The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1885-06-12
Local Patriotism.

The old adage that competition Is
the life of trade which means that n |
man should always buy in the cheapest |
market and that he is under no moral
obligation to buy anywhere else, is
one of those vicious maxims which
has just enough truth in it TO make 1t
dangerous. There is certain amount
OF sentiment winch should be attach
ed to business transaction which act
ing like salt on fresh III eat, is sufficient
to keep it from spelling aud to push
the adage about competition to its
extreme would make nation of saw
ages. AS for example there are GER
tain people who will never buy any
thing at home if they can save five
cents by sending abroad for it, aud
sometimes when there is no
saving at all. That is push
ing the idea of competition to
such cold-bloOded extremes ~ to be-
short sighted and injurious in the
long run tn even the man who saves
the five cents Now we hold that
there is n sentiment, call il local patri
otism, ii you will, which ought 10
modify TO certain extent our appli'
cation of the adage about COMPETE
ton. That is all things being, equal
or nearly equal, good citizen ought
to give the preference TO home insii-
tutions and his friends. A family
having no particular watering place
should give the preference to Calves
ton because IL Is in the state of Texas
OF several railroads with equal oI
or nearly equal rates q
traveller and shipper should throw
his business into the hands of the one
which seeks to deal the most gcncr
, ously with his place AMI people. II
. his dealings he should prefer ihos'
; whose public spirit is AN element o
prosperity in the place he lives in
| and he should in all cases give tn
preference to local institutions bot
!, in his town and state. The man VIII
will not stand by his own place AN
people and his own state is unworth,
II Is said you cannot mix sentimen
with business. but the statement
false. Sentiment can never contr'
business, nor should it do so, but I'll
rs operation of local pride and loci
= patriotism il business itself as well ,
sentiment. II is sentiment, the OPP
e. ration of which, always pays in Il
long run, and without which busine
= would eventually cut its own throa
There is a notion or superstition
the human mind that whatever com
90 from abroad is better than the san
~ thing at home. Distant fields a
% green. II Is sort of moral disea
50 from which no man can rid himself c
30 cept by the corrective power of reaso
- Distant fields are not green. The on
corrective is for people to let loo
~ pride influence them once or twice
= a business transaction, and they W
feel so like sinner newly convert'
: that they will never backslide. II Of
Il. wealthy, fashionable people won
Us make Galveston a sumner resort for
season or two, OH the prinoip
: of patronizing home institution
they would not only advance the
- terests of their own state, but wou
ne feel such glow of pride and sat
n. faction as they never dreamed OF.
man solicited for trade who shou
reflect and say for the drst time II CT
AT buy those goods at home of equ
r. quality and equal price, and | shall
ways give the preference to home
r. would experience such feeling
,s self respect and pride that he won
in not know what it meant. To stat
up for ones own place and its int,
ests begets feeling which makes
a man TO sneer at home and
~ on the cent per cent rule, makes
TO man narrow and self sh and degrad
his pride.
. The exercise of n reasonable lo'
patriotism in matters OF business
/, worth all it costs, even II IL did &C
Ia something, in the added dignity a
self respect it gives, but 1t is al
sound business in the long run. II
An large minded people who make