF
conjecture, we feel quite certain that the
difference in the present business of the
two cities is very small,-s least it must
be 80 very small that We feel prouder Of the
business Importance of this Gate City that
we had heretofore presumed ourselves en-
titled to.