Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1880-03-16
Local 0DtiOn-NO. 2.
INFLUENCE OF LOCAL OPTION ON TRAD

INFLUENCE OF LOCAL OPTION ON TRADE.
1t has been held By large and respectable
cllss here that il local option prevails it will be
very disastrous to trade, ard Il a. ne;ohants
from the country will not buy here uni 81 they
Gu have q their wants supplied. i. C., get
their whiskcy, &c, herr; that they vi go TO
Washington and B,ltnoro TO purchase their
g,cds. &C. Now it is law of trade that no
business man will dare deny. that merchants
a7sooys Juy a0terc thy can get the most goods
for the least money. They seldom or never
COT salt thci' peis ,ual convenience or from a
nero whim change their purchasing market
They only want TO know where they can buy
cheapest, as it is well known business adage,
Goods we'll bought arc halt Sold" Now, if
tho AL, xandfia merchants will buy close and
sell on small margins. aud be p Tito end oblig-
lag 10 their customers, thy can always bold
aud il cease their trade. There is 90 earthly
reason Why ercaries. thp stores, crockcry
ware, kaId~are add boots ADD shoes caDnot be
S I'D hcIe 81 cheaply as ia New Itrk or Balti-
m0rr. | b, lltve 10 some OF these lines an #.
fort is maiu to do this. and. il il were more
general, the Wholesale trade would largely re.
vive and thrive. Washington cannot Compete
with Us on these lirei of trade If our merchants
will do as they ought. 1t il too ridiculous to
say TINT it a mao oau't buy lis Whiskcy, So,
here, he will 70 on to Washington 10 buy his
goods. You know we'll C00u2h ho will DO that
anyhow if he c;n buy them cheaper therc and
if you can Fell him his bill OF goods, 40 that he
will even hGVo r margin Of SIS to $40 under
Washinatou prices, no will readily deal with
you a,d ray &n extra 25 cents to 60 over 10
Washington fer his whisky. All you have to
do is TO mako it his interest TO trade with you,
sni he will rot be fool enough to run ever 10
Washington to buy lis goods for mere whim,
| which will cost lin considerable money. A
merchant who would d. that is rot bright
CT ough to be safe, and al such might we'll be
turned ovtr to merchants elsewhere, for sooner
or later such goose would bankrupt, and you
lose your money. Such au argum snt is the
| mcrcst ctstf. Ii Our opponents ciu't do better
than that, they will make poor showing 10.
decd. LIT it BIO likewise remembered that the
men reformed from drink here, and whose ref
| ormaion would be- permanent, if temptation
were cut off lhoir way; together with tho drink.
iug men here who would become temperate
from necessity, il they cauld not bug drink OF
| will, have sptn. over 100000 per aunum 10
drink alone; add to this the loss of time and
wages by lntemperabce and also the sickness,
doctors bills and medicines Co1asonnd by dIiok
and 1t W0nld readily amount to $l25 900. All
this DOW is wasted utterly. If local option pre-.
| vailed all this would b. tpont 10 Alexandlia,
| for The men who have been addicted to drink,
unlike your WoalIhier citiEers, who 90 to Wash,
lrgton to spend thelr money, would mako oil
their purchase here. and this much added to
your retail trade, would greatly add to the
prosperity OF the mclchapts for it would BIO
sale to say that tho profits would b. 10 per
cent. and 30 over $ll, 900 woull DO added 10
your profits per yosr. Or admitting that only
portion Of this money would 60 to purchase
supplies, tho balsrc, would be Invested hero,
and somo small houses would be rected in num.
bers, and thus the tsxab'o basis b decreased,
aud taxes ooIrospoudirgly diminished. whi!o
On tho other sido it is Known to be fto: that
your wealthy men Put their surplus 10 BONDS,
| which eacapo tho sssass)r's iocutiuy and the
tsx gather demands, and as no rich man now
thinks Of building houses for Investment, as
| they hardly pay por cant. on value, 81 you
are not TO look to them for an increase of your
taxatl' basic, bat only to the poor men. who
want to oTn their own homo, and, who will 10
timo built.
So it is very evident that it is very narrow
| minded policy which prompts some Of you in
trade to oppose what c'ud only ipuro to your
benefit.
Asao, let Ice i option prevail hero and it is
believed that snvera! huadrd families will
Promptly move hero from Wasbinpton; that
they may blng up their boys away ftom tho
alluremouts aud vices Of tho drinking saloons
which so abouad there; influenced ulso by tho
greater cheapness of living her., and thus there
will be created demand for house properly,
whica would aoon put up ronts. and oven cause
our poor capitalists here, who arc SO unfortu-
nate as to own real estate, to smila.
Aud, lastly. capital Mt tho North is only
wsi'ing 10 flow out where it will be prott c.ed
and discouraged, and mon North sud West who
know the beneficial effects CT local option will
then DO willing to put their money 10 bosiues,
enterprises here, which would soon transform
our dlowsy town toto lioc Of iodu.t,y, abd
largely advance all our material interests. Nj orc
to follow. Respectfully.
w. X. BOYLE.
hlcSa6lria Vn March IL