Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1886-12-31
PatroliZr Home Trade.


Few Of our people are aware of the
amount Of money that is sent away
annually hv CONSUMERS for the pur-
chase "f articles that can hc bought oi
our merchants at Just about the rates
paid abroad with freight, express or
postage charges added In dress
Goods. especially. is this trade en"r-
nous. 1t amounts, in the aggregate.
to many thousands of dollars annual
lv, and is steady drain year after
year. Notwithstanding a moments re-
Election would convince anybody that
such a policy can have but one result.
to tmpoveri>h the community and to
bring Hard Times and prolong his
stay indefinitely.
The demand for postal and express
orders, for transmission Of money to
prominent Eastern firms VIII" advertise
judiciously, always large, increases I'M
measurably when the holiday season
approaches, and the result is, and has
been, that the mail-hags and express
wagons are crammed with articles of
dress, fancy goods, toys and all sorts
Of goods suitable for gift offerings. If
money was saved to the individual by
this course, still the loss to the com
munitv from the withdrawal OF Just So
much liic-blood from the circulating
medium is far greater than the per
>onal gain. Even this saving Is de-
fusion for in nine cases out of ten the
same articles can be bought as cheap
here
When it comes to importation OF
such necessities of life as can be pro-
duced in the country, the loss is far
greater. Every pound OF butter,
cheese, bacon, lard, potatoes and many
other articles of prime necessity,
brought from California or the East,
takes from the community just its
equivalent in hard cash, never to re-
turn. We may, in prosperous seasons,
ship enough timber, coal and hops, to
afford a moderate degree Of prosperity,
but until the farmers awaken to the
necessities of the times and stop these
leaks, season of great and lasting ac-
tivity will be hoped for in vain. The
duty of the consumer is likewise plain.
| He should endeavor to make mar
ket for home products by giving them
a preference ON all occasions. This
policy, persistently pursued, would en-
courage home production, lead to bet
ter quality of product, keep the money
at home, and inevitably relieve the
stagnation of trade.
The importation of supplies by con-
sumers is not confined to articles that
can be safely transported in the mails,
such as dress goods, novelties and the
like, but We find that some of our cti-
zens send individual orders to Chicago,
or other cities, for groceries, drugs and
other articles of domestic use. A few
days ago one of our tradesmen hap
pened to be opening case of a choice
brand of olive oil just as prominent
citizen of well known epicurean taste
was passing, and he took occasion to
recommend it very highly to the gen.
tleman with the delicate palate. "Oh,"
responded he, eve always send for
such things to Chicago" That's it.
The answer goes down to the very root
Of the evil, and is only justified by n
modification of the same high-tOned
idea that induced some of our people
to buy Chambers hams after they
had made a sea voyage. 1t is one
cause of hard times. 1t is the policy
long pursued which makes us depen-
dent upon the larger industries and
parasites on the labor and enterprise
of others.
The subject is by no means ex-
hausted by this brief presentation of a
few facts and the logical sequence to
be drawn from them. Their truth
is patent to everybody and the
conclusions irresistible. Have we
not enough principle and stability
of character to resolve that so far as
patronage and influence go, we will
in the future, as closely as possible,
support home trade ? Let us try it
a few months, and as sure as is the
conclusion of demonstration in
mathematics, will we find the balance
of trade turning in our favor.