Morning journal and courier., 1880-09-04
COMMUNICATIONS.
E.Drumming''-Trad in New Haven.

T.DrummIng''-Trade in New Haven.
 ON THE CARS, Sept. 1.
 To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 This morning, the first day of September,
 I start out upon my twenty third year of
 commercial life. Therefore I am to-day one
 of the oldest travellers known to the tfcraft ''
 When began there was not one where there
 are score to-day, and at that time only 8 few houses dare try the experiment of sell ing goods by sample. To-day the house that fails to be represented lon the road" soon closes it's doors. Unfortunate as the fact is
 it is none the less stubborn as all facts are. It is the most expensive way of finding a market, but experience has long since proven beyond doubt that it is .the only way suc- cessful business can be done for any consid- erable length of time. For just as soon as it can be learned that any particular branch of
 business is profitable above the average then that particular thing is at once run into the ground" After little, when sales fall of at home, ''drummers" are put e'on the road" with it, and then it is forced, and often an article is sold at retail at a trifing cost above it's production. But you must "drum" or not sell. Goods were never sold so cheap ly to the consumer over their cost to produce as to-day. Take our own city. The articles of housekeeping dry goods are about as staple as bread and butter and you can go into any one of several of the largest Chapel street stores and pbuy those goods at less mar gin" than was ever known before in the his tory of business. Yet they are sold by
 'drummers." There is not merchant but will endorse these statements. And what is the result Is the country at large the lose? :? Is the poor man injured, or the workingman (so called) oppressed? Oh, no, not at all. There is no nation on the face of the earth so well clothed or fed to-day, so far as can learn, as the Americans The cheapness of money for the past year has caused millions of dollars to be invested in business and the
 leash system'' has been thoroughly and sue cessfully introduced. Consequently people willing to invest largely in dry goods, and sell them at small advance above cost for cash, have caused profits to be cut down to more of 0 rate of interest on invest ment than the selling Of goods at former profits and the former way of doing busi- ness. Now we in New Haven were the very last town in the country to awake to this fact Let me illustrate. Some time ago there came an auctioneer to New Haven to sell stock of dry goods, and he was fairly F'hunted out of town" by the local merchants because it was found he was injuring their sales. Why Because the profits charged by the local deal CTS were so great that it was found dry goods could be sold in New Haven even at auction at aproft. I, for one, was perfectly willing to have goods sold cheap, and would have been glad if other means could have been also used to bring about this end and when the house of Brown, Bolton & Go. started, and wrote you letter about this same fact, you well know how I was taken to task for so prominently advertising said thew firm" Now the facts were, I never saw Messrs. Brown, Bolton & Go. in my life, when I wrote that letter. I wrote it from principle, which is, let us have cheap prices, not only in dry goods but in groceries and particularly meats, which are cold tn 1ou oh t., IT.
 Now the question will be asked me in the next week dozen times where I get my au- thority for these statements so I answer now for all, by actual observation in the places visit. I am on the Ego" all the while, and not idle when away much of the time. I visit public schools, go to places of into art galleries price goods in furniture stores, look at groceries, ineauire the retail price of dry goods, and in short make constant use of my wits all the while for my own personal benefit, and particular ly for this reason because I am personally in terested like to trade in New Haven, but when can buy cheaper out of town do it, and so will any otber common-sense person, and so pick up great many things on my travels. And now just one word more in closing. Those who read this letter say Gin their thoughts) that it makes good deal of difference whose OK is gored, " and to this say about my own par SASN-AaAA OASAAAooo, but, on the other hand, rather invite it. One may say that it is because the New Haven Rufie Company own a patent and have control over others in the same line of business, which is part true But why? Did we not remove our entire shop up from New York to get control of this patent and didn't we have to watch every crook and turn'' of business to prevent some one else getting ahead of us, while we may be ''caught mapping" and some one else invents better machine than ours !? | There never has been @ week past in years but what we have added expensive aid valu- l able labor saving machines to our shops, in | order to keep pace with others in the same line of business, who are constantly on the alert to s'beat us." But, say for myself | and to all others, when we cannot enter into | successful competition with others we will | go out of the ruffie business and find some- l thing in which we can succeed, evenif it is l going back to the old farm that left twenty | two years ago yesterday, for there was sue eessful in getting an honest livelihood, if no | more. So let us have cheap goods in all | ines of business, and let us all be willing not | only to work for a small profit, but be will | ng to work and earn what money we get, | md not in future hope to make fortune in | ] short time by unhealthy speculation, which s always sure to bring with it suffering to 'ome one, as I have too sadly learned by ex- oerience. M c. s.