The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-02-17
Wholesale Trade in Portland.

If our merchants and business men gener-
ally are awake to their interest as they should
be and as they have the reputation OF being,
they will not allow any opportunity to pass
unimproved to divert the wholesale trade OF
the State to this city. To do this it is OF the
greatest Importance to be able to furnish, in
such quantities as may be required, all the ar
ticles that enter into the assortment Of village
store. II a trader must 20 to Boston for a
portion of his stock, he will be likely to find
inducements thrown in his way TO purchase
his entire stock in that city, whereas if he
could find every article he wished to purchase
in this city, offered at prices aslow as he could
purchase in Boston, he would go no farther.
In many articles of the heavier class, the
trade in this city is SO extensive as that they
can be sold cheaper than in Boston or New
York. The increase in the trade in groceries
and dry goods for year or two past has been
such as to enable our merchants to Ill the Or
ders OF their customers TO their entire satislac-
ton, and on as favorable terms as can be pur-
chased elsewhere. We have heard some com
plant on account Of not finding such variety
of fancy goods al trader is DESTROYS of select
ing FROM The failure, if any, ia our city TO
furnish large assortment from which traders
can draw, is in the direction of fancy, mil
linery, and such like goods, OF which we trust
there will be larger assortments the coming
season.
1t is also necessary to establish facilities for
travel and transportation. Our people have
understood this, and to some considerable ex-
tent have acted in reference to it. But much
larger outlay in this direction will pay in no
far distant future, fit does not to-day. Steam
ers running three times week to Bangor,
New Brunswick and Machias, and daily to
Bath and Hallowell, may not, the first year,
pay a dividend, but will eventually, by in
creasng the trade on the line of those places,
with Portland, create business for them
which will be found remuneraiiye.
We clip the following article from the Rock
land Gazette, which shows the feelings OF The
traders along the shore towns -
A fewsslays since a statement was procured
and furnished TO the Portland Board of Trade
at their Instance, showing the amount of goods
purchased in Portland by the Rockland mer-
chants during the year 1863. As the result of
the inquiry thus made, we have before US a
list OF iorty-six of our traders, whose purchas-
es in Portland during the year ranged from
$500 to $4,000 each and adding to the sum
total an item of $4,000 as the estimated year
ly purchase of lumber in Portland by our sew
eral dealers, and another OF So 900 as a mod
crate estimate of the amount of goods pur-
chased by small traders not included in the
list referred to above, we have Sl22 900 as the
whole amount of our annual trade with the
Forest City.
This statement shows that our trade with
Portland is already of much importance, and
that the annual amount reaches a sum much
larger than would be estimated by many of
our citizens, and it is apparent that this trade
may be indefinitely increased, with an active
attention TO their interests in this direction by
Portland merchants, aud regular and adequate
facilities for freighting and travel between the
two cities. We know of no reason why our
merchants should not be able to procure quite
as advantageously in Portland many descrip-
tons of goods which they now buy largely in
osher markets, while by transferring our trade
TO Portland we should be buying nearer home
and fostering the industrial and commercial
interests of our own State.
We hope that the inquiry recently made by
the Board OF Trade is preliminary to active
enterprise in promoting constant and adequate
facilities of travel between the two cities, and
in indefinitely extending the business connec-
lions between our own and the Portland mer-
chants; for let Portland make it for the adj
vantage of our buyers to go to her market,
and all Increase OF trade consequent upon such
efforts will contribute no less TO the interests
OF our own community than TO her own mer-
camille prosperity.