The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-12-19

n country clergyman, on small salary, q ma
tive of Philadelphia but a resident of the Eastern
Shore of Maryland, being, he writes to the
Philadelphia Enquirer, 'debarrcd by his profess
''son from any money-making business, " is new
ertheless DESTROYS of showing how money may be
made by others. In pursuance of this purpose he
has undertaken to indicate to the merchants of the
City of Broherly Love certain neglected fields of
commerce, which, like the oysters that abound in
the same region, only await the knife of the Phil
adephians to be 'opened up and summariIy
appropriated. Country stores, we are assured by
the Clergyman, are much more numerous than
many people imagine they are ''They tap all
''ther respective neighborhoods, drawing into and
Through them an immense amount of country
''produce, and pouring out, through the medium
'Of exchange, an amount Of goods of which one
''who has never traversed these sections and made
'hims-lf familiar with the facts can have no con-
"cepion." In his zeal to serve his native city
our Reverend letter-writer next enters into cal.
cuaton to show the value of the traffic around,
him and comes to the conclusion that as a very
small store, located at a cross-road will
do a business of five hundred dollars
month, amounting annually, in the aggregate,
to six thousand dollars year, fifty such stores
located at fifty different cross roads, would do at
business in the aggregate of three hundred thou
sand dollars year, and whatever opinion we may
have of the cross roads, the figures by which the
gross amount is reached are as Enthusiastically cor
rect as the multiplication table can make them.
We have only to admit the existence of the cross
roads and stores, and the average amount of bus
ness done by each of the LATTER and the sum total
Is indisputable. But whittier ''does that six thou
sand year, multiplied by fifty go2 asks our Rural
clergyman, sapiently and sadly. With sorrowful
shake of the head, he regrets to say that sit does
not always so to Philadelphia experience
being that at least portion Of it comes to Bal
timore, whereat the reverend gentleman is sore
ly grieved. We sympathize with him most sim
cerely. There is so manifest an improperly in
any Maryland merchant purchasing his goods and
selling his produce at the commercial centre of his
own State, that we are surprised so thoroughly
unpatriotic an act should not have been commented
on before. Clearly Philadelphia, as the chief city
of another State, was entitled to an entire monopoly
of the business; and it is only 10 the unaccounta-
BILE apathy of her merchants, according to the
theory OF the correspondent of the Enquirer, that
she has not heretofore successfully asserted
her claims. But our Rural Pastor is not content
to show that fifty country stores do an aggregate
business Of three hundred thousand dollars annual
ly, part Of which goes elsewhere than to Philadel-
phia. He goes on to assume that the average amount
of goods sold by each of the fifty stores, actually
reaches two thousand dollars month, or total
of twelve hundred thousand dollars a year. And
again, he asks ''whither does that twelve hun
"dred thousand dollars go?1 And again, he sor-
rowfully responds, ''not always to Philadelphia"
"And yet, he adds, ''Philadelphia is its natural
CENTRE and asks and innocenty answers, as
usual, the question himself-''What GEN.
'trlugal force is it which can thus nightly
"counteract the evidently feeble centripetal force
''my native city, actually running away, to a dis
"tant mart, business which only little more en-
'ergy and a little more tact would coax to the
'centre to which it ought to CO." He does not
desire the merchants of "the home of my boy
"hood'' to work out the mathemat cal problem,
but proposes to do it for them in series ofpapers
OF which the one under notice is the first install
ment. 1t was trivial incident, he tells them
that induced him to undertake his gratui,'
lous task HE was out on business one
morning, and saw at the Post-ofice "a generous
hooking card Of one of our young and enterpris-
ing business hrms, and it 'tdid him good 10 see
'ft." What aspect a generous Io,){ine,., card
assumes, wherein it differs from snv otbor brs;-
ness advertisement, and in what its ssganoros;+v,,
consists, he omits to state. Was it one Of those
pacards which gives assurance, that the goods of
the enterprising firm are invariably sold at ffv
per cent. below COST that the commodities them
selves are of the best quality to be found in the
market, and, as compared with Others, they may
be said to be actually given away or was it the
amplitude of the placard, and the boldness of the