The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1877-05-04
For the Times.
LETTER FROM cHAaIEsTo%' s1s ,Ss ="

For the Times.
LETTER FROM CHARLESTON
The steady pressure upon the business Of
Charleston-especially THE Jobbing Trade
has ut last woke up the drowsy business men of
this old "City by the Sea-"
meeting was held by the '.sChamber Of Com
msrce," (par excellence the custodians of the
Commercial interests of the City, and n Com.
mittee, composed of some Of the first business
men of the City was appointed to unmask the
causes which have brought about the disastrous
state Of ,Sade complaissd of SO fur as we are
informed no report has been 4,ads,, and no. r.
forts made to throw light upon the subject.
1t is probable that the lucid Report of the
South Carolina Rail Road at the late Convention
has satisfied the Committee that it was false
alarm, and that the mercantile interest was in n
more prosperous condition than reported to be.
The farmers have always had the reputation Vt
being the croakers-the, epidemic has perhaps
invaded Commercial circles.tooss
glance up and down Hayne, King, Meeting
or East Bay, in business hours, and look at the
names registered at the Hotels will however,
convince any one that there is no life in the
business here.
II is the opinion of many of the shrewdcst
merchants that the depression in business is not
10 be charged to one cause, but to many causes
combined. Do6btless the Railroad discrimina-
tions are the most prominent. No one can spend
day in Atlanit or Charlotte without being
struck with the facilities tho merchants there
enjoy in n rapid and cheap transportation
There is life in the trade--a go-nhead determine
tion to succeed-short profits and quick returns.
Enterprise is stamped on everything nor is it
strange that it should be so, when the Wharfage o
and Railroad freigbts from New York to Atlanta
are, pro rata, less than to intervening points, or
when all the roads leading into Atlanta pursue
the policy of cheap and rapid delivery at At
lanta.
| The prosperity Of Charleston cannot be
brought about by Resolutions of Public Meeting.
or Chamber Of Commerce, or Reports of Com
mittees. These things have been played out
They are mere subterfuges and people know ii.
Trade will not come to any place unless its mer-
chants can compete with merchants elsewhere.
The mere assertion by resolution, preamble and
oil that, that you can sell as low MS any other
place won't do. Faith is very good: Sus in
trade, works are better. If your Charleston
| uiu""er hhu out when ne comes In range OF
certain points, that his price list is too high, he
must look out for other felds1nk labor When
goods from ST. Louis, New Orleans, New York or
Baltimore, can DO delivered at points in his
range lower than he can deliver them from
Charleston, he must agree to submit to- short pYo-
fits, or retire from the field. 80
The question then simply resolves itself into
this: the various tariffs assessed upon. goods in
their transit must be reduced Wharfage, Dray-
age, Railroad Freights, &c.,) or the merchant
must make up his mind to curtail his profits or
give up his position. Have the Charleston r. .er-
chants realized that fact?
But the pressure in Charleston is not confnctl
to the jobbing trade. Every department of in
dustry is suffering. There are thousands out of
employment. The mechanic cannot find work
to do, and when he does, his wages are barely
sufficient to feed him. Every department of
business is under n cloud The Cotton Trade is
the only prosperous interest il Charleston, and
the loss Of it is only a'question of time. Low
freight on competing lines is rapidly sapping il,
and there is money in other places as well as
Charleston, to draw it off. En- passant-tne ro.
iation OF the planter TO the merchant now is fou.
cibly illustrated by the old fable of the frogs NIB
the OK: "It may be fun to you, but it is dea,I,
| to u.s." EOUS VERRONs
=