Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-06
NO M0NEYIN SODA WATER
A DRUGGIST WHO HAS FIGUR-
ED IT ALL OUT TALKS.

The Bubbling Beverage Popular put
Not "A Paying Drink-FOuntains I'm
profitable but Necessary to Hold
Trade-Consumption Dependent Upon
the Temperature.
"Business is only fair" remarked a
druggist yesterday in reply to a NEWS
reporters question.
''Money has not been plentiful with the
general public this summer" the phar-
macist continued. "There has been about
as much sickness as usual, but it would
seem as though families have been
irving to economic on the drug
bills and no medicine not absolutely neces-
sary has been purchased. There are
good many households which, as rule,
keep small dispensary. Two or three
shelves in closet will hardly hold all the
bottles and boxes of pills and packages of
powders they get and keep on hand.
Then there are folks who must try every
new remedy and patent medicine that Is
put on the market. Why, there are
enough OF these people 10 keep the quack
medicine factories running on half time.
One cause OF poor trade is the number OF
druggists in the business. The public
seems to think that there is nothing that
pays as big money as drug store, and
every year increases the number OF stores
out of proportion to the Increase in BUSH
ness"
IL fear 1t would be a difficult tack to
convince the public that it is mistaken
about the profits on Drugs" interrupted
the reporter.
"The profits on the money invested are
no more than on the money invested in
other branches Of trade" the pharmacist
responded. "a hundred or two KINDS of
drugs would be kept in stock, while three
f0urths Of the business is done in two or
three dozen drugs. Insurance is high,
and there are twenty things that 60 to
Swell the expense account. Canine has
n good sale the whole year through. but
/ in the fall it is the best. Next month
trade will very likely begin to pick up"
''The soda water trade appears pretty
brisk"
s'Yes, lots OF it is sold, but there is
hardly any money in iteXcept as an adj
vertisement. If it is made from genuine
syrups it draws little trade, but as for
the soda itself it hardly pays for hand
ling. Ice, favoring and an attendants
wages count up mighty close to SC. Milk
for milk shakes, with the ice and flavor,
knocks all the profit out of that beverage
unless watered or skim milk or bogus
havors are used. | have figured it all
down, and found that there is no money
in a soda fountain, but if one store sells
soda water all the others have to do the
same TO hold a certain class OF customers,
who would 90 elsewhere. The young folks
are the hardest drinkers. We do not do
much on cloudy, rainy and cool days, but
on good warm afternoon and night
fountain does not get any rest. Chocolate,
straw berry, orange, lemon, pineapple and
vanilla flay0rs are fept running all the
time. | have estimated that 5, 600 glasses
of soda water and milk shakes are drank
in Savannah every day that the ther-
mometer goes to 50 in the shade. Every
degree over that is worth from 100 to 300
extra glasses, at least 5000 is spent every
day during the summer tor soda. Girls
are our best patrons. They will drop In
during the afternoon and get glass or
two, and then in the evening they bring
young man around. A fountain draws
some trade, but 1t is not a bonanza of
1tself"