The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1863-10-21

sseAS ssuuS oSNb h0iO 0StisO Nu~h ~ nv" &c
Main street is turned almost into one cntir
mart for the transaction Of business. Tn
large houses are filled with immense stock
| Of Merchandise Of all kinds known to tn
! wants or the whims Of the public, Will
each little nook Of territory, largo enough
for even 10 by l6 building has its enter
prisng, active and successful dealer in fam
ly groceries, fruits, country produce, &c.
dc.
1t would afford US much pleasure to refe
in q special manner to the individual mcr
its, social status and other personal oxc- l
lcncies Of our mercantile friends of high
and Of humble grade 10 business, as we'll as
Of their stocks and their attractivencss
but McGrcgor has grown so extensively il
is now quite impossible in our columns tc
mention tho advantages to be derived
from trading with each and all of oul
patroNs and it would seem invidious to give
few of our customers First rate notice
while the balance were neglected. In
places not larger than McGregor, editorial
notices, made to order, or by request, are
paid for as other Advertisements and it is
a question whether the rule, if adopted
here, would not work less injustice than tina,
other fashion which is usually supposed to
find it base in favoritism. The writer OF
this has probably thrown CT as many no.
tees of business houses as cny other one
person in the west no longer engaged in
editorial service. Much Of this was done
in the early history Of McGrcsor, that the
point commercially might be noticed in
connection with persons as we'll as with the
quantity and quality Of the stocks which
were held in the market. The character OF
the city as one Of the leading points on the
Upper River being now established and her
merchants having with the liberal use Of
printers ink and by their own worth be-
come known favorably to all who come in
contact with them, It seems no longer
necessary to indivilualize them to the pub
lie in the way Of special commentator,
unless they desire it, and, then, only when
they manifest such desire by willingness
to make the labor of the printer one Of
business and not of love. There is no more
reason why publisher should append a
lengthy editorial notice to an Advertisement
than that the sale of bonnet should carry
with it the trimmings, or the purchase OF
a pair Of boots should imply Throwing
in" of few pairs of socks! The aes.
criptions Of stocks and business houses in
our larger cities arc paid for by the line and
ordered in just as much as any other ad-
vertising matter inserted in the paper
This is right. The publisher lives by his
columns and he can no more afford to Gil
them with gratuitous notices profitable to
one man or one firm, than can an omnibus
driver gire half his seats to travellers.
We speak here in defence of the press,
and particularly Of what our daily cotem
poraries call the country press" We all
know it is not uncommon to be asked
"Wont you put this little squiL in your
local columns-it wont take much space
and it will be of benefit to me?" One man
sells machine of some kind and obtains a
certificate of its excellence he wants the
press to publish, and thus add to his bus
mess profits and notoriety. Another has
machine or new patent that he wishes
the editor to look at. All the intricacies
of cogs, wheels, pin,ons, gudseons, &C.,
&C., are examined and heard explained
and when the poor devil Of an editor sits
up till midnight to give the machine no
tice, he is politely rewarded by "thank
you, sir" and request to mail few copies
of "your valuable paper to certain ad-
dresses he gives you. Understand here
that we are speaking but little from expe-
rience. No man in the west has been more
literally paid for notices than this writer.
Quid pro quos without number have glad
dcned our eyes and lots of ''cash money!
have gone into our pockets for requested
notice, (that cash is not here now, we re-
mark, en- passant) but we submit if this
may not as we'll be reduced to system and
the price knoacn in advance as to depend
on fayoritism from both sides. We puff
a house five dollars worth and get nothing;
another house we touch up one dollars
worth and the proprietor presents us goods
worth ten. This inequality can be regu.
lated by publishers if they but will it.
and this article is written more for the
craft than for the people. We do not 60
into store and say "Sir, I've traded with
YOU $4,000 in the last three months, viii
you be SO good as to give winter shoes te
my children? ! see you have plenty o
them" True, liberal merchant otter
abates the price somewhat when dealing
with good customer, SO also will liberia
printer aid in various ways, such as occa
sional references and similar abatement
in his prices, those who deal with him blu
there is no more reason why the latte
should be expected to give away that spac
which makes his living, than that the mer
chant should semi occasionally hand owe
ten or twenty pounds of sugar or coffee t
his customers. 1t is fashion into which
the press has fallen and it is often uu
Just to both publishers and customers
| One merchant has large store and to r;
view it properly much space is required
another has single grade or range of stoc
- he requires less space in description.