Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 186?-1872, 1872-02-10
COMPETITIONS.


That competition Is the life of
trade" is more often repeated than
understood. Under certain condi-
tons, 1t is true; under certain other
conditions, so far from its being the
life, it is the death, of trade; and
unless these conditions be taken into
account, this would-be- trade-axiom
Is far more specious than sound.
If there were but one merchant in
Clarksville, and none in the vicinity,
that single merchant could if 80 dis
posed, make fortune, in a short
time, by extortion. Again, If there
were but two or three, they might,
by combination, Cypress the buyers
by their exhorbitaat charges. But
increase the competition to point
beyond the probability of combina-
ton, then prices will be reduced to a
reasonable standard, whilst all the
competitors, by fair dealing, can
make good p,eat on their invest
ment. But were there twenty mer-
chants, the market would be over
stocked, and the trade, as to them,
would be killed off and they become
bankrupt.
! But there Is yet another sort Of
competition more to be deprecated
than that of numbers-that Is when
dishonest competitor sets up in bus
iness-one, who, to win patronage,
decries the character and goods of a
rival and rather than not sell, will
offer goods at a price that will ruin
I himself and wrongfully damage
others who are doing business on
\ terms just to themselves and fair for
others. The effect of this sort of
competition is to ruin legitimate trade
as well as the individual who inau-
/ gurates it.
1 1t is true, that this system of "cut-
ting under" temporarily benefits
the patrons of that lire of business,
but no honest man desires to see
the trade so demoralized that those
who follow it must turn sharpers and
be constantly on the lookout for in
nocent, and unsuspicious parties from
whom to get back portion of the
loss sustained by selling without
profit to those better posted as to
the value of the goods they buy.
What tends most to give life to
trade is a sufficient number, in any
one branch, to prevent combinations,
and they, honest men, whom the
people feel that they can trust, and
then a speedy starving out of all
guerrillas, who sell to A at cost be-
cause he Is influential and make b
pay the loss because he knows but
little of the value of goods and trusts
the integrity of n sharper for justice
and fair dealing. These tricky inter
lopers serve to demoralize the bust
ness of any community, by bringing
suspicion upon all engaged in the
same pursuit, and destroying that con
fidence in business men so essential to
a healthy condition of trade-a con
fidence the more essential now, be-
cause railroads have almost annihi-
lated distance and brought even re-
mote points, in direct competition
with home trade. Universal fair
dealing and moderate profits can de-
feat the latter sort of competition,
but rs it IL question to be solved by
the business men, themselves, we
simply submit it to their considera-
ton, with a slight paraphraze of the
Saying" which heads this article
that competition is the life of trade
where it is based upon integrity, and
the confidence of the buyer that he
will always get an equivalent for
his money.