, 1883-06-21
How TO Kill a Town.

How TO Kill a Town.
Send east for everything that you
can purchase two cents cheaper than
the merchants of your town can
afford to sell. If you have few dull
business days advise every one you
meet of the fact; stop your advertise
mcnt IN the paper, and let your gen
rrai detection be most apparent. Do
not attend any public meetings, or
assist any public improvements; and
should any improvements be pro
jected, find every possible fault with
them, predict their failure, aud PUB
lish your disapproval whenever an
opportunity presents itself. Abuse
all those who may happen to show a
lively interest in the welfare of the
community. Continue in this spirit
throughout the affairs of your daily
life, and when you have succo eded in
attaining sulfic lent degree of general
nastinesS, wonder why your custom
rs have fofsaken you; attribute the
fact 10 tie want of enterprise in the
newspaper in which you will not ad-
vertise, and to the ill-will of those
whom you have vilifed. Then you
will perhaps find that the town Is not
50 good IS it should be, and that the
great object which you have had in
view is nearly accomplished. The
town Icing dead, you will doubtless
Dc hjtppy.-BiLithgS Herald,
Commenting on the above, a Mon
tana paper contains the following:
We publish the above because it
exI rcssts the plain truth so concisely.
Ne Wi / supplement it by trying TO
tell how to build mp town, as briefly
a+ We can. Patronize home indus
tries and enterprises. If you buy of
your ueighbors, they will buy of you,
and all viii prosper. If the men who
deal in boots and shoes or hardware
send east for dry goods and groceries
for their families because they save q
little thereby, they break down the
business of their neighbors who deal
in these articles. To get even, they
send for what they don't keep and
you do, and destroy your trade. So,
too, with professional men and me
chanics. In order to prosper they
must help each other. Every mem
ber of the community must do this,
or those who find business unremu-
nerative vii leave and go elsewhere.
Every man who works produces
something. and his neighbors should
patronize his industry to retain him
among them. If he and his family
go to another place, every kind of
business loses his customs and it
profits. Contribute to all public en-
terprises that look to the general
good. If new school house or Il
new manufactory is to be built, con-
tribute by subscribing, or at least say
good word for them. If you have a
business, advertise it. and people will
know what it is, and will patronize
you. You cannot hide your light un-
der bushel and then expect people
to see it; it you attempt it you will
be the loser, and ought to suffer"
Port Townsend business men are
welcome to all the philosophy they
can get out of the above. It is not
generally known that the practice of
sending abroad for the sake of saw
- ntGIe in buying prevails SO ex-
tens'vely. Probably the printers are
privileged to have this unpleasant
and suicidal stateof afairs brought
more Extensively before them than
most other folks imagine 1t is a
common occurrence, in taking an
order for job work, to be reminded
about how cheaply and nicely it can
be done in San Francisco; and fre
quently the patron condescendingly
gives his home Office small portion
of his work to do and sends the bulk
of it away-and yet imagines that
he is doing the local printer an i'm
mense favor. Men engaged in home
enterprises sometimes remind the
printer that he ought to keep their
business prominently before the pub
lie, e, advertise them by constant
pufing-and then transact their af
far rs with him on stationery that
bears the imprint of Bacon or Ban
croft. Yet such people often wonder
why their home paper can't accom-
plish more and make better show
ing. They viii occasionally pause
while manipulating rubber stamp.
long enough to tell you that 1.-The
paper don't amount to much" We
may be treating our readers to a lit
tie plain talk, but we feel that way
sometimes. What is true of the
printing business is also true
of every other. Suppose you have to
pay even fifty per cent. more in your
own town? 1t is far more economi-
cal in the long run for you to do SO.
People cannot afford to starve their
home newspaper and printing office,
and they certainly cannot afford to
starve their stores and manufac-
turers.
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