Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-08-23
THE SELFISH POLICY.
Another Phase of It which it may be we
for Buslness Men to Consider.

Our article of two or three weeks
since, calling attention to that selfish
and short-sighted policy which leads.
people to send abroad for goods and
supplies instead Of patronizing the home
dealer, has received general notice and
commentator from our contemporaries.
The Elkader Joumal-the editor of
which, Mr.. Shannan, will be remembered
as the gentleman who gave us that in
cisive talk upon kindred subject at
the Editorial Reception last week
copies our article in full and then
proceeds to turn it upon the
merchants and business men in way
that may be profitable for them if duly
considered. After copying the Bull
LETIN article the Journal says:
There is so much good sense in the
above article, and it is so applicable to
every locality that we give our readers
the benefit of it, and while we advocate
full and unequivocal support of our
merchants and business men, we at the
same time would call attention to some
plain facts which have, we believe, some
bearing on the subject. In the first
place we ask, why is it that so much
merchandise is ordered by individuals
from abroad? Is it because they prefer
to 60 to the trouble of writing, run the
risk of renting their money, and wait
week or ten days, as the case may be,
for the articles wanted, if they knew
they could get the same things at home?
And right here comes in the query, how
do the people know where they can get
bargains? The answer is simple enough.
You cannot take up an eastern paper
and run your eye over its advertising
columns without meeting attractive ad-
vertisements, with the most carefully
specified description of the goods they
have for sale, stating quality, style and
price, and this method with the best and
most successful houses is not spasmod-
ic or occasional, but is constant, per-
sistent and specific. Do they wait for
customers to come, and rest on the
theory that they are so we'll known, and
that everybody knows that they are in
business and will come without any eff
fort on their part? Not at all; they set
about the matter Systematically, to draw
trade, offering inducements which at
tracts the attention of buyers. Take
for instance one of our Chicago dailies.
A leading firm advertises, 1000 para
soils, all silk and silk Innings. at 80 cents
each;" another, gold band window
shades for 80 cents each;" another, a
patent spring bed for $780," and so on;
the list might be heightened out indef-
nitely. These quotations are not given
as samples of low prices, but only to
show that these men understand the
value OF letting the public know what
they have and what they can be bought
for We can point to few men in this
county-tOo few by far-who are regu-
lar, persistent and systematic advcrtis-
ers. who to-day, notwithstanding the
hard times, are reaping the benefit of
judioious expenditure of small amount
Of printers ink. Mark the man that
says, everybody knows me, knows that
| am in business here; have been in
trade the last eight or ten years, and it
is no use to advertise" AS rule, and
there are few exceptions, these men
seldom rise above fair living. They
are the first to cry hard times and the
first to succumb in times of great fnan-
cial depression. Don't take our word
for it; look around you, notice the sue
cessful men of your acquaintance who
have been or are now in business, and
see if our theory is not correct.
Now in order to keep all this small
trade at home, and large trade also,-
let our business men take the same
course as pursued by city dealers, fight
them with their own weapons. If you
want people to patronize you there must
be some inducement. There is very
little friendship in trade; people will go
where they can get the best article at
the lowest price 1t is all very well to
talk about sustaining home trade and
all that sort of thing, but people are go
ing to buy where they can get the most
for their money, and the man that Of
fers the greatest inducements and lets
the greatest number of people know
about it will sell tho most goods
We believe our merchants have the
remedy for this habit of ordering goods
from dealers abroad in their own hands.
A little study on the subject to learn
the wants of their patrons, and skill in
presenting and bringing to the public
notice such things as they have for
sale would in most cases prevent it. If
parties who advertise in such papers as
Haapers Weekly, Frank Leslics and
others of that class, and pay at the rate
of four dollars per line each insertion,
can make it pay, our home merchants
should eertainly get q fair return for an
expenditure of only a few cents per line
IN homo no,ou